Advaita Vedanta Books and Resources for LearningThis is a collection of quality Advaita Vedanta resources (PDF's, books, FAQ's, explanations, etc) – which can help you further in clarifying how to live intelligently and further explain the vision of Oneness.

Before diving into any resource, remember, Vedanta only becomes fully alive when taught by a living human being (guru/acharya). Self-study is only meant as a follow up after studying from a teacher.

To pursue any meaningful career, we seek a professional and develop a relationship with him-her. It's no different in spirituality.

Once the guru/teacher has guided the aspirant — below are some recommended prescriptions given to maintain the aspirant's sanity, well-being and clarity…

BEGINNER: Simplicity and step-by-step structure.

  • ExploreVedanta.com: Free practical step-by-step Vedanta course. How to live it! Start and finish it – before moving onto next recommended resource #2 below.
  • VedantaHub.org: Hundreds of videos arranged in categories of various Upanishad texts and scriptures by various Advaita teachers.

TECHNIQUES: Methods & Meditations.

ADVANCED: Resources for pundits, Sanskrit scholars and Intellectuals.

  • ArshaAvinash: Hundreds of books on non-dual Vedānta, technical manuals, Sanskrit grammar, etc. Devoted to Swami Dayananda Saraswati's lineage. And his most prominent disciple Swami Paramarthananda. In my experience, both teachers are closest to Adi Shankara's method of teaching.
  • Arsha Drishti (Sanskrit Tools | Vedic texts) : Specifically for Sanskrit scholars.
  • Arsha Vidya UK: Swamini Atmaprakashananda is a Dayananda disciple. Hundreds of talks on various Upaniṣads, and articles teaching Traditional Vedānta.
  • Adi Shankara's Bhashyam: Commentaries (bhasya) specifically by Adi Shankara on Upanishad texts.
  • VedantaStudents: Every major Vedanta text/Upanishad categorized, summarized, explained, visually sketched out and commented by Swami Paramarthananda (arguably the most sophisticated/insightful Advaita guru still alive), and his students. Some are from other schools. But all fit traditional Vedanta non-duality.
  • Vendata literature / PDF book downloads : Brahma Sūtras, Purāṇa, Upaniṣads, Ātmā Bodha, etc)

VEDANTA TEACHERS: Methodology & structure.

  • Chinfo.org: Their teachers are residential in Kerala, India. However, I favor them specifically for the brilliant online self-paced courses, esp, “Foundations of Vedanta Course”.
  • Dayananda.org: Look under “Teachers”.  Independent sites of teachers teaching under Dayananda:
    • Arsha Bodha Center: Swami Tadatmananda, a disciple of Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya), brilliant explains Vedantic knowledge in visuals and structure.
    • WisdomOfRishis.com: Neema's webinar classes are interactive. She is an exceptional teacher who attended Swami Dayananda's 3 year course.

OTHER TEACHERS:

VEDANTA FOR CHILDREN / TEENS:

  • Purna Vidya: Swamini Pramananda (Ammaji) has put together a Vedic program for the young-lings which incorporates the Indian culture, dharma, Sanskrit, fun stories and brahmavidyā.

WISDOM & FUN COMBINED:

advaita vedanta sciencesSciences are a testimony of Lord's intelligence all throughout the universe.

To appease minds which enjoy exploring our vast universe, here are some resources:

  • Histography: A visual timeline since the big bang, 13 billion years ago, until present.

self-growth

General wisdom on life management from various authors.

  • PhilosophersNotes: 20+-min MP3 audio summaries of 500+ brilliant personal development books. Preferred as #1 go-to resource for staying up to date with effective thinking, communication, management and problem-solving.

This is a collection of quality Sanskrit resources for getting work done. It's not another page listing websites for learning the language. Rather it's for those who are ALREADY engaged in a Sanskrit course or savvy scholars. Who wish to make their experience more enjoyable. To translate faster. Memorize easier. Save time mastering declensions. Etc.

Tools:

  • Keyswap: IAST Transliteration software for Windows. Easily type: ṛṣiḥ jñānam paṭhati
  • Liberation Philology Sanskrit App: Best app we know of for memorizing declensions/paradigms for 10 Verb classes and noun cases.
  • Sanskrit Transliteration: Real time script conversion between: Devanagari, IAST, ITRANS, Harvard-Kyoto, Velthuis.

Sanskrit <-> English Dictionaries:

  • SanKosha App: All in one dictionary + declension lookup for every word. Sanskrit scholars dream come true. Supports IAST/Devanāgarī. If searching via IAST, don't need to add diacritics.
  • Andhra Bharati: Must type in exact spelling. If searching via IAST, choose Display > Roman Diacritics.
  • LearnSanskrit.cc: Use as last resort as technically it's not a dictionary, but community edited database.

References:

Improve Sanskrit Reading & Articulation:

Here you'll find collection of Sanskrit glossary of terms mentioned in various texts.

Vedantic Terms:

  1. Yoga & Veda Terms
  2. Indian Philosophical Terms
  3. Vedantic Terms – 1
  4. Vedantic Terms – 2
  5. Vedantic Terms – 3
  6. Vedantic Terms – 4
  7. Vedantic Terms – 5
  8. Vedantic Terms – 6

Yogic/Tantric Terms:

  1. Yoga Tantra Terms – 1
  2. Yoga Tantra Terms – 2

3 Comments

  2. I have attended Swami Dhyanananda Saraswathy’s classes on Vedanta in Pittsburg, decades ago. Very Good Teacher. My respects and namskarams to him.
    Vaidy Bala

    Reply

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