Talk on Nirvan Shatakam by Swami Paraprajnanda

On June 1^st and 2^nd, Swamini Paraprajnananda – a disciple of Swami Viditatmanandji of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania - offered a two-day retreat on Vedanta exploring the meaning of Aatma Shatakam, also known as Nirvan Shatakam. Aatma Shatakam is a set of six slokas brimming with the essence of Vedanta philosophy written by Sri Adi Shankarachanrya.  In her lucid and easy-to-understand style, Swamini Paraprajnananda began by a little history of time when Shri Adi Shankarachrya wrote Nirvan Shatakam. She also gave brief summary of the author’s illuminary life. After the background, she delved into the subject matter at length explaining the meaning of each verse. She put forward profound meanings of these verses that kept the audience spell bound. She explained the connection between gross body, subtle body and ever shining Aatman or Self and their associated sensory inputs. And further elaborated on the permanence of the Aatman, the all-pervading reality and warned the listeners not to associate the reality to unreal existence.

It became evident that Swamini is an erudite scholar, well versed with the knowledge of the Scriptures-Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahmasutra and other Vedantic texts.

Swamini is the resident Sannyasini of Adhyatma Vidya Mandir in Ahmedabad, India, where she has been teaching Vedanta for the past 20 years. Since 2016, she has been conducting talks on Vedanta in Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, PA and different cities of United States. The depth of Swaminiji’s wisdom and her art of teaching which is at once profound and lucid make her an expert teacher from whom learning is a joy. Her experience as a professor of English in the past facilitates her to adeptly handle the subject at hand and communicate it to the audience.

Shubha Chungi, one of the organizers of the two-day retreat expressed her gratitude and offered vote of thanks at the end of the program. “Besides being a gifted teacher, Swaminiji is also very simple, loving and compassionate person”, says Chungi.

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