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Vedanta: A Simple Introduction

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As a scholar and practitioner of Vedanta, I can say with confidence that this is the best introductory text on Vedanta available in the English language. It manages to communicate this subtle and complex philosophy in terms that are clear and, as the title suggests, simple. But it does so without oversimplifying. I regularly assign this text to my students (college students taking introductory courses on the religions of South Asia) and they have consistently praised it for the clear and engaging style in which it is written. One student reported to me that when she started reading it, she could not put it down until she had read it cover-to-cover. It really is that engaging. It is, of course, an introductory text. I recommend that readers interested in the various schools of Vedanta other than the modern Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-inspired interpretation of Advaita look to other works. But for novices, and especially for those interested in Vedanta as a spiritual practice rather than from a purely scholarly perspective, this book can't be beat.

I would also like to say that the reviewer who bashed this book essentially for not being a Christian work has utterly missed the point. This is not Christianity, it's Vedanta! It would be like bashing a book by a Christian author for not talking about Brahman, or samsara...

If you want a very brief intro into Vedanta that you can read in a couple of hours this is it. If you want a more in depth book that places it within Hinduism then 'The Spiritual Heritage of India' by Swami Prabhavananda is excellant. Both books are by writers from the Vedanta Society. The best teachers of Vedanta are from that organization. A funny happened to me when I bought and started reading this book. It seemed very deja vu, like I had read it all before. Then I remembered that this came from a website online, the Vedanta Society of Southern California. This book and that website do a good job explaining the basics of Vedanta and the Vedanta Society, though not in much detail. But it's a good place to start and see if you have interest in it, then move on to a more detailed book like 'Spiritual Heritage' which is one of the most incredible books on spirituality I've ever read. Borders also offers 'Spiritual Heritage' to readers.

The concepts in Vedanta go back thousands of years, but the Vedanta Society itself was just started in the late 1800's by disciples of one of India's greatest saints, Ramakrishna. It's like the Bible goes back 2000 years but a church may have just began recently based on the Bible. A beginner might ask what is the relationship between Hinduism and Vedanta. Vedanta is part of Hinduism just like Catholicism or Protestantism are branches of Christianity. Hinduism has many parts to it, many scriptures, many schools, many spiritual teachers. The Vedanta Society unifies all of them into one spiritual view in a brillaint way. The schools of Hinduism tend to teach different parts of Hindu spirituality. For the most part they all agree with one another, though there might be some minor differences they compliment each other brilliantly (I guess I like that word). The three most well-known schools today are Samkhya, Vedanta and Yoga. These aren't mentioned directly in this book, but if you know something about them beforehand it may help you when reading it.

First the goal of Hinduism and Vedanta are to realize or know God. This is not taught by any Christian church as the spiritual goal. The goal of Christian churches is to believe a very strict way so that you are saved and after you die you will go to heaven. Hinduism is more than just belief in God, it is after the experience of God. If you look at books by Hindus or Vedantists on what Jesus taught you'll find that they interpret the teachings of Christ differently than Christian churches. For example, Christ talks a great deal about the kingdom of heaven. That is Jesus' central teaching according to Bible scholars. Hindus and Vedantists see that as meaning that Christ is saying each person should realize that kingdom of heaven within them which is why a Hindu will say Christianity also teaches God-realization just like Hinduism and Vedanta. But of course that is not the meaning the Christian churches get which is why Hindu Vedanta teaches the spiritual goal is to know God, but no Christian church teaches that nor how. Of all the religions Vedanta teaches how to experience and know God better than any other one. The only place this goal is found in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are in their very tiny mystical wing, but not by the vast majority of their believers who have no interest in mysticism. So the only way to say the religions have the same goal is if you are talking about Hindu Vedanta compared to the small mystical wing of these religions. But if you are talking about say the Christian churches and Hindu Vedanta they do not have the same goal. The Christian churches teach that heaven is a place you eventually to go later, while Vedanta teaches heaven is a place within that you can experience spiritually now on Earth, you don't have to wait til you die. This is a huge difference. I believe the reason is because of a teaching in one school of Hinduism missing in other religions - Purusha.

