Advaita Vedanta: That Thou Art - (Tat Tvam Asi)

This is not a teaching on Advaita Vedanta. It is an overview of how it is practiced in the West, and the ways it is practiced effectively or not.

Credited with the present formulation of Advaita Vedanta, by distilling and developing the nondual teachings of the old Vedas, like the Upanishads.

Seemed to follow the view of Shankara. But he was well known for his luminous heart.

Different schools and lineages in India, some of them have followers and teachers in the West.

Even though there is emphasis on using mental presentation, intellectual answers to questions, there is more presence of heart and love is frequently experienced by students.

Atmananda is very different from Ramana, for he was much more a mind teacher. He relied on reason and logic.

My pointing to heart and mind is not new about Vedanta. It is a split that started shortly after the time of Shankara

I wonder about Advaita teachers teaching to the unprepared, and taking their experiences with them as sufficient. Not all do this, but I see it in most cases. I am saying that one needs a great deal of preparation, by life or by practice, before opening to the nondual to be a lasting awakening.

“Traditionally, seekers expected a long and dedicated (though eventually rewarding) journey, which might involve studying with a guru for many years. These days, people want the answers now, not when their mind is prepared genuinely to understand them. Accordingly, teaching styles have developed to try to cater for this demand – attempting to convey the essential truth in a two-hour satsang or a weekend intensive.” [p. 116. Enlightenment: The Path Through The Jungle, by Dennis Waite]

A basic tenet of Advaita Vedanta is that the ultimate truth is infinite consciousness or being. Reality is always such, but obscured by identifying with the finite mind.

See Other A. H. Almaas Lecture Series Videos: