Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa
Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

The Self and Free Will in the Caitanya Sampradāya – Part 2

The first verse in this quotation describes what ātmā is not:  It is not the physical body, mind, intelligence, life air or ego, because it is the witness of all these – and the witness is distinct from the witnessed. The essence of this verse is that ātmā is not a material object and is

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Gaudiya Vaishnavas Philosophy

The Self and Free Will in the Caitanya Sampradāya – Part 1

By Satyanaryana Dasa Part 1: The Nature of Ātmā - Different schools of Indian philosophy and theology present different doctrines regarding the agency, enjoyership and knowership of ātmā, the individual self. Among them, the Vedānta schools accept the authority

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Philosophy

The Ontology of the Jīva – Part 4

Advaita-vādīs raise an objection to this necessity of accepting illuminating power (dharma-bhūta jñāna) as a quality possessed by ātmā: “Consciousness (jñāna) cannot be the shelter of another consciousness (jñāna). So, how can the conscious self possess the quality of consciousness (jñāna)?” The sense of this objection is that an attribute does not have attributes. Attributes

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

The Ontology of the Jīva – Part 3

 Verse Six evaṁ parābhidhyānena kartṛtvaṁ prakṛteḥ pumān karmasu kriyamāṇeṣu guṇair ātmāni manyate Prakṛti is the entity that carries out material activities, but the ātmā thinks that the deeds done by prakṛti’s guṇas are his own deeds, because he completely absorbs his self identification in her. Evam (“in this way”) refers to ātmā’s condition, described in

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Philosophy

The Ontology of the Jīva – Part 2

The sixth verse will make it clear that the cause of the ātmā’s union with prakṛti is his own inclination towards and infatuation with her (parābhidhyānena). The current verse hints at this by saying that the ātmā sees (abhyapadyata) the enchanting qualities of prakṛti and thus becomes inclined, attracted towards her. Lord Kapila explains that

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Philosophy

The Ontology of the Jīva – Part 1

By Satyanarayana Dasa: This article describes the nature of the individual living being (jīva). It is based on a commentary on verses three through seven of the 26th Chapter of the Third Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by Śri Vīrarāghava Ācārya of the Śrī-sampradāya. I have included my own explanatory statements where required.

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Gaudiya Vaishnavas Philosophy Sadhana

Svadhyaya – Japa and Shastra Treat

Two years ago I experimented with something I had been deliberating on for many years. Along with twelve of my students, I rented a house in Switzerland for a week in the summer and engaged in japa meditation as described in bhakti shastra. There was no contact with the outside world, (i.e. no phone or

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