Tag: Upanisads
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Sri Ramanuja on Karmayoga
Sri Ramanuja is one of the great teachers of karmayoga, the discipline which unites action and contemplation. In his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, Ramanuja argues that karmayoga is essential for all yogins, and is especially important in preparing oneself for higher practices of bhakti. I have translated the following commentary, which provides insight into a…
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“God”?
What the punctuation in the title indicates: Quotation marks: Draping the word God in quotation marks indicates that we are first concerned with the signifier, not the signified. (Compare these two sentences: I am interested in God. I am interested in “God.”) Question mark: The mark of interrogation backstopping “God” points us next to questions…
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The World as the Body of God
Sri Ramanuja, the great theistic Vedantin, provides a model of the relationship between the world and God which sees the world as God’s body. I thought we could explore that notion here. In Bhagavad-gita 10.20 Krishna says I am the self, Arjuna, dwelling in all beings. In his commentary on this text Ramanuja suggests that…
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Windows to the Material World
I just finished assembling my journals into book form for a final edit. Fortunately, I finished the work before my computer crashed. I knew it was on the blink, but I dreaded the day when it need to be sent for repair. Leaving the shop on my way home, however, I felt a surprising relief,…
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Meditation as Sacrifice
Translations from the Svetasvatara Upanisad and the Bhagavad-gita
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Morning Rituals: Waking
A Brief Description of a Ritual of Waking Within the Bhakti Tradition In order to understand ritual, one must understand context. Within the Vedantic tradition of presentation there are three underlying principles: sambandha, the subject’s relationship to the object, abhidheya, the activity, and prayojana, or goal. A achieves C through B.
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“A Person is Made of Desire”
A Translation of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5-6 (Madhyandina Recension)