Jar of Goodness 8.9.26: Swami Sarvapriyananda and Vedanta

. . . The weekly virtual “gratitude jar.”

This week, I’m expressing thanks for Swami Sarvapriyananda and for the wisdom of Vedanta.

I know, I know . . . “who he?” Around here in Jeff City, this is like having green plaid skin. But I encourage you to check this out. Look on YouTube for the Vedanta Society of New York, where you can hear many of his lectures. I’m providing some links at the end.

First, Swami Sarvapriyananda is the spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of New York, a Hindu religious congregation that dates back to 1894, when it was founded by the incredibly influential Swami Vivekananda, who is credited with being the earliest, most influential Hindu spiritual leader to travel to the Western world. Vivekananda (1863–1902) famously spoke at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, introducing Hinduism spirituality and philosophy and advocating for universal religious tolerance and acceptance. He also played a crucial role in the rise of Indian nationalism.

Vivekananda was an apostle of his teacher, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836–1886), who was a proponent of a philosophical branch of Hinduism called Advaita Vedanta, or nondual Vedanta. I’m not going to go into a long discussion about what it’s about. Most Americans don’t know the first thing about Hindu spirituality or philosophy, and it’s not my place to try to explain everything. Let’s just say, one of its key insights is that all religions will “get you there.” It doesn’t speak ill of any religion. How refreshing.

Indeed, one of the beautiful things about the so-called polytheistic religion is that it permits every person to cherish and worship her or his own deity, while everyone understands that there is a higher Reality that supersedes our human conceptions of deities. They are all avatars of the Eternal, the One. If I’m understanding this correctly, this makes a lot of sense to me. Also, this inclusive view of theistic religions tends to lead you toward tolerance and appreciation for the diversity of religions across the world and through the ages.

Anyway, I’ve been appreciating Swami Sarvapriyananda’s talks on YouTube. He’s an excellent interpreter of a lot of complex and simple concepts and wisdom. He has five thousand years of scriptures and philosophy to build on. He’s incredibly learned, but he’s charismatic and has a lovely, humble sense of humor.

I’ll wrap this up soon. I just mainly wanted to share him with you. I’ve had a rough time the past few years, and there have been plenty of nights when I have trouble sleeping. It helps a lot just to listen to him. Midnight, 2 a.m., 4, 6 . . . When it seems everything’s a mess, taking that enormous, universal view helps take the edge off.

One of the big images of Advaita Vedanta is that our various individual selves are all part of the All That Is, the way that every wave is part of the ocean. We can’t be separate from it. It is in and through us. The Infinite Eternal can’t be defined objectively; as soon as you put a label on it, you’ve objectified it, placed a definition and a fence around it. And it’s no longer infinite and eternal.

I hope I’m getting this right, because I’d hate to misrepresent this great tradition to you.

No one likes proselytizers. So now it’s time for some links to YouTube videos.

“Vedanta in Five Parables” is a delightful telling of five “greatest hits” stories that explain key concepts of Vedanta. It’s simply fun. Swami Sarvapriyananda once taught at a children’s school, and it shows in his storytelling.

“What Is Vedanta?” is exactly what it sounds like. After you’ve listened to the parables, this is a more in-depth discussion.

“Vedanta in America” is a fascinating lecture about how Hinduism has influenced American thought since Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. Gives some of the history of Swami Vivekananda’s influential visits to America in the late 1800s and early 1900s./

“Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art)” explains this famous phrase of Advaita Vedanta. It helped me to understand the difference between this ancient philosophical tradition and the embarrassing New Age pseudo-Hinduism that misinterpreted this concept as “I am God.”