The Daily Vedantic Ep. 59: Gita Series: The Illusory Nature of the World (9 of 20)
In this episode, James dives into a fundamental theme of the Bhagavad Gita and Vedanta— the illusory nature of the world, known as Maya. Drawing parallels between this philosophy and the experience of dreams, he explores the idea that what we perceive as real may be a projection of our own mind or, more precisely, a result of our ignorance. James contrasts the dream state with the waking state, emphasizing the limitations of our perceptions in determining reality. While acknowledging the initial skepticism many may have, he suggests that Vedanta challenges us to question the reliability of our perceptions and invites us to explore the profound implications of the illusory nature of the world. Join us for this intriguing reflection on the Daily Vedantic. The Daily Vedantic is a daily podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to the timeless wisdom of the Upanishads (https://www.thedailyvedantic.co). Dating back to over 5,000 years ago, the source of nearly all Eastern Philosophy, and loved by Western giants from Emerson to Thoreau to Carl Jung and Alan Watts, studied daily by Joseph Campbell to Aldous Huxley to Arthur Schopenhauer and countless others, The Daily Vedantic aims to make this ancient philosophy as modern and accessible as it is simple, practical — and profound.
James Beshara (https://www.twitter.com/jamesbeshara) is a renowned startup founder of multiple companies, a prolific startup investor in 200+ others including some of the biggest startup names on the planet, a husband and father of three little girls, and philosophy student and teacher in Los Angeles.
James also co-hosts Yoga For Your Intellect (https://www.YFYI.co), a biweekly long-form conversational podcast with his teacher Joseph Emmett ( https://www.instagram.com/yogaforyourintellect ).
James is a student of Swami Parthasarathy, the acclaimed author of Vedanta Treatise (Vedanta Treatise – The Eternities) and teacher at Vedanta Academy in Malavli, India. As James says often, when you’re ready for the real thing, Swami’s daily lectures are where the true wisdom and systematic discovery of the world’s oldest continually studied philosophy resides: https://www.vedantaworld.org
Interested in this particular translation of the Bhagavad Gita? Find it here: https://www.vedantaworld.org/books-and-media/12-books/82-bhagavad-gita