Preface
1. Introduction
Why Advaita philosophy?
What do we want from life?
SECTION 1 - The Unreal
2. What I am not
Not the body
Not the mind
Not the ego
Not a 'person'
Attachment in general
Confusion of Self with ego
3. Nature of man
Hierarchy - minerals, plants, animals, man
The three 'Qualities' of nature
The 'covering' of our true nature
4. What We Think We Can Know
Ignorance
Thinking
Opinions
Beliefs
Memory
Experience
Knowledge, wisdom and truth
Self-knowledge
Language
5. The driving forces of our lives
Happiness
Desire
Fear, anger and grief
Love
6. Actions and results
Cause and effect
Karma
Sanskara
Good and evil
SECTION 2 - The spiritual path
7. Some traditional paths
Spiritual 'path' - sadhana
Pre-requisites for the seeker
Bhakti yoga
Purification of the mind
Karma yoga
Jnana yoga
Faith
Gods and religion
Scriptures
8. Meditation
What is it?
The mind
Japa and mantra
Some Practical considerations
The problem with thoughts
The need for practice
9. Other practices
Attention
Silence
Discrimination
Indifference
Witness
Keeping good company
Obstacles
10. Gurus
What a guru is
The value of a guru
SECTION 3 - The real
11. Appearance and reality
Only the Self - not things, body, mind etc.
Appearance vs. reality - metaphor of magician
Name and form
You are the 'Self'
Play and lila
Appearance
12. The Limits of knowledge
What can we know? (Kant " Schopenhauer)
Paramarthika
More on maya
Mistaking the real for the unreal
Objects
13. Creation and time
Creation
Nirguna vs. saguna Brahman
The illusion of time
14. The myth of action
Only the guna act
Determinism, fate and free will
Another look at cause and effect
15. Consciousness
Dream state
Waking state
Deep-sleep state
Turiya - awareness
Death
Reincarnation
Summary of Consciousness from Advaita viewpoint
16. The nature of the Self
Perceiving or thinking of the Self
The 'soul'
Description of the Self
The Self in Advaita
Individual differences
The individual and the Self
17. Realisation
What is a 'realised' man?
Process of realisation
Samadhi
The 'Transition'
Views from the Sages
Classical viewpoint
18. Direct Path teachings
'Who am I?'
Meditation without an object
Dictionary of common Sanskrit spiritual words
Appendix 1 - Sources of further information
Appendix 2 - Introduction to Sanskrit Alphabet and Transliteration References
INDEX |
