AskSwami Q&A - Swami Sarvapriyananda

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Apr 12th, 2026. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Invocation and opening 01:40 — Is enlightenment just a brain event, or different from dissociation and neurological experiences? 19:17 — How does one move from witness-consciousness to Turiya in practice? 29:31 — What should one do when mantra japa brings up...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Mar 29th, 2026. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Invocation and opening 01:32 - Why Vedanta first says you are consciousness and not body-mind if everything is Brahman anyway. 22:05 - How to distinguish pure Self from awareness that seems to arise through body and mind. 50:48 - If I am only consciousness a...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Dec 28th, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:30 - How can there be "pure experience", if there is no object to experience? 17:19 - Does this enlightened one have the ability to manipulate time? 21:32 - Can consciousness truly be objectified and recognized directly? 33:32 - What should...

28,001 views Oct 31, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Oct 19th, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:52 - If Brahman is the only reality, doesn’t “Neti, Neti” also reject Brahman? 17:52 - What is the link between Brahman and Jiva? 38:28 - Are not the theories you are discussing also...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on June 15th, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - What is the difference between the soul and awareness? 10:39 - How do we break the link between the real and reflected consciousness?  27:44 - How is knowledge different from experience? 36:02 - Is enlightenment obtained during meditation or w...

10,864 views May 25, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on May 11th, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 05:02 - At death, does a fully realized Jivatman merge with Brahman, or does it maintain its identity? 16:11 - The Nasadiya Sukta says there is neither existence nor non-existence. But...

24,905 views Apr 15, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Mar 23rd, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:43 - Explain the two ways of approaching non-duality: “I am all of it” vs “I am none of it”? 15:24 - Is devotion (bhakti) merely an aid to knowledge in Advaita, or something more? 29...

40,831 views Mar 3, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Feb 23rd, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:10 - How should we pray? What should we pray for? 07:19 - I intend to become a monk. How can I maintain inner peace in the midst of the world before joining? 14:48 - What is the best...

45,947 views Feb 5, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Jan 26th, 2025. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 06:25 - How do I see myself as Brahman but still act ethically and lovingly in the world? 22:50 - How do I know that I, this Awareness, am Everything? 43:45 - If Consciousness is the ult...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Nov 24th, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:44 – How can Shri Ramakrishna’s statement “only God is your own” be reconciled with Holy Mother’s “everybody is your own”? 17:51 – Does stopping all thoughts reveal pure witness consciousness and lead to realization? 32:18 – Is the gap between two t...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Nov 24th, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - How can I reconcile devotion and non-dual knowledge? 23:27 - If I realize I am pure consciousness, do I also have a vision of God with form? 31:21 - What is Mahat (universal intelligence) in the Samkhya philosophy? 34:24 - Is it possible to pra...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Oct 20th, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:15 - What is the importance of earnestness and renunciation to progress in spiritual life. 13:37 - Do we need a Guru, and what is the relationship betwen the Gurua dn teh Advaitic Self? 19:31 - Is consciousness the controller of actions or is it jus...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Sep 29th, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:04 - Can atheists achieve enlightenment? 09:17 - If the body is inert (jada), how is it able to generate thoughts? 19:03 - If our real nature is prakash (light) does prakash need to be self-aware? 33:57 - Does removal of ignorance require free will?...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on June 23rd, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:09 - What is the difference between Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga? 12:54 - What should I do to make my buddhi accept the truth? 24:54 - Why are we told to practice dharma when Brahman is in everything? 32:10 - How can we recognize our true nature in e...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Apr 21st, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - What is the nature of sorrow? 23:00 - What is the difference between Samsara in Buddhism and Vedanta? How does progress in modern medical science relate to Brahman? 32:06 - If I am Brahman then why should I worship God or do karma yoga? 38:32 -...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on March 3rd, 2024. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:32 - Where is ignorance? Is it separate from Brahman? 23:41 - What is the difference between consciousness, awareness, and mindfulness? 32:10 - Is Vrittijnana the same as reflected consciousness? 32:29 - Is Consciousness static, or is it a process?...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Dec 3rd, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - How can a devotee of God say I am That? 18:34 - Can we say that God as consciousness is within us? 21:07 - Are Bhakti and Janna two sides of the same coin? Is one higher than the other? 32:21 - Can Nididhyasana be considered as a series of small...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Jun 18th, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 04:17 - All knowledge depends on the knower, known, and instrument of knowledge, yet we are taught that we are none of these. How can this be reconciled? 19:48 - If science can be used to know the self, does this mean that Vedanta is not a unique instru...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Mar 5th, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:46 - Why do we need to search for the unchanging self? 13:06 - Is it ok to pray to God to satisfy our desires? 26:48 - If avidya (ignorance) is in Brahman, isn't it real? 32:07 - What is Vedanta's view on vegetarianism? 34:35 - How can I deve...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on May 28th, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:00 - Is it correct that Turiya is witnessing and illumining waking dreaming and deep sleep? 16:47 - Is enlightenment spontaneous? What is the difference between an enlightened and non-enlightened person?  Can an enlightened person see past, present...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Feb 26th, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:17 - How does one love consciousness? 20:04 - What is the purpose of professional ambition and duty? 28:46 - In our waking state, is there a way to find the unity of pure consciousness? 52:15 - Isn't consciousness interrupted in deep sleep? 57:0...

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Jan 22nd, 2023. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:22 - Can Brahman be equally immanent and transcendent? 21:37 - Who is the doer of action? 33:15 - Swamiji, what is your daily routine? 34:34 - Can art lead us to the infinite? What is the nature of abhyasa? What is the nature of vairagya? 54:20 - If...

Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on June 5th, 2022. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - How is it that the self is in all beings from the chit (consciousness) perspective? 18:37 - Where is my consciousness when I am sleeping? Can I use sleep as a spiritual practice? 26:55 - Will a realized person retain their individuality after...

Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Apr 10th, 2022. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:24 - Isn't enlightenment part of Maya? 16:05 - The witness consciousness, sat, chit, ananda, the basis of all truths, cannot perform any action. The mind removes its own veil. How can we turn this understanding into meditation? 34:10 - In the G...

Q&A session lead by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Feb 27th, 2022. List of questions with timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:40 - How can I worship God if I am one with God? 12:58 - I find it easy to say "I am Brahman", but how can I say "I am Jesus"? 19:32 - When we pray for peace, who are we praying to? 26:38 - My dream borrows material from my waking e...