Study with

Vedanta Society of New York (Swami Sarvapriyananda)

The Vedanta Society of New York's channel gathers the talks and classes of Swami Sarvapriyananda and other monks of the tradition, devoted to Advaita Vedanta. Its core is long lectures, forty-five to ninety minutes, in which a classical text is read and commented on slowly, line by line, at the pace a tradition transmitted orally for centuries actually requires. There are complete series on particular works: the Brahma Sutra with Shankara's commentary, advancing sutra by sutra across many sessions; the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, read chapter by chapter; retreats on the Avadhuta Gita. Alongside this textual work sit thematic talks on consciousness, some of which engage explicitly with Western philosophy and phenomenological vocabulary, and occasional pieces on public occasions. A particularly useful format is the short question-and-answer clips, which collect genuine difficulties raised by those present: what to do when, after years on a path, belief falls away; how to be free of the swing between elation and frustration; what this tradition holds to happen after the death of one who is liberated. The register is that of a class rather than a sermon. Sources are cited, interpretations compared, the text distinguished from its commentators, and open questions acknowledged as open. Newcomers will find an orderly way into a complex philosophical tradition, with difficult texts explained from the beginning and no prior training in Sanskrit or Indian philosophy assumed. The content is in English.