27/09/2025
27-9-2025 A Heartfelt Upadeśa Satsaṅga in the Tradition of my beloved Guru Pūjya Swami Paramarthanandaji 🧡🙏🌹
"The Guru's Skillful Means: A Satsaṅga on the Methodologies of Vedānta"
By Sachidananda Acharya
My dear ones 🙏🧡🕉️🙌
This gathering is not for acquiring something new. It is a satsaṅga, a communion in truth, to remember what we have unfortunately forgotten. The entire Guru Paramparā, the unbroken lineage of masters, exists for only one purpose: to gently turn our attention back to ourselves.
And how does this Paramparā work? It does not give us something we lack. It employs a beautiful, time-tested methodology to remove the obstacles that prevent us from seeing who we are. It is like a mother cleaning the face of her child who has been playing in the dust. She does not create a new face; she simply reveals the face that was always there, shining brightly.
This process rests upon one fundamental, non-negotiable foundation: **a prepared mind**. As the śāstra reminds us, the Ātmā is extremely subtle. To grasp it, we need an equally subtle and purified mind. This preparation is the sacred ground upon which the seed of knowledge can sprout.
This first stage is about making ourselves fit receptacles. It is the cultivation of **sādhana catuṣṭaya saṁpatti**. We begin with the śravaṇa of basic texts. This is not about collecting information. It is about learning the very language of the Self. We are introduced to the fundamental categories: **ātman**, the real You, and **anātman**, all that you are *not*. This is the dawn of viveka, discrimination.
Then, we take this discrimination into our own experience. We take the scalpel of inquiry and ask: "Am I this physical body? Am I this vital energy? Am I this thinking mind? Am I this intellect? Am I even this temporary bliss?" This is **pañcakośa viveka**. We peel away the layers of misconception, one by one.
Simultaneously, we witness the three states of our existence: waking, dream, and deep sleep. We make a beautiful discovery: in deep sleep, when the body and mind are absent, *we still are*. This recognition points us to **Turīya**, the fourth, the ever-present consciousness that is our true nature. This is **avasthā-traya vicāra**.
And throughout this, we engage in **upāsanā**, meditation on Īśvara with form. This is not the goal, but a vital means to calm the restless mind, to cultivate the śraddhā and bhakti that are essential. We learn to offer our ego, which prepares us to offer it at the feet of the ultimate teaching.
Once the mind is quieter, the real surgery of knowledge begins. The purpose is to surgically separate the **Seer** from the **Seen**.
Through **dṛg–dṛśya viveka**, we see that everything we perceive—the world, the body, our thoughts—is an object that comes and goes. They are all inert and impermanent. But the one who sees all this, the conscious principle—*that we are*. We are the self-luminous Seer that can never be objectified.
The logic of **anvaya–vyatireka** confirms this. Consciousness is present in all three states; objects come and go. We are the constant factor, the screen upon which the entire movie of life plays out.
Then, out of infinite compassion, the Guru employs a most skillful means. First, he gives a model: "Brahman is the cause of the world, like clay for a pot." This is **adhyāropa**. Then, once we understand, he negates it: "Actually, the effect is non-different from the cause. The pot is *nothing but* clay. The world is *nothing but* Brahman." This is **apavāda**. The model is given, and then taken away, leaving us with the essence: **kārya–kāraṇa ananyatva**.
This culminates in the thunderbolt of the **mahāvākya**, the great statement "Tat Tvam Asi" – "That Thou Art." The mind may protest, "How can I, this limited individual, be the infinite?" Here, the Guru guides us to discard the limiting aspects of both words. Discard the limitation from "Thou," and the transcendence from "That." What remains is the one, non-dual reality. **We are That Brahman.** This is not a philosophy to be believed, but a fact to be recognized.
Intellectual recognition is one thing; making it our lived reality is another. This is where the core sādhana of **śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana** comes alive. It is a process of soaking in the truth, of questioning until every doubt is destroyed, and of training the mind to abide in the Ātmān until it becomes spontaneous. The direct path of **neti-neti**—"not this, not this"—helps us negate all limitations until we rest in the subjective awareness that remains.
This is not a stage of *doing* anymore. It is a stage of *being*. The knowledge becomes so firm that it expresses itself as our very nature. This is **jīvanmukti**—freedom while living. The peace we long for is not ahead of us; it is the very consciousness that is hearing these words right now.
My dear ones, this entire journey is made possible only by the grace of the Guru and the Guru Paramparā. The methodologies are the boat, but the Guru is the boatman. This is a living transmission, a flame passed from one heart to another.
May we all have the sincerity to follow this blessed path. May we recognize what we have always been.
Om Tat Sat. Om Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ
Love and blessings 🙏🧡🕉️🙌
YourSelf Saccidānanda Ācārya
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Private Satsanghas [always for free] with Saccidānanda Ācārya are ongoing. If you would like to request a private Satsanga, please send an email to:
ashramingreece@gmail.com
Private Satsanghas are accepted ONLY if the śiṣyas are truly sincere and committed to the path of śravaṇam (deep listening), mananam (contemplation), and nididhyāsanam (abidance in Truth), and are willing to lead a dhārmic lifestyle rooted in self-discipline, devotion, and inner purity.
The tradition strongly emphasizes that Vedantic knowledge must be imparted through a formal teacher-student relationship (guru-śiṣya saṃbandha), which is traditionally established through a process called upasadanam or upanayana viddhi.
This is not a casual transaction but a sacred commitment. As the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad points out, "You cannot casually stand aside and ask for knowledge".
The knowledge is a gift (dānam), but it requires the student to formally approach the teacher as a disciple.
If such sincerity is present, then I, Saccidānanda Ācārya, will bestow the Deekṣā that was graciously given to me by His Holiness, the Sringeri Jagadguru, during our first sacred encounter — purely through His infinite compassion, without even my asking.
I do not teach on my own. I am only able to teach because I have been blessed with the most profound Upadeśas from my beloved Gurus, and especially from Pujya Swami Paramarthananda, whose illuminating clarity and steadfast compassion have shaped my entire path. This Deekṣā and these teachings are not mine — they belong to the unbroken tradition of the Guru–Śiṣya Paramparā. I am merely a humble instrument, striving to be a vehicle of their Grace and Light.
In alignment with our sacred Guru Paramparā, the nectar of Vedantic knowledge is offered freely, as it has been for centuries. This teaching is a gift (vidyā dānam), given without expectation, by a teacher who is a causeless ocean of compassion (ahetuka dayāsindhuḥ)
A student's role is to receive this knowledge with a heart of gratitude and reverence. An essential part of this sacred exchange is dakṣiṇā – a voluntary offering given according to the students capacity. This is not a fee but a purifying act that completes the learning process, transforming it into a sāttvic (pure) endeavour.
Dakṣiṇā is a sacred contribution that supports our Dhārmic Vision – to help establish the first authentic Gurukulam connected with Śṛṅgeri Maṭh in Greece/Europe, to sustain Saccidānanda Ācārya and his family in their service, or both.
We currently have two donations campaigns:
A Home for the Guru: Support the Gurukulam’s Heart
https://chuffed.org/project/142754-bringing-the-guru-to-the-gurukulam
Bringing Light to the Gurukulam
https://chuffed.org/project/135227-bringing-light-to-the-gurukulam
Donations to Saccidānanda Ācārya and his family can be arranged privately.
ABOUT US:
We are part of the authentic Guru Paramparā of Advaita Vedanta. 🙏🕉️
Saccidānanda Ācārya has received the Blessing of his Guru, Swami Paramarthananda, to teach from Swami Ji’s transcripts.
Saccidānanda Ācārya received Deekṣā (a sacred Śiva mantra in May 2021, in his first Darśan) from Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Swamiji — the 37th Jagadguru of Sringeri — with permission to pass this Deekṣā on to his qualified students.
In 2023, H.H. Sannidhanam, the 37th Sringeri JagadGuru, entrusted to Saccidānanda Ācārya and his best śiṣya Subodhananda two blessed mūrthis — one of Adi Shankaracharya and one of Śāradāmbā — to be placed in our upcoming temple and Gurukulam.
Our official AVAE website has been reviewed and approved by Pujya Swami Paramarthananda, who conveyed that the write-ups are complete and extends his full blessings for our programs.
We also received the blessings of Swami Sakshatkritananda, the head ācārya at Swami Dayananda’s ashram in Rishikesh, after we completed the property payment; he offered his good wishes for the project.
DISCLAIMER:
Find an authentic Guru and an authentic Guru Paramparā. The scriptures and the sacred tradition warn: never study or practise alone. The Advaita Vedanta Teachings are very profound and abstract; mistakes in understanding can mislead. Seek a living line and a living teacher.
If you want to find out more about our noble vision to establish an authentic gurukulam (ashram) in Greece / Europe, please contact:
https://www.advaitaashrameurope.com/
