Author: Andrew Taggart
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‘The Indication Of Your Progress Is Your Disinclination To Associate With Normal People’
Near the end of his life, Nisargadatta is in a satsang with a student who asks: “What is the yardstick to measure the progress of the seeker” (Prior to Consciousness: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, p. 45)? His answer may surprise you. Maharaj: “The indication of your progress is your disinclination to associate with normal…
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Deft Spiritual Instruction In The Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Tucked between verses containing soaring lines on the Absolute, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad includes very practical, and sagely, spiritual instruction on how to meditate. It is worth reading closely and bears deep contemplation. Be seated with spinal column erect And turn your mind and senses deep within. With the mantram echoing in your heart, Cross over…
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Atman And Anatta
According to a Wikipedia entry comparing Advaita Vedanta with Mahayana Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta holds the premise, “Soul exists, and Soul (or self, Atman) is a self-evident truth.” Buddhism, in contrast, holds the premise, “Atman does not exist, and An-atman (or Anatta, non-self) is self-evident.” This seems like a dubious “difference without a distinction” so long…
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Nachiketa’s Greatest Boon: Going Beyond Death
The Katha Upanishad is remarkable for its poignancy, beauty, and clarity. Poignantly does it describe a dialogue between a teenager Nachiketa and Yama, the presider over death. Nachiketa, afraid of death and rightly so, asks how he might go beyond death. What is clearly articulated are the whispers of a path. So: When the five…
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Samskaras And Thoughts: On Ramana Maharshi’s Fresh Approach
Yesterday, I sought to show that there is an especially close relationship between samskaras and Ultimate Reality. I’d like to expand on those reflections here. To do so, I return to Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. A disciple, who is also a busy householder, is asking Maharshi about the role that meditation plays in realizing…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 