1) Samkhya deals with the concepts of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is an important concept in Hinduism & Vedanta and means spiritual Consciousness. God is spiritual Consciousness but so is our soul. In the Upanishads the soul is called Atman, by later ancient Vedanta teachers it is called jiva. A good English term for it is the 'Divine Self' in all human beings. So God and our Divine Self within us are made up of this same Purusha. Prakriti is matter and also the human mind that works though the physical senses. Vedantists then have defined what makes up God and the human soul, while Christianity does not. In fact in Christianity and the Bible the soul is hardly mentioned at all, just a few times and is never described, while it is the central teaching in Hinduism & Vedanta. In Christianity they concentrate on how we are filled with sin which is the cause of the well-known tendency for Christians to feel guilt. But in the Hindu scriptures, from which Vedanta is based, they emphasize our Divine Self and how it is made up of the same divine essence as God - Purusha or eternal spiritual Consciousness. This is why Hindus and Vedantists say things like 'I am God.' It means one's inner Divine Self is of the same essence as God (or Brahman in Hinduism, the ancient Sanskrit name for God). So that is how Samkhya affected Vedanta and all spiritual thought within Hinduism. It greatly affected how Hindus see the relationship between God and the human being.

2) The second important school of Hinduism today is Yoga. By Yoga this not meant stretching or exercise, but what Patanjali teaches in his Yoga Sutras. The word 'yoga' means 'union', union with the Divine. Patanjali's goal in teaching his Yoga to people was to help them realize this divine Purusha by stilling the mind, what we think of as meditation. This is called in Hinduism as Raja Yoga. It is one of the 4 yogas taught as spiritual practice in the Vedanta Society to know God. When Hindus speak of 'the school of Yoga' they mean Patanjali's Raja Yoga, but there is another great book of Yoga which is Krishna's Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important Hindu scriptures that has affected every school & teaching in Hinduism and Vedanta. Krishna teaches Raja Yoga as well, plus the other three yogas too. In Vedanta the goal is to know God Who is Bliss. The method or spiritual practices to experience God's Bliss are the 4 yogas which are all taught by Krishna in the Gita and by the Vedanta Society. One of these is called Bhakti Yoga which is the path to God based on love and devotion. Jesus taught Bhakti Yoga.

3) In this third school Vedanta, this leads to a main point about this book which starts off about how our Divine Self and God (Brahman) are one and the same. Because the book is brief the writer does not go into the difference within the Vedanta school on this. So in reading it you might not see that difference clearly. Within the Vedanta school there are two dominant spiritual teachers. Shankara taught that God and the Divine Self within the human being are identical and One. This led to a yoga called Jnana Yoga and Advaita Vedanta. But another later Vedanta teacher Ramanuja said that the Divine Self and God are not identical. This led to a spiritual path called Bhakti Yoga and is a different form of Vedanta. The author covers Advaita in the early part of the book and a later chapter 'Unity in Diversity' and then in the chapter about the Avatar concept she covers Ramanuja's bhakti path. To Ramanuja the goal was union with God, not Shankara's total Identity with God. However realizing divine Purusha or spiritual Consciousness is the goal of both teachers and of Hinduism & Vedanta leading to the union of our soul with God.

There is a significant difference between what Vedanta teaches and what Christian churches teach. If you desire to know and experience God's Bliss then Vedanta is the best religion for you because that is its core message. Thanks for reading this long-winded review.[...]

I found this book absolutely amazing. Vedanta is an ancient philosophy and way of life, and its literature is voluminous. The "Simple Introduction" manages to condense the basic insights of Vedanta inside the convers of a tiny book that is both informative and inspiring. The book made me look deeper into my own life and ask questions I had never asked before. I now feel more free intellectually and emotionally, and more hopeful of leading a life of contentment and lasting fulfillment. We want more books of this type!

