Neo-Advaita, Advaita and Modern Gurus N K Srinivasan Ph D Introduction This article aims at providing a proper perspective on learning and

practising Advaita as a means for spiritual enlightenment or Self -Realization through Self-enquiry or Atma Vichara . The present confusion arising out of 'Neo-advaita' developed by western swamis/teachers who are called "sat-sangh givers" will be clarified to the extent it can be done by a written essay. In doing so, I will also explain the meaning of "lineage" as understood in Hindu traditions and in the present western circuits. Traditional Advaita Advaita or 'Non-duality' is a system of philosophy propounded by Hindu philosophers for practice of Jnana Yoga or path of knowledge. Advaita is as old as the hills and was enunciated in the sacred scripture called the Upanishads [30 of them extant now] which are like appendices to the Vedas and form part of "essential principles ' of the Vedas.[This is part of "Jnana kanda" or knowledge part as distinct from the ritual part or "karma kanda"

of the Vedas.] Vedanta is the total system for which the Upanishads form the major source or scriptures.Oftentimes, the terms "the Upanishads' and the "Vedanta" are used interchangeably in popular writings. Let me first add that Advaita was reframed by Adi Shankara, not developed or invented by him. Based on Upanishadic verses, he culled the principles and formulated Advaita in recent times. [His time is usually taken as 788 to 820 AD, even though some scholars dispute these dates of Shankara.] In fact Shankara wrote extensive and incisive commentaries on ten Upanishads ,called 'the Principal Upanishads' and also on the Bhagavad Gita and the Brhama Sutras..His commentaries or interpretations form the bed rock of Advaita philosophy , as we know today. [His teacher's teacher or Param Guru, Gaudapada also wrote some commentary or 'karika' on one of the Upanishads which contained the essence of Advaita and he is also credited with the early origins of this philosophy.Whether the credit goes to Adi Shankara or his paramguru , is of less importance to us at this distance of time.] Adi Shankara also wrote other texts such as "Viveka Chudamani" ["Crown-jewel of Discrimination" ] of 600 verses, explaining the

Advaita philosophy, for lay persons like us.[But many scholars doubt that Adi Shankara wrote this; most probably a later scholar or acharya wrote.] Anyway this is indeed a standard text for this

philosophy. [Adi Shankara also developed a monastic order and helped to found four mathas or monasteries in four directions of India to perpetuate and teach this philosophy. Even today these mathas are supposed to be custodians of this philospohy and major proponents for scholars and lay persons.] Let me hasten to add that Adi Shanakra was not averse to other systems of philosophy or devotional path or Bhakti yoga as commonly held by some writers or even preceptors.. He only maintained that Advaita or non-duality is a part of Jnana Yoga or path of Knowledge or Self-enquiry and that it is a sure way. He also stated categorically that other paths --karma yoga [the path of self-less action] and Bhakti yoga thepath of devition] ---are preliminary steps leading to Jnana or culminating in Jnana[knowledge of the supreme] which is required for self-realization. This knowledge removes the ignorance or avidya about our existence and the universe and thus removes the veil that shrouds our thinking. Adi Shankara did not negate the other paths;he only gave less importance to those paths.

What is Advaita or Non-duality? There are six systems of Hindu philosophy,called "darshanas". Vedanta is one among the six systems.[Some of the systems stem from even athiestic or agnostic approaches. One may read on them.][The term 'darshana" can be loosely translated as "vision"] Vedanta has several schools of interpretation or bhasyas. There are three main bhasyas: Advaita is one of them; the other two are: Vishist-advaita [qualified advaita or monism] and Dvaita [ duality ] To understand Advaita in proper perspective, we have to discuss the other two also ,in a brief manner. While Adi Sankara reformulated Advaita for us in 8th century, Vishsit-advaita was formulated by another great philosopher/saint or acharya called Sri Ramanuja in the 12th century. He derived his philosophy from the teachings and lives of mystics; he later correlated the tenets of this school with that of Upanishads,Brhama Sutras and his own interpretation of the Gita.In this school, we find liberal confluence of devotional or Bhakti

stream, as befitted his period---that is 12th century. The third school--duality or Dvaita is the exact opposite of

