A philosophy of life and living, from India, for anyone
Vedanta is the body of knowledge recorded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita and carried by an unbroken line of teachers. It explains how the mind works, how the intellect governs it, and who is doing the watching.
The culmination of knowledge
Veda means knowledge and anta means end, so Vedanta is the culmination of knowledge. It is the final portion of the Vedas, the oldest texts of India, and the knowledge that ends in Self-realisation. Its principles are called Sanātana Dharma, the eternal principles of life and living, such as cause and effect. Electricity was discovered in one place and is meant for everyone. Vedanta came from India, and it is offered to seekers of truth of any faith or none.
Faith is welcome here. Vedanta invites questions and offers answers you can test in your own life and work with. After a talk, a Muslim listener wrote to Vyasa that he felt this knowledge was for everyone. Vyasa’s reply is the house position: the more you understand this wisdom, the more you will be able to relate to your own faith.
Body, mind and intellect
You have a body, which acts. You have a mind, which feels: likes, dislikes, impulses and desires. Vyasa calls it the monkey. And you have an intellect, which thinks, reasons, judges and decides. A sweet is offered to a diabetic. The mind says “I want it”. The intellect asks “is it good for me?”. Most of life is the question of which one is in the driving seat.
Intelligence is what you acquire from schools and books. The intellect is what you develop yourself, by thinking, questioning and reasoning before accepting anything. It grows with use, and it is the faculty Vedanta trains.
Five words, in Vyasa’s own count
Self-mastery, resilience, clarity, peace and purpose. Each one starts with knowing the difference between your mind, which wants, and your intellect, which weighs.
Love plus selfishness equals attachment
A new car goes over a speed bump and the owner winces. A rented car goes over the same bump and nobody notices. That wince is attachment. Vedanta shows how to keep the love and drop the selfishness, so that you can handle a conflict at the dinner table and build the relationships that last.
Full effort, and the outcome held lightly
A king in an old poem kept his crown, his feasts and his battles, and had one line engraved on his ring: even this shall pass away. That ring is Vedanta at work. Stress is mental agitation produced by unfulfilled desire, and the intellect can govern it in the middle of deadlines and decisions.
Who is left when the roles are set aside?
Vedanta follows the question all the way down. Set aside your name, your work and your roles: who is left? Two birds sit on one tree. One eats the fruit; the other watches. The tradition calls the answer Self-knowledge, and names Self-realisation as the goal of a human life.
Sanskrit, then the literal meaning, then your week
- सत्सङ्ग
- Satsaṅga, company of the good Time spent with people on the same search. A Sunday class is one.
- स्वधर्म
- Swadharma, one’s own nature Work and life in line with your own nature. A plane with a tailwind.
- साक्षी
- Sākṣī, the witness Watching experience without being swept along by it.
- गुण
- Guṇa, quality Three textures of thought: serene, agitated and inert. Every hour has one.
Devanagari spellings are checked by a teacher before anything is printed. More questions and answers.
Five minutes before bed, replay the day without judging it
That is one of the fourteen tools in Vyasa’s introductory course. Sit in dim light, run through the day from morning to night as a witness, and notice where the mind drove and where the intellect did. Then come to a class and tell us what you found.