Advaita Vedanta - A sneak peek

People who know me and my views fairly well might be aware of my interests in the great vEdAntic tradition of Advaita which when translated correctly, is "Non Dualism" and not "Monism" as is popularly known.

Personally, this great tradition has been the "solace of my life" as the German philosopher Schopenhauer once famously put it when he was asked about the Upanishads.

Throughout history, man has sought to find out the reason for existence. Why are we born and why do we die? What's the point? Our mundane and busy lives rarely allow us to pause and ponder on these questions but at one point or the other, we are bound to grapple with it.

Various men came up with various theories on the same as time went on. Some of them were accepted, some weren't. Great civilisations came up and a "way of life" soon became the norm.

However, we will focus chiefly on the Indian sub-continent here . Curiously enough, theology and philosophy became inseparable for within the vEdic framework; various schools of thought came into vogue. This is a particularly distinct trait of Indian philosophy.

To this day, the views of Advaita Vedanta have been regarded as the "summum bonum" of Indian Philosophy and thought and rightly so. For here, the onus is on the Individual himself to chart his own destiny. It is here that Mankind has reached its speculative/philosophical zenith. It is from here that I draw unfathomable mental and spiritual strength as I wade my way through the daily machinations of life.

I will be posting a Series containing my thoughts on the great and hallowed tradition of Advaita Vedanta and other allied schools. Although I'm doing this for purely mental satisfaction, I did get a few requests to put my thoughts across and I'll try to keep it simple. But as Einstein said once "Make things simple but not simpler."

I offer this humbly at the holy feet of the only man I ever idolised in my life.

श्रुति स्मृति पुराणानामालयं करुणालयं|
नमामि भगवत्पादशंकरं लॊकशंकरं ||