Author Description

The intention of this anthology is to present some of the primary source texts of Advaita Vedanta in English for those interested in this subject. I have actually put this together first and foremost for myself and my students so that we might explore these sources together, and having them all in one place makes it that much easier. But I also sense this book will be of interest to all those who want to explore Yoga and the Advaita philosophy more deeply, especially to my fellow yoga professionals. Presented here are selections from the 3 most seminal sources of Advaita Vedanta: The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, and The Brahma Sutras. These make up what is called “Prasthanayatri” (which translates as “three sources” or “three axioms”). Also in this anthology are several of Shankara's classic works on Advaita, including Atma Bodha, Viveka Chudamani, and his commentary on the 2nd Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. In addition to several other source texts, including various Gitas (a genre of literature, of which the Bhagavad Gita is the most well-known), this volume also contains selections from 3 of the most influential sages of the Advaita tradition, namely Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, and Nisargadatta.. If anything, these ideas but point to something that is to be experienced for oneself, not a belief to be blindly or rigidly adhered to for fear of some punishment. That is why the title of this book includes the word “experience” – it indicates that just by reading this book and taking some of its ideas to heart (or even just being open to them), then the experience of the truth of them might come in some way. Perhaps the experience will be simply the relief in knowing that ideas like this exist. Or perhaps it will be in seeing how your experience of life begins to change as your attitude shifts. Or, just maybe, you will have an experience or experiences of spiritual awakening, or some kind of glimpse of spiritual reality. That some beneficial experience comes