Ishvara: Blind Faith vs Knowledge - Intro to Advaita Vedanta - Part 5

Rather than relying on blind faith in scriptures, as Western religions do, Vedanta unfolds the existence and nature of Ishvara (God) through scriptural teachings that are extensively supported by the use of reason and rational discourse. Thus, Ishvara is shown to be the efficient cause (intelligent agent) for the universe, who possesses both the knowledge and power (maya) to create it.
Swami Tadatmananda is a traditionally-trained teacher of Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and Sanskrit. For more information, please see: www.arshabodha...

[@anirdbify]

This entire playlist is really a gift from the supreme. Thank you 🙏

[@que2h.690]

This methodically organized presentation is exactly what I need to learn all of Vedanta's layers. Thank you so very much Swami Tadatmananda.

[@amoyaan0]

Superbly elaborated. Thank you

[@souravmukherjeemononyogame5582]

My sincere respect .. Proud of you Swamiji.. Being an Indian & a Hindu, feeling overwhelmed .. Thanks & regards , Sourav Mukherjee ( Kolkata , India)🙏🙂

[@1354pj]

All my life have been faffing about trying to understand life. I stumble upon this channel, and suddenly, things are explained better than anyone else! Deep gratitude guruji.

[@jshdhdyjfjdjfhfyyene731]

I wish to know from you if Swami Sarvapriyananada was able to fill this understanding? A. Was he enquired from? B. What was discovered with regards to Swami Tadatmananada's approach? C. How did they compare (other than what was answered above)? D. Who else have you enquired from and what was discovered? These answers will help others and save lots of time. Thank you. Hari Aum 🙏

[@audreydugan9668]

I completely agree, I was going to add a comment but you said it best. I have always had the insight or intuition that there was an 'Universal Intelligence" but ... did not know how to approach it. I find affinity with Brahman, multitude of Divine Gods and Goddesses, Devas and Devi but would get lost in the multitude of concepts and scriptures. I am so fortunate to be here now, Very fortunate.

[@carlosaguirre410]

Vedanta guides to the absolute truth, there is no doubt

[@ritesh6687]

This is blind faith :)

[@carlosaguirre410]

@@ritesh6687 well, it may look like that, I will suggest you to practice yoga to understand Vedanta or learn Vedanta to understand the meaning of Yoga, and then you might welcome the new you and see the philosophy bracket reality...have a nice day Hari I'm sat sat

[@laddoothesweet6381]

@@ritesh6687 so then would you say it is "blind faith" to believe that the sun absolutely rises in the east?

[@kirstinstrand6292]

@@laddoothesweet6381 These are different subjects, different realities. One can be seen, the other can only be experienced.

[@jshdhdyjfjdjfhfyyene731]

@@ritesh6687 interesting. Define faith and define blind both in the context directed it towards please

[@franksmith1287]

I enjoy all the Vedanta teaching on KZbin: Your's, Swami Sarvapriyananda's, James Swartz's.

[@Curious-nt9dp]

Keep learning and keep changing. But you have to focus on all yogas. BHAKTI, GYAN, KARMA AND DHYAN, all are equally important. My best wishes with you for your spiritual journey.

[@CypressVintage]

Profoundly fantastic. What a clear delivery of a complex subject. Om Shanti.

[@sasikala1983]

🙏 I have no words to describe the feeling of the ecstasy. 🙏

[@greatsilentwatcher]

aka Todd Phillips; This talk opened up a better understanding of Ishwara for me. I'm grateful. Pranams.

[@katherinebarker3363]

Excellent teacher. A big big thank you to you.

[@ipshah5035]

Great Guru to whom I am drawn to obtain Moksha Pranam Gurukul 🙏🙏

[@Sg0224]

Acharya ji thanks for sharing this knowledge 🙏 👏

[@eclipsecommunityradio]

Just an AMAZING teacher 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@pranita1405]

Jay shree Ram Sudhir bhau. Dhananjay Andankar

[@eclipsecommunityradio]

How and why am I so lucky to be here? Omhh... 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@muralimohanji]

Pranams Swami ji. Obeisances to your holy lotus feets for teaching the greatest knowledge and wisdom to the mankind. हरि ॐ!

[@anokharahi6649]

Pranam swamiji... This is superb..!!

[@PADMAGEDDAM]

This video answered so many questioned I had for decades . Thank you .

