Swami Sarvapriyananda has been Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York since January 2017. He was a Nagral Fellow at Harvard Divinity School during the 2019-20 academic year. Prior to this, he served as assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for 13 months. Swami joined the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in 1994 and received Sannyas in 2004. Before coming to serve in the US, he served as an acharya (teacher) of the monastic probationers’ training center at Belur Math in West Bengal, India (the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa). He has served the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in various capacities including being the Vice Principal of the Deoghar Vidyapith Higher Secondary School, Principal of the Shikshana Mandira Teacher Education College at Belur Math, and the first Registrar of the Vivekananda University at Belur Math.

This conversation hosted by the Association for Spiritual Integrity explores the profound interconnections between ethics and Advaita Vedanta. An ethical life is foundational to the spiritual quest, a non-negotiable sine qua non to any real spiritual development. One can be good without being particularly “spiritual”, but there is no spirituality without goodness. But it is also true that ethics are a consequence of nonduality. For as long as thinkers have pondered ethics, they have searched for a foundation, a grounding, for ethics. Why should one be good and do good? The various answers thinkers have come up with through the ages – utilitarianism, deontology, and so forth – have all been found seriously wanting. Nonduality claims to provide a deep foundation for ethics. In this talk and Q&A, Swami Sarvapriyananda explores the philosophical and practical, as well as the individual and social dimensions of ethics in nondual spirituality.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this webinar.

Recorded September 28, 2020

First BatGap interview with Swami Sarvapriyananda

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to the Association for Spiritual Integrity and Buddha at the Gas Pump

00:03:30 - The Importance of an Ethical Life in Spiritual Development

00:06:24 - Models of Enlightenment in Buddhism

00:09:16 - Ethics as the Foundation of Spirituality

00:12:11 - Spiritual Practices: Uparati, Titiksha, Samadhana, Shraddha

00:15:01 - Qualifications for Spiritual Life in Advaita Vedanta

00:17:54 - Oneness and Ignorance

00:20:46 - The Foundation of Ethics in Advaita Vedanta

00:24:02 - The Ethical Dilemma of Torture

00:26:42 - The Choice in Ethical Dilemmas

00:29:36 - The Problem of Ethics

00:32:26 - Ethics and Human Nature

00:35:24 - The Implication of Equality in Advaita Vedanta

00:38:28 - Ethics Rooted in Spiritual Nature

00:41:12 - The Ethics of Advaita Vedanta

00:44:10 - The Importance of Having a Set of Rules

00:46:55 - The Power of Self-Realization

00:50:00 - Caring for Others as Spiritual Practice

00:52:55 - Anecdote about Swami Shivananda and a Critical Visitor

00:56:02 - The Fullness of Advaita Vedanta and the Three Perspectives

00:59:03 - The Balance of Knowledge and Practice in Spiritual Life

01:01:55 - Training the Elephant

01:04:39 - Unethical behavior among spiritual teachers

01:07:26 - The Collective Guilt Complex

01:10:00 - Letting Go of Guilt and Repentance in Advaita Vedanta

01:12:59 - The Application of Advaita Vedanta to Human Reality

01:15:39 - Facing Suffering and Uncertainty

01:18:25 - The Challenge of Unethical Behavior in the Spiritual Community

01:21:24 - Independence in Advaita Vedanta

01:24:23 - Staying Grounded in the Presence of a Sangha

01:26:58 - Closing Remarks