Fiona: I recently met someone who claims to be a Swami, a title bestowed on them by James Swarts they said, but they couldn’t really explain what that meant to me. I’m curious if/how James could give someone this title as a westerner? What lineage? Are they simply lying?
Sundari: James does not bestow titles on anyone, though he is a qualified teacher of Vedanta, which makes him a lineage holder in the Sanatana Dharma, or Eternal Way, as Vedanta is called.
Vedanta is a valid means of knowledge to free the mind of ignorance of its true nature, not to achieve some special status or title. There is nothing special about being the Self because everyone is the Self, though they may not know it. This is what Self inquiry is about, investigating the true nature of reality.
The term Swami comes from the root Sanskrit word ‘sva’ which means I am, the one and only independent Self. It is also an honorific in the sense that it means someone who has mastered the mind, one aligned in thought, word, and deed, knows who they are, i.e, the Self. It can be applied to monks who have taken the vow to dedicate their lives to the teachings and in this case, it has the connotation of ‘revered’.
But it is also a common term which means ‘lord’, owner, spiritual preceptor or teacher. It is a term of endearment and encouragement because it means the Self, so everyone is in essence a swami.
Fiona: I am also a follower of the nondual ways. I was just curious as this person calls themself a Swami and says that James gave them the title Swami and a new name, and they use this to market themselves.
Sundari: Who is it that you are referring to? We cannot answer your question unless you tell us because clearly this is important to you, not to us. It may well be that whoever you are referring is exploiting the teachings, but it may be that they are genuine. Ramji does not give out spiritual names as a rule, only on very rare occasions.
We encourage people to pass on the knowledge but endorse very few to teach. It requires certain qualifications and integrity to do so, and few have the svadharma or are qualified to teach. It is our job is to protect the lineage as teachers of Vedanta.
But ultimately, we have no control over what people do, if they abuse the teachings for their own gain or recognition or distort what we told them. As you probably are well aware, the spiritual world is full of big egos. It may be that James used the term Swami as an encouragement, as he often does, and this person took it the wrong way.
Om
Sundari
