Advaita explained in simple language.

I have some people tell me that much of what I write goes past them. So, I will try to present a simplified framework to help understand Advaita.

Advaita is a method for reexamining the world and self from a completely different perspective. It is a voyage of self-discovery, a journey to discover the self you thought was non-existent earlier. Truly, the self is all there is.

As children, the only perspective we learn is the theist perspective of the West. They say God created the universe and then man. It assumes that the universe existed before man. It proposes the unchanging universe at the center and assumes that something with us (the soul) enters and leaves the body. The theist purpose of life is to serve God in a servile manner. Science typically embraces the same Western attitude without asking the question - is this fairytale correct? Atheists think that we live once, and that is it. So, their purpose is to live life maximally. Both the theist and atheist perspectives are equally wrong.

Advaita is neither theist nor atheist. It is not a religion; it is a worldview. It believes in no God, Devil, Angels, Heaven, or Hell. The deep thinkers of the past created it based on logic and observation. It is fair to say that it is a more scientific perspective than modern science, which has over time lost its Eastern objectivity and unabashedly embraced a complete Western perspective.?

Both science and religion are very concerned with the external universe. Heaven, hell, angels, and God are all real places and people in their worldview. They have almost zero reflection on the inner mental world, the world of thoughts. For the West, the inner world does not exist. For the East, whether it be Zen, Buddhism, or most Hindus, the inner world is all that exists.

For Hindus, the world can never go out of control. The external world is a projection of thoughts inside the mind. The purpose of life becomes the quest to pacify the irrational fluctuations of the mind. Under the observation of Yoga, the unruly mind turns out to be an out-of-control Frankenstein. Unless you tame this beast, you can never observe reality for what it truly is.

Without the traditional humbug of God and devils and nonsensical strawman arguments of reincarnation or eternal damnation, how, then, does one construct a worldview? Advaita says that nothing is needed to explain anything in the universe except your own awareness. This awareness is called observer by Science and Sakshin (witness) by Indians.? There is a witness inside you called Jivatman. Jiva means life, and Atman means consciousness. Even "consciousness" is not the correct English word; "Awareness" is a better approximation of the Sanskrit word "Atman." Outside the personal sense of awareness, there is an awareness that gives rise to the infinite universe we perceive, called the "Brahman". The Brahman does nothing and wants nothing because it is everything there is. It is also everything there is not. Hierarchy ends at the Brahman, the ultimate construct that can be visualized.

The extraordinary pronouncement of Advaita is that even the idea of Jiva or Atman is a mistake (at the highest level of understanding). There is only the Brahman inside the individual and the universe. Why do we not see any infinity or extraordinary powers within us?? The answer lies in the ignorance of one's true self (Avidya or ignorance) brought about by false constructs about the universe. Some of Avidya include false theories of science, misunderstanding about the objectivity of the world, inability to ask the right questions, lack of critical thinking and childish ideas of God, heaven and hell that we use to clog our minds with.?

There is no suffering in this universe if you know your real self. So, everything in Advaita, the most popular Hindu perspective, is about how to look within and deconstruct the fake "reality" we see around us by using the intellect and seeing the underlying unity of the world. There is no promise of heaven, magic, Siddhis, Moksha or liberation. In one view, there is nothing to "gain" through Advaita. The idea of "gain" happens when you falsely think of yourself as different from the world. With separation comes greed, anger, jealousy, selfishness and rapacious behaviour. A true Advaitin desires nothing. Why desire anything when the entire universe is a part of the self (Atman) and the Atman is everything?

Advaitins are famously the most productive people on earth. Desire, reward, fame or riches have meaning for them. External recognition is no motivation for them. Work becomes Karma Yoga, a path to divinity. Karma is Dharma. The prodigious works of Adi Shankaracharya, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Sivananda, Chinmayananda and missionaries of the Ramakrishna Mission will shame even the most prolific authors.

