What is Advaita Vedanta? At its heart, it’s a quiet but radical shift — from taking yourself to be a person in a world, to recognising yourself as the very awareness in which person and world appear.
There are many ways to arrive at this pointer. But a few years ago, when I was re-engaging with these questions after a long drift, I came across a talk that became my way in.
This post shares that talk — not as doctrine, but as doorway. For those new to Vedanta, or returning after a break, it may serve as a clear, accessible starting point.
And if you’re already on the path, it might still offer something. Because the talk doesn’t just explain. It invites.
Talk by Swami Sarvapriyananda
[Watch: “What is Vedanta?” on YouTube]
“What is Vedanta?… it is the cutting edge of knowledge.”
“It is not a journey in time, space, or object — it is a journey from ignorance to knowledge.”
For anyone curious about Vedanta — what it is, how it relates to Hinduism, and where Advaita (non-dualism) fits in — this talk by Swami Sarvapriyananda is a wonderful place to begin. It’s lucid, grounded, and accessible to both newcomers and those returning after a break.
I came across this talk a couple of years ago, at a time when I was re-engaging with Vedanta after a long hiatus. My earlier exposure had been through The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chinmayananda, and I’d attended several retreats with the Chinmaya Mission in India and the US. But over time, I drifted away — perhaps due to misapprehension, or a tendency to dismiss religion and spirituality as “wishful thinking.”
What brought me back was a deepening curiosity about existential questions, and a long search across various traditions and disciplines. In that context, this particular talk became a quiet but powerful catalyst — helping me revisit Vedanta with fresh eyes and sparking a more sustained inquiry.
Starting here — and later exploring Swami Sarvapriyananda’s series on the Mandukya Upanishad — I experienced a shift. It felt like coming home. What struck me deeply was that Advaita Vedanta didn’t ask for belief in a future heaven, or demand samadhi as a prerequisite. It didn’t rely on blind faith. It simply pointed to something available here and now: the journey from ignorance to knowledge, validated through one’s own direct insight.
This talk isn’t the only great resource out there, but it’s one I keep returning to — not just for what it says, but for how simply and clearly it says it.
👉 For how this broader inquiry unfolds here on Simply Vedanta start here
Simply Vedanta 