[@ustinovvadim2114]

Many thanks! I allow myself to quote the words of my guru Ramana Maharshi about Ishvara. Seeker: Is there a special Ishwara [personal God] rewarding for virtues and punishing for sins? Is there a god? Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Ishvara has a separate being in the mind and body, which are perishable, but at the same time also has transcendental consciousness and inner liberation. Ishwara, the personal God, the supreme creator of the universe, really exists. But this is true only from the relative point of view of those who have not comprehended the Truth, who believe in the reality of individual souls. From an absolute point of view, the Sage does not recognize any other Being except the impersonal Atman, one and formless. Ishvara has a physical body, name and form, but not as crude as this material body. The body of Ishvara can be observed in visions in the form created by a devoted admirer. The forms and names of God are numerous, different, and different in every religion. His Essence is the same as ours, for the Atman is one and formless. Therefore, the forms that He takes are only creations, or appearances. Ishwara is all-pervading, inherent in every person and every object in the universe. The whole number of objects and beings establishes God. There is a Force, a small particle of which becomes the whole of this universe, and the rest is hidden. Both - the hidden Power plus manifested as the material world of Power - together comprise Ishwara. OM TAT SAT

[@lakshminarayananrao6509]

The presentation is excellent with special reference to depth of the subject and nice illustration of complicated ideas with suitable examples which are rare to find.

[@rashmidayal4040]

Please keep posting these videos. There is so much to learn.

[@AmitGupta-id9kc]

Amazing. Beautiful

[@pillettadoinswartsh4974]

In terms of the number of solar systems present in the universe, there are something like 300 billion stars in the Milky Way, so if 10 per cent of them have planets there are around 30 billion planets in our galaxy alone, and there are over 100 billion galaxies in the observable Universe for a total of something in the order of 10^21 (that's 1 then 21 zeros) planets in the observable Universe. There is still quite a bit of uncertainty in that number however, and we don't yet know how many of them would look like our solar system.

[@vichu000]

Fantastic explanation.. Your teaching is so clear.. You must have taken so many years to get this knowledge... My humble thank you for sharing this distilled knowledge. I always had one question.. We will keep being born in cycles till we get moksha.. Which is when all karma is burnt, but why did I come to existence in the beginning.. Why this life and suffering.. Why is the path so hard and elusive.. Where without a good guru.. Most souls are stuck in a perpetual cycle.. Pls if you have been taught this, Pls le me know.

[@laddhaamit]

You didn't come to existence, you are never born nor u die nor u suffer. Suffering is due to ignorance. Body suffers Mind suffers, which u are not. Remove the ignorance then there is no suffering. If u think that disease, accident, deception, death is suffering then it is again your ignorance. Soul never suffers. If u identify yourself with body and mind then u suffer. Thats what vedenata is all about, to gain knowledge, to remove ignorance.

[@alex_poly1147]

This was so my answer lol. I deleted my question.

[@maneetgill5461]

Thank you, Guruji🙏

[@jvinoj]

Thank you very much

[@ezioberolo2936]

Knowledge is always limited. There is always more to be known...same for truth... those vritties stand in the way

[@MrBpsubedi]

"A hundred srutis may declare that fire is cold or that it is dark, still they possess no authority in the matter."

[@NewNormalDigital]

Wow..Ishwara himself is nimittkarana! And we think I did this, I did that!

[@Alex722]

Stop thinking that then...🙂

[@petersjoblom248]

🙏

[@joseribeiro7116]

Gratidão 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙇‍♂️

[@hemanshushekhar6070]

Very interesting and informative.Thank you swami ji

[@laika5757]

Music to my ears... 🎼🎶🎶🎸

[@srikantasahoo3214]

Very very authoritative in its presentation.

[@dharmavarta]

ब्रह्म सूत्र।

[@praveshdhawan3842]

Very profound teaching. Thanks alot. 🙏🙏

[@heerabridgelal3273]

🙏🙏🙏

[@barathvenkatachalam7068]

Excellent rendition 💥

[@esneliamunoz4475]

🕉🕉🕉🙏

[@mistrzwewszystkim]

love the guidebook metaphor!

[@dariuszhieronimstobiecki8237]

You said that something can't come from nothing...That's just human thinking! Now, I can understand why Buddha didn't pay any attention to the existence or non-existence of any god, including Ishwara. All these are just speculation which can't solve spiritual inquiries regarding the human suffering!

