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.
Recorded September 28, 2020
First BatGap interview with Swami Sarvapriyananda
Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.
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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