ESSAYS

Dama is restraint of the senses, the discipline of holding back impulses before they become action. It supports shama and safeguards the mind for Self-inquiry.

Shraddha means intelligent trust in the shastra and guru as a means of knowledge. It is not blind faith but the openness that allows Self-knowledge to be assimilated.

The ṣaṭka-sampatti are six disciplines that refine the mind and prepare it for Self-knowledge in Vedanta.

In Vedanta, shastra refers to scripture as a pramana, a means of knowledge that reveals the Self. Its purpose is to remove ignorance, not to impose dogma.

Satya in Vedanta is that which exists independently and never changes. Only Brahman is satya; the world is mithyā, dependent on satya for its existence.

Sanchita karma is the accumulated stock of karmic seeds from countless past lives. It explains inequality at birth and ensures rebirth until destroyed by Self-knowledge.