A beginner’s question on śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana in Advaita Vedānta

[ram]

Namaskāram to all the respected members,

My name is Ram. I have joined this forum with a sincere wish to study Śaṅkara’s Advaita Vedānta more carefully and to learn from members who have engaged deeply with the prasthāna-traya and the traditional commentarial method.

I would describe myself, at this stage, as a student and practitioner rather than as a scholar or a realised person. My present interest is to understand how śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana are related in the traditional Advaita teaching, and how the mahāvākyas are to be approached through the Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā, and Brahmasūtra-bhāṣya rather than through isolated quotations or personal interpretation.

A question I would be grateful for guidance on is this: when Śaṅkara states that knowledge is the direct means to the removal of avidyā, how should a student understand the precise roles of manana and nididhyāsana? Are they independent means, auxiliary disciplines that remove doubt and habitual error, or should their function be explained differently according to the adhikāra of the seeker? I would especially appreciate references to Śaṅkara’s bhāṣyas or to explanations from an established Advaita teaching tradition.

My intention is to study respectfully, distinguish the siddhānta from my own preliminary understanding, and correct my errors when they are pointed out. I look forward to learning from the members here and, where appropriate, contributing carefully sourced reflections as my understanding matures.

Hari Om.

— Ram

[V Subrahmanian]

Namaste

The best thing for you to do is to:

Access and listen to the recordings of Swami Paramarthananda's classes in English sequentially.  He has conducted classes on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, the Brahmasutras and other texts, including  Vivekachudamani.the Brahmasutras and many texts like Vivekachudamani.  https://www.yogamalika.org/

Attend the ongoing or soon-to-start weekly online classes by scholars of Aham Brahmasmi Foundation, Sringeri.  

Warm regards

subbu

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "advaitin" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to advaitin+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/advaitin/92ffb608-426e-4926-a75c-2dea6153eeddn%40googlegroups.com.