Sundari,
I am reaching out to you, like so many others, to inquire about finding a qualified teacher for myself as I learn and assimilate the knowledge of Vedanta. I make this request while realizing that Ram wrote in “Experience and Knowledge” that students should not seek a teacher but let one come to you. I am willing to let one come to me though I am not sure how to best follow that suggestion as I live in Texas, and as far as I know, there are very few qualified Vedanta teachers loafing around. Ha.
The “Contact Us” page outlines things inquirers should know before reaching out. I have read through those and I will share a bit about myself to give you context. I have completed the Beginner’s course including reading both “How to Attain Enlightenment” and “The Essence of Enlightenment” more than once. I continue to study the books daily. I have listened carefully to all of “Self-Inquiry Berlin 2011” and I’m currently listening to “Bhagavad Gita India 2012.” (I purchased the complete Vedanta set from the Shiningworld website). I have read the pdf book “Experience and Knowledge.” I continue to read satsangs from the website.
I am grateful to have come upon Vedanta, Jim Swartz’s teaching, and the shiningworld.com website. I have been “spiritual” all of my life journeying through evangelical Christianity until my late 20s, Christian and Eastern mysticism, atheism, secular Buddhism, and discovered something about Advaita Vedanta through various zen, post-zen, and modern spiritual teachers as well as Sri Nisargadatta and Ramana Maharshi. I imagine this brief sketch is similar to many who eventually discover Vedanta. Like these students, I have found it a breath of fresh air for my soul.
Personally, I am a mother, psychotherapist, and psychology professor. My scholarship includes the interface of spirituality and psychology, mindfulness, and social justice issues. I also teach and train clinical mental health counseling students. As might be expected, I have emphasized Buddhist psychology and mindfulness in my teaching and practice. I have also had the fortune to travel extensively for work and pleasure–I studied abroad in China as an undergraduate and I teach for OU in Europe 4-6 times a year (before the COVID-19 pandemic, of course, ha).
I do not have a burning question about Vedanta at the moment though questions arise as I study. Mostly, I have tried to adopt Ram’s admonition to study with an open mind and let the teaching work in the reader. I believe it is revealed truth and I am taking seriously the requirement for a teacher as mentioned so many times throughout his teachings. So, I present myself to you and remain at your service. I am interested in a relationship with a teacher if that seems right to you at this time. If I should wait until another time, then I will do as you suggest. Whatever the response, I am open to your counsel.
Warmly and with gratitude
Sundari: It is clear from your email that you are a refined and mature ‘seeker’, though I say seeker advisedly as, in truth, you are no longer seeking. You have an impressive resume and having found Vedanta means you have come to the ‘end of the road’ and become a ‘finder’. Assuming qualifications, Vedanta is the knowledge that ends the quest. Your attitude and approach to self-inquiry are perfect, and I commend you for it. If your main motivation is freedom from limitation, and if self-inquiry is done correctly, it requires not only the requisite qualifications but that you follow the methodology carefully, as set out in James’ books and videos. Which you are doing, by what you say.
However, though self-inquiry can only be conducted on your own, it is important that you check in with a teacher who helps you in unfolding the scriptures. The teachings contain certain paradoxes that must be explained. Vedanta is a provocative and counter-intuitive teaching designed to give rise to doubts which it also answers. Although you clearly have a very sophisticated and cultivated mind, without a qualified teacher, one inevitably tends to interpret the teachings according to what one knows or conditions the mind.
As for ‘not seeking a teacher’, it is clear you found the right one because you found James and Shiningworld. It is grace to find him and grace is earned. I do not believe I am biased when I say you will not find a ‘better’ Vedanta teacher anywhere. If you would like to connect with him directly, his email address is swartz.jb@gmail.com.
I am also very happy to help you with any questions or doubts you may have, so feel free to write any time. We both also offer skype-satsang by donation.
Om and prem, Sundari
