This digital assistant of Vedanta.nl was created with the help of Andre Vas to give precise and practical answers to questions related to life wisdom and Vedanta. Ask any question related to spirituality. These may also be personal questions.
The digital assistant searches through all available sources at lightning speed. Sources include texts by Swami Paramarthananda, Swami Sarvapriyananda, James Swartz, Andre Vas, Neema Majmudar, the Sanskrit Lexicon written by Simon de Jong and all texts available on this website.
The internet in general is not searched, to avoid incorrect and vague answers.
About the Vedanta NL digital assistant
How does it work?
The digital assistant works on the basis of a RAG system that extracts relevant context from the sources mentioned above and uses it to generate appropriate answers. Similar to a search engine that merges one or more relevant topics into a coherent paragraph, taking into account the context of your question. For example, if you search for “what is meditation?”, it will collect all the information about meditation, definitions, practices, guides, do’s and don’ts, etc.
Disclaimer: AI gives you knowledge. A living teacher touches your heart, changes your outlook on life, and can actually set you free.
Examples of questions and answers
Who am I?
According to Advaita Vedānta, you are pure consciousness (cit), the timeless, boundless being (sat) in which all phenomena – thoughts, emotions, the world – seemingly take place. Here is a concrete explanation, step by step:
1. You are not what you think you are.
- You identify with your body, mind and roles (“I am a man/woman”, “I am successful”, “I am sad”), but these are temporary phenomena that come and go, like clouds in the sky.
- Example: Are you an atheist in deep sleep? No. Does your personality disappear with dementia? Yes. This proves that these identities are not essential. (From: “Let go of everything that comes after ‘I am’…”)
2. You are consciousness itself
- Consciousness (ātmā) is unchanging, inactive and problem-free. It is not an object that you can perceive, but that which makes all perception possible.
- Metaphor: Just as a film projector needs the screen to appear, thoughts and the world need your consciousness to “exist”. You are the screen, not the film. (From: “I am the boundless in which everything seemingly takes place…”)
3. Why don’t you see this right away?
- Ignorance (avidyā): Your attention is held hostage by the fascinating world and thoughts.
- Identification (ahaṅkāra): The “I-feeling” sticks to changeable things (body, emotions), which makes you feel limited .
- Example: When you say “I’m depressed,” you’re projecting a temporary state of mind onto your true nature. Depression belongs to the mind, not to you. (From: “All the problems of the mind… become my problem when we identify…”)
4. How can you be sure?
- Direct experience: Even now, there is a timeless presence that perceives all the changes. That presence does not age, never gets tired and is always fresh.
- Exercise: Realize that every thought (“I am X”) is an object that appears in you. You are the space in which it arises and disappears. (From: “I only experience myself…”)
Conclusion:
You are not the body-mind complex, but the unchanging consciousness that encompasses all experiences. Vedānta helps you to know (not believe) this, so that your liberation (mokṣa) is not something you have to attain, but to recognize it as your true nature.
“It’s the famous ‘I am what I’m looking for’.”
Meditation question: Can what I am ever change? If not, what will always remain the same? 🌟
What is time?
What is time according to Advaita Vedanta?
1. Time is a projection of Māyā
Time is an apparent reality, just like space, which arises from māyā (the illusory power of consciousness). It is a concept that exists only within the relative experience of the mind.
- Example: Just as a dream world has its own “time” that only counts in the dream, so you experience time in the waking state as something real, while in reality it is a mental construct.
2. Time depends on consciousness
Without consciousness there is no time. Everything you experience as time — past, present, future — appears inconsciousness, but is not consciousness itself.
- Metaphor: Just as a movie exists only on the screen (consciousness), but the screen itself is not a movie, so time appears in you, while you are timeless.
3. Time is Brahman, but Brahman is not time
Shankaracharya says, “Brahman is the real time (Kāla).” This means:
- Everything originates in time, but Brahman (the Absolute) is the source of time.
- If you think away all measurable time (hours, minutes), only timeless consciousness remains.
4. Time is a mental sequence
The human mind thinks linearly:
- “First this, then that.”
- But in reality, there is only now — a timeless “being” from which time seems to arise.
Conclusion:
Time is a mithyā (apparent truth), dependent on consciousness. You experience time, but you are not limited by it, for you are the timeless consciousness (nitya) in which time appears.
Practical insight:
When you see yourself as “40, 60 or 80 years old”, that’s a story. Close your eyes and feel, “I am timeless.” That is the truth.
“There is no past or future, only an eternal NOW masquerading as time.” —Gist of verse 37 in the knowledge file.
Do you want to deepen how time is related to space or māyā? Feel free to ask!
One Response
Īśvara is therefore consciousness plus the potency of māyā …. no: Īśvara is therefore consciousness plus the potency of mahamāyā —- maya is dark degenerated mahamaya . Parvati is transformed into mahamaya in shivas cage during the wedding