The Connection between Law of Attraction Teachings and Adhvaitha Vedanta or Non-Duality

Speaker A [00:00:00]:

What is the hidden link between the law of attraction teachings and non duality or Advaita Vedanta? Today, we will look at these 2 seemingly different and isolated teachings or philosophies, And we will try to find their link, and we will try to understand the nature of reality holistically Basically, by understanding these 2 teachings. On the one hand, we have Advaita Vedanta or nondualism, which is the most sophisticated and the most direct teaching that has been given to the mankind, which shows us the true nature of reality. Basically tells us that the nature of this reality or universe is such that it is non dual. There is one fundamental ultimate reality and Everything else that appears to exist does not actually exist, but it is just a mere projection. Just like how we dream different dreams when we are asleep and how we see that those dreams are not real once we wake up, What non dualism tells us is that this universe and the life that we are living now is Also a mere illusion. And once we wake up from this reality to the absolute reality, We will see that even this reality is an illusion. The primary teaching of the Advaita Vedanta is At consciousness or awareness is this fundamental reality and everything else is an object of consciousness, whereas consciousness itself is independent and is permanent. We also understand from Advaita Vedanta that this consciousness is such it is Existence, consciousness, and pure bliss, it is absolute.

Speaker A [00:02:12]:

It is infinite. It is all powerful and it is limitless. There is nothing else in this universe apart from it. Now let us understand Advaita Vedanta with a simple example. We all dream different dreams, And when we are within our dreams, whatever we are experiencing within the dream seems to be real to us. We talk to different people. We engage with the environment and we do various activities within our dreams. And we think that The environment around us and the people around us within the dream have their own independent existence and have their own separate realities.

Speaker A [00:02:56]:

But only when we wake up, we realize that all those people and the entire universe that I was experiencing within the dream was just a projection within my mind and all of it did not truly exist. Now this is how we need to understand the waking reality also. What Vedanta tells us is that You are not your body and mind. Your body and mind are just like clothes that you wear. They are masks. Your true essence and your true self is that pure awareness or consciousness which is limitless, which was never born and which will never die and it is all powerful full and all pervading. You have identified yourself with this mask that you are wearing, which is your body and mind, and you are living your life within this limitation by assuming that you are this body and mind. That is why you are suffering.

Speaker A [00:04:03]:

That is why you're vulnerable to pain. It is because that you think that you will one day die, you are suffering. But once you realize who you truly are, once you realize your true self as that pure awareness or consciousness, All of your suffering will cease to exist. So just like how within the dream you thought the dream reality was real, right now You think that this waking reality is real, but once you wake up and experience yourself as pure awareness or consciousness. You will look at this waking reality also as an illusion, as maya. This is the primary teaching of Advaita Vedanta. Now how can we realize that we are pure awareness or consciousness. For this, let us do a simple thought experiment.

Speaker A [00:05:01]:

Now just close your eyes and try to empty your mind. 1st, remove everything that you know from your awareness. Remove everything from all the labels, from all the knowledge that you have and your parents, your family, your own name, your body and your mind, all the concepts and all the philosophies and every belief system, all of it. Remove all of them and then remove your assumptions about the things that you do not know. Remove everything that you do not know. You do not know a lot of subjects. You do not know a lot of languages, a lot of concepts, but you still have some assumptions about it. You still hold some deep beliefs about things that you do not know.

Speaker A [00:05:53]:

So take all of them and throw them out. So first, you have removed everything that you know And then you removed everything that you do not know. Now what is it that still remains. Think about it very deeply. What is it that still remains after you have removed everything. The answer is awareness or consciousness. You exist even after you removed everything that you know and all that you do not know. This you that exists after Every object of awareness or consciousness is removed is who you truly are.

Speaker A [00:06:40]:

This is the state of pure awareness or consciousness without any objects. This is infinite. This is abundant. This is limitless. This is what you need to realize and this is the teaching of. Now let us look at what the teachings on law of attraction, manifestation, and positive psychology tells us. The fundamental premise of law of attraction teachings is that our thoughts create things and we attract different situations and different objects in our lives because of the way we think and the way we feel. They basically tell us that our thoughts and our emotions are dictating our life and they decide the direction of our lives.

