For most of my life, I searched for peace by changing my circumstances. If I could just get the right job, the right relationship, the right amount of money, then I would be at peace. I chased peace like it was a destination I had not yet reached.
Then I encountered Advaita Vedanta. And it told me something I did not want to hear: the peace I was chasing was already here. I was looking in the wrong direction.
What Advaita Vedanta is
Advaita means “not two.” Vedanta means “end of knowledge.” Together, they point to a single understanding: beneath the apparent multiplicity of the world — all the separate people, objects, events — there is one indivisible reality. And you are that.
This is not something to believe. It is something to investigate directly. Who are you, really? Not your name. Not your body. Not your thoughts or emotions or roles. But the awareness in which all of these appear?
The core teaching
I distil it for my students at Dibrugarh like this:
“Your mind is your software. Your pure Awareness is your hardware. The software runs programs: thoughts, beliefs, memories, reactions, the story of who you are. The hardware is what runs the software. You have been identifying with the software your entire life. Advaita asks you to recognise the hardware.”
The mind creates a sense of separate self — “I am this body, these thoughts, this story.” This sense of separation is the root of all suffering. Not the mind itself — the identification with it.
Self-inquiry: the direct path
The primary method of Advaita Vedanta is self-inquiry. Ramana Maharshi taught it. I continue it in my own way with students in Dibrugarh.
Here is the practice:
- When a thought arises, ask: “To whom does this thought appear?”
- The answer is: “To me.”
- Then ask: “Who am I?”
- Do not answer intellectually. Do not think about it. Look directly at the sense of “I.”
- Rest in whatever remains when the “I” cannot be found as an object.
This cuts through layers of identification. Layer after layer falls away — I am not this thought, I am not this emotion, I am not this body, I am not this story. What remains is awareness itself. Spacious. Still. Free.
What changes when you see this
Understanding non-duality does not mean you stop living. You still go to work. You still have relationships. You still eat breakfast and pay bills. But the entire quality of engagement shifts:
- Relationships improve because you stop needing others to complete you. You are already whole.
- Work becomes purposeful because you are not seeking identity through achievement. You work from fullness, not lack.
- Fear diminishes because what you truly are — awareness — cannot be threatened or harmed.
- Peace becomes your default because it is what you are, not something you have to manufacture.
How Advaita and meditation work together
Meditation calms the mind. Self-inquiry uses that calm mind to look for the self. They are partners. Meditation without self-inquiry can become just relaxation. Self-inquiry without meditation can become just intellectual gymnastics.
Together, they are devastating. In the best way.
I integrate both in my programmes in Dibrugarh. Students who come for stress relief end up discovering something much deeper, not because I push it, but because the practice naturally leads there.
What Advaita is not
Let me clear up some confusion:
- It is not about suppressing thoughts or emotions. You still feel everything. You just stop being controlled by it.
- It is not intellectual understanding. Reading about non-duality is not the same as seeing it directly.
- It is not an excuse to avoid responsibilities. You engage with life more fully, not less.
- It is not nihilism. It reveals fullness, not emptiness. You are not nothing — you are everything.
Start now
You do not need to travel to an ashram. You do not need to renounce anything. Sit quietly. Ask yourself: “Who am I?” Not as a philosophical exercise. As a genuine investigation into your present, direct experience.
Look for the one who is looking. What you find may be the most important discovery of your life.
For related exploration, read The Journey of Self-Realisation and Consciousness and Awareness.
