27,697 views Apr 15, 2025 AskSwami Q&A | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on Mar 23rd, 2025. List of questions with timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:43 - Explain the two ways of approaching non-duality: “I am all of it” vs “I am none of it”?

15:24 - Is devotion (bhakti) merely an aid to knowledge in Advaita, or something more?

29:58 - Is the intense love of God (parabhakti) a form of insanity or mysticism?

36:16 - Is Advaita Vedanta falsifiable?

52:06 - The importance of asking questions in the study of Vedanta.

58:44 - Should we always practice unconditional love?

01:11:14 - What is the real meaning of ‘jada’ (insentient) in Advaita?

01:20:30 - What is the relationship between Maya and Chit (consciousness)?

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

This session was recorded on Jun 1, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

This session was recorded on May 25, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches Verses 22-23 from the Thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 24:

ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना |

अन्ये साङ् ख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ||24||

dhyānenātmani paśhyanti kechid ātmānam ātmanā

anye sānkhyena yogena karma-yogena chāpare ||24||

🔴 There are some who perceive the Atman within themselves by the practice of meditation with a purified mind. There are also others who approach Him through the discipline of knowledge or of work.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 25:

अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्त: श्रुत्वान्येभ्य उपासते |

तेऽपि चातितरन्त्येव मृत्युं श्रुतिपरायणा: ||25||

anye tv evam ajānantaḥ śhrutvānyebhya upāsate

te ’pi chātitaranty eva mṛityuṁ śhruti-parāyaṇāḥ ||25||

🔴 There are still others, who, being unfit to follow the disciplines described before -- for they lack the knowledge of the Yoga Sastra and the Vedas--, adopt forms of worship (devotional disciplines) under instruction from teachers or elders. Full of faith in these instructions heard, and following them sincerely as their only refuge, they too certainly overcome the cycle of births and deaths.

The Isha Upanishad (Sanskrit: ईशोपनिषद्, IAST: Īśopaniṣad), also known as Shri Ishopanishad, Ishavasya Upanishad, or Vajasaneyi Samhita Upanishad, is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a Mukhya (primary, principal) Upanishad, and is known in two recensions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM). The Upanishad is a brief poem, consisting of 17 or 18 verses, depending on the recension.

It is a key scripture of the Vedanta sub-schools, and an influential Śruti to diverse schools of Hinduism. It is the 40th chapter of Yajurveda. The name of the text derives from its incipit, īśā vāsyam, "enveloped by the Lord", or "hidden in the Lord (Self)". The text discusses the Atman (Self) theory of Hinduism, and is referenced by both Dvaita (dualism) and Advaita (non-dualism) sub-schools of Vedanta.

It is classified as a "poetic Upanishad" along with Kena, Katha, Svetasvatara and Mundaka by Paul Deussen (1908).

Reference book:

1. Eight Upanisads Vol. 2 translated by Swami Gambhirananda - https://www.vedanta.com/store/Eight-U...

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

This session was recorded on May 18, 2021.

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

This session was recorded on May 11, 2021.

75,352 views Feb 18, 2018 Divine Personalities | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Swami Sarvapriyananda speaks on “Avatara - Story of Sri Ramakrishna” Part 3/3 at the Vedanta Society of New York on February 18, 2018, celebrating the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna | Vedanta NY

Watch Part 1 of this lecture here - • (1/3) Avatara - Story of Sri Ramakris...

Watch Part 2 of this lecture here - • (2/3) Avatara - Story of Sri Ramakris...