Panchadasi Chapter 5 - by Swami Vidyaranya (1296 – 1386)
Online classes by Ram Banerjee based on the teachings of Swami Paramarthananda.

Panchadasi (comprising fifteen chapters) is a Vedantic text authored by Swami Vidyaranya who was a great acharya and scholar. Each chapter tackles Advaita Vēdantā from a specific perspective and therefore each chapter can be studied independently. This course will study Chapter 5  which analyses the mahā-vākya (great Vēdic statements) which reveals the oneness of jivātmā and paramātmā. Vidyaranya was a prolific writer in different fields of science even before becoming a swami.
Among his many works, the most famous is Panchadasi which is considered to be one of the best works of the entire Vēdantā śāstra – a compulsory textbook to be studied by all serious students of
Vedanta.In many of the Vedantic works, even though they deal with all aspects of the teachings, ideas are jumbled, disconnected and often repeated in the wrong place and sometimes do not have a progressive development. When we study such text books, there is a strain on the student because the student has to re-arrange the topics mentioned in the śāstra. There are a few Vedantic works where the ideas are very clearly classified without much in the way of overlap or repetition, and there is a progression in the teachings. It is always a pleasure to teach such a text. One such rare work happens to be Panchadasi.
 
Why study the text?
Ram considers this text as the most rewarding text he has ever studied. Vidyaranya has a style
quite different to Adi Shankara – the 8 th century monk – whose commentaries and original works are generally studied. Panchadasi is a concise text that covers the entire Advaita Vedanta subject – one need not study anything else to obtain full knowledge. As usual pdf notes, video and audio of the class will be made available to all registered students.

Is it for you?
It is for every serious student of Vedanta. Past knowledge is not mandatory as the basic theories will be expanded to make it accessible to all students. There will be interludes to explain concepts that the text assumes the student is familiar with. The study does however require focus to be beneficial.

Classes: Every Tuesday (starting Tuesday 9 September) 7.30 till 9pm.
Cost: 8 class course is £64  payable here:
https://www.arshakulafoundation.org/courses or directly to
Arsha Kula Foundation, Metro bank, Sort Code 23-05-80, Account No. 23496968.