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These are recorded videos from his university course.

@@mayanksharma6927 got it

Yes, Vaikuṇṭha is interactive and variegated, as opposed to the static experience of one's own ātman. Imagine just feeling something when you're asleep (not dreaming either) vs feeling something with all the different sensory experiences (touch, smell, visuals, etc.), that's the closest analogy I can personally give. It is beyond space and time so we do not know for sure how it all works, but we have basic details which say that Vaikuṇṭha is an eternal realm with infinite activities and infinite ways to enjoy and serve bhagavān. - Mayank

​@@EdwinBryantOfficial Thanks for the answer 🙏 Have you checked out Near Death Experience accounts ? They seem to say something very similiar to what is described in the Bhagavatam, a realm of pure love and bliss where everything is consciousness and light and is outside of space and time but paradoxically there are also forms (like trees and rivers etc.) which are also somehow conscious (they described that somehow trees and flowers were aware of their existence). I am not suggesting that this is Vaikuntha per se because people returned from there and of course we can't expect that they were enlightened beings, but I imagine the closer that you come to the Spiritual Realm the more even material conditions start to resemble their spiritual exemplars.

​@@Sol_Invictus77 That makes sense since the material world is described as a distorted reflection of the spiritual world. Everything that exists here is just a bland copy of the original eternal and complete entity. Also, we have many accounts where non-devotees related to devotees have seen 'blue people' in near-death experiences, i.e. Viṣṇu dūtas.

​@@EdwinBryantOfficialI think the idea of "conscious forms" is actually not alien to the Platonic tradition, particularly to Plotinus. Here is one of the many passages from the Enneads that speak about this.... "The forms in the realm of Mind see all things … and they see themselves in them; for all things There are transparent, and there is nothing dark or opaque; everything is clear, altogether and to its inmost part, to everything, for light is transparent to light. Each There has everything in itself and sees all things in every other, for all is all and each is all and the splendor of it is infinite: for each of them is great because even the small is great; the sun There is all the stars, and each star is the sun and all the others. One particular kind of being stands out in each, but in each all are manifest. "(Enn. V.8.4) Plotinus

​@@EdwinBryantOfficialI think the idea of "conscious forms" is not alien to the Platonic tradition, specifically to Plotinus. Here is one of the many passages from the Enneads that speak about this.... " The forms in the realm of Mind see all things … and they see themselves in them; for all things There are transparent, and there is nothing dark or opaque; everything is clear, altogether and to its inmost part, to everything, for light is transparent to light. Each There has everything in itself and sees all things in every other, for all is all and each is all and the splendor of it is infinite: for each of them is great because even the small is great; the sun There is all the stars, and each star is the sun and all the others. One particular kind of being stands out in each, but in each all are manifest. "(Enn. V.8.4) Plotinus

Professor is not reading Vedic Mantras and is not an Indian. Pronunciation does not matter much here imho. - Mayank

so? You also missed a comma after 'Sorry'. You put your energy into writing a comment about something that is mispronounced rather than appreciating the video.

Doesn't matter

Hare Krishna! Haribol! 🙏 - Mayank

Yes, in the previous part the professor discussed this. For Śankara, they're one and the same thing. - Mayank

@EdwinBryantOfficial Yes, I have listened to this. However, here in the commentary 4th sutra, in the objection part, it is the Purva Mimāmsā people saying this. Do purva mimāmsā people hold this view or do they just saying the advaita view to make a point concerning the matter of that sutra ?

@@me-ou8rf No, they do not think brahman is worth inquiring about so they don't think it's the same as ātman. They believe in the ātman since you need that to transmigrate to higher planets. Śankara kinda dodges the creation-etc. point of brahman and equates that to individual ātman in order to prove his taṭastha lakśaṇa point, the sūtra does not mention that anywhere, it's pure interpretation. So either is possible. Maybe it's Śankara not representing their point correctly or them using Śankara's knowledge which is less plausible imo. - Mayank

Is it just about the composite term _saccidānanda_ or the concepts of Sat, Cid and Ānanda appearing as lakṣaṇa-s of bráhman? Because afaik the upaniṣads routinely "characterise" bráhman as Caitanya, Sat etc. I don't remember offhand about ānanda but doesn't Taittīriya U. have the ānanda-mīmāṃsā section?

@@avi2125 The professor was talking about the composite term. The concepts are quite common in the upaniṣadas but not mentioned explicitly together as a whole in the major ones.

Quite similar, but I'd say Advaita has more groundwork since it can refer to Upaniṣadas. Eleatic philosophy is trying to use Nyāya more it seems, while Vedānta is about confirming something that's already there. - Mayank

Vedānta Sūtras of Śankara and Rāmānuja.