[@jvinoj]

🎉❤

[@Mahasara]

Grazie 🙏

[@annuaravinda]

Very well explained. Thank you!

[@satish5295]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@BobWidlefish]

16:00 hello my friend, I’ve loved your video series, thank you so much for making these! I know you seek to have alignment of your beliefs with your rational mind, and because of that I feel obligated to point out a rational weakness in the argument you’ve presented here. The “uncaused cause” type of argument for a God is not rationally sound - you can search the internet to find several very good rebuttals to this line of argument that are utterly conclusive. In part the issue is that it relies on a hidden presupposition about what counts as a cause (it constrains the possibilities to think in human analogies) and in part because the infinite regress it implies cannot be resolved by analogy, the analogy of the circle having no beginning or end is a fine analogy but there’s no way to bridge the gap from that analogy to the metaphysical fact of reality. Asserting that the universe is cyclic does not prove the universe is cyclic. It’s just an assumption. So it is for the origin of the universe too. None of us were there so all we can do is speculate. When we speculate we bring with us all our presuppositions, our framing, our analogies, etc. None of this takes anything away from the rest of your content (which is superb!). I just wanted to caution you against speaking ill of western theological premises relying on faith while you are doing something very similar by using unsound reasoning for part of your theological conception. Many Christians use this exact same uncaused cause argument for God, which is thousands of years old at this point and dates back to Aristotle at least. If you want to find rigorous debunking of this argument search for “kalam cosmological argument” and look for rebuttals. I hope this message finds you well - cheers!

[@elangovan1592]

ANOTHER ALL-KNOWING SMART ASS LIKE YOU SHOULD MAKE A VIDEO LIKE THIS ONE EXPLAIN TO MY FINGERNAIL.

[@tomtax007thetaxconsultant7]

Hey why you are agitated. You don't like a valid question. That's is the problem with religious people. So if you have answer for his question say it.

[@RajivSambasivan]

I did not get the impression that he was attempting a formal scientific proof of the origins of the universe. I interpreted that as a hypothesis in the form of a metaphor (in contrast to an assumption) that *could* be an explanation if you account for the fact that he says don't take anything on blind faith but see if what is stated is reasonable. It did not come across as an assertion. I do see your perspective though.

[@BobWidlefish]

*@Rajiv Sambasivan* you may well be right! I wish you and yours all the best!

[@BobWidlefish]

*@Elan Govan* wow that’s a negative comment! :) I wrote my comment with good intentions, not as a know-it-all. I think all people of goodwill want to know if and when they make mistakes or say something that isn’t clear. I think the author of this video is definitely a smart and wise person of goodwill. That’s what motivated me. I have no ill will toward you, take care!

[@sprasad1978]

Swamiji 🙏🏻, in the previous lecture you discussed how / why one all pervading consciousness can’t read other people’s minds if the same consciousness exist all around. I wasn’t quite convinced by the answer that it’s the question by the mind….however, I have heard that self realized saints like Ramana Maharshi and Baba Neem Karoli had the powers to read others mind / thoughts if they wished. That’s called the Siddhi and Nidhi which are forms of divine powers or boons. Is it possible then that one can read others minds with the essence of all pervading consciousness only when one realizes and tunes in with the higher states of consciousness? Pranam 🙏🏻

[@ganesavenkkatswaminathan1730]

swagatham saranagatham

[@akshaykumarr8866]

Namaste Samiji, After listening to your presentation, I reckon you missed to answer one more question. What/Who is the creator of Ishvara? How Ishvara appeared out of nowhere?

[@HarshPatel-ew3zp]

Sir according to the book called "satyaarthprakaash" written by swami dayanand saraswati there are total three main cause (1) ishvara (2) Nature (atom) (3) aatmaa

[@kirstinstrand6292]

The Western Civilization's Psychological concept of Authentic Self is the same as the Eastern Spiritual teaching of True Self. (If anyone is interested .)

[@eastwood1941]

There seems to be a flaw in the reasoning here. If it is true that something cannot come from nothing, how can Ishvara, the causeless cause, have come from nothing?

[@Alex722]

Not nothing and not something yet existing. God or Ishvara or Spirit or Creator or Infinent intelligence is not conceptual prior to thinking and rationalising. Pure consciousness which gives life to mental and physical forms. The core essence of all. Creator and essence of the creation. Separation of forms is only appearance, in essence there is only one Being.