Advaita. This was formulated by Sri Madhva Acharya, in the 13th century.This school includes the concepts of heaven and hell, the concept of condemned souls, eternal damnation and so on.He also derived his inspiration from the Gita and interpreted the Upanishads and Brhama Sutras to fit his doctrines. [There were two minor schools which are fine distinctions between these three schools; Vallabha developed 'pushti marga' as a form of Bhakti yoga and Nimbarka his bheda-bheda --a form of Advaita. We shall not discuss these here any further.] The three great acharyas or preceptors---Adi Shankara, Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhwa --- developed their own schools and also created their own styles of worship with rituals---giving practical steps for spiritual seekers or sadhaks. The present forms of Hindu worship were all developed by one of these

acharyas, building on earlier methods of worship which were already prevailing in the Hindu society. Thus Shankara established formal worship of six different gods, with emphasis of Mother Goddess or Devi worship and was labelled 'shat-matha sthapaka' or establisher of six deities for worship, derived from Lord Shiva..Sri Ramanuja established the formal worship of Lord Vishnu and his divine consort 'Lakshmi' or 'Sri' and the deities based on avatars of Vishnu, deriving from mystic chantings of twelve alwars

before him.[The twelve alwars resemble sufi saints and one Sufi master ,Indries Shah had discussed them in his book on Sufism.] Sri Madhwa was a worshipper of Lord Krishna and established Krishna worship as a practical means for divine bliss and knowledge. Thus the three great acharyas, though propounders of deep philosophy,gave much importance to formal worship for daily prayer and contemplation.It is totally wrong to suppose that they dwelt on impersonal ,abstract Brahman or cosmic consciousness as the only means for spritual progress and that they negated formal worship. I am emphasizing this because many advaitins,neoadvaitins, arm-chair philosophers and academic scholars miss this point and wonder at the plethora of forms of worship and ask with apparent confusion why Bhagavan Ramana went to Arunachaleeswara temp on arrival at Thiruvannamalai or why he encouraged chanting of hymns and songs at the asramam and even instituted Sri Chakra worship at his "Mother's temple" in the asram ;or why Nisargadatta did formal worship for the pictures of deities in his room. I will have more to say on this later. ] Now to return to "Advaita". Advaita postulates only one REALITY -- beyond the names and forms we find in our experience. This 'Reality' [with capilal 'R'] is

also called 'Brahman' by vedantists, 'Sat" [Truth], 'Chit' or consciousness by Yogis and pseudo-scientists,'Ananda' [Bliss, eternal Joy, Infinite Love' by Bhaktimans or devotees.] The forms--- manifestations, the phenomenal world, mountains, rivers, humans, animals and birds, insects and worms----- are expressions or projections from this Reality or Brahman.[ " Ekam Sat"] Brahman is abstract---no form, no attributes or qualities, no birth and death;no growth nor decay. But Brahman pervades the Universe, animates every thing and present everywhere---it is omnipresent,omniscient as scholar would describe; [The very first line of Isa upanishad is " Isa vasyam Idam Sarvam"---everything is clothed or pervaded by "Isa" or Reality or Brahman.[ As a matter of clarification, this includes both living and non-living things. So the matter of life arising, at the cellular level or in higher forms need not be discussed separately at all.] Brahman is present in us as Atman or soul---the individual soul-also called "Jivatman". Without this soul animating us, we will not breathe, we wil not have a pumping heart, we will not have a brain which processes our mind or thoughts, activate our senses and so on.[The Hindu philosophers talk of Jnaneidriyas and

karmaendriyas for various physiological and sensual functions.] The Atman ,however, is imperishable---only our body dies. Our body has the progression of birth,growth, sustenance, decay and death. Atman goes from one body to another ,if need be. Advaita and other schools have to contend with only one question: What is the relationship, if any,between Atman or individual soul and the Brahman or Reality.? This is the central and fundamental question Vedanta purports to answer. The answer cannot be direct or easy; it is involved because we have to wrestle with another entity besides Atman and Brahman---that is mind or 'manas'. Our mind enables us to function and move around in this world. Whatever may be the limitations of our mind, we need that--for cognitive purposes and for daily life and to store wonderful memories or impressions [vasanas]. We cannot live, except as a vegetable, without our mind. Whether you are an Einstein, or Abraham Lincoln, or Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi or a cook or a laborer showeling mud, you are acting according to the dictates or rulings of your mind. While many sensations arrive from the

