Vedanta Society of New York
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Swami Sarvapriyananda delivers insightful talks on Vedanta at the Vedanta Society of New York, an institution founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1894. Vedanta, rooted in the ancient Vedas, is one of the world’s oldest and most expansive spiritual philosophies. It emphasizes the oneness of all existence, the divinity of the individual soul, and the harmony among all religions, offering timeless wisdom for personal and spiritual growth. Through these talks, Swami Sarvapriyananda explores profound spiritual truths, making Vedanta’s teachings relevant to modern seekers. Vedanta Society of New York ( https://www.vedantany.org ) Apple Podcast ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/veda...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Vedanta becomes a living philosophical method here, tested through objections, comparative argument, spiritual practice and sustained inquiry into consciousness.
Vedanta Talks - Swami Sarvapriyananda gives philosophical claims room to meet serious objections. Lectures, public dialogues and question sessions move between karma and rebirth, consciousness, mantra practice and competing accounts of a good life.
A nose becomes your handrail toward witness consciousness when Swami Sarvapriyananda answers a question.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A measured Upanishadic reading that joins prayer, commentary, and the search for what endures.
The episode follows the Isha Upanishad into its later mantras, centering on the prayer that asks the Sun God to draw back the golden disc and show what lies beyond it.
A patient look at necessity, impermanence, and the pull beyond ordinary happiness.
Swami Nishpapananda frames necessity as a spiritual pressure point. The talk starts from a plain idea: once ordinary happiness shows its limits, the mind can turn toward something larger.
A quiet lesson on shame, devotion, and the comic force of a sacred domestic moment.
Sri Ramakrishna opens in a small domestic scene at Dakshineshwar, with sweets on a shelf, a lizard omen, and a room full of laughter, then moves into shame, fear, chanting, and where shame ought to land.
An interfaith reading that finds fresh light in an old Christian text.
This is a quiet, thoughtful look at Christian spirituality as a place of meeting, not a sealed lane. Rome, the Vatican, and the Sermon on the Mount sit in the same frame, and the move from interfaith history to Vedanta reading gives the piece a clear center without flattening…
A patient Vedanta Q&A that keeps abstract ideas tied to lived practice.
This episode treats inquiry as the point, drawing questions from around the world and from people in person while setting aside what is too private for public discussion.
A measured talk on mantra, visualization, and OM as a way of widening consciousness.
This talk treats mantra as a lived practice of consciousness, not a decorative chant. It traces tantric visualization in a way that joins body, yantra, deity, and mind into one act of attention.
A careful reading of one reality spoken through three paths.
This episode moves through a dense reading of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, treating Brahman, Atman, and Bhagawan as different names for the same reality seen from different angles.
A clear look at Vedanta's paths, and at the habit of mistaking the road for the destination.
This episode stays close to the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and spends real attention on the English that carries it. It notes the unusual amount of care behind the translation, with Swami Nikhilananda’s secretary, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, given credit for a thorough revision that…
Two Bible translators unpack Scripture's hardest passages, from Revelation's 666 to the Witch of Endor.
MJ Dorian's solo deep dives trace genius through Blake, McQueen, da Vinci, and Jung's Red Book.
Two Methodist pastors and guests work through forgiveness, control, and grief in scripture.
Professor Massimo Pigliucci explores ancient Greco-Roman philosophies of pleasure and character, comparing schools like Cyrenaicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Aristotelianism.
Philip Goldberg discusses the concept of karma, clarifying common misconceptions and emphasizing its role as a law of cause and effect rather than retribution.
Swami Satyamayananda explores the mystery of divine incarnations (avatars) in Vedanta philosophy, discussing how the infinite becomes finite, the evolution of avatars across ages, and their role in spiritual awakening.
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses chapters from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, exploring themes like superstition versus spirituality, the childlike wisdom of saints, and barriers to God such as lust and gold.
Swami Sarvapriyananda explores the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, discussing the translation's historical background and delving into key spiritual concepts like the nature of reality, the body as a 'pillowcase,' and the paths of knowledge, devotion, and yoga.
Swami Sarvapriyananda honors Holy Mother Sharada Devi's birth anniversary by recounting the life of Swami Sridharanandaji, a 100-year-old monk who built Vedanta centers in Australia.
Swami Medhananda discusses his book on karma and rebirth in Hinduism, exploring key questions, arguments for and against the doctrines, and their practical implications for spiritual life, including topics like free will, suffering, and parenting.
Swami Sarvapriyananda and Bernardo Kastrup explore consciousness, comparing Advaita Vedanta and analytic idealism.
Swami Nishpapananda explores how to integrate bhakti (devotion) into everyday life through personal stories, scriptural references, and practical examples.
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses Christian spirituality through the lens of Vedanta, sharing personal experiences from an interfaith conference at the Vatican.
Sthaneshwar Timalsina explores the theory and practice of mantra in Kashmir Shaivism, tracing its evolution from Vedic rituals to non-dual tantric philosophy.
Swami Nishpapananda explores the 'Yoga of Necessity,' explaining how involuntary actions like deep sleep connect us to the divine, and how karma yoga transforms daily work into a path for spiritual liberation.
Swami Sarvapriyananda explores Mantras 15-16 of the Isha Upanishad, focusing on the prayer of a devout soul seeking Brahmaloka after death.
Professor Jeffrey Long explores Vedanta's approach to spiritual practice, discussing how to move from lower truths to higher truths through paradoxes, language, and silence.
Swami Sarvapriyananda continues discussing the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, focusing on spiritual practices, the harmony between different paths like Advaita Vedanta and Bhakti, and stories from Sri Ramakrishna's life in Vrindavan.
Swami Sarvapriyananda answers global questions on Vedanta, covering topics like pure experience as Brahman, practical enlightenment methods, time manipulation in spirituality, and the consciousness debate in artificial intelligence.
Swami Sarvapriyananda continues studying the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, focusing on October 27, 1882, where Sri Ramakrishna explains the paths of knowledge, yoga, and devotion as different approaches to the same ultimate reality.
Professor Massimo Pigliucci discusses Greco-Roman philosophies of doubt, including Socratic skepticism, Protagorean relativism, Academic probabilistic thinking, and Pyrrhonian suspension of judgment, while also exploring 'here be dragons' philosophies like Pythagoreanism.
Swami Sarvapriyananda explores mantras 17-18 of the Isha Upanishad, focusing on death, liberation, and the paths of immediate versus sequential enlightenment.
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the ancient Upanishadic definition of Brahman as ultimate reality and the relevance of consciousness studies in Vedanta.
Swami Sarvapriyananda begins an Ask Swami session with a prayer and introduces the Q&A format, addressing a beginner's question about Advaita Vedanta.
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the seven stages of spiritual realization from the Vivek Chudamani commentary.
Swami Sarvapriyananda introduces a talk on the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, connecting his 15th-century Bengali devotional movement to modern New York and the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition.
Swami Sarvapriyananda chants and explains verses from the Bhagavad Gita, focusing on the metaphor of the Ashwatha tree.
Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, focusing on the dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi and the concept of oneness.
Swami Sarvapriyananda introduces the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, discussing its origin and divine plan behind its recording.
Swami Sarvapriyananda answers a question about the difference between soul and awareness from a Vedantic perspective.
Swami Sarvapriyananda opens a Q&A session with a prayer and begins answering a question about the Ashtavakra Gita.
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the Bhagavad Gita and its essence of renunciation, drawing on Sri Ramakrishna's teachings.