- Verses: 109-116 - This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on October 6, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. - Seven questions from the student are discussed: (1) What is this bondage? (2) How does it come about? (3) How does it exist and what sustains it? (4) How do we come out of it? (5) What is anatman? (6) What is the supreme Atman? (7) How do we differentiate between Atman and anatman? The teacher discusses anatman in det...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 15 min
This lecture was given on September 29, 2019, at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda. -The lecture begins with a quotation of two ancient verses written by Kshemendra, living in Kashmir, in the 11th century AD in his famous Avadānakalpalatā, a Sanskrit work depicting the previous life cycles of Gautama Buddha and his spiritual evolution. -The first verse means if you think of Buddha, if you meditate on Buddha, even those who are in a state of spiritual darkness wi...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 4 min
This lecture was given on September 22, 2019 at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda. -Spiritual common sense is valuable and rare. It is rarer than intellectual brilliance and scholarship. -Spiritual common sense is an internal balancing mechanism that allows us to see the limitations of empirical activities. It is not tied to intellectual brilliance, which can conceal our natural and higher faculties. -Bhagavad Gita describes a Rajarshi. A Rajarshi is a philosoph...
Sep 27, 2019•55 min
Verses: 110-114 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on September 15, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. Vivekachudamani is a prakarna grantha on Advaita Vedanta. Maya is “anadi” (without a beginning), but not “anantha” (it is not eternal). It is beyond logical comprehension, cannot be explained in words or cognized with the mind, and is a great wonder. Seven schools of Vedanta are mentioned, and then dualism, qualified non-...
Sep 26, 2019•1 hr 28 min
This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Shreemaya Krishnadham on September 14, 2019. Bird’s eye view of Vedanta literature is provided. Vedas constitute the foundation of Vedanta philosophy and “Sanatana Dharma”. It is believed that initially, there was only one Veda. Vyasa classified into four groups: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Story of Yajnavalkya is discussed in the context of Krishna-Yajur-Veda and Shukla-Yajur-Veda. Each Veda has 4 divisions: (1) Samhitas (...
Sep 24, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Verses: 109-111 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on September 8, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. Class starts with seven questions from the student, and then bondage is discussed in depth: (1) What is this bondage? (2) How does it come about? (3) How does it exist and what sustains it? (4) How do we come out of it? (5) What is anatman? (6) What is the supreme Atman? (7) How do we differentiate between atman and anatma...
Sep 20, 2019•1 hr 19 min
-All different people came to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar and went away satisfied. -He accepted people of all traditions, believers and non-believers, and had a positive approach towards all. -The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is unique as a document of acceptance of all paths. -The message that the spiritual experience of God transcends all boundaries of faith and dogma helps to lessen religious conflicts and doubts. -Sri Ramakrishna did not like people to have a negative outlook on life. A dev...
Sep 04, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Verses: 108-109 Class starts with seven questions from the student, and then bondage is discussed in depth: (1) What is this bondage? (2) How does it come about? (3) How does it exist and what sustains it? (4) How do we come out of it? (5) What is anatman? (6) What is the supreme Atman? (7) How do we differentiate between atman and anatman? Maya is real for someone in ignorance – rope/snake analogy is provided. Snake exists only as long as there is not enough light – when light is brought, the s...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Verses: 2.55, 12.13, 6.37, 6.38, 6.40, 6.41, 6.42, 6.43, 6.44, 2.56 -You can become a sage or a saint. Everybody can strive towards becoming a sthitaprajna. -Grace and Self-Effort: we make an effort to be able to make use of God’s grace when it comes. -We gain santushta (contentment) and krtarthita (the feeling that we have obtained that which was to be obtained), which cannot be taken away. -First, we listen, shrutiya, reason, yuktiya, and then gain our own experience, svanubhutiya. -Spirituali...
Aug 06, 2019•1 hr 33 min
-Sri Ramakrishna practiced all of the major Vaishnava, Tantric, and Vedantic paths of Hindu spiritual practice and reached their goal very quickly. He already possessed the intuitive understanding of the spiritual reality from his childhood experiences. -Out of sincere interest, he also practiced Sufism and Christianity and saw that God could be realized by those paths. -For him, he could experience and penetrate into the essence of every religion he practiced by concentrating on the core spirit...
