Inquiry into the Nature of the Self in the Upanishads

Many sages in India have stressed the importance of discernment between Self and non-Self, and they have said that the major characteristic of a basic human ignorance is the blurring of this distinction.  What is the Self?  How can we approach the understanding of the Self? How do we distinguish this from the usual many manifestations of self?  The Upanishads regard the aim of human existence to be Self-realization and they present a model of a free, bold and non-sectarian inquiry into the nature of the Self.  This course will draw upon the insights of the principal Upanishads in an exploration of the Self.

Recommended Reading

• The Principal Upanishads, translated and edited by S. Radhakrishnan
• The Upanishads, translation and commentary by Sri Aurobindo
• Yoga and the Teaching of Krishna by Ravi Ravindra

Faculty

Dr Ravi Ravindra is Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, and the author of a number of books including Yoga and the Teaching of Krishna, The Yoga of the Christ and Whispers from the Other Shore. He has directed a number of sessions of the School of the Wisdom in the past.