Vedanta is Living Experience

Vedanta is Living Experience

by Swami Sivananda

VEDANTA is today a much abused term. All sorts of vanity, hypocrisy and self-conceit have been masquerading in its name. It has become the fashion of the day to pass for a Vedantin as it is then convenient to give up all sorts of responsibilities, rituals and restrictions of the Varnashrama Dharma and enables one to lead a happy-go-lucky life to ease, lethargy and inertia. The Punjab is full of dry, lip-Vedantins. Punjabi women have also taken to Vedanta and they take great pride in calling themselves Vedantins, whether or not they understand the philosophy, whether or not they do any practice. All retired officers who have not done any selfless service or any Sadhana or worship or charity take to Vedanta as a sort of fancy.

Thus Vedanta has become a very comfortable philosophy, because one can do whatever he chooses and eat whatever he likes. Licentiousness is mistaken for a life of expansion. If a man can eat anything in any hotel in any part of the world, if he can move socially with any man or woman, that does not mean, he is a Vedantin. There is much tall talk of Vedanta now-a-days. There is idle Vedantic gossiping. But there is no practical Vedanta. Nobody wants to do any real solid Vedantic Sadhana. Man feels ashamed to call himself a Bhakta, but he takes great pride in calling himself a Yogi or a Vedantin, because he foolishly imagines he will respected by the public. Many ignorant Vedantins have mistaken the body for Brahman and hence there is corruption amongst the so-called loose Vedantins. This is not only lamentable but also highly deplorable.

Wholesale preaching of Vedanta to the Masses is not advisable. It will result in chaos, bewilderment and stagnation. Grasping of Vedantic principles and a right understanding of the philosophy and Sadhana are very difficult. Vedanta is for a select few who are equipped with the four means of salvation or Sadhana Chatushtaya and who have removed the impurities of their minds and mental oscillation through constant practice of Nishkama Karma Yoga and Upasana. The path of Vedanta is not so easy as it is generally supposed to be. It is a sharp razor-edge path. Therefore, those who preach Vedanta to the masses do more harm than any good. They are misleading the people.

It is very very easy to say, Soham – I am He, Sivoham – I am Siva, Aham Brahma Asmi – I am Brahman like a parrot, but to live in the very spirit of Vedanta, to feel the oneness or unity of consciousness, to become ‘That’ in reality and to radiate the Brahmic Bliss, Joy and Peace is an extremely difficult affair. While repeating ‘Soham’, if his mind is easily upset when another utters a single harsh word, and if he begins to fight with that man vehemently, there is no use at all in that repetition. It is mere hypocrisy. He will not be able to influence others. People will take him for a cheat.

Vedanta is not merely a concept or a dogma. It is neither a theory nor a dry philosophy for contention and argumentation. It is the actual life of perennial joy in Brahman or Truth. A single practical Vedantin like Sankara could move the whole world. A practical Vedantin will outweigh a thousand and one Sandows when weighed in a balance. A practical Vedantin possesses tremendous inner spiritual strength. The whole world rejoices at the sight of a real practical Vedantin. Practical Vedanta is a living experience, the melting of the individual self in the ocean of consciousness or the Supreme Self. The experiencer exclaims with inexpressible joy, All indeed is Brahman. All differences, distinctions, qualities have vanished. I see Brahman and Oneness everywhere. I am Brahman.

Vedanta is Living Experience – Practical Wisdom, Self-Knowledge, and Inner Transformation

Vedanta is Living Experience because its purpose is not merely to create intellectual discussion, religious emotion, or philosophical argument. Vedanta is meant to be realized, practiced, and lived. It teaches that the true self is not the body, mind, ego, name, form, or personality, but pure consciousness, ever peaceful and free. This truth must become a direct experience in daily life.

Many people study Vedanta as a subject. They learn Sanskrit words, quote scriptures, discuss Brahman, Atman, Maya, Avidya, and Moksha, and may even speak beautifully about non-duality. But if anger, fear, jealousy, pride, selfishness, and attachment continue to rule the mind, Vedanta has not yet become a living experience. It has remained only in the head, not entered the heart.

Vedanta is Living Experience when the seeker begins to observe life with discrimination. The body changes, the mind changes, emotions change, relationships change, wealth changes, and social position changes. Pleasure and pain come and go. Success and failure rise and fall. Through all these changes, the witnessing awareness remains. Recognizing this witness in actual experience is the beginning of living Vedanta.

