Tag: Indian Philosophy

Brute Force Meditation: Why It Fails & The Vedantic Path to True Transformation


Most meditation techniques today—from breath-watching and mantra chanting to mindfulness and loving-kindness—belong to the Raja Yoga or Buddhist tradition. While they calm the mind temporarily, they work like “brute force” methods, attempting to suppress thoughts without addressing their root: our underlying desires. True inner transformation, however, requires a radical shift in understanding, not mere mental discipline. Vedanta teaches that only through śravaṇa (learning), manana (reflection), and eventually nididhyāsana (meditation) can the mind genuinely quieten. When the nature of the self, the world, and desire is understood, meditation becomes natural, effortless, and transformative—not just relaxing.

Poetry, Essays & Reflections – Visit My Amazon Author Page


I’m happy to share that my books now have a dedicated home on Amazon through my Author Page. This space brings together my diverse writings—poems, sayings, essays, and reflective pieces that explore consciousness, human experience, and the inner journey. Readers can browse my published works, read descriptions, and stay connected as new books are added.
For many, my writing has served as a quiet invitation to pause, reflect, and rediscover clarity. Having an Author Page allows me to reach those readers more easily and continue that conversation. If you’ve followed my work or would like to explore it, I invite you to visit the page, bookmark it, and share it with anyone who may resonate with this blend of poetry and philosophy.
Here is the link to my Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/author/samar

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.

Justice, Injustice, and the Law of Karma: A Vedantic Reflection


“We deserve all the justices and injustices that happen to us in life.” This aphorism holds weight when seen through the law of karma and Advaita Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita teaches that while we must act against adharma, the outcomes—justice or injustice—unfold according to past karma. What appears as unfair is not random, but a ripened consequence (prārabdha) shaping our soul’s journey. For the realized Self, untouched by dualities, justice and injustice dissolve altogether. To act dharmically while surrendering fruits is the highest freedom.

Beyond Words: Silence as the Highest Expression of Truth


Ramana Maharshi declared, “The only language able to express the whole truth is silence.” In Advaita Vedanta, the Self is beyond knowledge and ignorance, beyond light and darkness. Words divide, but silence holds unity. Ramana’s presence itself was a teaching—those who sat with him often felt peace beyond explanation. Silence is not absence but fullness: the stillness in which the Self shines without obstruction. To abide in this silence is to realize that truth is not something to be reached but what we already are—pure being, ever free. Explore Ramana Maharshi’s teaching that silence is the highest expression of truth in Advaita Vedanta, where words fail but being alone remains.

From Metaphysical Weariness to Self-Realization


There are moments in life when fatigue runs deeper than the body or mind—it’s a weariness of existence itself. Not depression, not despair, but a quiet recognition that life as we know it may be part of a grander cosmic play. In this exchange, I explore this metaphysical tiredness through the lens of Advaita Vedanta and the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and J. Krishnamurti. What emerges is a simple yet profound daily contemplative routine—an invitation to step beyond egoic striving and rest in pure Awareness, where true happiness and freedom reside.