The need for a teacher for the Shashtras - Vidyashankar

 

AhstSpprcfoiinl Sdd2flt1suei,o r2te01da7  · 

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Vedanta and the Gita, as also Yoga, is learnt with a teacher. There are austere and serious teachers, rooted in simplicity and in rigourous learning. One only needs to seek them.

FB or Wiki are not even starting points. They take one on a tangent.

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  Aparna Krishnan

  Shruti came before Smriti. The knowlege is passed down in the guru sishya parampara. In some cases the pararabdha karma of the seeker is such that he has already attained a level of growth, and then he does not need guidance. In most cases the intricaries of the learning need the guidance of a compenet teacher of the shastras. 
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  Aparna Krishnan

  The texts are not sufficent. For most. "There is another famous sloka of Advaita Guru parampara which is as follows:-

  Sada Shiva Samarambham

  Sankaracharya Madhyamam

  Asmat aacharya Paryantham

  Vande Guru Paramparaa

  Thus, starting from the Great Lord Shiva, through Sankaracharya and my aacharya, the guru parampara eternally flows….".

  

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• • Vidyasankar Sundaresan

    I don't need to say much here, 

    Aparna Krishnan

    . Nowadays, the internet is the guru and printed material is the teacher. Except, if one is serious about truth, not just as a theoretical construct, then I can do no better than recommend Wynton Marsalis's rules of practice. Check out the very first rule he has set out, in a very different context, but every one of those 12 rules actually apply to Vedanta as well. https://thepracticeofpractice.com/.../wynton-marsalis-12.../

    

    THEPRACTICEOFPRACTICE.COM

    Wynton Marsalis: 12 Rules of Practice

    Wynton Marsalis: 12 Rules of Practice

    

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    Aparna Krishnan

    Somehow modern times seem very arrogant. Modern knowlege does not need to demand humility from the student. Shastra pramanam, even as a concept, will probably be 'superstition' ! But my ayurveda doctor goes by shastra pramanam.

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  • Ven Kat

    Aparna Krishnan

     Shastra pramana is not to be discounted, BUT it needs to be backed by sadhana and looking for context within Shastra. English as a language is very limited in expressing states of consciousness expressed in Sanskrit. More often than not, the essence gets lost in translation.