Swamini Brahmaprajnananda Saraswati Ph. D has dedicated her life to serving the Vedic tradition by teaching Advaita Vedanta. A Hindu monk who currently lives in Mumbai (India) she is a teacher, podcaster, writer, creator who points to the suffix -er in all the roles as the abiding Atma in all beings.

She offers regular Vedanta courses (online), Vedanta – the river of wisdom weekly podcast, insightful videos, workshops and retreats in India and abroad. Her teachings range from the depth and breadth of self-mastery to self-discovery.

She is the author of ‘You matter – Insights from Vedanta.’ Swamini ji teaches three core courses at Hindu University of America. She has a Ph. D in Philosophy and her thesis on the Role of Ishvara in Advaita Vedanta is due to be published soon as a book.

She is a direct disciple of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, having studied Vedanta, Sanskrit and Vedic chanting at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in a residential, intensive three-year course in Coimbatore and Rishikesh, India. She studied with Swami Brahmavidananda for about twelve years while balancing her work commitments.

Her last leadership role was as the Country Head (India) of an international organization which positively impacted the lives of 150,000 street children. She was formerly a psychologist.

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Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded May 21, 2024

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Babaji Bob Kindler is the Spiritual Director of the Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda (SRV) Associations since 1993 with teaching centers on the Big Island of Hawaii and Portland, Oregon, USA. Babaji teaches Vedanta, Yoga, Sankhya, and other philosophical systems of Truth with an emphasis on learning to live a divine life and the attainment of direct spiritual experience.  He holds a twin spiritual heritage via initiation into the Ramakrishna lineage (Vedanta) and Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism.  Editor of Nectar of Non-Dual Truth, A Journal of Universal Religious and Philosophical Teachings, he is also the author of over a dozen books on spiritual topics, including

• Dissolving the Mindstream
• A Quintessential Yoga Vasishtha
• Twenty-Four Aspects of Mother Kali
• Footfalls of the Indian Rishis: Charting the Timeless Wisdom of Mother India
• Babaji’s spiritual discourses can be found on YouTube, Livestream, and on the official SRV Associations website.
• Online and residential retreats are listed here.
• Email subscription and site index.

“Our path is mainly a blend of Advaita and Shaktism, with our devotion to Sri Ramakrishna making it Universal, and inclusive of all religions.”

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded November 13, 2021.

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Babaji Bob Kindler
• 00:04:43 – Babaji’s Spiritual Discourses on YouTube
• 00:09:17 – Devotion to Shakti in Tantra and Kashmir Shaivism
• 00:14:03 – The Function of Maya
• 00:18:42 – Awakening from the Dream
• 00:22:42 – The Dangers of Jumping to Spiritual Enlightenment
• 00:26:54 – The Bliss of Meditation
• 00:30:55 – The State of Advaita Non-Duality
• 00:35:15 – The Field of All Possibilities
• 00:39:24 – Reincarnation and the Doctrine of Karma
• 00:43:24 – Remembering Atman and Buddha Nature
• 00:47:32 – Duality and Transcendence in Humanity
• 00:51:37 – The Value of Studying Secular Subjects
• 00:55:34 – Nonviolence and Money-making
• 00:59:40 – Kingdoms of Heaven and the Mind
• 01:03:49 – The Gods Within Us
• 01:07:56 – Different Levels of Consciousness and the Non-Dual Path
• 01:11:51 – Direct Path to Enlightenment
• 01:16:10 – The Forgetfulness of Ignorance and the Cyclic Nature of Time
• 01:20:09 – The Illusion of Change
• 01:24:09 – The Nature of Enlightenment
• 01:28:10 – Following Your Own Calling
• 01:31:52 – Realizing the Atman, the wasted life, and the refinement of the mind
• 01:35:35 – The Guru-Disciple Relationship
• 01:39:48 – The Qualification and Criterion for Sacred Sound
• 01:43:52 – The Universality of Religions and Swami Vivekananda
• 01:48:24 – Realizing the Inner Being and Inter-Religious Gatherings
• 01:52:23 – Deluding Pairs of Opposites and Rising Above
• 01:57:15 – Dharma and Morality
• 02:01:16 – Exploring the Cell of Knowledge
• 02:05:13 – Wrapping Up and Upcoming Interviews