[@AWAVEINTHEOCEAN-lc5tf]

I understand the meaning of the Asatoma Satgamaya; however, I have yet to learn the meaning of the preceding lines. Guess I have some "homework." lol

[@carloscalderon3229]

Excelente. Tiene numerosos videos, porque han traducido solo como el 30 %? El conocimiento está limitado al inglés, porque? No es correcto, no cumplen la radiación

[@fontofgod]

Dear Swami! Is Lord Ishvara the same Lord Shiva himself? If so why Lord Shiva is considered as the destroyer and Lord Iswara as the creator?

[@StewartBlues]

So, what is the difference between Ishvara and Brahman then?

[@oneomself]

Ishvara = Brahman + maya

[@MrBpsubedi]

We are told: brahman satya, jagat mithya. Paramarthatah, they say, the world does not exist. Going deeper, ajnana : beings : : maya : Ishwara. Some apta's vachanas go further and find that Ishwara is not sat... (Please forgive, I am sheerly groping in the blindness.) On the other hand you say: " Something cannot come from nothing. The universe is a something, therefore it must have come from something. That something because of which the universe exists is what we call Ishvara." Please enlighten me.

[@ustinovvadim2114]

Namaste! Ramana Maharshi said: Shankara was criticized for his views on Maya, not understanding the essence of the issue. He showed that: 1) Brahman is real, 2) the universe is unreal and 3) the universe is Brahman. Sankara did not specifically dwell on the second statement, for the third explains the other two. It means that the universe is real if perceived as the Atman, and unreal if understood separately from the Atman. Therefore, Maya and Reality are one and the same. Seeker: So is the world really not illusory? Maharshi: At the level of a spiritual seeker, you must say that the world is an illusion. There is no other way. When a person forgets that he is Brahman, real, constant and omnipresent, and is deceived, thinking of himself as a body in a universe filled with transient bodies, and works under this error, then you need to remind him that the world is unreal and deceptive. Why? Because his gaze, having forgotten his own Self, abides in the outer, material universe. He will not turn inward for introspection until you convince him that this whole external, material universe is unreal. As soon as such a person realizes himself, he learns that there is nothing else but his self, and will begin to consider the whole universe as Brahman. Without him, I have no universe. Until a person sees his Self, which is the source of everything, but looks only at this external world as real and permanent, you must tell him that this whole external universe is an illusion. You cannot get away from this. When reading a newspaper, you see only the text, but do not notice the paper on which it is applied. However, paper is always here regardless of whether something is printed on it or not. Those who consider the font a reality must be explained that it is illusory, because it lies on paper. The sage perceives both paper and text as one. Similarly, the situation is with Brahman and the universe.

[@hernanmercado141]

ishvara have the knowledge to create all the suffering and evilness of the universe?

[@olimpoolimpo2340]

En el universo no sabemos si hay sufrimiento y maldad. En la tierra las hay por las mentes de los hombres.

[@sanelaax3]

7:50 >

[@4kassis]

respectfully, since you compared the concepts of Ishvara and the God of western religions: a devout believer in Christianity would probably describe God in the same way as you described Ishvwara, and might equally ask the question: where did Ishvara come from? It sounds the same to me, am I missing anything?

[@4kassis]

@Pavan Kumar that sounded right until you said "he" not because of feminism, but because of duality

[@J.T.Stillwell3]

I thought the created was called Brahman?

[@aurelienyonrac]

Not 5 elements 5 state of matter Solide Liquide Gasious Plasma Space

[@renetuuliranta]

I like your videos, but I must say that you are absolutely misrepresenting Christianity and Judaism. Neither the Tanak or the Christian Bible say that you should have blind faith or not use logic. This is coming from an ex Christian.

[@EzraWilson1]

Your comments about Western religion are unfair and inaccurate. I encourage you to investigate the writings of scholars such as Alvin Platinga and David Bentley Hart to see how many Christians do indeed apply reason and logic to their faith.

[@amorfati9519]

What a pity that you can't be defining your way of living or apprehending God without avoiding openly dissing other's. Weak. Especially for a non dual philosopher.

[@rashmidayal4040]

Your profound knowledge about spiritualism has filled the void which I didn't know how to learn. Thanks.

[@ranjitha4564]

🙏

[@esneliamunoz4475]

🕉🕉🕉🙏

[@bakigoku9551]

Grazie🙏❤️

[@learnatradecommercialequip2869]

Very enlightening series thank you !!!

