Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda as part of a spiritual retreat at the Vedanta Society of New York on April 29th, 2018.
List of Questions with Timestamps:
0:48 -- Acharyas repeatedly say You are That Infinite Existence, I am the Awareness
Absolute etc. Who is the ""I"" and ""you"" that the teaching is referring to? Whom or what
experiences whom or what?
8:43 -- What is ""citta""? What is the difference between ""citta"" and ""consciousness""?
18:28 -- Everything we do is prompted by thoughts, which are the functions of the
mind. So how does one experience Consciousness in its purity without the mind?
27:17 -- What works the mind if Pure Consciousness is not affected by the material
world, and is only the Witness? What is it that enjoys the senses, the body, or the
mind?
30:58 -- a) Nirguna Brahman is manifested in a body. Who decides that body (as in
the case of Sri Ramakrishna, other Avatars/Incarnations of God etc.)?
b) Does this Avatar/Incarnation concept contradict the Advaitic idea of ""That Thou
Art""?
37:45 -- a) What makes the difference between the mind of Swami Vivekananda and
my mind? If the mind of a saint is pure, what purified it? Did Pure Conciousness
purify it?
b) In that case, I am the same Pure Consciousness. Why doesn't it purify me?
42:23 -- When the body is damaged or dies, only this body stops working. Why does
it lose its Consciousness?
45:01 -- How do memory or samskaras travel from one birth to another? If mind and
body are destroyed, where does the samskara get stored?
47:49 -- Does Awareness always need a vehicle for it to exist?
51:47 -- How do you avoid pride in the path of Advaita?
59:50 -- Shravana, manana, nidhidhyasana (hearing, pondering, assimilating). These
constitute the method by which one realizes Brahman (if one has good fortune). If
that happens, then one should be filled with Bliss. And if a person thinks that he has
had that realization, but is not filled with Bliss, then one can conclude that he did not
have the realization. Correct?
1:02:49 -- What is the exact meaning/significance of ""Om"" in relation to the Mandukya
Upanishad?
1:09:15 -- a) How can we approach everyday activities at various stages of our life
with an attitude of service, and in a manner that avoids undue stress and brings
peace?
1:09:53 -- b) How do we carry on the daily activities of life without stress, without strain?
1:18:39 -- a) What is the difference between ""kuladevi"" (family deity) and ""isha devata""
(chosen deity)?
1:20:22 -- b) What is the significance (if any) of various experiences had during meditation
(vibrations, sounds, colors, bright light, darkness etc.)?
1:22:33 -- a) Is what I experience right now the appearance OF reality, or appearance AS
reality? Why doesn't Reality reveal Itself in its originality? For that matter, why don't (or can't)
we see the Reality as It is?
1:25:22 -- b) Why does the play of Consciousness give so many negative experiences
(sorrow, suffering, pain, fear, frustration, failure, boredom etc.)?
1:28:07 -- c) Doesn't the experience of Maya run counter to the principle of nondualism, or
is Maya also a part of Reality? If so, how?
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ABOUT VEDANTA
Vedanta is one of the world’s most ancient religious philosophies and one of its broadest. Based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India, Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions.
ABOUT US
Vedanta Society of New York is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Order of India. In fact, this is the Order's first Center started by Swami Vivekananda, in 1894. It was a historic event, for the seed of the world-wide Ramakrishna Movement was sown here in New York over a century ago. Swami Sarvapriyananda is the present Resident Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York.