For Seekers by Seekers

One of the great prakarna granthas written to help understand the Truth in Upanishads is Tattva Bodha, by none other than the Shri. Adishankara Bhagavatpada.... In this episode, 'from seekers to seekers' we discuss few topics on the Tattva Bodha - Pancha kosha viveka [The five sheaths of a human being - annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vignanamaya, anandamaya] - Avastha traya viveka [The three state...

In Brhadaranyaka U, while analyzing an important statement my Guru explains that there are two tests before analyzing any situation, event - is there a confusion / doubt and two, is there a utility value in analyzing? I loved this as it can be applied in our day to day life too!

In this discussion, we discuss: 1. We discuss how Chaturmasa food restrictions & the 'sankalpa' some of us have taken, we mapped it to Sadhana Chatushtaya. Like for example, how not eating some food item - is it damah, titikshah or vairagya? We discuss our perspectives. 2. We then discuss what is causal body - the discussion goes on for a long time. This is actually a complicated topic, but an...

In this episode 'from seekers to seekers' we discuss the following: - Sadhana Chatushtaya (four folded qualifications) - Vivek, Vairagya, Shama-dama-di, Mumukshu - Meaning of antahkarana - Vivek - atma /anatma: subject /object distinction - Vairagya - if we do it forcefully, it will come back with vengeance Shama - quieting the mind Dama - reducing external influence Uparati - to observe more of i...

In this episode, we discuss the classic text by Shankaracharya, Tattva Bodha. Tattva means the TRUTH. Bodha means KNOWLEDGE. The first few pages summarize the key qualification to even understand Tattva Bodha. It is known as the four folded qualification [Sadhana Chatushtaya]. The Sadhana Chatushtaya qualification is discussed as - Vivekam (ability to separate real from unreal), Vairagyam (being d...

Following up on the group discussions 'from seekers to seekers', in this GD, we focus on the broad following topics: 1. Two lifestyles - Karma yoga lifestyle, Sannyasa yoga lifestyle & Krishna's recommendation for us. 2. What is the true meaning of renunciation? 3. Does age have any bearing on one's ability to renounce? 4. Clues for why the theory of reincarnation is a valid theory 5. Anchorin...

Enjoyed listening to Kishore sharing his thoughts after his daily meditation practice.... He approaches the 'enlightenment' topic from yoga sutras angle  Talks on the interplay of gunas - Sattva, Rajas, Tamas (S-R-T gunas) and how they can be manipulated (& why). Explains how samadhi as defined in Patanjali yoga sutras is, and how the ashtanga yoga steps helps. His emphasis on why & h...

All about clarifying what is Renunciation, Nyasa, Sannyasa. What it means to wear saffron robes and take sannyasa vs. what it means to mentally let go of likes & dislikes [tyaga].

We start with a summary of the journey so far in reading the book, The Teachings of the Gita, by Swami Dayananda, up to Chapter 8.  The key emphasis of this summary is understanding and appreciating Karma yoga. Some of the topics covered are: Note: The recording is not very clear...but comprehensible. We discuss who is Absolute I  vs. Relative I We discuss roles we play We talk of the qu...

In today's discussions 'from seekers to seekers' we discuss the topic of 'action' and 'actionlessness'. Finding action in actionlessness and being actionlessness in action is difficult. This is a concept where it expresses the Pure Awareness as the non-doer, non-enjoyer entity. People misinterpret this and think that they want to drop all actions and take up sanyasa - renunciate. But Krishna says...

This is the recording of the guided meditation practice I led on 5/17/2020. In this practice, we focus on managing our intellect. Human mind has four parts - emotional mind, rational mind (intellect) , memory & ego. Concentration (focus) meditation is for the emotional (indecisive) mind which is usually the topic of meditation - but in this we go beyond that to manage our intellect. We end wit...

In today's GD 'from seekers to seekers',  we discuss the need for a Guru - a spiritual guide. We share our experiences how a Guru 'mirrors' and helps us to see who we truly are., guiding us in the entire process of knowing who we truly are, and importantly distinguishing it from who we are not. We also discuss how the knowledge about oneself (Self knowledge) is the highest knowledge and how i...

We compare Vedanta process with the Power of Positive thinking - a famous self help book by Dr Norman Vincent Peale.

In this episode we present that the creation is similar to our dreams: but the dreamer is Cosmic Consciousness our Brahman,

In this episode I summarize a conversation with my Guru who clarifies the concept of 'selfish interest' driven 'karma'. When we do any karma (action), if there is a selfish interest behind it then we have to do it completely for it to give its benefit. The karma can be any work in our daily life, including professional work, or even spiritual work like puja or japa. People do puja (propitiate) God...

One of the attributes of that Supreme Consciousnessness is that it is NOT an object., but the ever-knowing subject. Adrushya - is one of the 1000 names given to that Brahman in Vishnu Sahasranamam. It means that one who cannot be realized completely by anyone.  Drik-Drishya Viveka a famous book that distinguishes between subject & object. Adrushya and Drishya which are opposites basically...

Karma yoga is action + attitude. Our attitude determines how we will respond to the situations. Acceptance of the results of our effort does NOT mean not having expectations- it just means to recognize and focus on efforts and clearly knowing that there are many factors beyond our control in the outcome. This attitude neutralizes our likes/dislikes and over time they have less influence on the cho...

Karma is work /activity. Karma yoga is karma + right attitude. I summarize six shortcuts I have learnt here which is karma yoga: Here is my six step 'shortcut' for Karma Yoga: 1. Focus on Actions/ Efforts and not Results 2. Actions to be done with Ishwara Samarpana Buddhi (as an offering to God) 3. Accept Results with Prasada Buddhi 4. Roles: Actions that are tied to our various roles - we have no...

The Sanskrit word for mind is Antah-Karanam, literally meaning internal (antah) instrument (karanam). While another word Manas is asi used this word has a significant meaning attached - instruments are NOT us; we control instruments; instruments need maintenance.

From B Gita Ch 5, we discuss a Sloka that equates everything as Brahman and reminds us to think that the food we are eating is Brahman and the very act of eating is Brahman - thereby sanctifying the act!

This episode is a recitation of a poem I wrote inspired by the meditation practice using. Nirvanashatakam as my guide for meditation

Chapter 15 of Gita has a Sloka that explains the four categories of food living beings can eat - chew, swallow, suck, lick and says that the Awareness - Consciousness principle within us that maintains the body temperature as well as manifests as hunger is Vaishwanarah- a name given to that Brahman Consciousness principle.

Special Topic: Educating Teens on Karma Yoga Concepts & Understanding Dharma in the context of Accepting people Today's group discussion topics are: a) How to get teens to understand Karma yoga b) Dharma in the context of accepting people A) Karma yoga for kids: Key points It is tough to preach. Kids learn by watching parents. Talking without reference to scriptures helps. Getting them to understa...

Because of six undesirable qualities in our mind - desires, anger, pride, greed, jealousy, delusion - the grass does not associate itself hence it does not grow where we walk. However, it continues to grow where elephants walk - despite their relative size and weight to humans.

This is a special podcast where we interview Kishore, an engineer, ex-Googler and a seeker.  His attempt at demystifying Vedanta and presenting Happiness and the quest for it in a 'scientific' /mathematical way is a  series of articles. Here is the first one, called The Happiness Equation https://medium.com/@k1shores/the-happiness-equation-ec3544e7254d