Vedanta arose from the Sanskrit texts known as "The Vedas." As ancient as they come, the Vedas arguably remain the world's oldest religious texts. They also embody a progression of thought that evolves from polytheism to monism. Vedanta builds on the Vedas' monistic tendencies, or the idea that all things are "one." One reality. One truth. Nothing exists apart from anything else. This idea gets stretched to its absolute limit. According to this book Vedanta even says: "Love your neighbor as yourself because your neighbor is yourself."

This book lives up to its subtitle of "A Simple Introduction." Everyone should finish this diminutive treatise with a basic understanding of one of the world's oldest religions. Short chapters discuss the major elements: the oneness of existence, the divinity of all, maya or illusion, karma, reincarnation, Vedanta ethics (yama and niyama), the Avatar, the harmony of all religions, and spiritual practice. One chapter delineates the four types of yoga practice: Bhakhti yoga, the path of love and devotion; Jnana yoga, the path of knowledge (also known as Advaita); Karma yoga, the path of work; Raja yoga, the path of meditation. Aspirants usually focus on one of these paths, but not to the complete exclusion of the others. Vedanta recognizes that not everyone follows the same path. Nonetheless, the goal remains the same. All paths lead to self-affirmation. The final chapter discusses the 19th century revitalization of Vedanta by Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. Through these pivotal individuals Vedanta became a practice of service to humankind. The Ramakrishna Order was born. The book closes with Vivekananda's tumultuous visit to America in 1893 and the founding of Vedanta Centers in America. Often associated primarily with India, Vedanta also has a long history in America, beginning with the founding of the New York Vedanta Society in 1894. A mere 90 pages sum up everything above in a coherent readable manner. Not only that, the entire book is readable in a single sitting. Regardless, it contains much to digest.

Vedanta considers itself a fundamental and universal religion, though it by no means claims to trump other faiths. According to its tenets, all religions have the same goal in mind: self-affirmation in Brahman or God (the book uses these terms interchangeably). But they all get there in their own inimitable fashion. On this point the book quotes the Rig Veda (considered the oldest of the Vedas): "Truth is one; Sages call it by various names." Christ, The Buddha, Muhammad the Prophet, Ramakrishna, they all had the same goal in mind. Though their followers may have taken their core beliefs in different - and sometimes dangerous - directions, the essence of them all, according to Vedanta, remains unity with Brahman or God.

Those with no knowledge of Vedanta should start, but not end, here. This book makes its sometime esoteric subject comprehensible to any general reader. A thorough understanding involves far more than this book can offer, of course, but every path must begin somewhere.

Huston Smith, considered the world's greatest living authority on world religions, says, "A refreshingly clear and engaging introduction to Vedanta. Highly recommended."

I've been a spiritual seeker for a few years now and I feel like this "Simple Introduction" hit the nail on the head with what I've been looking for. Vedanta makes so much sense and this book was an excellent introduction that has led to further exploration.

Pravrajika Vrajaprana (born 1952) is a nun at Vedanta Society of Sarada Convent. She is also the author/coauthor/editor of books such as Living Wisdom (1994) and Interpreting Ramakrishna: Kali's Child Revisited (2010).

Here are some quotations from this 1999 book:

"Vedanta is the philosophical foundation of Hinduism." (Pg. 1)
"Most importantly, God dwells within our own hearts as the divine Self or Atman... The greatest temple of God lies within the human heart." (Pg. 2)
"If a person's karma is such that he is suffering, we have an opportunity to alleviate that suffering in whatever way we can: doing so would be good karma." (Pg. 13-14)
"What we experience today is the result of our karma---both good and bad---created by our previous actions. This chain of cause and effect can be snapped by karma yoga... By disengaging the ego from the work process, by offering the results up to a higher power... we stop the whole snowballing process." (Pg. 24-25)
"The truth that Christ discovered is the same truth that was revealed to the sages of the Upanishads; it is the same truth that was revealed to the sages of the Upanishads; it is the same truth that Krishna and Buddha taught as well." (Pg. 50)
"Every religion has a specific gift to offer humankind; every religion brings with it a unique viewpoint which enriches the world. Christianity stresses love and sacrifice; Judaism, the value of spiritual wisdom and tradition. Islam emphasizes universal brotherhood and equality while Buddhism advocates compassion and mindfulness. The Native American tradition teaches reverence for the earth and the natural world surrounding us. Vedanta or the Hindu tradition stresses the oneness of existence and the need for direct mystical experience." (Pg. 56)

