A day without swami sarvapriyananda is like a year without rain.

As a Buddhist who went through the whole Madhyamaka meditations of Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti I admit that I had some prejudice towards Advaita Vedanta. I salute Swamiji for bridging the gap in my understanding of the Advaita tradition and inspiring a newfound respect for that tradition. What a great guest!

As a Buddhist deeply interested in Advaita Vedanta, I feel this is one of the most insightful and important conversations I've ever heard. In another talk, discussing similarities between Madhyamaka and Vedanta, Swami quoted Niels Bohr: "The opposite of a petty truth is falsehood. The opposite of a deep truth is another deep truth."

" Winds of grace are always blowing ; but you have to raise the sail !" .. - Ramakrishna Paramhangsha.

What a delightful, educative, intelligent and respectful conversation.

Thank you Swamiji Sarvapriyananda & Mr. Holecek. Such an amazing exploration. Will likely listen several times since it's so densely packed & it deserves singular concentration. ❤

I never could resonate with Buddhism. Thank Goodness I came upon Advaita, it makes perfect sense and is utterly simple to comprehend.

Listening to Swami swing with facility from branch to branch of various eastern and western philosophies n this discussion, I am struck by his erudition and also how good a pedagogue he is when he is able to bring these mighty philosophical concepts down to the level of a simple sadhaka in his Vedanta lectures like the Drik-drishya-viveka or Vedanta-sara series.

Stunning breadth & depth ...I spent the entire time thoroughly absorbed and enchanted in this wonderful conversation.

What a beautiful dance between two brilliant men!

We are really proud of swamy vivekananda and his army of saints who are making every one accepting to the philosophy without firing a bullet on the strength of the philosophy and by most practical way of reasoning. Even the hard-core non beliver also will start accepting if they starts listening regularly because of lucid teaching.

A discussion that is beholding. Swamiji is as usual his self or SELF. We are not the decider. He is almost a part of that great saint Swami Vivekananda. Proud to be part of the journey of life along. Pranams Swamiji Jai Ramakrishna

Pranam Swamiji ☮♥️🕉

I really love Sarvapriyananda's answers to the questions. I feel he is true to the Truth Of God. Thank you!

Wisdom tools necessary for framework to swim without drowning -- "mystics swim in the same ocean where the psychotic drowns"

I am fortunate to have been able to hear this level of discourse in my quest for spirituality.

Spiritual legend

Mr Holechek is an amazing interviewer. You can feel the sincere interest through how he actually listens to our beloved Swamiji. Thank you so much

Wonderful discussion. So many clarifications were included. As a former student of Tibetan Buddhism, now ardently studying Advaita, Swamiji straightens so much out. Thank you!

This is exactly what I was looking for .. thank you both great beings for bringing up this discussion .. it is really a great honor to listen to swami sarvapriyananda giving great insights to the similarities of madhyamikas, shaivas and advaitha ... I think the greatness lies in appreciating the similarities in different thought schools saying the same things in different flavors. It becomes a great delight to eat the same 'cookie' swamiji refers to in yet another new flavor which it already had before. Appearence (to/in/as) consciousness was a great piece.A thousand pranams once again.

A really wonderful conversation touching on important points in the understanding of Advaita Vedanta, Madhyamaka and Kashmiri Shaivism. Thank you to both Swami Sarvapriyananda and Andre Holecek for clarifying these great teachings with respect, devotion and enthusiasm. A truly inspiring dialogue. 🙏🙏🙏

1.Emptiness of emptiness 2.Consciousness as Appearance. These are two great things I am able to not only learn but at experience level too.

