Parrot Logic & Vedanta defined
What constitutes the Study of ‘Vedanta’? There are 3 elements, known as ‘Prasthana Traya’:
1) Bhagavad Gita: Dialogue between Sri Krishna & Arjuna. The essence of (2), plus how to act in the world (karma) is taught.
2) Upanishad: A part of the Veda that exclusively teaches Self-Knowledge. There are many Upanishads, but there are 10 ‘major’ Upanishads which are commonly studied. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhya_Upanishads )
3) Brahma Sutra: 555 Analytical Sutras (short concise statements) by Vyasa Rishi. These use logic to analyse all the different viewpoints on 1 & 2, in order to logically establish that the vision of ‘oneness’ (Advaita) is true.
The great Vedanta teacher, Adi Shankaracharya, has famously written brilliant Sanskrit commentaries on 1, 2, 3 – called Bhashya. Bhashya is traditionally studied alongside 1, 2 ,3 by students along with an Acharya (teacher). This is what I spent many years studying with my teacher in India. The Bhashya is simple in its language, yet profound in its meaning.
On a lightly different note, I wanted to share a beautiful Indian saying (Subhashitam):
???????????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?
????????? ? ???????? ????????? ?????????
A logical statement, even if said by a Child or a Parrot, should be accepted. An illogical statement, even if said by the Guru of the Gods (?r? B?haspati), should never be accepted.
This is why we encourage students to use their logic and question something if it is not clear. Open, respectful and healthy debate is very useful if there is a genuine doubt. Hence, why Q&A is so important and any proper teacher should try to encourage students to ask questions if there is a doubt!
Om,
