What is Vedanta’s final instruction, once the four yogas, the scriptures, and the practices are stripped away? Summa iru — be still. But if stillness is the goal, why does the mind refuse it? This letter traces a four-link chain — ignorance, desire, thought, action — to argue that the “obstacles” of Buddhist Abhidharma’s kleshas are symptoms of desire, and desire itself is a symptom of the deeper ignorance that we are body-mind alone. A companion critique examines the circularity this seems to create, and asks whether stillness must be achieved through effort, or simply uncovered by inquiry.
Tag: Purusharthas
My Interpretation of the Cover of My Book “Sammary of the Bhagavad Gita”
My cousin asked me, “What is the cover picture?”, referring to my book “Sammary of the Bhagavad Gita”: https://www.amazon.in/Sammary-Bhagavad-Gita-Samarender-Reddy-ebook/dp/B0GT7313VL/ I … More
The Vitamin M’s
The mind mostly seeks Money, Material possessions, and Marital bliss. While doing so, one is better off sticking to Morals. … More
My Brother-in-Law’s Perspicacious Observation and the Purusharthas
When in January 1995 at the age of 30 years I came back to India from the US, I was … More
Beyond the Dichotomy of Liberals and Conservatives
No love seems to be lost these days between liberals and conservatives, so-called left wing and right wing. For quite … More
Making Sense of It All – World Drama, Purusharthas, and Craving
Both Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Ramana Maharshi remarked, “The world is a drama of woman and gold.” Hinduism points out that … More
The Four Purusharthas
A friend asked today: “I had a philosophical question for you:- On one hand, there is a school of thought … More