Vedanta Talks - Swami Sarvapriyananda

https://eddiestern.comhttps://broomestreetganesh.orgEddie Stern, founder of Broome Street Ganesh Temple and Broome Street Yoga, is an MSc, CYT, author of the bestsellingOne Simple Thing, A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it can Change Your Life, and researcher based in New York City. He is also the co-creator of the Breathing App and the Breathing App for Diabetes. Eddie also has a love for the music, art, and design, and creates merchandise for the Broome Street Temple independently and in collaboration with with New York's most loved fashion designers.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches verses 1-5 from the fourteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 1:श्रीभगवानुवाच |परं भूय: प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् |यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनय: सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गता: || 1||śhrī-bhagavān uvāchaparaṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣhyāmi jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamamyaj jñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ⧫ The Divine Lord said: I shall once again explain to you the supreme wisdom, the best of all knowledge; by knowing which, all the great saints attained the highest perfection.Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 2:इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागता: |सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च || 2||idaṁ jñānam upāśhritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥsarge ’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti cha⧫ Those who take refuge in this wisdom will be united with Me. They will not be reborn at the time of creation nor destroyed at the time of dissolution.Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verses 3 & 4:मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् |सम्भव: सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत || 3||सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तय: सम्भवन्ति या: |तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रद: पिता || 4mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy ahamsambhavaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhāratasarva-yoniṣhu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥtāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā⧫ The total material substance, prakṛiti, is the womb. I impregnate it with the individual souls, and thus all living beings are born. O son of Kunti, for all species of life that are produced, the material nature is the womb, and I am the seed-giving Father.Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 5:सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा: प्रकृतिसम्भवा: |निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् || 5||sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥnibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam⧫ O mighty-armed Arjun, the material energy consists of three guṇas (modes)—sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance). These modes bind the eternal soul to the perishable body.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Nov 09, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Nov 09, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Nov 02, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Oct 26, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Oct 19, 2021.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Dakshinamurti Stotra as part of a spiritual retreat. This Sanskrit hymn, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, is a profound exposition on the metaphysics of the universe, presented through the lens of Advaita Vedanta. It venerates Lord Shiva in the form of Dakshinamurti—the divine teacher—and explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and self-knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Oct 12, 2021.

Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on June 15th, 2025.List of questions with timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:48 - What is the difference between the soul and awareness?10:39 - How do we break the link between the real and reflected consciousness? 27:44 - How is knowledge different from experience?36:02 - Is enlightenment obtained during meditation or while interacting with the world?49:38 - Is artificial super-intelligence a feasibility?  Could this lead to the end of humanity?59:27 - Can we design a generalized template for Karma?  How can I explain it to my grandchildren?01:05:55 - Doesn't the "consciousness wave" referred to in Buddhism imply duality?01:09:27 - What is the difference between realization that the dream is unreal within the dream (lucid dreaming) vs. in the waking world?

Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the profound influence of Vedanta philosophy on American intellectuals and culture from Ralph Waldo Emerson to J. Robert Oppenheimer. He highlights how these thinkers incorporated Vedantic concepts into literature, philosophy, and science, and how they've shaped American thought and spirituality over the last century and a half. The talk underscores the ongoing relevance of these ideas in contemporary discussions about consciousness and artificial intelligence.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."This session was recorded on Oct 5, 2021.