Categories
Advaitic Inquiries

When The Elephant Vanishes: Seeing Through Maya

In the timeless tradition of Advaita Vedanta, the pursuit of truth begins with a radical inquiry: Is what I perceive truly what is? This blog, based on an insightful article by Vivek, a member of the NEEV Community for Self-Inquiry and Sustainability, explores this very question through a powerful allegory—the story of a wooden elephant mistaken for the real.

At the heart of this reflection lies the fundamental Advaitic principle of adhyāsa, or superimposition. The root problem of human suffering is the superimposition (adhyāsa) of the non-Self (body, mind, world) upon the Self (pure consciousness), and vice versa. Just as one mistakes a rope for a snake or a wooden elephant for a real one, so too does the ignorant mind mistake the transient world/non-Self for ultimate reality/Self.

Categories
Advaitic Inquiries

IPL Cricket Through the Lens of Advaita: A Modern Perspective

Advaita Vedanta has often been perceived as a philosophy of renunciation—a worldview that urges seekers to retreat from the world to realize the ultimate truth. Yet, when we look at the teachings we see that profound truths were rarely delivered in isolation from life. Instead, they were woven into myths, stories, and dialogues that unfolded in the heart of society.

This same tradition of embedding philosophical wisdom within the pulse of everyday life continues today. One of the members of the NEEV Community for Self-Inquiry & Sustainability, Vivek, has brought this ancient wisdom into a contemporary context by exploring Advaita through the lens of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

Categories
Advaitic Inquiries Witness Stage

Tat Tvam Asi – You are Brahman

Most people think about spirituality as some form of action – yoga, meditation, chanting etc. While this is true for some schools, in Advaita, where the highest truth of Non-Duality is taught, truth has nothing to do with action. This is because in your essence, YOU ARE TRUTH. There is no difference between you and truth ultimately. This is Non-Duality and Path of Knowledge of Advaita. This article shows the uniqueness and difficulty of this path as compared to other dualistic paths of Yoga.