The Upanishads are the concluding portions of the Vedas and the basis for the Vedanta philosophy, “a system in which human speculation seems to have reached its very acme,” according to Max Muller. The Upanisads have dominated Indian philosophy, religion, and life for nearly three thousand years.
The ideal of man’s ultimate beatitude, the perfection of [...]
By Swami Krishnanda ( www.swami-krishnananda.org )
We were touching upon the subject of the Upanishads. I made reference to the Veda Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Upanishads being the section-wise classification of the Vedic lore. There are supposed to be more than 1,000 editions or versions of the Vedas, with slight differences of [...]
Let me first attempt to state the questioner’s viewpoint. Unless mAyA is already present, neither concealment nor projection can take place. Is mAyA then coeval with brahman? Do they exist side by side? Does this not contradict the non-dual status of brahman? Where does mAyA operate? What is its base of operation? These questions raise [...]
The Upanishads are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most forms of Hinduism. The Upanishads are mystic or spiritual contemplations of the Vedas, their putative end and essence, and thus known as Vedānta (”the end of the Vedas”).
According to Advaita Vedanta, in our real nature, we are the very infinite Brahman. Maya has a two-fold power - (i) veiling power (“avarana sakti”) and (2) projecting power (“vikshepa sakti”).
Through avarana sakti Maya hides Brahman, as it were,from us; i.e., makes us ignorant about our real nature as Brahman and through vikshepa sakti, having [...]
Sri Chaitanya or Lord Gauranga may be regarded as the greatest Vaishnava teacher of the North. He gave a new form to the Vaishnava faith. He was born in 1486 AD in Bengal.
Chaitanya had a very large heart. He accepted converts from Islam freely. His disciple Haridas was a Moslem fakir. Nityananda spread far [...]
Vedanta is an ancient philosophy based on the Vedas, more specificially, based on the philosophical portions (Jnana Kanda) called Upanishads. Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions. Vedanta is the philosophical foundation of Hinduism; but while Hinduism includes aspects of Indian culture, Vedanta is universal in [...]