Author: Swami Bhaskarananda
Publisher: Sri Ramakrishna Math
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 206
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788178235271
Description
From the book:
These days there is a proliferation of books on Advaita Vedanta – thanks to growing interest in the subject and advancements in printing technology. Not all books, however, help in clarifying the basics of Advaita Vedanta which is one of the most orthodox systems of thought. Nor is Advaita a mere intellectual system or just a philosophy.
Advaita is a fact of experience, and this has been realized and testified by mystics and saints for centuries, even beyond the ken of Hinduism. Advaita, with its message of Oneness of existence, may truly be called the real basis of brotherhood of man. No wonder, its universal appeal and all-inclusive nature continue to draw the attention of all right thinking people the world over.
There has always been a need to provide an outline of various schools of Advaita in a plain and lucid manner. The present book is a significant attempt in putting the ideas of these abstruse schools of thoughts in a clear and highly understandable manner.
Contents
Dedication
About the cover
List of Illustrations
Preface
Pronunciation Guide
Introduction
1. Philosophers do not take anything for granted
2. The search for unity behind diversity
3. Discovery of unity behind diversity by Hindu philosophers
4. Search for unity behind diversity by modern scientists still continues
Understanding the one and only truth – Brahman…
5. Brahman is all-pervading
6. Brahman is infinity, eternity and changelessness
7. Why Brahman cannot be correctly said to be infinite and eternal
8. For our sake, however, philosophers use words like “infinite,” “eternal,” etc.
9. Brahman in nirguna
10. Brahman alone is real
11. Brahman is formless and genderless
12. Brahman is indivisible
13. Brahman is the supreme spirit
14. Brahman is true existence
15. Brahman is consciousness
16. Brahman is infinite bliss
17. Brahman is the absolute truth
18. Pramanas
(1) Perception (Pratyaksha Pramana)
(2) Inference (Anumana Pramana)
(3) Reliable testimony (Shabda pramana or agama pramana)
(4) Comparison (Upamana pramana)
(5) Postulation (Arthapatti pramana)
(6) Non-perception (Anupalabdhi pramana)
19. Knowing Brahman as the absolute truth
20. Brahman cannot be described thorough words and cannot be known by an average mind
Nirguna and Saguna Brahman
21. Nirguna Brahman
22. Saguna Brahman
Pure mind – what it is
23. Understanding what is meant by pure mind
24. Some characteristics of the pure mind
25. The secret of how the pure mind knows Brahman
26. Who is a Jivanmukta
The Development of Different Systems of Hindu Philosophy
27. Hindu sages tried to describe the indescribable
28. The sages gave their teachings orally
29. Sage Krishna – dvaipayana compiled the Veda in a book
30. The Upanishads
31. The sages, due to different degrees of purity of their minds, came to know the same ultimate truth differently (Ekan Sadvipra bahudha vadanti)
32. The sages who came much later founded schools of Hindu philosophy
33. In Hinduism philosophy has a different meaning
34. Hinduism has six major systems of philosophy or darshanas
35. Branches of the Vedanta system
Understanding Advaita Vedanta
36. The anubandha
(1) First anubandha
(2) Second anubandha
(3) Third anubandha
(4) Fourth anubandha
37. The fitness of a student willing to study a scripture
38. Qualifications of a proper teacher
39. The method of teaching
40. The subject matter of a scripture of Advaita Vedanta
Understanding the individual soul or the Atman
41. If I exist, the world exists
Method of Separating the knower from the object known
42. I am not my body
43. I am not my energy
44. I am not my senses
45. I am not my mind
46. I am not my intellect
47. I am not my ego
48. I am not a doer or enjoyer
Finding the source of consciousness
49. Consciousness is not a quality of the mind
50. Consciousness is different from the mind
51. Consciousness is all-pervading, but not manifest equally everywhere in this world of time and space
52. The mind is only an instrument to acquire knowledge; it is not the knower
53. The conscious mind cannot know consciousness
54. Who experiences the world of many?
55. I am consciousness itself
56. The Atman experiences the world as a witness
57. Can consciousness know consciousness?
The Atman is the dearest and the only source of joy
Piercing the veil of Ignorance
58. What is ignorance
59. Where is ignorance located?
60. How is ignorance destroyed?
61. Ignorance creates this world; Two kinds of ignorance: Mulavidya and tulavidya
62. The three kinds of experience(turiya)
63. The individual ego is the product of ignorance (mula –avidya)
Creation and Advaita Vedanta – Does the world really exist?
64. Nasadiya Sukta
65. The world has not really been created
66. The views of two well known philosophers of the Advaita Vedanta school regarding creation
67. Gaudapada (circa 6th century A.D.) and his Ajata – Vada
68. View of Shankaracharya (circa 6th or 7th century A.D.)
69. Three kinds of existence (Satta) recognized by Shankaracharya
The Concept of maya and Creation
70. First concept of creation
71. The panchikarana process
72. Second concept of creation
73. More about maya
74. It is not possible for us to know maya
75. Does maya exist?
76. Vidya maya and avidya maya
The Relationship between Brahman and the world
77. The three aspects of Brahman – asti, bhati and priya
78. Nama (name) and rupa) from
79. Four important theories in Advaita Vedanta
(1) The Theory of Reflection (Pratibimba-Vada)
(2) The Theory of Appearance (Abhasa – Vada)
(3) The Theory of Limitation (Avachchheda-Vada)
(4) The Theory of “Perception is Creation” (Drishti-Srishti-Vada)
(a) Vivarta – Vada (Theory of Apparent change)
(b) Satkarya – Vada
80. Arambha – Vada or Asatkarya – Vada
81. Brahman is both the material cause and the efficient cause of the efficient cause of this world
Can we know Brahman exhaustively?
We travel from truth to higher truth
Why Hinduism contains some of the world’s oldest Religio-Philosophical systems
The antiquity of advaita Vedanta and its well – known teachers
Appendix 1
Some Advaita thoughts as expressed by Sri Ramakrishna
Appendix 2
Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts on unity behind diversity
Recommended Reading
Books in English
Books in Bengali
Glossary
Index