Vedanta is a means of self-knowledge based on scripture, namely the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. Because these primary texts can be difficult for beginners to understand, later teachers of Vedanta began writing introductory works in order to familiarize students with the basics of the teaching and prepare them for more advanced study. However, because these introductory texts were written in Sanskrit for those highly familiar with Vedic culture, it is helpful to the modern student to have the content of these texts presented to them in a language and context they can more easily understand. And that is what the materials included in the Vedanta Beginners Course do. They will give you—in plain and modern English—everything you need to become familiar with Vedanta, and prepare you to study the scriptures in depth, if necessary. Because make no mistake, this course does not leave out any part of the teaching. Properly understood, the materials in the Beginners Course alone are enough to give you moksha, freedom or enlightenment.
Instructions – The Value of Vedanta
Please don’t think that because you have been seeking for a long time that you can skip the Foundation Course and go directly to the Advanced Course. If you are new to Vedanta you need to start at the beginning and work logically through the teachings because every teaching is based on complete assimilation of the preceding teaching. The Foundation Course is a self-guided course that consists of three steps. The steps can be done in any order that you choose. Self-guided means that we respect your desire to know and assume that you are sufficiently self-motivated to cover all the requirements without bias. However, once you are ready to commit to the path of Vedanta, you need to conform to the method of teaching, which is to say that you need to work through the steps systematically. The five steps are karma yoga, upasana yoga, sravanna, manana and nididyasana.
If you imagine that you are highly qualified when you aren’t and skip the qualifying steps, you may initially experience a spiritual high but will eventually be disappointed and be tempted to assume that Vedanta, not your lack of qualifications, is the problem. This would be a grave mistake, in so far as you will have to go back to seeking. Once you understand the value of Vedanta, your seeking ends and you can actually begin to grow organically toward your goal, complete Self knowledge, which is freedom from a sense of smallness, incompleteness and inadequacy.
Step 1
Select one print book from the Books list and one video series from the Video list. You need not worry too much about which one to choose. They all cover the same material, but in slightly different ways. Once you have chosen, read the book and watch the videos slowly, contemplating what they say. Only after you have fully understood each chapter or video should you move on to the next because Vedanta is designed to be a step-by-step teaching. So when you don’t understand a chapter or video, you are unlikely to be able to understand the next one that follows
Step 2
Read the “Experience and Knowledge” e-book.
Step 3
Read as many satsangs as you can in our satsang database. They are a veritable gold mine of information and contain answers to nearly any question about Vedanta you can imagine.
Books – Choose One
Videos – Choose One
SATSANGS – Read as many as possile
E-BOOK
Additional Resources
Advanced Course
After you have completed the Beginners Course, you can continue on to the Advanced Course where you will study the scriptures of Vedanta in depth.