Q&A session led by Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of New York on June 15th, 2025.

List of questions with timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:48 - What is the difference between the soul and awareness?

10:39 - How do we break the link between the real and reflected consciousness?

27:44 - How is knowledge different from experience?

36:02 - Is enlightenment obtained during meditation or while interacting with the world?

49:38 - Is artificial super-intelligence a feasibility? Could this lead to the end of humanity?

59:27 - Can we design a generalized template for Karma? How can I explain it to my grandchildren?

01:05:55 - Doesn't the "consciousness wave" referred to in Buddhism imply duality?

01:09:27 - What is the difference between realization that the dream is unreal within the dream (lucid dreaming) vs. in the waking world?

Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the profound influence of Vedanta philosophy on American intellectuals and culture from Ralph Waldo Emerson to J. Robert Oppenheimer. He highlights how these thinkers incorporated Vedantic concepts into literature, philosophy, and science, and how they've shaped American thought and spirituality over the last century and a half. The talk underscores the ongoing relevance of these ideas in contemporary discussions about consciousness and artificial intelligence.

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."

This session was recorded on Oct 5, 2021.

Part 4 of the Retreat on Adi Shankaracharya's Vivekacūḍāmaṇi taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda. This retreat was held at Vivekananda Retreat Ridgely in April, 2025: https://ridgely.org

Part 3 of the Retreat on Adi Shankaracharya's Vivekacūḍāmaṇi taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda. This retreat was held at Vivekananda Retreat Ridgely in April, 2025: https://ridgely.org

Part 2 of the Retreat on Adi Shankaracharya's Vivekacūḍāmaṇi taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda. This retreat was held at Vivekananda Retreat Ridgely in April, 2025: https://ridgely.org

Part 1 of the Retreat on Adi Shankaracharya's Vivekacūḍāmaṇi taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda. This retreat was held at Vivekananda Retreat Ridgely in April, 2025: https://ridgely.org

Swami Sarvapriyananda reads and discusses the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is an English translation of the Bengali spiritual text Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."