Pudgala
I II Regarding the Katha Upanishadic verse 1.3.3-4 : multiple ways of glossing that passage exist. Consider this simple version: Aatma( = Dehin) +Indriya+Manas = Bhokta. RHS says ‘the enjoyer’, which refers…
Read moreSpirituality = Adhyatma?
One could justifiably see spirituality (the Jewish, Christian and Islamic) as ‘Adhyatma’ if one focusses on the psychological transformations that a human being undergoes in the process of moving from…
Read moreMoral luck and gyanodaya
I I think that the multiple routes that exist in the Indian culture and those that individuals follow are on par with each other. From within any one of these,…
Read moreBrahman: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.iv.10
Two caveats. One: the commentary is very, very short. To write down all the things I want to say about this citation requires a long paper and not a brief…
Read moreBrahman and Atman
I Question: “Certainly that Brahman == self-awareness == Atman is also a matter of direct experience, not of intellectual reasoning?” Let me first begin with reason and then drift towards…
Read moreAtman, Witness, and Experience
Some Swamiji claims: “One cannot experience the Atman is the witness, it is what experiences.” Obviously, this is a very rough and approximate formulation. This statement is both wrong and right…
Read moreShakti vs. Natural Sciences
You say that you experienced Shakti as an emanation of a force that is overpowering and palpable; you also say that you felt the ‘presence’ of Shakti strongly. These two sentences make one think…
Read more‘Grotesque’ nature of Murtis
Consider the fact that the Indian ‘gods’ are portrayed in at least two ways. First, there is their portrayal with four arms (say) and there is their portrayal in completely…
Read moreExamples of Real vs. Existence
Two points should be kept in mind before using these examples: (a) the examples illustrate that the distinctions are not unknown to an English language-user (b) the distinction does not…
Read more