God is not an Object

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What is the role of Advaita Vedanta in exploring our consciousness?

Consciousness is the central focus of Vedānta since God is defined as as Consciousness-Without-an-Object.

The core of our Being is Consciousness and the goal of spiritual practice is the realisation of this fact. Our journey through samsāra is propelled by false self identifications (asmita) arising from external factors such as body and social relationships and possessions as well as by internal factors arising from Ego (ahankāra) such as ideas and feelings.

The human self-model is just a virtual model projected by the constrained consciousness - a consciousness which has been conditioned by countless past incarnations and the accumulated mass of subliminal activators (saṁskāras) and habitual pattern formations (vāsanas).

The goal of Vedānta is Self-realisation (ātma-bodha) - the clarification of consciousness and the divesting of all false notions of “self”, and relinquishing of the self-models we have generated and through which we project ourselves into the world.

I would like to quote Arthur Stanley Eddington

The stuff of the world is mind-stuff. The mind-stuff is not spread in space and time. Recognizing the entire world is abstract and without ‘actuality’ apart from its linkage to consciousness. We restore consciousness to a fundamental position.

The mind-stuff of the world is, of course, something more general than our individual conscious minds ... The mind-stuff is not spread in space and time; these are part of the cyclic scheme ultimately derived out of it ... It is necessary to keep reminding ourselves that all knowledge of our environment from which the world of physics is constructed, has entered in the form of messages transmitted along the nerves to the seat of consciousness ... Consciousness is not sharply defined, but fades into subconsciousness; and beyond that we must postulate something indefinite but yet continuous with our mental nature ... It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept the view that the substratum of everything is of mental character. But no one can deny that mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience, and all else is remote inference.

— Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World, 276–81.

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Ramanujacharya stated that even after the great dissolution (MahApralaya), jivAs will not fully merge with the universal consciousness (brahman), but will remain attached to it, until the new expansion starts.

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Maha Pralaya is not moksha. Jivas will remain attached to their kaarana Sareera and wait for the time for manifestation.

Only when the kaarana sareera is completely cleared (of the three gunas), a person can achieve Moksha (also called atyantika pralaya). That person need not take birth again.

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Here are some profound quotes about facing mortality:

On Acceptance and Peace:

1. "Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it." — Haruki Murakami
2. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." — J.K. Rowling
3. "Endings are not always a bad thing; they just mean that something else is about to begin." — C. JoyBell C.

On the Fragility of Life:

4. "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." — Pericles
5. "No one here gets out alive." — Jim Morrison
6. "It is not length of life, but depth of life." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Living Fully:

7. "Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life." — Bertolt Brecht
8. "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." — Mahatma Gandhi
9. "Death smiles at us all; all we can do is smile back." — Marcus Aurelius

On Legacy and Memory:

10. "Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them." — George Eliot
11. "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." — Thomas Campbell

Would you like these quotes in a particular format or for a specific purpose?

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"Atmadarshini" is a comprehensive four-volume treatise authored by Brahmavadini Karra Suryakantam, aiming to make ancient spiritual scriptures accessible and practical for contemporary seekers. The work integrates material life with spiritual practice, allowing individuals to pursue self-realization without renouncing their daily routines. citeturn0search0

Below is a summary of the volumes:

Volume	Key Topics Covered
1	- Introduction to various paths of spiritual practice- Discussion on the necessity of integrating material and spiritual lives- Overview of traditional scriptures and their relevance to modern life
2	- Detailed exposition of the eightfold steps of Kriya Yoga- Benefits and applicability of Kriya Yoga in the current age- Exploration of Taraka Yoga: methods, benefits, and relevance- Analysis of Samkhya Yoga- Qualities of spiritual preceptors and disciples- In-depth discussion on the Yoga of Action, including: - Modes and principles of action - Good deeds, worship, and religious vows - Concepts of action-related bondage and results (Agami, Samchita, Prarabdha) - Significance of renouncing the fruits of actions - Importance of performing one's own duty- Examination of the Yoga of Devotion, covering: - Significance and necessity of devotion - Stages of devotion: common, ideal, and eminent - Characteristics of a perfect devotee - Personal and impersonal devotion - Tamasic, Rajasic, and Sattvic devotion
3	- Continuation of the Yoga of Devotion- Exploration of the Yoga of Knowledge- Discussion on the Yoga of Un-mindedness- Insights into Raja Yoga and its practices
4	- Synthesis of various yogic practices- Guidance on integrating spiritual practices into daily life- Practical advice for aspirants on the path to self-realization

This structured approach provides readers with a holistic understanding of spiritual disciplines, tailored to align with the demands of modern life.

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This is all speculation since one cannot even begin to conceptualise what the situation of the jīva will be in Moksha. Neither is a future state of any interest or benefit when one is trying to get through the current cycle.

Aṇḍāl says - “let me take seven birth times seven - here on earth so that I can continue to serve you O Lord!”

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1. Indeed Ramanuja was a great logician as evinced from the Sribhāshyam. I’m not so sure that Ramanuja did deny the possibility of sāyujyam - I’d have to check the references in context.
2. Anādikāla-karma is another way of expressing AVIDYA, and it simply means that we have been in Samsāra for incalculable eons. Like there is a mountain, every hundred years a bird comes and sharpen its beak on the mountain, when that mountain is thus reduced to rubble - that is how long we have been cycling through Samsāra. Karmas are not negated in the Mahāpralaya, the seed remains.
3. Vaikuṇṭha must not be conceived of as another “svarga” - Vaikuṇṭha literally means “free from obstruction or limitation” and it is acintya. Vaikuṇṭha Gadya was probably not written by Ramanuja himself - it is a forgery.

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Logic and evidence only operate in the sphere of human epistemology, and that requires certain markers such as jāti, guṇa, kriya, sambandha. Brahman does not have any of them because IT is the ground-of-being.

The thing being investigated must have:-

1. jāti - belong to a known species of being.
2. guṇa - have qualities which can be ascertained, verified and tested.
3. kriya - fulfil a specific function.
4. sambandha - must have connectivity or linkage to other things or systems.

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Meditation is the practice of visualising God within yourself.

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