@@EdwinBryantOfficial who translated them from sanskrit to english

Hari Om Tat Sat 🙏 - Mayank

I don't think it's got to do with the atoms, since the word used is aṇu - irreducible entity. As for human and cockroach eyes, they're both categorized as cakśu, so they exhibit the same characteristics or achieve the same goals. - Mayank

The word used to earth is pṛthivī, which translates to the ground as well as the planet Earth. Iron would be a part of earth since we obtain it from iron ore. Yes, they seem similar to the 4 elements of Empedocles, since Sāṁkhya is plain old metaphysics. - Mayank

@EdwinBryantOfficial Yeah, that was my question. Clearly, "planet Earth" is not like the "Great Element Earth" of Sāmkhya . For "Planet Earth" is reducible and composed of Silicon, Oxygen, Magnesium, Iron, Carbon,etc., it includes stuff inside it, and "Great Element Earth" is irreducible before turning into Subtle Elemnent. Is this understanding correct according to Sāmkhya philosophy ? Wouldn't the Sāmkhya say that almost all material stuff is composed of combination of these 5 Great elements ?

@@yogalounge8098 Yes, that is what I'll be uploading next :) - Mayank

Hare Krishna! Please do not worry. This is how we all start our journey in bhakti, with confusion and a lot of doubt. I too started this way but later, I realized there cannot be 2 supreme Gods, creation would simply be impossible if there were 2 supreme beings existing independently, which is also what Śankara admits. So we have to pick one name and follow it with full conviction. I also read the Gita later on and all my doubts were dispelled. According to the Gita, only Krishna alone exists, but he manifests different paths for different people with different natures. He manifests Lord Śiva, the auspicious one so that even ghosts and spirits can have a chance to be liberated. He manifests Lord Brahma, the creator of our current universe so that us Jīvas can find our way to him. He manifests different demigods, so that people who are materially inclined can worship them and gradually purify themselves. This is why Krishna says in the Gita: BG 7.20: "Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures." BG 7.21: "I am in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship some demigod, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to that particular deity." BG 7.22: "Endowed with such a faith, he endeavors to worship a particular demigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone." So it's not like if you worship another devatā, you'll be mislead. No, not at all but if you want to follow Vedānta, and the great ācāryas like Śankara, Rāmānuja, Madhva, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then you can simply chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and it might change your life just like it changed mine. Read about Krishna, his stories, his pastimes, his appearance and you'll keep falling in love with him again and again. Keep chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, it'll purify you and lead you towards the highest form of sattva. Associate with devotees (online or in-person), chant the maha-mantra and you'll develop the love all bhaktas seek. If you keep moving here and there, you might get confused and there's a chance that you might even give up everything altogether. This almost happened to me, because modern-day Hinduism is very confusing and misleading as it tries to appropriate all the different traditions and Vedic religions under one umbrella. So keep things simple. Chant, read and associate with bhaktas. You can read several books on the vedabase website and develop your understanding. Thank you and let me know if you have any other questions! Warm Regards, Mayank, Channel Admin

@@EdwinBryantOfficial Hare Krishna! Thank you for your kind and thorough response. I do appreciate it 🙏🏻. The reason I follow this channel is that I Edwin Bryant’s Bhakti Yoga book and it was the best book I’ve read on the subject…a subject I had recently become interested in. Does Dr. Bryant have sangha he leads, or are these videos from his online courses through his university? Also is there an online group of devotees you can recommend? Outside of facebook, which I’m not on. Thanks again for your encouragement 🙏🏻

@@The06201980 These videos are from his svādhyāya courses. As far as I'm aware, he has no regular sangha group. He's currently tackling a Sanskrit course, after which he might focus on the bhāgavatam, but at the moment I don't think he has a community like that. As for online communities, there are plenty thankfully. I personally am very active on reddit's r/HareKrishna community (please avoid r/Hinduism, it's quite chaotic and might lead you in the wrong direction since there aren't many bhaktas there). Along with that, there's r/Vaishnavism also. On Telegram, I personally manage a group 🙂 I made it especially for new devotees, who would like to have online association or guidance. Please feel free to join our Telegram group if you want. You can find a link to it on HareKrishna's reddit sidebar. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Hare Krishna! - Mayank

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There's a podcast that you might find useful: th-cam.com/video/X5LHwS9iYKU/w-d-xo.html - Mayank

New videos everyday 😄 - Mayank

Большое вам спасибо! 🙏 - Майанк

Hi, I've uploaded all the lectures in the series. - Mayank

Maybe you're looking for Ajapa Japa? - Mayank