The Sins of the Father

The Sins of the Fathers

One of the philosophical systems that I have a great interest in is that of Advaita Vedanta, which literally means the non-duality end of the Vedas. In other words, similar to Jesus saying that he did not come to break the laws, but rather to complete them, Advaita Vedanta is the completion or capstone of that which the Vedic Scriptures began.

I have been writing about the sensory overload that I have experienced while here in India, and specifically in Madurai. One of the challenges that an adept must master is the control over the sensory impressions that we are bombarded with in life. In other words, they are merely that--impressions, and are mere illusory and elusive vicissitudes that are ephemeral manifestations of the crude world. However, the world of the Spirit, that of the Universal Atman, is beyond this physically-limited world of Time and Space.

Advaita Vedanta is also a personal quest. It is not a traditional religion in the sense that it is not associated directly with a specific denomination, nor creed. The Universal Atman is a transcendence of the divisions and discrepancies. This is not saying at all that all religions are One, but, that like the attributed Ancient Greek saying of Parmenides, hen to pan, or All is One.

But, we still must undergo this process “alone,” meaning it requires the individual Atman to become aware of its own connection to the Universal, but this cannot be taught, only guided.

As one of the guidelines that Shri Shankaracarya, one of the chief commentators of Advaita, provides is the following.

Rinamocanakartãrah pituh santi sutãdayah

bandhamocanakartã tu svasmãdanyo na kashcana

mastakanyastabhãrãderduhkhamanyairvivãryate

kshudhãdikrtaduhkham tu vinã svena na kenacit

Though there are his sons and others to pay his debts, a father has no one but himself to free him of his bondage.

The distress that is caused by a heavy load upon one’s head may be alleviated by others, but no other person can relieve the consternation born of hunger and the like, but one’s own self.