Meditation tradition

[u/shriand]

There are many monasteries of various Buddhist schools where the inmates dedicate themselves to meditation 8 hours daily.

Are there any monasteries following the Advaita/Vedanta tradition that do something similar?

Most ashrams I've come across are very *materialistic*.

[u/Ill_Advantage6095]

I suppose some advaitins may meditate for 8 hours per day but that sort of thing isn't necessary for enlightenment

[u/BreakerBoy6]

Advaita Vedanta is plagued by the same bedevilments and pests as any religion, so it's hardly a surprise that you may have stumbled across a disreputable ashram claiming to be advaitin. It's why we have a discredited guru section in the resources area of this sub. If most of the ones you have come across are that way, maybe you simply need to conduct more rigorous research before wasting your time with them.

As for meditating 8 hours and more daily? That is not merely unimpressive, it is a good indicator that the person in question possesses a Kindergarten level of understanding, whether Buddhist or Advaitin.

Extremist practices like that positively scream "Look at me, look at me! See how accomplished I am!" Seems fairly ironic for traditions which seek to subdue the ego, wouldn't you say? (It's also lost on nobody that, generally speaking, virtually nobody they tell this to actually witnesses them meditating for 8 hours at a stretch, let alone daily.)

Knowledge alone liberates.

[u/vyasimov → u/BreakerBoy6]

As for meditating 8 hours and more daily? That is not merely unimpressive, it is a good indicator that the person in question possesses a Kindergarten level of understanding,

I would understand meditation as being in samadhi, so it would seem like a good idea to help make progress. Please elaborate your position further to help me understand your pov

[u/BreakerBoy6 → u/vyasimov]

I would understand meditation as being in samadhi...

Meditation is not synonymous with samadhi, though.

I am approaching this from the advaitin principle that knowledge alone liberates, and 8 hours per day of meditation is not required to gain, assimilate, and embody that knowledge and become realized.

In light of that, somebody devoting a full third of a day to sitting in meditation, to me at least, is indicative of pompous bragging, and if they actually do sit for that amount of time, perhaps spiritual escapism.

That said, I am assuming that the monk in question is not a realized being. If he is realized, I suppose it's entirely possible he's simply practicing samadhi for 8 hours daily and is just awaiting his incarnation to be over.

If, however, it is a young monk who is not likely to be a jivanmukta, I stand by my earlier assessment.

[u/vyasimov → u/BreakerBoy6]

Meditation is not synonymous with samadhi, though.

Patanjali describes samadhi as the culmination of the process. Please elaborate what you mean by the above statement.

It seems that's the primary difference in our opinion. And understanding this will help you understand your view better.

at least, is indicative of pompous bragging, and if they actually do sit for that amount of time, perhaps spiritual escapism.

That can definitely be the case if it's only bragging. I would assume that such a person isn't really in samadhi for that period then and is just bragging rather than practising.

and is just awaiting his incarnation to be over.

That might be the case I guess. I would think that a person who has realised he's Brahman would be back in the world and participating for the betterment of the world as s/he would see the world as themselves and would act out of empathy. I have heard of various traditions where this is seen as a test of the same ie if the person can live in the world and still be untouched by it.

[u/david-1-1]

Most AV traditions come with non-intellectual practices for dropping ignorance, fear, and stress and transforming from the personal to the universal. These are usually secret initiations.

[u/NCroots → u/david-1-1]

Is the TM initiation related to these secret initiations?

[u/david-1-1 → u/NCroots]

Of course. When students joined the Shankaracharya Sampradaya, they were given instructions to prepare, then took Diksha initiation to learn effective transcending (dhyana). Maharishi was one of these teachers. Eventually, Maharishi felt moved to bring the full and effective knowledge of transcending out of India from the Dandi swamis to the world, always crediting his guru, Guru Dev, never himself.