[Advaita-l] New member introduction: Sunil Kumar

[Sanjay Srivastava]

On 7/25/05, Srikrishna Ghadiyaram <srikrishna_ghadiyaram at yahoo.com> wrote:

> So, your best
> bet will be to live for a while in Hardwar, Rishikesh,
> Uttar Kashi, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath etc. On
> your journeys you will come to know many other sanyasi
> teachers from other regions, then you can visit them
> as well.

I think this would be the best course of action for someone interested
in traditional vedanta. Esp. at Rishikesh and Uttarkashi you will get
opportunity to meet with advaitins of every flavor and lot of peer
evaluation inputs if you want some time before making a commitment.
 
> You could approach Sri Svami Dayananda of Arsha Vidya
> Gurukulam. He teaches in a traditional method. 

Swami Dayanandaji is highly respected in traditional and modern
circles alike. The only negative comment that I heard was about the
structuring of his three years full time residential course for
vedanta teachers. Few traditionalists would accept someone as a
vedanta teacher with just three years of commitment. While realization
is considered to be instantaneous, the preparation does take time. The
syllabus Swamiji covers in three years would not normally take less
than ten years with a more traditional sannyasi even with full time
commitment.

> I was surprised to meet a
> Hindi only speaking sanyasi of that caliber...

In fact the reverse would be surprising esp. if you are looking for a
teacher in the Himalayas. You have to be proficient either in Hindi or
Sanskrit to get the most benefit. Malayalam is fine too since Tapovan
Maharaj has left a robust legacy in Uttarkashi. But only English would
most likely be a disqualification.

praNAm