A path to liberation
Vedanta is a means to truly know yourself. To recognise that which you essentially are. What is meant by yourself here? Is it the combination of your outer life and your inner life, of your body, your character and your personality? Or is the Self you essentially are something else, a Self that is free of your personality and character, of your traits, judgements and conditioning, of thoughts and feelings, of your outer form and the life you lead.
Knowing that Self is what Vedanta is all about. There are many names for it: Enlightenment, God, Moksha, Liberation, Awakening, Self-realisation, Oneness, Brahman, Nirvana, Consciousness, Awareness, Ultimate Reality, the Unnameable, the Absolute, the Infinite to name a few.
In Vedanta, its realisation is considered the highest goal in human life. And by this is meant not the belief that such a thing exists, but the actual understanding, knowing and experiencing of it. You want to know rather than believe. That is Self-knowledge in its purest form. Non-dual knowledge, by which you understand not only yourself -that which you are in essence- but also the essence of all existence, nature, man and the universe. And thus the origin of all that.
Not what it seems
All objects you see, hear, taste, smell and feel are made up of particles. Objects and bodies, air and water, as well as planets and stars are made up of molecules. These in turn consist of atoms, protons and these in turn consist of even smaller particles. The very smallest particles turn out to consist only of energy. And that turns out to be nothing more than information or intelligence, which in turn consists of pure Consciousness, formless and unlimited. Energy or matter is thus carried by Consciousness from which the entire universe manifests itself. There is no matter at this level, only Consciousness, infinite in its mind-boggling and dizzying potential for creation.
Vedanta gives very fascinating explanations of this. How from Consciousness the whole universe can seemingly arise. (Emerge here means: it temporarily takes names and forms, but does not really change. Hence everything is temporary and impermanent). How Consciousness shines on the creative force, Maya, through which all forms appear. How we humans give names to all forms. How we no longer know our origin, are identified with our form, mesmerised by all forms of life and subject to many limitations. How we live in cleavages and no longer know the unity of the whole. How we see ourselves as the centre and are separated from the whole. How the reality of what we essentially are seems to be veiled and hidden from us.
Vedanta gives us the knowledge of how to see through that obfuscation and how to un-discover what our true nature is. Vedanta is a method of knowledge that enables us to know that which we perceive as unity, what we perceive to be a multiple, dual, reality. To understand what and who we actually are. To bring about a perspective shift from separateness to the unity of consciousness. To live from oneness and act from there. And not from a temporary experience or enlightenment, but as permanent Being. That is what is called "Moksha" in Vedanta: the highest freedom..
What do I really want?
In Vedanta, four human goals are mentioned:
1. Artha (Safety and Security)
2. Kama (Pleasure and Enjoyment)
3. Dharma (Doing Good and Social Commitment)
4. Moksha (Liberation)
Artha stands for all forms of security in life: a roof over your head, sufficient money, but also wealth, power, influence and fame. When the basic needs are met, attention naturally moves to the next goal: Kama. You also want to have a nice life with preferably a lot of fun. Kama stands for all forms of sensual pleasure.
The possibility exists that you cannot get enough of the first two goals and that you spend all your life's energy on getting more and more. But when you realise that getting more and more for yourself and your loved ones cannot really make you happy, Dharma plays a role as a goal in your life. You want to share and give your qualities back to society. Dharma is about the right way of living, in which you do not live only for yourself. This produces "good" karma. Good karma, which is needed to take the next step.
I'm never done
With the first three goals, you live object-oriented, outward-looking. For many people, this is enough. Your own life can be very beautiful. Especially if you are also committed to society and don't close your eyes to other people's suffering. Your life can be such a beautiful prison that you don't even realise you are trapped. That you are mopping while the tap is open.
Unawareness is the cause of all misery in the human world, because people start compensating for their sense of limitation with unbridled pursuit of wealth, material possessions, sex, power, etc. Knowing who and what you are is the solution, and that starts... with yourself!
Engaging with others, society and/or nature and the earth is also an object-oriented goal. Good and necessary to engage in. But it is not a solution to the fundamental problem, the ignorance of who and what we are. The moment you ask yourself what everything is for and what the meaning of your life is, you start searching and hopefully find a way to look at reality radically differently. You start to realise how limited and unfree you actually are and recognise that you no longer long for more security, pleasure or doing good, but for freedom from all the desires that bind you, freedom from the feeling of insecurity and limitation. Freedom from control and the feeling of being responsible for world affairs.
