Thoughts On Advaitic Realization And Advaitic Experience

A collection of thoughts on Advaitic realization and Advaitic experience.

Awareness is of two types—awareness of the objects and awareness of the subject. Awareness of objects is created by sense organs when they come into contact with their particular objects. This awareness is perishable because anything that is created, as a rule, dies a natural death in time.

On the other hand, awareness of the subject or contentless awareness is eternal as it is not created. This eternal awareness, the Chaitanyam as it is called in Sanskrit, is the Atman or the Self. Realizing the Atman is the height of Advaitic Realization.

Source – Vedanta Kesari January 2017 issue page 7

Lakshmana Temple In Khajuraho - Madhya Pradesh

The Advaitic experience is not an exclusive state; it is the culmination and fulfillment of all divine moods, being their perennial source.

Even an incarnation, with infinite divine power hidden in the garb of a human body, has to manifest his spiritual potential through sadhana. Another objective of sadhana is to show humankind the importance of spiritual practices in one’s effort to realized God.

Vedanta explicitly states that the Ishwara, the ruler of the universe in essence, is Brahman but with attributes. In the Advaitic state, the idea of Ishwara is merged in the unconditioned state of Brahman.

The Advaitic experience is not an exclusive state; it is the culmination and fulfillment of all divine moods, being their perennial source. It is the state of Brahma Chaitanya, the pure Consciousness, of which all names and forms in the existence are but appearances. It is the state of all embracing integration of myriad spiritual ideals and paths.

Advaitic experience is not the state of negating anything, but that mystical state of experience in which the whole world is experienced as a manifestation of divine consciousness.

At the end of Advaitic Sadhana one discovers that the ultimate goal of all spiritual disciplines is to become firmly established in nonduality.

After performing sadhanas according to the many religious denominations prevalent in Sanatana Dharma one will realize that each of them lead the aspirant towards the nondual plane.

Nondual state is the last word, the culmination of sadhana.

The experience of nonduality or Brahman is not limited to the transcendental realm; it is the same reality that we experience unknowingly even at the mundane level. This bhavamukha state affirms the all-inclusive nature of Advaitic experience, which rejects none, but accepts everything as the manifestation of ultimate Reality.

This fact is corroboration in the Upanishadic sayings like ‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ whatever exists should be enveloped by God (Isha Upanishad, 1) and ‘Sarvam khalu idam Brahma – everything is indeed Brahman (Chandogya Upanishad, 3.141). Adi Shankaracharya, in his Vivekachudamani (227) says: “All this universe, which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing but Brahman.”

Source – Prabuddha Bharata March 2021 issue editorial