Amazing discussion and exchange of ideas. A great walk through in the garden of spirituality. The fragrance of some flowers would linger as unforgettable. Like for instance, my takeaways .......... - It is nice to say Absolute Truth is a fall down a bottomless pit. But the reason why this looks attractive is because you are looking at the various, separate and different ornaments as ultimate realities. But if you grasp that there can be an entirely different category of reality called gold than ornaments, then we see a ground reality called gold. Now the slide is not infinite, and it does bottom out into gold. All the ornaments now becomes appearances of gold in name, form and utility like ring, bracelet, tiara….. - BUT, warning from Advaita - Ultimate reality is not an Object. Even when it is a subject, it is not an “objective” subject. Advaita subject would be the Pure Consciousness the witness subject. - Mystical experience is wonderful….. but Jnana gives the framework to understand the mystical experience. - Non Duality has 2 pillars - 1/- appearance nature of everything (falsity), 2/- self luminosity. So everything is just an appearance display of the luminosity of the self luminous ultimate reality which is Consciousness. - Advaita and Tibetan madhyamika can be studied as different and separately to appreciate and for deep understanding. Once the study is done, then it can be appreciated that they are talking of almost same things, but mirror images of each other. - Revisiting some highlighted differences - - In Buddhism, Consciousness is only one of the 5 Skandhas - Vijnana - that which comes and goes, is momentary to momentary, and ultimately it is not real. In Advaita, Consciousness is the unlimited self luminosity, Pure Existence itself. Vijnana is the reflected empirical experience of Pure Consciousness / Existence. Self luminosity is not consciousness knowing itself as if and like consciousness knows the laptop or mind. It is “that shines everything else shines, by that light everything is lit up”. - Buddhist interpretation of Consciousness is - “Appearance AS Consciousness”. Advaita interpretation is - CONSCIOUSNESS AS APPEARANCE. - It is not gainful to accuse that Advaita is all epistemology with no Ontology. Advaita is clear that Consciousness is at the level of Absolute whereas hierarchies like Ontology, Epistemology etc are at the level of Transactional / Relative. IMHO, the accusation arises from the Buddhist interpretation of Consciousness - “Appearance AS Consciousness”. But if you grasp the Advaita interpretation - CONSCIOUSNESS AS APPEARANCE, then this accusation evaporates by itself. - "Swamiji is an advocate of Integral Seeking" - this should not surprise anyone, it comes naturally to an advaitin. In the debates between Advaita and the rest of the Darshanas (/’philosophies’) of India, Advaita had no quarrel with any of the others because it could assimilate all the argument points of the others as ‘realities’ in the Vyavaharika / Transactional / Relative level, keeping the Paramarthika / Absolute supremeness of Brahman REALITY untouched. The same cannot be said of the acceptance of Advaita by the others. - Swami Vivekananda asserted that religion like all studies should be subject to the rigorous tests of modern scientific methods, and also that the core aspects of (Advaita?) spirituality will measure up to them due to its “Internal Mandate” (= self luminosity ? as suggested by Swamiji here) . - Only, there is a danger here, namely that of the current paradigm of science - the objective materialistic paradigm, where the study has to be of an object. But when the topic of study is the subject itself then it is not gainful to wish away the subject. - Science has been able to invent AI and get it to see, hear, sense, think, analyse, take decisions, drive a car etc… YET THERE IS NO FIRST PERSON EXPERIENCE FOR THE ROBOT. For the engineers who made the robot, there is no such thing as a first person experience. IMHO, This is proof that Advaita got it right, namely Consciousness is distinct from mind aspects like perception, analysis, decision making, acting, emotions … etc which is clubbed together by neuro science to call the bundle as consciousness. Scientists think consciousness is something you do in humanities, poetry, ethics, social consciousness…etc… But this is changing.. Namaste

I guess this is the way the wise converse in order to find unity in diversity ..a life lesson indeed pranams

wow, what an amazingly deep & beautiful conversation, thank you!

As an Advaitin, I think the fundamental problem with discussing pure awareness (Brahman), especially as contrasted to Buddhist No-Mind, is that pure awareness is not a concept. I mean that pure awareness is not a conceptual object in the mind that can be learned through the mind (either through taking a course or by arguing and losing). Rather, pure consciousness is what experiences life when the mind quietens and disappears. What remains after the activity of the ego, mind, and senses ceases is pure consciousness, either in deep sleep or after the event of self-realization (full awakening). This experience that pure consciousness has of itself (such as when the relative world of mind is quiet) IS pure consciousness. Rather than being something that can be learned, pure consciousness is that which experiences. Self-realization is the permanent change of identity from apparently being a limited mind in a body in a world to truly being an unlimited unchanging fullness of peace, happiness, intelligence, love, and contentment. It is unmistakable when it happens, and it only happens once (there is further spiritual growth as individual stresses disappear and subtle and universal truths grow, but this is not relevant to most spiritual discussions,). Normally, since we have grown up in an ignorant and stressed world, our understanding is limited to the the separate self, consisting of mind, body, and external world, all of which is illusory. Actually, it is both real and illusory depending on context. From the typical mental view (called relativity), it is real. We have repeatable experiences of a mind, body, and world that are persistent, logical, and convincing (up to a kind of wavering or flickering of our apparent consciousness). However, from the atypical view called the Absolute (unchanging pure awareness), it is illusion. In our actual experience of living in self-realization, we see that mind, body, and world aren't consistent. They are continually changing, unreliable, and inconsistent. What is ultimately real after the event of self-realization is that unchanging, pure awareness. It is reliable, always present, and sufficient for all purposes. It is the "place" where all desires gain instant fulfillment, but only because all our desires are natural ones rather than obsessions or attachments. Even the combination or mixture of relative experiences in a relative world and pure consciousness happens only in actual experience, where it is experienced as bliss.

amazing two hours here. bravo to you both and thank you!!

Oh my..what a gem that was ?!!! And to feel the delight of both of them about their subject. Digging truth. Great stuff :-)

The dream dreaming itself!!! Wow, great questions and great answers. Thank you both beloved.

Thank you for sharing. Great service to public education and consciouness openning.

Haha the delight on both of your faces, love it!

Emptiness of emptiness- Falsity of falsity how intense discussion it was! Some points were beyond my understanding . Thanks for sharing🙏😇

Pranam to your lotus feet Maharaj ji 🙏🙏🙏

Wonderful discussion. Two great men talking about two great traditions. Thanks!

