Welcome to Episode 45 of The Daily Vedantic - a free, repeating 2-year course in Advaita Vedanta rooted in the timeless wisdom of the Upanishads. Start with Episode 1 or jump into today’s reflection from wherever you are.
This course is designed as a repeating cycle: a simple, modern, daily practice that builds clarity, discipline, and understanding over the course of 2-years. New episodes drop everyday.
Resources:
• Our weekly newsletter with links, summaries, and events, as well as our 24/7 AI-powered chatbot trained on Advaita Vedanta (and all episode transcripts) that you can use for free, without an account with nearly any question you might have:
TheDailyVedantic.com
• Vedanta Academy online lectures from the ashram:
• Vedanta Treatise, the book that may change everything for you:
• The No Nicknames Gita:
• The Essence of Christ:
• Follow along on Instagram for daily reflections, events, clips from James’ podcast appearances, and live gatherings like our monthly Philosophy Fridays in LA:
James Beshara: https://www.instagram.com/jamesjbeshara/
The Daily Vedantic: https://www.instagram.com/the_daily_vedantic/
Episode Summary:
In this episode, James explores the concept of stress. He notes that many people talk about stress without truly understanding its definition. Stress is defined in Vedanta as mental agitation from unfulfilled desire. This definition provides insight into the root cause of stress: desire. James shares personal experiences, including a health scare, to illustrate how stress manifests in various ways due to unfulfilled desires. He discusses methods to relieve stress, including fulfilling desires, decreasing the number of desires, and improving the quality of our desires. James concludes by reiterating that stress is not caused by external factors but by our relationship with them, and that we have the power to eliminate stress by managing our desires.
Community:
• Share your reflections in the comments — we’d love to hear what resonated.
• Sign up to join the Venice Vedanta Club, a monthly in-person community exploring timeless wisdom in LA: https://forms.gle/ZSE1zKRXEfw8pMYb9
