EY Kriya Philosophy

Living Vedanta Online

10 EY credit hours

3 Evenings 2.5 hrs.

2.5 hr homework

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Living Vedanta  Week 3

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​Vedantic Map of the Mind

Duality vs Non-Duality

Moksha, liberation

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Vedanta are the wisdom philosophies compiled by enlightened Indian sages and guru’s in the last of the ancient texts of the Upanishads called the Veda’s written thousands of years ago by awakened Indian saints.

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Vedanta refers to the philosophical concepts of duality and non-duality.  Within Vedanta, we will look at two views, Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dual), which teaches that the individual self (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman) are fundamentally one, while Dvaita (Dual) distinguishes Atma and Brahman as 2 unique expressions of Divinity.

 

Understanding Vedanta

 

Vedanta is one of six major systems of Hindu philosophy gathered from the last scriptures written in the Upanishads called the Veda’s. Vedanta translates as the “The end of the Veda’s” and is said to represent the culmination of Vedic wisdom, knowledge and philosophy.

We will discuss two Vedantic philosophies: Advaita, non-dual and Dvaita, dual and then discuss moksha, self liberation and release from the cycle of birth and death.

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​Vedantic Map of the Mind

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Duality vs Non-Duality

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Vedanta Definitions of Duality

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Dualism in Dvaita Philosophy

Dvaita philosophy, deeply rooted in Hindu thought, emphasizes dualism, which distinguishes between the individual soul and the Supreme Being. This separation forms the cornerstone of its teachings.

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Duality according to Advaita Vedanta

The appearance of duality and separation is believed to be an illusion created by the ignorance of the lower mind. Advaita Vedanta teaches that the true nature of reality is non-dual, meaning that the individual self and the ultimate reality are fundamentally one. When one has a true and deep realization beyond an intellectual understanding of their Oneness with all existence, this is called spiritual liberation

 

 

Duality according to Devaita Vedanta

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Duality points to distinction between the individual self called the Atma and the ultimate reality, Brahman. 

 

Dvaita’s philosophy

• Atman: The individual soul, that relies on and dependent on Brahman for its existence.

• Brahman: The supreme reality, eternal and independent.

Their relationship is defined by difference, with Brahman as the Source and Atman as the dependent entity.

 

Atman and Brahman: Their Cosmic Dance

A central focus of Dvaita is the interaction between Atman and Brahman. This school asserts that their distinctness is fundamental and unchanging. Brahman being the existence that sustains Atman, yet Atman is a unique expression of It’s own, sovereign from yet dependent on Brahman.

 

What is the interconnection of Atman and Brahman in Dvaita Vedanta?

1. Dependence: The Atman relies on Brahman for its existence and sustenance.

2. Reverence: The Atman’s primary role is devotion to Brahman.

3. Eternal Difference: Atman & Brahman identities remain separate and unique eternally.

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Non-Duality

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Advaita Vedanta and Non-Duality

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Advaita Vedanta philosophy was founded by Adi Shankaracharya… teaching that there is no separation between Atman, individual self and Brahman, ultimate reality.

Advaita means “Not two” claiming no division or duality between the observed and the observer. Advaita claims that separation and duality are illusions or maya that arise from limited knowledge, ignorance of the lower mind called Avi day in Sanskrit.

Adi Shankaracharya was an awakened Indian philosopher who lived in the 8th century CE. He profoundly influenced Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita and founded Advaita Vedanta non-dual philosophy in India and world-wide.

 

Core Advaita Vedanta Philosophy:

Ultimate Reality is One, what appears in the material plane of existence as separate distinctions merges as One field of Divine Presence in the spiritual planes… nothing is apart from, separate from or outside Brahman or ultimate reality. Realization of this Oneness through experiential self-knowledge, meditation and spiritual awakening experiences leads to moksha or liberation from the traps of separation based illusions and the cycle of birth and rebirth.

 

Non-Duality

Advaita Vedanta is the most popular lineage of Vedanta philosophy and the non-dual philosophy in the ancient Vedic texts that teach us that each individual self has an eternal Soul or Atma/Atman, and the Atman is eternally one with Brahman, ultimate Reality.

Advaita Vedanta asserts in the Veda’s that all of existence is one interconnected existence… field of pure all loving Divinity. Nothing is outside or separate from the One Love of Universal Consciousness.

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Class Discussion on Duality and Non-Duality?

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Which philosophy do you feel more aligned with?

How does the concepts of duality/non-duality help you establish your identity?