The teaching “I am not the body” should not remain a sentence. It should help a person remain balanced when the body is tired, sick, praised, or criticized. The teaching “I am not the mind” should help one observe thoughts without becoming their slave. The teaching “I am the witness” should bring calmness in the middle of emotional disturbance. This is practical Vedanta.

Vedanta is Living Experience when it changes conduct. A true student of Vedanta becomes more truthful, humble, compassionate, disciplined, and peaceful. Knowledge should reduce ego, not increase it. If a person uses Vedanta to prove superiority, avoid responsibility, or ignore the suffering of others, they have misunderstood its spirit. Real knowledge expresses itself as kindness, balance, and purity.

Self-inquiry is one of the main ways to make Vedanta living. The seeker asks, “Who am I?” Am I this changing body? Am I these restless thoughts? Am I this ego that wants praise and fears blame? Am I the doer, or am I the witness of action? Such enquiry should be practiced not only during meditation, but also during daily situations. Every reaction becomes a doorway to self-knowledge.

Vedanta is Living Experience when detachment becomes natural. Detachment does not mean hatred for the world. It means understanding that temporary things cannot give permanent happiness. A person may work, serve, love, and fulfill duties, but without blind dependence. When something pleasant comes, they receive it with gratitude. When it goes away, they remain steady. This inner freedom is a sign of Vedantic maturity.

Meditation helps the seeker internalize Vedanta. Sitting quietly, one observes the body, breath, thoughts, emotions, and ego. Everything observed is changing. The observer remains. Slowly the seeker begins to rest in awareness rather than being carried away by every mental wave. Meditation transforms Vedantic truth from concept into direct recognition.

Vedanta also becomes living through Karma Yoga. Work done with ego binds, while work done as duty, service, and offering purifies the mind. A person who lives Vedanta does not reject action. They perform action with sincerity, but remain unattached to results. Success does not create pride, and failure does not create despair. Work becomes worship.

Devotion gives warmth to living Vedanta. Pure knowledge should not become dry or hard. Prayer, mantra, surrender, gratitude, and love for the Divine soften the heart. When the seeker sees the same self in all beings, devotion expands into universal love. Vedanta then becomes not only understanding, but also compassion in action.

Vedanta is Living Experience when one sees unity behind diversity. People may differ in body, language, religion, culture, position, and temperament, but the same consciousness shines in all. This vision reduces hatred, prejudice, and selfishness. The seeker learns to treat others with respect because they recognize the Divine presence within all.

The teaching of the witness is tested in difficult moments. It is easy to speak of peace when everything is comfortable. But when insult, loss, illness, failure, or disappointment comes, living Vedanta asks the seeker to remain aware. Pain may be felt, but one need not become completely lost in it. The witness remains untouched. This remembrance gives strength.

Vedanta is Living Experience when daily life becomes sadhana. Eating with moderation, speaking truthfully, controlling anger, serving others, studying sacred teachings, meditating regularly, and watching the mind are all part of Vedantic practice. Spiritual life is not separate from ordinary life. Every moment can become a field of awareness and purification.

A Guru or spiritual teacher helps convert Vedanta into experience. The teacher explains the truth, removes doubts, corrects misunderstanding, and guides the seeker toward direct realization. But the student must practice sincerely. Merely listening is not enough. The teaching must be reflected upon, meditated upon, and applied in thought, word, and action.

Vedanta is not escapism. It does not ask the seeker to deny the world carelessly or avoid responsibility. It teaches right understanding. The world is changing, but it is a field for service, learning, discipline, and compassion. Duties should be performed, but without egoistic bondage. This balance is living Vedanta.

The fruit of living Vedanta is peace. The mind becomes less restless, less dependent, less fearful, and less egoistic. Desire loses its sharpness. Anger becomes weaker. Compassion grows. The seeker begins to feel inner fullness that does not depend completely on outer circumstances. This is not imagination; it is the gradual flowering of self-knowledge.

In the end, Vedanta is Living Experience because it must be realized in the heart and expressed in life. It is not enough to know that Atman is pure consciousness; one must live from that understanding. Through discrimination, meditation, self-inquiry, devotion, service, purity, and detachment, Vedanta becomes real. When this happens, life itself becomes a path to freedom, peace, wisdom, and realization of the eternal self.

Sivananda Gita