Aug 04, 2019•53 min
Verses 96-99 -Reference is provided to the seven questions posed by the disciple in verse 49. One of the questions posed “what is anatman?” is discussed further in the class. -Various levels of reality are discussed. Anatman is that which is unreal or relative. Things in the empirical world have name and form – they are not Absolutely Real, but not totally unreal. In Vedanta, for a thing to be real, it must exist in the past, present and future. Only Absolute Reality meets this requirement. -96t...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 11 min
-The idea of religious universality, that all religions can lead to the same transcendental experience of unity, has entered into the modern world thanks to the influence of Sri Ramakrishna. -Sri Ramakrishna was able to reach the highest Advaitic experience in only three days under the instruction of Tota Puri. -This immediate realization comes when the disciple is fully concentrated on realizing the truth. -Ordinary seekers may need to practice concentration on the meaning of the highest Vedant...
Jul 18, 2019•47 min
Verses: 82-96 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on July 14, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -An elaborate analysis of the non-self (anatman). Descriptions of sthula-sharira (gross body) and sukshma-sharira (subtle body) are provided. -Comparisons to Buddhist interpretation of anatman. Concept of Sunyata in Buddhism is not nothingness – rather it refers to the indescribability of the Absolute Reality. -Anatma is made of...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Verses: 77 – 80 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on July 7, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -There are five methods of verbalization or description. Atman is beyond all such verbalization. -Since Atman is beyond description, Vivekachudamani takes the approach of “neti, neti” or “via negativa” in Christian Theology. It describes everything that it is not, so that what is left out is Atman. -Atman transcends all descrip...
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 6 min
This lecture was given on June 28, 2019 at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda. - Swamiji admired the merits of modern western secular educational system, like its emphasis on humanism, innovation, human rights, egalitarian and democratic values, utilization of science and technology, etc. - Swami Vivekananda's positive approach and constructive criticism of the Western and Eastern models of education; a harmony of the positive elements of both. - Education for ev...
Jul 03, 2019•1 hr 2 min
This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on June 30, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. Verses: 66-76 -The first stage of spiritual life is discrimination between the real and unreal (nitya-anitya-vastu-viveka). Nitya means Atman or unchanging Absolute Reality. Anitya means “the changing” or non-eternal. -Avidya is the absence of knowledge of the absolute truth. When we are in the spell of Avidya, we have desires and we direct o...
Jul 02, 2019•1 hr 19 min
The lecture was given on December 5, 2015, at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda. -Bird's eye view of the four Mahavakyas in the Upanishad is provided, with deep dive on first Mahavakya: "Tat Tvam Asi" -Four Mahavakyas are: (1)Tat Tvam Asi, from Chandogya Upanishad in Sama Veda (2)Prajnanam Brahma, from Aitareya Upanishad in Rig Veda (3)Ayam Atma Brahma, from Mandukya Upanishad in Atharva Veda (4)Aham Brahma Asmi, from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in Yajur Veda -The ...
Jun 28, 2019•51 min
Verse: 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 69 Topics: -Study of scriptures is the means, not the goal. The goal is spiritual liberation. -Shravanam, Mananam, and Swanubhuti are discussed. Intellectual study of scriptures, by itself, is of no use. Spiritual journey starts with ideas from the scriptures. Deeper contemplation of these ideas is needed, which then provides one their own inner experience. -Scriptures are of no use once the highest experience is realized. After achieving that state, one may still read...
Jun 18, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Lecture given on June 9, 2019 at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda. -An overview of Dhammapada is provided. Few verses are discussed in depth from Yamaka-vaggo and Brahmana-vaggo. -Dhammapada: most popular and condensed summary of Buddha's teachings. Profound for any spiritual seeker & not tied to a religion. Captures Buddha's responses to questions from disciples. Each verse is accompanied by a story. -Buddhism is popular because it is simple, straightforwa...
