Episodes

Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Mandukya Karika : Part - 13 : Liberation, Nondoing, Bliss
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Gaudapada describes how the recognition that the activity of mind is illusory can lead to dissolution of mind and oneness with Brahman. The bliss and samadhi are the final states, nothing remains to be done now.
Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Mandukya Karika : Part - 12 : Unborn, Incomprehensibility, Mind
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
What is born and what is unborn? Can something be born out of unborn? Atman is incomprehensible (as an object), does that make it unreal? What is mind, and what is it actually doing? Why do we need it?
Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Friday Jun 19, 2020
Mandukya Karika : Part - 11 : Pots, Spaces, Suffering and Reincarnation
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Chapter 3 undertakes the task of establishing non-duality by reason alone. Atman is like Ether, empty space. Is it multiple? Does it become many in the form of many individuals? Does Atman suffer or becomes happy? Will it die and reincarnate? Gaudapada clears up such questions and many beliefs.
Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Friday Jun 12, 2020
Mandukya Karika : Part - 9 : Duality in Nonduality
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Friday Jun 12, 2020
All other streams of philosophies can be merged in one as subsets or partial views of reality. The nondual is not separate from dual. It is just that, that which is dual is merely an appearance. Nondual is the substratum on which all duality appears in various illusory forms. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Friday May 29, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part -8 : Imagination and Refutation
Friday May 29, 2020
Friday May 29, 2020
Gaudapada gives us the reason behind accumulation of ignorance and then declares all other philosophies as merely imaginations, delusions born out of the ignorance of the true nature of reality. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Tuesday May 26, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 7 : Illusion of objective reality
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Gaudapada presents his arguments about the unreality of objective experiences. He affirms that there are only subjective experiences. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Saturday May 23, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 6 : Illusion of the Waking state
Saturday May 23, 2020
Saturday May 23, 2020
Gaudapada starts dismantling the belief that the waking state is real and dream state is unreal. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Wednesday May 20, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 5 : Persistence of Illusion, Practices around Aum
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Why won't the illusions of worlds and bodies go away after awakening? Gaudapada also explains the meaning of the three letters in the AUM and the meaning of the silence after Aum. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Tuesday May 19, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 4 : Realizing the Turiya
Tuesday May 19, 2020
Tuesday May 19, 2020
We see here some secrets of Turiya revealed, and pointers on how to realise the Truth of Turiya. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Monday May 18, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 3 : Turiya
Monday May 18, 2020
Monday May 18, 2020
Mandukya Upanishad's verse VII introduces Turiya and Gaudapada explains it. Shankar clarifies it and answers some objections. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.
Note that some part of this talk was removed because of noisy mic and some parts still have some noise, but are audible.

Saturday May 16, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 2 : Vishva, Taijasa, Prajna
Saturday May 16, 2020
Saturday May 16, 2020
Gaudapada explains the six verses of Mandukya, we try to correlate it with our experience with the help of Shankara. Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Friday May 15, 2020
Live : Mandukya Karika : Part - 1 : Aum, Four States
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Reading and discussion on the English translation of the Mandukya Karika by Gaudapada, which is a commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad. The books starts with Mandukya Upanishad verses I-VI which introduce the symbol Aum and the three states of consciousness, with a commentary by Shankara.

Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Teachings of Ranjit Maharaj : Part-5 : Death
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Sunday Jan 05, 2020
Reading about the teachings of Ranjit Maharaj with commentary. Death is an illusion. Ignorance brings fear of death, and odd, irrational behaviour. Those who know death, know life. How long can you postpone the understanding of who you are? Death is knocking on your door. It is never too late to know, and that is our purpose for assuming a perishable form.

Saturday Jan 04, 2020
Teachings of Ranjit Maharaj : Part-4 : Happiness and Teacher
Saturday Jan 04, 2020
Saturday Jan 04, 2020
Reading about the teachings of Ranjit Maharaj with commentary. He gives us the key to eternal happiness. He feels that a teacher is necessary to progress quickly, and a bit of faith is initially needed, but in the end the teacher merges in you and knowledge replaces faith.

Friday Jan 03, 2020
Teachings of Ranjit Maharaj : Part-3 : Zero and Mind
Friday Jan 03, 2020
Friday Jan 03, 2020
Reading about the teachings of Ranjit Maharaj with commentary. Zero is absolute, the emptiness without qualities, the only reality. Minds and thoughts are merely appearances in it. When there is no mind, reality is.

Wednesday Jan 01, 2020
Teachings of Ranjit Maharaj : Part-2 : Body, Ego and World
Wednesday Jan 01, 2020
Wednesday Jan 01, 2020
Reading about the teachings of Ranjit Maharaj with commentary. He holds the view that the body, ego and the world, all are illusory, unreal. He then states the implications of this understanding. Once we see the illusions, we are freed from the illusions and ignorance. The Reality, the Self shines forth.

Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
Teachings of Ranjit Maharaj : Part-1 : Reality, Knowledge and Ignorance
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
This is the audio version of a reading session livestreamed on my YouTube channel recently. It has been edited slightly and cleaned up. Ranjit Maharaj was a Guru brother of Nisargdatta Maharaj and so his teachings contain the same flavour. In this part we learn about his views on reality or zero and the relation between knowledge and ignorance.
The text can be found here : https://www.inner-quest.org/Ranjit_Meeting.htm

Monday Jul 08, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-10
Monday Jul 08, 2019
Monday Jul 08, 2019
In this concluding part of the series, we see the problem of spiritual progress and get a detailed summary of all of his teachings. Nisargadatta's philosophy is seen as a distilled form of Advaita or Nondualism. He presents this timeless knowledge in as pure form as possible and in a very direct way.

Sunday Jul 07, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-9
Sunday Jul 07, 2019
Sunday Jul 07, 2019
Is deep sleep my ultimate state, or my real nature? Is Nisargadatta a devotee or a gyani? What is suffering, who suffers? Why is it still there even after knowing what I essentially am?

Saturday Jul 06, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-8
Saturday Jul 06, 2019
Saturday Jul 06, 2019
There is no perceiver and no perceived, but only perceiving. This immediately leads us to unity, oneness. This destroys the doer. Intellect is an obstruction when used to find the absolute. There can be no re-birth. Nisargadatta discusses all these matters.

Friday Jul 05, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-7
Friday Jul 05, 2019
Friday Jul 05, 2019
What is enlightenment? How to get it? Who gets enlightened? When does the seeking end? What are the implications of liberation? We know all these important answers as we proceed with the book.

Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-6
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
This life is a practical joke happening in no space and no time. How did I get so involved in it? Was I born in some place at some time in the past? Or is it that a perception appeared in illusory space and time, which I mistook as myself?

Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-5
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Nisargadatta answers many interesting questions here, such as, the utility of spiritual knowledge in worldly life, origin of duality and illusory world, the root of ignorance, the meaning of awakening and how to achieve liberation instantly.

Sunday Jun 30, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-4
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
What was I before I was born? Nisargadatta reached the absolute by enquiring about this seemingly strange question. Here we see his train of thoughts. Absolute is, and everything else is a concept. What meaning remains, then, of this life? What should an individual do, when he knows that there is no individual?

Saturday Jun 29, 2019
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj : Part-3
Saturday Jun 29, 2019
Saturday Jun 29, 2019
What is whole seeing? What happens when we adopt a lifestyle which involves whole seeing every moment? Why is there a manifestation? Balsekar conveys the views of Nisargadatta on such questions.