38 Vedāntasāra

Adhyatma Vidya Mandir https://www.tattvatirtha.org/vedantasara/ Subject: Vedāntasāra Speaker : Swami Viditatmananda Saraswatiji Vedāntasāra means essence of Vedānta and as the name suggests, this text provides an analysis of the basic principles of Vedānta as taught by the Upaniṣads. Vedānta can be summarized in one simple statement : tat tvamasi, which reveals the identity between tat, which stands for jīva or a limited conscious being. This means that one who takes onself as limited is in fact limitless. This knowledge releases one from all the complexes about oneself and resultant sorrow, both born of the ignorance of the basic reality of oneself. One owns up to one’s true nature that is limitless, wholeness, and unconditional happiness. One becomes jīvan-mukta, liberated in this life itself. One attains the ultimate goal of life; freedom and fulfillment. This text as being exquisitely complete in its being an entirely comprehensive teaching of all the essentials of Vedānta that one need ever know; the teaching covers an incredible spectrum of topics and is, at the same time, both simple and profound. For this reason, the text will serve wonderfully well as a go-to-resource for easily looking up certain terms and references as well as finding more detailed explanations of familiar concepts and totally new ideas in a one-text-covers-all kind of way. If there is one text go over and over, it would be this one. And if there is one text that can teach something new each and every time, it would be this one. This may sound like cliché, but it contains an undeniable element of truth. Hariḥ Om ! Ref: Preface of book by Jayshree Ramakrishnan