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Drg Drsya Viveka | The Seer and the Seen

Drg Drsya Viveka | The Seer and the Seen

Vedanta Society, San Francisco
Religion & Spirituality

An Introduction to " Drg-Drsya-Viveka "

Sri Shankaracharya holds a pre-eminent position among the world's master-minds and spiritual teachers.

'Drg-Drsya-Viveka' is one of the great Acharya's introductory treatises (traditionally called 'prakarana-granthas') on Advaita Vedanta which teaches the identity and oneness of the individual Jiva and Paramatman. This small but important book of forty-six verses describes not only different forms of samadhi but also, more importantly, expounds some of the basic doctrines of Advaita Vedanta following a method known as 'Anvaya-vyatireka' (अन्वयव्यतिरेक). Some of these verses are also found in one of the minor Upanishads called 'Sarasvati- Upanishad'.

There are different views regarding the authorship of 'Drg-Drsya-Viveka' though the majority of scholars agree that Adi Shankaracharya himself is the author. Other names associated with the authorship of the work are Bharati Tirtha and Vidyaranya, the author of 'Panchadasi'. The two well-known commentaries on 'Drg-Drsya-Viveka' are those of Brahmananda Bharati and Ananda Jnana also called Ananda Tirtha.

These eight lectures were given by Swami Tattwamayananda at the Vedanta Society of Calgary on August 18th and 19th, 2018.

Swami Tattwamayananda, currently the Minister of the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco, (originally founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1900) served in various centers of the Ramakrishna Order in India as editor, publisher, and teacher of Sanskrit, Advaitic texts such as Sri Shankaracharya's commentaries on the 'Prasthanatraya' (the fundamental Sanskrit texts of Vedanta philosophy), Buddhism and Indian philosophy. He underwent traditional training in Hindu scriptures, Sanskrit, Vedic and Vedantic literature for many years, from his early days. Before coming to the United States in January 2012 he was teaching Sanskrit, Vedantic scriptures and Indian philosophy at the Training center in Belur Math, the institution that trains the monks of the Ramakrishna Order at the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, Kolkata, India. Apart from his traditional education, the Swami has also received modern University education in English literature, psychology, European history, and Western philosophy. He is frequently invited for lectures on Yoga, Vedanta, and traditional Hindu scriptures and for participating in interfaith dialogues.

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8 - 1 - A Brief Overview of the Text | Swami Tattwamayananda
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  • 8 - 1 - A Brief Overview of the Text | Swami Tattwamayananda

    - 'Drg-Drsya-Viveka' is an introductory book on Advaita Vedanta, technically called a 'Prakarana Grantha (प्रकरण ग्रंथ),
    which teaches the identity and oneness of the individual Jiva and Paramatman.

    - Vedanta is not a new knowledge; it reminds us of our true reality; it is the re-discovery of our own true nature.

    - Atman (knowledge of Atman) is not something that could be produced or transformed or attained or purified.
    - (" न उत्पाद्यं, न विकार्यम्, न आप्यं, न संस्कार्यं " - Shankaracharya’s commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad).

    Some important topics discussed are:
    -Spiritual sleep and awakening
    -The laws of karma and re-incarnation
    -The wheel of karma - vrtti - samskara - vasana - samkalpa and again karma...
    -The importance of Sadhana Chatushtaya (साधनचतुष्टय)
    -Different forms of 'samadhi'.

    Thu, 06 Jun 2019
  • 7 - 2 - Identifying Ourselves as The 'Witness' (साक्षी) | Swami Tattwamayananda

    Verses 1, 2, 3, 5

    A brief overview of the text and the topics discussed:
    -The eternal conflict: What we want and what our mind is willing to do.
    -The cause of problems in our everyday life: forgetting the impermanence of the worldly experiences.
    -The subject and the objects, the seer ('drashta') and the seen ('drshya'), the perceiver and the perceived, the witness and the witnessed
    -A phenomenological approach
    -The form is the seen and objectified.
    -Worldly objects and experiences change every moment.
    -Atman is the unchanging seer and the eternal witness (साक्षी), which is beyond immanence and transcendence.
    -Atman, the eternal, unchanging revealer of all, the 'light of all lights'.

    Thu, 06 Jun 2019
  • 6 - 3 - Atman in the Three States of Awareness | Swami Tattwamayananda

    Verses: 10 - 14

    - Waking (जाग्रत), Dreaming (स्वप्न), Deep Sleep (सुषुप्ति) and beyond: Turiya (तुरिय)
    - The 'I' consciousness in the three states of consciousness: 'THE WITNESS'.
    -The psychological and spiritual dynamics of ' AVASTHATRAYA '
    -'Avasthatraya- saakshi'.
    - The mechanism of Maya and 'adhyasa' (अध्यास:)
    - The mystery of Maya and how does it work in our life?
    - Concealment of our true nature and false projection.
    - The two functions of 'Maya' elaborated: the power of veiling the Reality and the power of projection, causing the expansive manifestations of the manifold creation.
    - The way out of Maya: Sadhana-chatushtaya (the four spiritual disciplines: Ref: class:2).
    - Shravana, manana, nididhyasana & devotion- (bhakti) eventually, through Moksha.
    - Atman, the non-participating witness.
    - अवछ्छेद वाद, आभासवाद, and प्रतिबिम्बवाद elaborated.
    - The spiritual aspect of perfect health.
    - The mystery of creation - in Advaita Vedanta.

    Thu, 06 Jun 2019
  • 5 - 4 - Maya, the Beginningless, Timeless Mystery | Swami Tattwamayananda

    Verses: 16, 17, 37, 38, 31

    - Jiva, The embodied Self , freed from the veiling and projecting powers of Maya, discovers its true identity with the non-participating Witness (साक्षी) .

    - Then we realize that all 'vikaras' (changes) belong to the world only.
    - What is 'Prarabdha-Karma '? How does it operate in our everyday life?
    - Shankaracharya's rejection of the Mimamsakas' obsession with Vedic ritualism.
    - Three approaches to Reality in Advaita: Paramarthika, Vyavaharika and Pratibhasika
    - अवछ्छेद वाद, आभासवाद, and प्रतिबिम्बवा: more details.

    - Constant contemplation, unbroken flow of awareness
    - The different schools of Advaita Vedanta: 'Bhamati', 'Vivarana' and 'Vartika'

    - The illustration from the Chandogya Upanishad: Spiritual awakening and the role of an 'Acharya' or a 'Guru".

    Thu, 06 Jun 2019
  • 4 - 5 - The Real and the Unreal in Everything That We Perceive and Experience | Swami Tattwamayananda

    Verses: 20, 26, 27
    - Everything in this world has five aspects, ie, the permanent, unchanging substratum consisting of Existence- Consciousness - Bliss ( सत्- चित् - आनन्द ), and the impermanent changing aspect, consisting of names and forms,
    (nama-rupa ) which constitute 'Maya'.

    - The Absolute Reality, Existence- Consciousness - Bliss (सत्- चित् - आनन्द) is beyond the five conditions of verbalization ( beyond the five categories of definitions, descriptions etc. (sabda-pravritti-nimitta).

    - Nirvikalpa-samadhi explained:

    - The mind of a person who has attained 'Nirvikalpa Samadhi' compared to a lamp kept in sheltered, windless place- it never flickers; it is always steady.

    - The five states of mind according to Yoga psychology explained:
    Ksipta, Mudha, Viksipta, Ekagra, Niruddha

    - Different forms of 'Samadhi': (a) with the help of an external object and,
    (b) with the help of an internal object.

    Thu, 06 Jun 2019
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