 

 

Liberation

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Review: Core Concepts of Advaita Vedanta

 

Brahman, Ultimate Reality

The essence and unified Reality of all existence, called Sat… pure existence. Transends all attributes… the Truth of all that Is and immerses everything physical and non-physical. The foundational core existence, consciousness, bliss that makes up all existence.

 

Atman, Individual Soul

Individual expression of Brahman, in It’s likeness, made in It’s image. Never separate or apart from the True Nature of Divinity & pure existence. Likened to the sun and individual rays of sunlight, the ocean and individual wave arising from the ocean.

 

Maya, Illusion

Maya is the concept and Sanskrit word for the false perceptions that arise within the lower mind that trick us into believing we are bodies not non-physical pure consciousness. Maya causes us to falsely identify ourselves with only what our physical senses can perceive, disconnecting to what we are as non physical consciousness. This misinterpretation of our identity obscures Reality trick us that we are separate from others consciousness, other consciousness’s animating in other bodies. In Reality consciousness is One field, One Mind of Brahman, pure existence. Maya obscures Reality, blinds us of our own True Nature… the Truth that nothing is outside, separate or apart from anyone or anything that exists… we are One in As Brahman, All Existence, Divine Creator.

 

​Vedantic Map of the Mind

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Lower mind: Instant gratification, 

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Manas: Lower mind, survival, instinct, reactive

               Sense perception, lower tendencies, make choices from fear.

               Aloneness, bound, stuck in reaction and karmic cycling.

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​Chitta: Storehouse of memories; past both conscious and unconscious. Inffluenced by the past.

             Compares and interprets everything from the past. Holds past traumas; traumatic events               are suppressed in the bottom of chitta, unconscious yet still controlling thoughts, feelings               and actions. Keeps the mind stuck in karmic patterns, suppressing yet repeating patterns.

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Ahankara: Individual ego self, personality, seperate identity, forgets expanded Identity.

                    Forgetful of non-physical Self, does not access higher emotions of bliss or True                                Nature. False ego; limited identity, impressions from culture of birth. Bound by                                cultural conditioning, limited programming, fear of losing individual personality. 

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Buddhi: Higher Mind, Great decider. Direct connection to Infinite Self, Purusha. Window to pure 

         consciousness. Makes choices from expanded information. Higher perceptions. Delays                   gratification. Greater good of the whole, aligned with dharma. Present. Merges with                        Purusha.

 

Purusha- Pure consciousness

 

Meditation assists us in releasing attention on the lower mind; manas, chitta, ahankara... fears, memories, ego self, judgement, victim, survival, jealousy, cultural conditioning, programming, limitations and sense of separation and loneliness.

 

Meditation assists us in merging more and more deeply with the Buddhi mind, higher mind invititing pure consciousness to infuse all levels of our being. Sinking our awareness more and more deeply into this union with deeper, higher aspects of Buddhi and Purusha as one.

 

Discussion:

Thoughts on how we can apply the Vedantic Map to bring awareness to our lives, noticing when we are in the lower mind and shifting into higher states. How can we use the map in Living Vedanta to access higher ways of living and relating?

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Moksha, Liberation from Illusion 

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The trap of the lower mind, attatchment to the past conditioning of the human nervous system that creates the illusion of separation. The limited information and fear based interpretation

s of the limited nervous system blocks the awareness and knowledge of our True Identity as extensions of the Mind of God, Brahman.

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Moksha is becoming liberated from the delusion of a limited, separate, ego-based, insecure little self separate from everything and everyone. A self that is alone and believes all the bodies and forms apart from it are threats to it’s temporary existence.

Liberation is attained through Self Realization of our True Nature and Identity as a Divine Being, wholly one, loved and supported by the God of our Understanding. That we and the Creator are One, have always been one and always will be one.

That we can rise from the lower mind, the traps of distractions, diversions and illusions of the lower mind and enter into higher states of consciousness remembering what we eternally are.

 

Self inquiry is the process of questioning our perceptions of identity, to unravel through honest inquiry the layers of illusions and delusionary conditioning that constructed our limited sense of self. As we strip away the layers of self illusion and limitation programmed since birth we begin to realize and experience a more expanded aspect of our Self. We begin to awaken to our True Nature as children of God… a deep and connected part of a unified non physical Reality.. Brahman.

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The deeper we realize our True Nature, the more we awaken to the Divine Nature of our being… that we are Divine Existence, Consciousness, Bliss we become liberated from the lower delusions of a perishable and flawed separate self.

The more we open and awaken to the Realization of What we Truly Are as Holiness Itself, One in and As God this liberation frees us from the suffering of the lower mind.