"A Simple Introduction" describes this little book perfectly. It is a great platform to help you branch off into deeper studies of the Vedanta. The Vedanta seeks to unify humanity by looking at the common messages amongst other religious saints. A practitioner of Thelema will find that Crowley was obviously influenced by the Vedanta a great deal and thought very highly of its values and yoga practices when it came time to establish his own magical order called the A.'. A.'. I came upon Vedanta after spending some time studying Thelema and found its influence very great in my life although I never knew it by that name!

This little book is simple to the point of being simplistic. True, it is written clearly enough so that the reader will have a general idea of what Vedanta teaches by the time s/he reaches the end of it. On the other hand, there are inaccuracies present which perhaps the reader should be aware of. Vedanta seems to think it can gather all the world's religions into its embrace; that it "is relevant to...all religious backgrounds," (page 1), and it "affirms that all religions teach the same basic truths about God, the world and our relationship to one another." (page 3). Nothing could be farther from the truth. Western religions, and especially Christianity, simply do not agree with the Vedanta worldview. First, there is the nature of God. In Vedanta, it's all Brahman, impersonal being. In Christianity, God is revealed as Trinity, three divine Persons in one Godhead. God is always personal, but ultimately Other. God's nature is omnipresent love. Brahman is a foreign concept. Second, the nature of human beings, and our relationship to each other: In Vedanta, we are no more, no less than a manifestation of Brahman (page 81); self-idolotry is the name of the game. You don't even have to become God, that's what you are to start with. Because of this, there is no individual person, no free will. In Christianity, we are creatures, made in the image and likeness of the One who created us. We are free, intelligent, loving individuals. We are accountable for our actions and attitudes. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourself because God loves us; Vedanta says, "Love your neighbor as yourself because your neighbor is yourself." (page 14). In Vedanta, there are no sins, only mistakes. Christianity recognizes that we err because we are human, but we also do some pretty scummy things that we know at the time are wrong; this is one definition of sin, and Christianity distinguishes between sin, error, and accident. Third, the nature of the world: Because "it's all Brahman looking at Brahman," in the monist worldview of Vedanta there is no objective reality, and no absolute truth. This eliminates objective morality. If it feels right, it must be right. Unfortunately, "right" is often synonomous with "convenient." Christianity says that Truth is absolute and there are clear moral laws which must be obeyed. Vedanta does not distinguish between pantheism (Brahman becomes the world) or panentheism (the world is God). Christianity says that "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." The earth is not God. People are not God. We have human nature; only God is God. Vedanta's view of evolution is chiliastic (ultimate perfectibility of everyone and everything. Everyone gets saved, the "inevitable happy ending of the movie." (page 13)). Christianity says we are fallen and in need of salvation, a salvation not accomplished by ourselves. These are only a few of the differences between Vedanta and Chrisianity, but they are major ones. For this book to say, "Despite external variations in the world religions, the internals are more alike than not..." (p.59) is either naive or deceptive. It is obvious that internally, Vedanta and Christianity are poles apart. The common saying that all religions are just different paths up the same mountain is sheer nonsense. Who is to say that it is the same mountain, or that all religions are ascending? Christians, especially Catholics and liberal mainstream Protestants have been interested in ecumenical (interfaith) dialog for many years, but if this book is chosen as a reference source, I would urge strong caution. What is written here is inaccurate and incomplete.