The supreme goal, Moksha, is what your desire is increasingly directed towards.
Moksha, not a philosophy but a means to freedom
Moksha is inner freedom, freedom from attachment to Artha, Kama and Dharma. The pursuit of the first three goals is based on the feeling of "I am insecure, I need something, I am not happy, I am mortal, I need to become someone." I have to constantly make sure that what I think I need externally to be happy is sufficiently present in my life. I have to fulfil my urge to become better than what I currently think of myself to be.
You have to realise that simply adding more Artha, Kama and Dharma will not change your basic sense of limitation. It will never be enough and you will keep encountering new limitations. Trust is the first key to calmness and happiness. From Vedanta you can learn why you can fully trust existence. Next, Vedanta is a proven way to find true freedom, a freedom that, once you have tasted it, you will not let go of.
Hanging on
Because Vedanta stems from ancient Indian wisdom, many Sanskrit words are used. At first this seems difficult, but usually the terms are well explained and you get used to them. Our Western languages simply have fewer words to explain Vedanta knowledge in a nuanced way. This knowledge is many thousands of years old and has been transmitted from century to century, in many scriptures and orally from teacher (guru) to student. These ancient scriptures are the Vedas, the Upanishads and stories like the Bhagavad Gita. There is an incredible amount of valuable knowledge in here that has proved its practical usefulness right in our times too. Vedanta is a tried and tested way to reach Enlightenment through knowledge transfer. With cognitive knowledge, you can begin to see through the delusion of Maya. Then, through exposure to the texts and knowledge of Vedanta, you can start understanding more and more and at some point the truth penetrates you like lightning. From then on, everything is different!
That is not to say, by the way, that the first three goals are then no longer important. What does fall away is the need for more and more. Life is then no longer the pursuit of happiness, but the celebration of your happiness.
A living teacher makes truth alive
Because of the illusionary workings of Maya, it is difficult to see what it is all about, especially at first. This knowledge initially goes against human logic and intuition. In earlier times, it was therefore necessary to find a teacher and stay with them for a long time. In our times with the internet and so many resources, you can come a long way through self-study. Many Veda teachers can be found on YouTube. You can find them on the Links page and in the Blog, among others. You can also establish a relationship with a teacher by participating in online meetings, which is recommended for several reasons. There is also the possibility of participating in short seminars, here or in India. For example, with André Vas, James Swartz or Rommert van Dijk. It is important, though, not to do it all by yourself by just reading texts. Probably the subtle meaning will then remain inaccessible and the texts will seem boring and incomprehensible.
To get an overview, you can start with one of the books below. In particular, the small book "Vedanta, the Great Whole" is very suitable for this purpose. You can also do the course below in "Further deepening". For now only in English, but a translation is being worked on.
Simon de Jong's article "What is non-duality" explores Vedanta knowledge in more detail.
Vedanta versus other forms of spirituality.
Vedanta, also called Advaita-Vedanta, is one of the sources for arriving at Enlightenment. A source that has its roots in India. Vedanta is no better than other spiritual or religious movements. It's just what you are attracted to, and in the beginning of your quest it can be useful to make that a broad orientation. Ultimately, it does make sense to explore deeply what you feel most attracted to and what came your way. If you are looking for water, you are not going to find it by digging shallow wells in many places. By concentrating on one find spot and going in depth there you can find what you are looking for. Success to you!
Good luck to you!
For further deepening
- Course on Basic Knowledge of Vedanta (in English only)
This link refers to a Vedanta Basic Course designed for people who want to know more about Vedanta and get a good overview of it. - What is non-duality?
In this article, Simon de Jong explores this question in more detail. - Welcome to the timeless wisdom of Advaita Vedanta.
Dutch translation of the homepage of André Vas's website, YesVedanta.
Vedanta, the Great Whole
This concise booklet gives a good overview of Vedanta and its framework of concepts.
Download the Epub and PDF and/or order the booklet as a paperback (11×18 cm, 116 pages) for €15
The Essence of Enlightenment
by James Swartz
Videos with English and Dutch subtitles
Find here. on this website.
Website: www.shiningworld.com
On this website you will find a lot of information, books, audio and video material about Vedanta.
De Essentie van Verlichting
by James Swartz, translation of the book above, is also available in Dutch.
Website: Uitgeverij: Samsara
Publisher Viveki has translated and published many books about Vedanta in Dutch, including The essence of the Bhagavad Gita, explained by Swami Dayananda.
Website: www.viveki.nl