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We are no longer blind by the ignorance of the lower mind, but expanded into experiencing the inherent blissfulness of our perfect innocence, Divine Intelligence and Absolute all-loving True Nature.

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Liberation from the misconception of a limited, fearful, incompetent and threatened separate body, and the awakened realization of our True Identity as in and as the One Mind of Brahman is Moksha, true liberation from illusion … the goal of this ancient Vedanta Yogic philosophy.

 

Moksha in Advaita Vedanta

In Advaita Vedanta Moksha is the realization of the Oneness of our individual Soul called Atma in Sanskrit and Ultimate Reality called Brahman in Sanskrit.

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The path to this realization and liberation is not acquired through active self inquiry, meditation, contemplation of the nature of the Self. When we cultivate an intuitive inner experience and revelation of self knowledge we free ourselves from past unconscious conditioning about the self. It isn’t through worldly or intellectual pursuits, but rather a journey inward to an experience, a felt sense, a revelation of deeper and deeper states of what we Are beyond a temporary physical body. The fundamental realization that liberates is experiencing the truth that individual soul and ultimate reality are not different, they are one. Moksha, liberation is reached during physical incarnation, an intuitive direct experience acquired through self-knowledge, inner connectiveness and self-realization.

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Advaita Vedanta focuses on reaching Moksha or liberation by awakening, recognizing one’s True Nature… and the Realization as Self and Brahman as One. Once a deep realization of Self and Brahman as non-different then the individual becomes free from the illusions of separation, no longer bound by the illusions of duality and human suffering.

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The deep profound experience of Self as One with Divine Source… a true recognition of our True Nature as no different from Brahman liberates us from the illusions of duality and suffering. The illusionary perception of separation between self and others dissolves and one awakens to their oneness with the Universe and all that is.

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The path to liberation or Moksha in Advaita Vedanta is traveled through the pursuit of self knowledge, inner attention, attaining the realization of their True Nature. Self inquiry and knowledge is called Jnana Yoga. This is not knowledge of material facts and concepts… it is a direct experience of our True Nature and unity with the Ultimate Source of our Being.

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In the Veda’s Shankaracharya outlines steps to Self-Realization of our Unity with Brahman and Universal Consciousness.

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1. Right Attitude: Renunciation of worldly distractions

2. Control over the mind, awareness of mental disturbances and shifting attention to deeper truths that promote peace.

3. Self-Inquiry. Question the lower mind perceptions of self. Practicing inner discipline to meditate on experiences  self knowledge, commit to time to be in silence with Self… True knowledge.

4. Continuous contemplation on the true nature of self. Inquiring “What Am I?” gaining experiential l(Not intellectual info) wisdom by bringing attention to meditative, contemplative awareness of deeper, permanent states of being. Releasing all that is fleeting as not the True Self… body, emotions, beliefs, experiences. Peeling away all that is not us to reveal deeper states of our True Eternal Nature… the Atma.

5. Deep desire for liberation.

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Maya is the Barrier to Liberation: Illusion of duality or Maya that the limited nervous system reinforces creates an appearance of separation and multiplicity. As Atma descends into a 3 D limited DNA nervous system and separation based illusionary experience it becomes blind or ignorant of its True Nature as One with Brahman and All that Is.

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Advaita Vedanta states that the world as the human mind perceives it is not the ultimate Reality or Truth. The journey to Enlightenment of our True Nature as a Divine Oneness is to question the lower mind projections, the fear-based conditioning, the mental and emotional attachments that blind us in ignorance. With self inquiry, contemplation and meditation we unveil the illusions, the distortions, the disempowering stories we believed that were made up by the limited thinking of the lower mind… allowing us to awaken to the God Self within, our True Eternal Nature that is One in and as the Brahman, Divine Source, Creator, Universal Reality.

Truth arises when we question and clear the illusions and limited conditioning allowing the dawning of Truth of undivided consciousness, know we are one with Brahman, Ultimate Reality.

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Advaita Vedanta is the path to liberation through a deep contemplative experiential journey that allows us to transcend the illusion of duality and awaken to the realization of Self as One in and as Brahman, Ultimate Reality.

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We seek the highest forms of intuitive, felt sense inner knowledge that leads to self realization and ultimately liberation, Moksha.

A deep and direct experience of the unity and oneness of all that is, all existence allows a Soul to overcome the illusions of separation and fear and become free from the bondage of the cycle of birth and death in a dense conditioned world of ignorance, transcending duality.

Liberation is Self Realization of our True Nature as One with Source, Brahman

You are the Truth that set’s you free!

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Final Discussion:

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How can we use these Vedantic Philosophies in our lives to align more and more with our higher asperations and dharam?

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