This section has been added to try to clarify the differing teaching methods of traditional Advaita and so-called 'Neo-Advaita'.
Rather than simply express my own views on the subject, a number of essays are presented and an open invitation is extended to anyone else, teacher, writer or seeker, to submit their interpretation. The only criteria are that any essay should be on topic, reasonably well written (grammatical and logical) and respectful of opposing views.
As pointed out by myself and Tony Parsons in two of the following essays, the very meaning of the word Advaita tells us that the purport of any Advaita teaching must be the same. The difference lies in the way that this message is transmitted, i.e. the 'Teaching Method'. Ideally, any essay should clearly define how they understand the terms, since there does not seem to be any concensus view. To set the scene and provide a provocative provisional definition, the following was suggested recently on the Advaitin List:
1. Traditional Vedanta = Right Method
2. Neo-Vedanta = Right Method Misunderstood
3. Pseudo-Vedanta = Wrong Method
But then I do not want to bias opinions in any particular direction...
The following are the essays so
far contributed on the topic. (Note that
links to them are also provided from the 'Discourses
by Teachers and Writers' pages.) (Note that all
of the essays by Charlie Hayes, including the
dialogs that I had with him have been removed
at his request.)
Advaita and Western Neo-Advaita - Alan Jacobs.
Traditional versus Neo-Advaita - Dennis Waite. The Divine Misconception - Tony Parsons. Why ‘Traditional Advaita’ is relevant to liberation - Chittaranjan Naik. The Problem and the Solution - Durga. -
From the Age of the Guru to the Age of the Friend - Greg Goode.
The Three Faces of Advaita - Aja Thomas. Ego and Seeking - Shawn Nevins. Both=One - John Greven. Meaningless Words - Liz Jones.
Neo-Advaita - James Swartz. -
Perfect Brilliant Stillness - Comments on the book by David Carse.
Spiritual Humanism versus Neo-Advaita - Möller de la Rouvière, Tony Parsons and Alan Stoltz. -
Traditional vs neo-Advaita - Dr. N. K. Srinivasan.
A Dialog with Jeff Foster - Jeff Foster and Dennis Waite. -
Critical
Responses to an Essay by Tony Parsons -
Nathan Spoon.
-
Traditional
not two-ness is better than Neo not two-ness
??? - Tony Parsons.
A response
to 'not two-ness' - Dennis Waite.
The
Horse’s Mouth: An essay on the 'lineage'
game - James Swartz.
Another
response to ‘not two-ness’ -
Alan Stoltz.
-
A Final Response
to 'not two-ness' - Tony
Parsons.
See the complete list of discourses sorted by Topic.
See the complete list of discourses sorted by Author.
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