Some of the material that appeared in the introduction to Volume 1 of this book (which deals with Knowledge, Experience and Enlightenment, and explains the sources and nature of the confusions that may arise from indiscriminate reading on Advaita) is repeated below. This is necessary for those who may not have read Volume 1!
Who is this book for?
This book is for all spiritual seekers who are (or think that they are) following the teaching of Advaita but who are unsure of the *correct" understanding of specific aspects relating to ignorance and what happens on enlightenment. All of the teaching of Advaita is aimed at 'removing this ignorance (or providing the Self-knowledge that will mean there is no more Self-ignorance). Accordingly, this volume also addresses some specific aspects of the teaching that are often misunderstood.
It has been said by many teachers (including Sureśvara) that the particular route does not matter as long as you reach the final understanding. The key teaching method of Advaita adhyāropa-apavāda shows us that all of the ideas which lead us there have to be dropped anyway; they are all mithyä. But there is a problem. Whilst we are still in the early stages, we can easily be confused and even led down fruitless cul-de-sacs by mistaken concepts. It is important that we correct these wrong notions as soon as possible if we are to optimize our 'path through the jungle'.
Traditional versus Modern
I differentiate between 'traditional' and 'modern' teaching. By 'modern', I refer to the satsang style of teaching, which includes 'neo-Advaita'. By 'traditional', I mean qualified teachers who belong to a sampradaya [the tradition or established doctrine of teaching from master to pupil through the ages]. Neo-Vedanta refers to the teaching propagated by Swami Vivekananda, which diverges in some key areas from that systematized by Sankara, (Volume 1 addresses those aspects.) There is a tendency (encouraged by modern teachers!) to believe that 'traditional equates to old, outdated, no longer relevant to our modern times, while 'modern' means improved, suitable for the scientific, internet age (which is so much more educated and sophisticated). The sarcasm is intentional nothing could be further from the truth! Traditional teaching is rigorous, methodical, aimed at the current level of understanding of the seeker. And it is timeless, because it is not related to worldly things! Modern teaching tends to be episodic, random, lacking procedure etc. And, most important of all, traditional teaching has been proven to work for the past several thousand years. Modern teaching tends to lead to frustration, incomprehension and disappointment. Some of these aspects are dealt with in more detail in these pages.
Modern teachers rely principally upon their own personal understanding and ability to explain this to others. It is almost certain that their style of teaching will not be the traditional one, requiring regular attendance of evolving talks for many years. It is far more likely that meetings will be occasional and consist of talks on whatever topic happens to occur to the teacher, followed by random questions of particular relevance only to the questioner. There is zero possibility of all attendees following a coherent program of education leading to a complete understanding of Advaita.
The problem with many books, and many modern teachers, is that they gained their understanding of the subject by reading other books. Misunderstanding is propagated unknowingly by those who put too much trust in what they have read. This, of course, is one of the principal arguments against traditional Advaita, which exhorts us to have faith in the scriptures. But it is not the same. This topic was discussed in Volume 1, as it is one of the key arguments of Vivekananda.
Vedas (1232)
Upanishads (517)
Puranas (637)
Ramayana (769)
Mahabharata (381)
Dharmasastras (171)
Goddess (534)
Bhakti (253)
Saints (1640)
Gods (1319)
Shiva (409)
Journal (176)
Fiction (66)
Vedanta (386)
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