An introduction to Advaita and the paths
A word and several contexts
Advaita means nonduality. Advaita Vedanta understands the self, Atman, and ultimate reality, Brahman, as not separate. Nonduality is also used in other settings. Similar words do not mean that traditions teach the same thing.
Sources
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Vedanta Society of Southern California
What is Vedanta?
Contemporary teachings are varied
Modern nonduality is a broad description. Rupert Spira, for example, distinguishes progressive, direct and pathless approaches. The Open Secret presents a radical message in which no separate seeker can achieve liberation through choice or effort. We describe these specific positions rather than treating “strict” and “modern” as opposing schools.
Sources
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Rupert Spira
The Three Types of Meditation -
The Open Secret
Seeing and Not Seeing
Approaches and practices
A tradition, a teacher’s approach and a practice are different things. Meditation or prayer can have different meanings in different contexts. Witnessing an experience and listening closely to a sensation are invitations that need their own context; they do not define Vedanta and Tantra.
Continue with the original voices
The profiles and chapters provide a more specific account. Our summaries offer orientation; the source references let you follow the teachers’ own words.