Jun 13, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Verses: 49-59 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on June 9, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. Topics covered: -Seven questions from the disciple on bondage, its causes and how to free oneself from bondage? -Spiritual liberation is an individual journey. Through community effort, we cannot have community of Jivan-muktas. Analogies are provided to explain this. -Absolute reality can be known through the eye of spiritual cla...
Jun 10, 2019•1 hr 30 min
This is the first lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda from a three-part lecture series on the essence of Vedic philosophy. It was delivered on January 21, 2018 at the Vedanta Society of Northern California. Swami Tattwamayananda discusses the following topics: -The Vedas are scriptures for the whole of humanity, not for a particular religion. Vedic truths can be revealed to anyone who undertakes an inner spiritual journey. Truths that are revealed represent different levels of our evolution, which ...
Jun 09, 2019•58 min
This lecture was given on June 2, 2019 by Swami Tattwamayananda at the Vedanta Society of Northern California. -Transcendentalism’s universal spirit paved the road for the 1893 Parliament of World's Religions and other spiritual/reform movements of the 19th century. -A contrast is drawn between obsessive love of the new and the rejection of all new things. The Sanskrit poet Kalidasa wrote that we should examine everything and accept what should be accepted, whether it is old or new. -Political, ...
Jun 06, 2019•59 min
Verses: 31-35, 49-53 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on June 2, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -The highest bhakti ( is a natural effortless flow of the mind towards God. The six factors of surrender (शरणागति or प्रपत्ति) to God as described by Ramanuja are explained. For an advaitin, this bhakti is a means to the purification of the mind where Self-realization becomes inevitable. -As we evolve, the divine qualities...
Jun 03, 2019•1 hr 33 min
This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on May 27, 2019 as part of the program “Universal Spiritual Humanism: Swami Vivekananda and America’s Spiritual Transformation,” celebrating the 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Historic Chicago Addresses at the First World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893. -Swami Vivekananda's presentation of Vedanta was original, but Vedanta is as old as the Vedas. -Do not believe somebody who says they have invented the truth. Truth is passed down in a ...
May 30, 2019•34 min
This lecture was given on March 11, 2018 by Swami Tattwamayananda at the Vedanta Society of Northern California. -Evolution in samskrti (culture) and pariskrti (civilization) are not always linked. The culture of science and technology can be a cultural suicide. -We may lose the power of mananam (deep thought) unless we learn to wield science and technology as a tool in our hands rather than as slaves. -Since information technology quickly changes, it narrows the focus towards only short-term go...
May 27, 2019•58 min
Verses: 23-31 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on May 19, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -At stage one, Titiksha, is a strong determination to carry forward with your ideal with no response to negative obstacles. At a later stage, even the thought of response is gone. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is described as an iron will coupled with deep contentment, santosha. Buddha’s vow is a perfect example. -Shraddha is critical...
May 20, 2019•1 hr 25 min
This lecture was delivered at the Vedanta Society of Northern California on May 19, 2019.
May 20, 2019•53 min
Vivekachudamani Verses: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University on May 12, 2019. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -Viveka means discerning what is real (nitya) and rejecting what is unreal (anitya). Our understanding of the real (nitya) reveals how far we have evolved. Maya is the power that projects something unreal in front of us that we take for the real. As we evolve, our sense of priority changes. -Vaira...
May 14, 2019•1 hr 18 min
The theme of this lecture (delivered May 12, 2019) is the concrete scheme of human relationships in Vedic culture. It begins with a brief introduction to the Vedas, the source books of universal spiritual laws. There are four Vedas, each with four sections: rituals, prayers, contemplative prayers, and higher metaphysical/spiritual philosophy (Vedanta). Max Muller was commissioned by the Church of England to translate the Vedas to show it was nonsense so that people would convert to Christianity....
May 13, 2019•1 hr 14 min
Vivekachudamani Verses: 1-7, 11, 15, 18, 19 This lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda at Stanford University. The lecture was hosted by the Stanford Hindu Students Association. -Viveka means a discerning wisdom between the long lasting and real versus the short-lived and unreal. It is a reprioritization towards the beneficial and long lasting. -Shankaracharya, the author of the text, may be one of the greatest geniuses the world has ever produced. Before Sri Shankaracharya, the idea of Adv...
May 06, 2019•1 hr 49 min