Speaker A [00:07:29]:

But what I think is that these teachings focus on a tiny spectrum of reality. They do not look at the reality as it is holistically. They are just observing a certain aspect of reality and they're ignoring the rest of it. So today, we will Holistically understand the reality for what it is. I'm not telling here that the teachings on law of attraction or positive Psychology are wrong. All I'm saying is that they are limited and they're missing a lot of things which we need to stand in order to make complete sense of what reality is and in order to truly live a fulfilled life. We can never attain absolute fulfillment by desiring something which is by nature limited. We only get limited joy from limited things.

Speaker A [00:08:27]:

So no matter how big of a desire or goal we hold, it is ultimately limited and it is temporary. So the joy that we obtain from it will also be limited and temporary. Now let us holistically look at The nature of reality with the understanding of non dualism or Advaita Vedanta and then looking at the teachings of law of attraction and how it actually works. What we now understand is that this universe is not what it seems. There is no objective reality as such. The universe as we see it exists within us. So we do not exist in this universe. This Entire universe exists within our awareness and our true nature is awareness and that awareness is infinite.

Speaker A [00:09:23]:

It is absolute and it is eternal, and it is also abundant since it is limitless. Now what we are doing is that we are We're identifying with a body mind unit and we are limiting that infinite awareness into a body mind unit. Now since we are limiting the infinite awareness, We become this personality. Even though our true nature is that pure consciousness, which is limitless and which is abundant, We are limiting it by identifying ourselves with a body and a mind and a personality. And this Universe that is around us is reflecting back to us what we hold within ourselves. So what we are seeing outside in this universe is just a reflection of what is there inside of us in terms of our belief systems and in terms of our thoughts and feelings. The primary teaching of nondualism is that there is no subject object split. So let's say you desire a certain amount of money, you believe that you are separate from that money and that money is something which is apart from you.

Speaker A [00:10:48]:

You believe that you are the subject and that money is the object. But as per nondualism, there is no subject object split. So you and the money and the world around you, everything else is just a projection in that pure consciousness. Everything is pure consciousness. So everything is connected and everything is 1. So whatever belief systems that you hold based on your personality, the world outside of you reflects it back to you. Now you are limiting that unlimited awareness or consciousness based on your belief systems and based on your personality, lity, and then you are experiencing the world around you, which is basically reflecting back your own limitations. So in order to come out of your suffering or in order to live your life consciously, abundantly, the way you truly want to live, You need to first of all come out of your own limitations that you have set for yourself.

Speaker A [00:12:01]:

You need to know who you truly are and you need to identify yourself as that absolute infinite limitless awareness. This is the field of infinite possibilities. Once you have identified yourself as this pure awareness, then your preferences will naturally unfold in your life with at most ease. It has to happen because Everything is awareness and you yourself are that awareness. So whatever You intend from that place of infinite possibilities and from that place of pure awareness will naturally unfold in the external world. This is how we can understand the teachings of Law of attraction with the foundational understanding and with the foundational knowledge of Advaita Vedanta, and I call this process conscious creation through which we are consciously creating the life that we truly want to live, which is a good life for us and for the society and for the world as a whole. This is why Jesus Christ said, seek the kingdom of God and all the things will be added unto you. Here, he was just pointing towards the nature of reality, towards who you truly are.

Speaker A [00:13:29]:

Once you seek and once you understand yourself As pure awareness or consciousness, as a field of infinite possibilities, Everything will be added unto you. You can easily bring about your preferences in this material world. And this is why I think that the teachings of law of attraction and manifestation, especially how it is talked about in the west are broken and they're incomplete. It will only be complete if we understand the basic nature of reality, and this will happen only if we understand Advaita Vedanta. And if you want to go deeper into these concepts in order to live your life consciously the way you want And in order to create your life consciously the way you want, we have created a community cum learning platform, And we call this the Advaita conscious society. You can join our platform by visiting advaita.com. Thank you, and I'll see you on the next