A Dialogue Between Vedanta and Epicureanism, with Prof. Tim O'Keefe - Episode 115

Follow My Vedanta Substack: cristianoluchinivedanta.substack.com/ Spirituality, creativity, history, and ancient wisdom. Contact: cosmicdancerpodcast@gmail.com It was great to discuss via podcast with Dr. Jayashankar Krishnamurthy, Director of the Vedanta Institute in Hyderabad, India, and Prof. Tim O'Keefe, an expert in Hellenistic philosophies and Epicureanism, at Georgia State University in the USA. We reflected on the analogies and differences between Vedanta philosophy and Epicureanism. It's interesting to note the similarities in terms of the emphasis on the role of intellect in transcending desires and worldly attachments. The role of friendship is fundamental in Epicureanism, as it is in Vedanta through the concept of Sajjanasaṅgati, or union with the virtuous. Prof. O'Keefe explained the basic principles of Epicureanism, dispelling certain contemporary misconceptions that identify it as a form of hedonism propagated by isolated individuals, thus detached from society. Pleasure is essentially identified as the absence of pain, and inner peace (ataraxia) derived from worldly attachments, rather than a pursuit of material satisfaction. On the other hand, Dr Krishnamurthy introduced Vedanta as a philosophy that lives and permeates society, which empowers the individual and does not view them solely as a yogi meditating in the caves of the Himalayas, as the stereotypes about India often depict. Undoubtedly, there are metaphysical divergences between Vedanta and Epicureanism, where the Vedantic view of Brahman, Atman, and reality as an illusion (Maya) contrasts with the Epicurean universe composed of atoms and void, and the notion of the soul as a material and mortal element. According to Advaita Vedanta, Brahman and Atman are considered identical. Brahman represents the absolute, supreme and transcendent reality, while Atman is the individual, the inner essence of every being. The perspective of Advaita Vedanta maintains that the distinction between Brahman and Atman is illusory and that, in reality, they are the same fundamental reality. The analogy between the Epicurean notion of cultivating a stock of positive memories to be used during negative moments in life and the pratipakṣa bhavana technique in Vedanta is interesting. It leads to a more peaceful and balanced state of mind. Pratipakṣa Bhavana involves cultivating a thought or attitude opposite to the negative thoughts or emotions that arise in our mind. Of course, the podcast did not aim to cover all possible points of contact and divergence between Vedanta and Epicureanism, but I am certain that it will provide you with numerous points for reflection, as it did for me. Let me conclude with two quotes, one from the Vedas and one from Epicurus, on detachment from worldly pleasures. "One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind." (Bhagavad Gita, 2.56) "It is impossible to live well without living sensibly, nobly and justly; and it is impossible to live sensibly, nobly and justly without living pleasantly." (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus)