Classics of Advaita Vedānta: Laghu Yogavāsiṣṭha – An Ongoing Series with Deven Patel*

Fri, May 22 to Fri, Jun 19
Fridays, 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern Time – Online Only via Zoom

Open Donation to the Ashram. Suggested for entire series $100, or $20 for one session.

Registration details coming soon.

Register for either the Entire Series or Individual Classes:

May 22
May 29
Jun 5
Jun 12
Jun 19

Join any time!

This ongoing weekly workshop series (via Zoom) explores the Laghu Yogavāsiṣṭha, a version of 6,000 verses abridged by the poet Abhinanda from the larger Yogavāsiṣṭha (36,000 verses). A popular classic of Advaita Vedānta philosophy, the Laghu Yogavāsiṣṭha is a beautiful poem in the form of a dialogue between Sage Vasiṣṭha and Śrī Rāma, tackling the problems of human suffering, of life and death, including the way forward in turbulent times.

This section will begin reading the sixth, and final, chapter of the Laghu Yogavāsiṣṭha, titled Nirvāṇa Prakaraṇam. In the concluding verses of the first chapter (Vairāgya Prakaraṇam), a disheartened Rāma laments the futility of worldly life. Sage Vasiṣṭha sees the young man’s mumukṣutva, his intense yearning for liberation, the necessary qualification for receiving supreme knowledge, that Vasiṣṭha will now be imparting.

Join Professor Deven Patel for one or more delightful sessions. Teacher and students collectively work on translating the verses and discuss their meaning. These classes can be taken as a series of 5 sessions at a time (recommended) or as single sessions.

— The ISEWU (Intl. Schools of East-West Unity) admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin. –

Deven M. Patel is a professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Culture in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches courses in literature, philosophy, mythology, literary theory, and translation studies. Deven writes on the history and interpretation of literature and translates from Sanskrit to English. His published works include Text to Tradition: The Naiṣadhīyacarita and Literary Community in South Asia and Kavirājamārgam: The Way of the King of Poets (co-authored with R.V.S. Sundaram).

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