[@annes9954]

thanks for your wonderful way of teaching

[@jean-michellavoie1889]

This series is excellent, and I am really glad to have stumbled upon it. However, I would respectfully pushback on the notion that in Christianity "scripture stands on its own". The "sola scriptura" approach is only the purview of certain Protestant denominations - albeit quite influential in America. Authority in the classical Christian tradition (Catholic and Orthodox) is multivalent. It rests also on reason and indeed tradition (Church Fathers, testimony of saints, Councils, etc.). Scriptures, though central, do not exist in a vacuum. As a former very devout Catholic, I can attest that Catholicism in particular does have a very robust intellectual tradition as well as a discipline of "natural theology" that is analogous to what our esteemed teacher here is expounding. Certain orders, like the Dominicans and Jesuits indeed display a very prominent proclivity to rational discourse. This does not however change the very different attitude that Vedanta does indeed seem to have regarding the conflict regarding faith and reason.

[@esneliamunoz4475]

🕉🕉🕉🙏

[@louray]

Such beauty! Namaste 🕉

[@bakigoku9551]

🙏

[@lokeeb1486]

Amazing sir.... u teach so welllll

[@snoracle4926]

Thank you! 🕉

[@karansingh2593]

Eshwara Param Krishna Sarv Karan karanam .

[@Ricardo.Gomes.S.]

Muito bom 🙏

[@GypsyfiedEye]

Making this comment #112 which was #111 when I read the last comment I know it's confirmation I"m on the correct path ...thank you teachers for gifting me with this wonderful knowledge

[@himanitomer3]

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI 🌹🙏🏻

[@karansingh2593]

🙏 Hare Krishna

[@MaciejSamoraj]

Isn't reincarnation based on blind faith ? As far as liberation can be experienced, and there is a recipe how to attain it (which is advaita vedanta) how rebirth can be experienced ? Is reincarnation just a dogma ?

[@sumitrakulkarni3718]

Regarding incarnation you may refer to Dr. I Stevenson.

[@MaciejSamoraj]

@Pavan Kumar hi Pavan! how do I verify karma?

[@shrirama2932]

see this gurus video on the very subject. very enlightening.

[@kajimagar3488]

Dear friend if whole earth will be destroyed then where is Atma will stay?

[@drivendrivels..9439]

Bhut nik

[@manjunaik5972]

Really the great sir beauty full,,,

[@kafikfishna8806]

A Circle can be considered a closed entity. Imagine a circle that is made of soft cotton, and in a perfect shape. What if I use a finger and shape the circle into a square. In that case, can I say the square, that I derived from the circle has no beginning or no end as well? I bring up this point NOT to be smart-ass but to question the often use analogy of circle as not having beginning to end. Once you completely draw a circle it's true the beginning and end are arbitrary unless the drawer points out exactly where he/she started drawing. One may argue that I am missing the spiritual significance of this analogy, something has to start the circle, no?

[@di9645]

Clear and concise. Thank you, Swami Ji.

[@janeedey3831]

Thanks for explaining, so I can understand! Namaste!

[@devshree5479]

Then pot and potter how can be same as brahman and atman how can be same?

[@EliAbramzon]

Nowhere in the Old Testament do you find a requirement for blind faith. Swami probably encountered the wrong "Western religious people". I suspect Sunday school teachers. There is a long tradition of philosophical inquiry in the West. Look up Maimonides and Aquinas. Scriptures were always departure points.

[@oneomself]

Please note that the goal here was to make a point that faith alone is not the end goal. All scriptures including bible points to the same one cause :)

[@AmitVerma-uc1fc]

Koti Koti Pranam Guru Ji

[@kathyryan7611]

💖💖💖

[@frederickmagill9454]

🕉️🕉️🕉️

[@smithSydney]

Brilliant!

[@eastwood1941]

This seems to be a version of the Intelligent Design argument, which is held to be true by Christian fundamentalists. It has been comprehensively dismissed by science.

[@SS-hp9tg]

That was exactly my thought as well... this sounds like the Intelligent Design argument. Just because the universe is magnificently complex doesn't have to mean that it needed a conscious being with knowledge and skills to bring the universe into existence. I loved this video and thank the swami for explaining but I am not convinced by the Vedantic reasoning yet.