Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
vichara
References
Britannica AI Icon

vichara

Hinduism
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

The term "vichara" in Hinduism refers to a technique of self-inquiry, often translated as "self-pondering." This practice was central to the teachings of the Hindu philosopher and yogi Ramana Maharshi.

At the age of 17, Ramana Maharshi experienced a profound spiritual awakening where he contemplated death. This led him to develop the "Who am I?" self-inquiry, a method of asking "not this, not that" to discern the true self beyond the physical body, mind, and emotions. The goal of this practice is to realize the unity of all things and achieve liberation from the cycle of rebirth, often through a state of consciousness beyond the mind known as samadhi.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. vijñāna-skandha
  2. Ramana Maharshi

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.