Of course, your mind is buzzing with thousands of questions about how Advaita fits the modern world. How is anything you face less real than what it seems? Every question has an answer, which will ultimately have to emerge from within you as your mind calms down and dispassionately observes itself. No Guru or guide can help you in your personal quest. Your path of Yoga will provide answers that are for you alone. All answers have to emerge from within you. Understand that all men are equal; nobody is more wise or foolish than you. They appear wise or foolish because they have let clouds of ignorance (Avidya) and the Maya of the universe overpower them. The only guide to Yoga is the Vedas and Upanishads read with a skeptical, pure and open heart.

I think the current generation overemphasizes the role of a Guru. Even if you have one, treat them as people to act as mentors (who guide long term strategy) than coaches (who give you daily feedback). Spend as much time as possible reflecting (Dhyana), reading (Gyana) and in hearing the powerful poems (Bhakti) of the great seekers in addition to doing your daily Karma. These are the four paths of Yoga which must be attained simultaneously to gain knowledge of the self (Atmagyana). You cannot focus on some and ignore the others.

The guarantee of Advaita is that every step you take is a step up. You will never ever fall down in your inner quest of the self (Atmagyana). When the truth of the outer world collapses into the truth of the inner world, you begin your first couple of steps in the infinite journey of Advaita. The ultimate goal is for the self to know the deepest self.?

Do not use labels to understand Advaita. You will have to forget human labels and the misconceptions that come along with them. Names and forms are themselves a form of Avidya. Advaita is more cynical than any cynic, more stoic than any stoic, more atheist than any atheist, more monotheist than any monotheistic faith, more polytheist than any polytheistic faith, more monist than monism, more panpsychist than any panpsychist and more idealist than any idealist. It is all of these and none of these at the same time. No label can capture its true elegance.

There has never been such a deep philosophy introduced in the history of human thought. The West, especially techies in the Bay Area, is obsessed with Yoga and Advaita (the heart of Yoga). Despite their best efforts, their cultural biases and Avidya prevent them from making any sense of Advaita. For Indians, the situation is different. Indians have been surrounded by Advaita, Bhakti, and Yoga right from their birth. Every nook and corner of India is soaked in spirituality and devotion. Even the greatest deities of the Hindus and Buddhists are always present in a state of Gyana, Dhyana and Bhakti. They are also not exempt from the expectations of humans.

When I read research papers about famous Professors from Korea, China and Japan struggling to make some sense of complex Sanskrit words In Buddhism and Hindutva and often messing it up, I smile. Many of these words are used everywhere in Indian parlance. Indians are surrounded by philosophical words of deep meaning, that even a small child will recognize these meanings instantaneously. Since most Indians know 2-3 Indian languages, every person can instinctively recognize and guess the meaning of much of the esoteric Sanskrit words used.

The journey to master Advaita is actually an easy quest for any Indian. It is like climbing a small hill. It is a paradox that the greatest truth of existence is right in front, waiting to be taken (before an Indian), but Indians want to run away from the ancestral gift handed over to them. Everybody else around the world is doing whatever is possible to learn Advaita and run towards India to gain this esoteric knowledge. However, they learn nearly nothing because their journey is like climbing Mount Everest. It is depressing that people with the one true knowledge are ready to throw it away, and those who really want it desperately cannot come anywhere close.

The answer to the question of "Where is the universe?" is not the direction of fingers pointed outward, but it is of fingers pointed inward. The eye does not see; the mind sees. The ear does not hear; the mind hears. The eye sends signals (electric impulses) of the external universe to the brain. The mind constructs a simulation of the external world. All our interactions are with our inner simulation of the world, never with the real world.?

Reflect on the following questions:

1) Have scientists ever understood how the brain creates a simulation??

2) Is the brain the same as the mind?

3) Is the simulation of the outer world real, made-up, or a combination of real and made-up? Can we ever know the answer?

4) Does science have any tool to explore the inner self - the familiar world of the mind??