What a wonderful interview/discussion. So kind, respectful and on point with clear details! Thank-you both for this beautiful session.

Thank you Swami and Andrew!

Sending love, health, and peace to you Swamiji with all my love and gratitude♥️☮️🕉🤗

Rig Veda - The Truth is One; Sages know it variously.

Beautiful, insightful knowledge. Shame, Harvard has such courses, do indian universities have the guts to introduce such courses?. Are there any professors in India who can teach as swami sarvapriyananda ji?.

Much awaited talk !

Thank you for this conversation. After coming to Advaita after years of studying Vajrayana and Padmasambhava, I have enjoyed spending my time looking at them side by side to achieve higher understanding.

Pranam Swamiji. So humbling and enlightening discourse. My heartfelt gratitude!!🙏

❤

In mahamudra and Dzogchen they actually say find the source of thought, realise that which transcends thought. Same in advaita.

Gosh ! The last question and the answer to it sums up the wonderful message of Swamiji. What a beautiful enlightening conversation. Thank you.

Bravo! What a scholarly discussion spanning so many topics. I need to come back and listen to this often!

One of the best video I have ever seen. Thank you !

My mind is really entertained throughout the video , thank you both

What a marvelous talk. Truly blessed to have Swami with us. Each and every words you spoke are priceless. Thanks Andrew for bringing this before us.

Appearing to,Appearing in,Appearing as Applause🙏🙏🙏❤️

Thank you so much for this conversation. Grateful immensely. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you for a beautiful clarifying discussion 🙏 🕉

Absolutely fascinating discussion!

Masterpiece, Thank you

Pranam Guruji🙏

The incredible pleasure of kindness, intelligence and knowledge. Thanks for that conversation.

Maharaj your lecture always enrich our knowledge n sprituality. Gouri palgaria 🙏 🙏🙏🙏

Amazing conversation ! Thank You

Seriously helpful. Many thanks to both of you!

Thanks Swamiji Sarvapriyanandaji.

Brilliant and shining with light...

Amazing discussion,watched fully and understood several things.

Good to know about similarity and uniqueness of different philosophies.

Pranams to Swamy Ji. Wonderful discussion and very enlightening🙏

Wow.. what a fantastic Video. Totally engrossing & enlightening. The video exemplifies how spiritual dialogue should be held. A lot of learning .Thankyou.

wow thank you so much for this. what a gift !! 🙏

To think all of this work has already been done some thousands of yrs ago in one land and they interacted and evolved together is incredible. Im tempted to wonder where it would have reached if it continued as vigorously till the present times.

Delightful conversation. 🙏 Pranams dear Swamiji and Andrew

I can't say a word , about Swamiji or this talk... it's beyond words I feel hearty gratitude.. that's all. Pranam to you.. Swamiji 🙏🙏

Thank you for this wonderful conversation 🙏

Wonderful.Thank you both so much❤

There are as many religions paths as the number of people in the world. Swami Sarvapriyana absorbs and radiates everything. It is delight to see his divine delight. 🙏🏽

Have to listen to this again and again to fully grasp this wisdom talk.

Remarkable and deeply engrossing conversation ! So much to learn from SwamiJi .

Pranam Swamiji. What a depth of knowledge. janani of our times.

Ohhh just wonderful profound spirituality discussion.... 🙏

Pranam Swamiji

I am happy to listening this discussion♡♡

Beautiful....I admire your knowledge and appreciate your willingness to share with All listers

Swamiji is like the "sun", his brilliant exposition of the Madhyamika and Advaita is unparalleled !

As a deeply sprititual atheist I find this discussion enlightening thanks for both. I am not fortunate enough to have faith in adivat or budhism. Irony is I am from an advit bramhin family from place where Acharya Nagarjuna taught...andhrapradesh.

thats such a great conversation. thanks guys

I got the teachings. Now doing the reasoning and will do the experience meditation part after getting the clarity. Wow I can apply this on everything happens in life. Great conversation.

Swami is amazing...the best teacher you will ever find in you tube

Thank You for This Enriching Conversation.....🙏🏼🙌🏼

Thank you

Excellent conversation!

Superb and delightful.

Quantum physics and concepts must also be included in these philosophical discussions.

So profound and immensely enriching experience to listen to this discussion.

I would LOVE to watch Ken Wilber and swami dialogue! And please continue with the discussion of psychology and vedanta.

Thanks for your presentation 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 Pranam to Shri Thakkur ji and to all

Wonderful discussions between two great individuals.

'different pointers pointing towards the same thing.'

Brilliant❤Thank you

Thank you so much

Jai Sri Ramakrishna Jai Sri Ramakrishna Jai Sri Ramakrishna Jai Sri Ramakrishna Jai Sri Ramakrishna

Namaskaram Guru 🙏🙏🙏

Metaphysical!Knowing Itself is Being!.Om Shanti!.

Absolutely brilliant!!!