Table of contents for introduction to vedanta

1. puruṣārtha – Page 4

  • Introduction to tattvabodha – Page 4
  • Definition of puruṣārtha and uniqueness of humans – Page 4
  • caturvidha puruṣārtha (Four-fold human goals) – Page 7
    • artha (Security) – Page 7
    • kāma (Comforts and entertainment) – Page 9
    • dharma (Invisible wealth or puṇyam) – Page 10
    • mokṣa (Inner freedom) – Page 12

2. scriptures – Page 16

  • Definition of śāstram – Page 16
  • The vedas (First layer) – Page 16
  • The sūtras (Second layer) – Page 19
  • The smṛtis (Third layer) – Page 20
  • The purāṇas (Fourth layer) – Page 21
  • The itihāsas (Fifth layer) – Page 22
  • The bhāṣyam (Sixth layer) – Page 23

3. varṇa dharma – Page 26

  • varṇa āśrama vyavasthā (Infrastructure for human goals) – Page 26
  • varṇa vibhāga (Four societal groups) – Page 27
    • guṇa vibhāga (Character-based division) – Page 28
    • karma vibhāga (Profession-based division) – Page 30
    • jāti vibhāga (Birth-based division) – Page 33
  • Gradation and choice of varṇa – Page 33

4. āśrama dharma – Page 38

  • Life as a spiritual journey – Page 38
  • brahmacārya āśrama (Student stage) – Page 39
  • gṛhastha āśrama (Family stage) – Page 44
  • vānaprastha āśrama (Hermit stage) – Page 47
  • sannyāsa āśrama (Monk stage) – Page 48

5. karma yoga – Page 51

  • Spiritual discipline (sādhanā) – Page 51
  • Proper action (karma) – Page 53
    • uttama karmāṇi (pañca mahā yajña) – Page 53
    • madhyama karmāṇi – Page 60
    • adhama karmāṇi – Page 60
  • Proper attitude (īśvarārpaṇa bhāvanā and prasāda bhāvanā) – Page 61

6. upāsana yoga – Page 64

  • Personality conditioning program – Page 64
  • kāyikam (Physical conditioning) – Page 65
  • vācikam (Speech discipline or vāk tapas) – Page 67
  • mānasa (Mental conditioning and meditation) – Page 70
  • Integration and teamwork – Page 74

7. jñāna yoga – Page 76

  • mokṣa (Freedom from dependence) – Page 77
  • pramāṇam (Instruments of knowledge) – Page 78
  • śāstra pramāṇam (Scriptural mirror) – Page 81
  • śravaṇam (Systematic listening) – Page 83
  • mananam (Reflection and conviction) – Page 84
  • nidhidhyāsanam (Assimilation) – Page 84

8. bhakti yoga – Page 88

  • bhakti as devotion to bhagavan – Page 88
  • manda, madhyama, and uttama bhakti – Page 91
  • bhakti yoga as an integrated discipline – Page 92
  • Understanding the nature of īśvara – Page 94

9. preparation for self enquiry – Page 101

  • sādhana catuṣṭayam (Four-fold qualifications) – Page 103
  • viveka, vairāgyam, mumukṣutvam, and ṣaṭka sampatti – Page 103
  • jñāna yogyatā vs jñāna prāpti – Page 108
  • Ten commandments (yama and niyama) – Page 109

10. śarīratrayam – human personality – Page 114

  • sthūla śarīram (Gross body) – Page 115
  • sūkṣma śarīram (Subtle body) – Page 117
  • Nineteen components of the subtle body (jñānendriya, karmendriya, prāṇa, antaḥkaraṇa, and ahaṅkāra (ego)) – Page 118
  • kāraṇa śarīram (Causal body) – Page 123

11. three states and five kośas – Page 127

  • avasthātrayam (Three states of experience) – Page 127
    • jāgrat avasthā (Waking state) – Page 127
    • svapna avasthā (Dream state) – Page 129
    • suṣupti avasthā (Deep sleep state) – Page 132
  • kośa pañcakam (Five personality layers) – Page 134
    • annamaya kośa (Anatomical system) – Page 135
    • prāṇamaya kośa (Physiological system) – Page 135
    • manomaya kośa (Psychological function) – Page 135
    • vijñānamaya kośa (Cognitive personality) – Page 136
    • ānandamaya kośa (Unconscious personality) – Page 137

12. ātmā – Page 140

  • Insentient nature of the three bodies (jaḍam) – Page 141
  • Borrowed consciousness and the lender (ātmā) – Page 142
  • Features of ātmā – Page 143
  • ātmā – anātmā viveka – Page 147
  • dṛk dṛśya viveka (Methodology of disowning anātmā) – Page 148

13. creation – Page 151

  • Law of conservation and manifestation – Page 151
  • brahman and māyā – Page 153
  • Three guṇas of māyā – Page 156
  • sūkṣma bhūta sṛṣṭi (Subtle creation) – Page 158
  • sthūla sṛṣṭi and pañcīkaraṇam (Gross creation) – Page 160

14. jīva īśvara aikyam – Page 163

  • Relationship between jīva, īśvara, and ātmā – Page 163
  • Means of knowledge (śravaṇam, mananam, nidhidhyāsanam) – Page 164
  • jñāna phalam (Benefits of knowledge) – Page 169
  • jīvan mukti (Freedom while living) – Page 169
  • videha mukti (Freedom from rebirth) – Page 171

15. law of karma – Page 175

  • Principles of the law of karma – Page 177
  • Visible and invisible results (puṇyam and pāpam) – Page 177
  • Advantages of assimilating the law of karma – Page 180
  • Types of karma (sañcita, prārabdha, āgāmi) – Page 183
  • How jñānam gives videha mukti to a jnani – Page 183

16. summary of tattvabodha – Page 186

  • adhikāritvam (Qualifications) – Page 187
  • vyaṣṭi vicāra (Analysis of the individual) – Page 188
  • samaṣṭi vicāra (Analysis of the total) – Page 189
  • vyaṣṭi samaṣṭi svarūpa aikyam (Essential oneness) – Page 191
  • aikya jñānam and jñāna phalam – Page 193

Note: Page numbers refer to the free PDF avaialble.