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Swami Sarvapriyananda has been Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York since January 2017. He was a Nagral Fellow at Harvard Divinity School during the 2019-20 academic year. Prior to this, he served as assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for 13 months. Swami joined the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in 1994 and received Sannyas in 2004. Before coming to serve in the US, he served as an acharya (teacher) of the monastic probationers’ training center at Belur Math in West Bengal, India (the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa). He has served the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in various capacities including being the Vice Principal of the Deoghar Vidyapith Higher Secondary School, Principal of the Shikshana Mandira Teacher Education College at Belur Math, and the first Registrar of the Vivekananda University at Belur Math.

This conversation hosted by the Association for Spiritual Integrity explores the profound interconnections between ethics and Advaita Vedanta. An ethical life is foundational to the spiritual quest, a non-negotiable sine qua non to any real spiritual development. One can be good without being particularly “spiritual”, but there is no spirituality without goodness. But it is also true that ethics are a consequence of nonduality. For as long as thinkers have pondered ethics, they have searched for a foundation, a grounding, for ethics. Why should one be good and do good? The various answers thinkers have come up with through the ages – utilitarianism, deontology, and so forth – have all been found seriously wanting. Nonduality claims to provide a deep foundation for ethics. In this talk and Q&A, Swami Sarvapriyananda explores the philosophical and practical, as well as the individual and social dimensions of ethics in nondual spirituality.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this webinar.

Recorded September 28, 2020

First BatGap interview with Swami Sarvapriyananda

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to the Association for Spiritual Integrity and Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:03:30 – The Importance of an Ethical Life in Spiritual Development
• 00:06:24 – Models of Enlightenment in Buddhism
• 00:09:16 – Ethics as the Foundation of Spirituality
• 00:12:11 – Spiritual Practices: Uparati, Titiksha, Samadhana, Shraddha
• 00:15:01 – Qualifications for Spiritual Life in Advaita Vedanta
• 00:17:54 – Oneness and Ignorance
• 00:20:46 – The Foundation of Ethics in Advaita Vedanta
• 00:24:02 – The Ethical Dilemma of Torture
• 00:26:42 – The Choice in Ethical Dilemmas
• 00:29:36 – The Problem of Ethics
• 00:32:26 – Ethics and Human Nature
• 00:35:24 – The Implication of Equality in Advaita Vedanta
• 00:38:28 – Ethics Rooted in Spiritual Nature
• 00:41:12 – The Ethics of Advaita Vedanta
• 00:44:10 – The Importance of Having a Set of Rules
• 00:46:55 – The Power of Self-Realization
• 00:50:00 – Caring for Others as Spiritual Practice
• 00:52:55 – Anecdote about Swami Shivananda and a Critical Visitor
• 00:56:02 – The Fullness of Advaita Vedanta and the Three Perspectives
• 00:59:03 – The Balance of Knowledge and Practice in Spiritual Life
• 01:01:55 – Training the Elephant
• 01:04:39 – Unethical behavior among spiritual teachers
• 01:07:26 – The Collective Guilt Complex
• 01:10:00 – Letting Go of Guilt and Repentance in Advaita Vedanta
• 01:12:59 – The Application of Advaita Vedanta to Human Reality
• 01:15:39 – Facing Suffering and Uncertainty
• 01:18:25 – The Challenge of Unethical Behavior in the Spiritual Community
• 01:21:24 – Independence in Advaita Vedanta
• 01:24:23 – Staying Grounded in the Presence of a Sangha
• 01:26:58 – Closing Remarks

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