Category: Self-realization / Liberation

Advaita for Dummies


Is happiness really hiding in the next achievement, possession, or relationship—or is it already within you, waiting for the restless mind to pause? In this article, we explore 16 timeless questions through the lens of Advaita Vedānta and other wisdom traditions—questions like: Is desire poison or medicine? Is the waking world any more real than a dream? What does it mean to be in bondage, or free? Drawing from the insights of Vedānta, Buddhism, Taoism, and Stoicism, this guide simplifies profound truths and shows why “you” are not the doer at all—Consciousness alone is.

Why the Knower Cannot Be “Known”: Advaita Vedanta and the Hard Problem of Consciousness


The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad asks, “By what can one know the Knower?” Modern neuroscience and philosophy of mind echo the same puzzle in the “hard problem of consciousness.” Instruments and theories can track brain states and behavior, but never Awareness itself—the very light by which all knowing occurs. Advaita Vedānta makes the radical move: the Knower is not an object of study but the Self, svayam-prakāśa, self-luminous. To seek it as an object is like the eye trying to see itself. Liberation lies in abiding as That, not in endless inquiry.

What Has Shakespeare/Socrates to Do With Shankaracharya?


What has Shakespeare or Socrates to do with Shankaracharya? Nothing. Shakespeare glorifies the theater of Maya, making us weep and laugh at dream-characters. Socrates spins webs of thought, trapping us in endless dialogue. Both literature and philosophy grant solidity to illusion, deepening our bondage to samsara. Shankaracharya is not another voice in their marketplace; he is the firebrand who torches the whole bazaar. Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya—the world is false, Brahman alone is real. Advaita is not here to polish the dream but to shatter it. Wake up. The play is over.

Para Vidya (Higher Learning) Vs. Apara Vidya (Lower Learning)


The Mundaka Upanishad divides knowledge into two streams. Apara Vidya embraces all sciences and arts—the brilliance of mathematics, the sweep of history, the beauty of literature and philosophy. These disciplines teach us about the world of names and forms, yet remain within the realm of duality. Para Vidya, by contrast, points only to the essence—Brahman, Consciousness, the clay beneath all pots. The first refines the intellect, the second liberates the self. To honor both is wisdom: to study the many with care, and to seek the One with devotion.

Layers of Truth – Philosophical Debate between Perspective Mapper & Sam, Mediated by Claude.ai


Is truth layered or singular? In this voice-led dialogue, Ranjit argues for levels of truth—conventional to ultimate—drawing on Vedanta, Buddhism, and lived context. Sam insists on “naked” nonduality: in the absolute, neither love nor compassion can arise because there is no second. Both concede a paradox: ultimate reality must speak through dual words, bodies, and choices. Meeting people where they are (upaya) becomes the bridge. Sartre’s freedom, Shankara’s clarity, and Christ’s command to love surface as touchstones. Finally, they converge: truth may be one, yet when it moves through the relative world, its authentic signature is love and compassion. Naturally.