Who can describe God to me? What words will this person use to describe the indescribable? And what god is this? Is it male or female? Is it white or black or brown?
How can anyone outside of me describe the one that dwells in the cave of my heart as the very essence of my being?
None of those labels apply to God in Advaita Vedanta. Only that pure consciousness, which can be the essence and master of all beings, all creatures, in fact all objects, inert or animate, remote or distant, that exist in the past or future, come under the purview of this god. It cannot be a being or a thing; it transcends both.
This is the God of Advaita Vedanta, and what's more, the Self, which exists in teacher and student alike, is found be one with God.
Further, the teacher instructs, if you contemplate on the common truth and its universal existence, the same God exists and expresses itself through the deepest Self in all beings – be it an ant or a human. The same God becomes the universe and also becomes the non-universe when material existence ends and spiritual existence begins. In reality then, the Self and God are not different - just two separate entities for the sake of explanation.
"That which is without name and form, beyond merit and demerit,
That which is beyond space, time and sense-objects,
You are that God himself;
Meditate on this within yourself."
— Vivekachudamani, Verse 254, 8th Century AD
Through spiritual study with me, you will not only discover who you really are, but also find that the quest for God does not go far from this Self. They are one. To a beginner student, especially one who is used to finding god in institutions made by man, this may sound like a farfetched concept.
But countless beings, who are now renowned as sages or Self-realized ones, have found through the pure Self shining within, a connection with the God that dwells as all, in all.
Acharya Shunya is a globally-recognized spiritual teacher and Vedic lineage-holder who awakens health and consciousness through the Vedic sciences of Ayurveda, Vedanta and Yoga. She is the driving force behind an online wisdom school and worldwide spiritual community, and the author of best-selling book on the Vedic art of mind + body + soul well-being and health, Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom (Sounds True, 2017) and forthcoming second book with Sounds True to be released in 2020, Sovereign Self. Acharya Shunya is a keynote speaker at national and international conferences, and serves as an advisor to the Indian Government in matters pertaining to global integration and cultivation of Ayurveda and Yoga. Receive her free online teachings and browse her current eCourse offerings here or see more about her on Facebook and follow her on Instagram. Subscribe to her YouTube Channel where she holds live Global Satsangs once per month. Study Ayurveda with Acharya Shunya in her online course, Alchemy through Ayurveda.
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