five senses, it is your mind that processes them. [In Vedanta or Upanishads, mind is considered as another sense only---the sixth sense.]It is your mind that tells you that this is good, this is bad, this is light, this is darkness, this is pleasant ,this is painful and so on. It is your mind that decides your values and ethical propositions. It is your mind that runs your life. For Vendantins, mind is a bundle of thoughts. It is the source and repository of all your thoughts,good and bad, pleasant and painful, past and present.Can you get rid of your mind even if you want to? --no--We can, at best, regulate or chanelise our mind. MInd is tricky and runs wild or wavers like the wind. {Lord Krishna answers Arjuna in the Gita: "Arjun,yes, the mind is difficult to control; but it can be done by repeated [abhyasa] and by dispassion or" vairagya."] Vedantists tell us that it is the mind which throws a veil over real understanding about the indwelling soul or atman. Mind keeps operating in our wakeful state {'jagrath'} and in dream state ['swapna'} ; in deep sleep it becomes silent. Yes, in deep sleep, our soul is awakened but then 'we are not conscious of that'...see the problem. Can we realize the soul while in waking state?--- yes, that is effort

what advaita could enable you. But mind intervenes. Mind takes you out into the world.So mind has to be stilled.That is what a sage attempts to do. He can succeed in stilling the mind for a short while---that is when one gets a glimpse of Reality . This is called "savi-kalpa samadhi" still retaining ' consciousness of outer world". There is another stage when the mind is totally silenced for some time leading to 'nir-vikalpa samadhi' when one is totally unconscious of the world but aware of one's Self ;rather the Self shines.This is difficult to describe in words---what i have written is a word description with all the limitations of words! There is yet another kind of samadhi state: in this state, one is aware of the external world and also constantly aware of Reality---this is called " Sahaja Samadhi"---only a few like Sri Ramakrishna and Bhagawan Ramana were in this state. In simpler terms, mind is like a cloud that hides the Sun; When

the cloud moves away, you see the sun again.Such analogies help. [There are several analogies given by the Vedantins. Analogies are the stuff Vedanta is made of; there is no other way a teacher can explain abstruce concepts to his students. The famous analogy of "snake and the rope" is too well known in Advaita circles to be

repeated here.] I have not still answered the fundamental question posed earlier: " What is the relationship between the Atman or individual soul and the Brahman or paramatman?" Here the acharyas and their schools differ. According to Advaita or Shankara school, the two are the same. Brahman is present in each of us as soul or atman.[ " I AM" is equal to Brahman.] Advaitic sayings include " Aham Brahmasmi" -- a Mahavakya ,meaning " I AM BRAHMAN" OR "I AM THAT". This means that I am, as a soul, is not different from Brahman and therefore pervade everything. This is soul-consciousness merging with cosmic consciousness. If you experience this, that is authentic advaitic experience. But remember, as long as you are identified with your body, you are not conscious of the soul or Atman all the time and you are

not the Brahman...Only when the body consciousness is gone, can you realize this advaitic experience. Therefore this is experienced only during the samadhi state. Many may briefly experience [ afew seconds to a few minutes] in savi-kalpa state . That is not the end of the story. In fact it is the beginning of a

long spiritual journey for you---- to get established in this state or consciousness. Many advaitins , with incorrect notions, feel that the savi-kalpa experienced for a few seconds, have given them moksha or liberation or self realization. They come back to normal state with body consciousness and may even degenerate into unethical behavior. To go beyond savi-kalpa and to experience Nirvi-kalpa at will as Sri ramakrishna experienced , is many orders of magnitude dificult and not attained without divine 'grace' .The mind intrudes and drags the saint or yogi to relative life. He may even become a charlatan. We may briefly pause to consider the other two schools. According to Vishist-Advaita, as long as one is tied to this body, our soul can never merge with Brahman or identify with it, though the soul is of the nature of Brahman. The best we can do is to worship the Divine Brahman with our limited intellect and resort to worshiping personal gods, instead of dwelling on Absolute Brahman---attribute-less,abstract.This will lead us to self-realization or liberation gradually [krama mukthi], but remember always human soul is a separate entity from the Brahman and is therefore limited. Millions of souls are created and get

close to the Brahman as so many reflections of the sun are seen on numerous pots kept in the open. Therefore advaitic experience is not possible and is only a mental illusion. It is not possible to have liberation of Jivan mukthi while living encased in one's body. According to this school, to say Jivatma and paramatma or Brahman is one and the same is blasphemy. According to 'dwaita', or the school of Madhwa, human souls are here to experience this relative world of plurality; this world itself is part of Reality---to find joy in the pursuit of

devotion to a personal god--be it Rama or Krishna; the souls are judged according to its merits and demerits based on their actions at the end of one's life.. Some souls are eternally in heaven with the supreme being. Some take birth,experience in this world and again go to heaven to spend some time and return to this world as jivas; Others do sinful acts to suffer in hell and return there, with eternal damnation.It follows that good actions and proper devotion would ensure a seat in the heaven with the grace of the Lord. [This dualistic philosophy resembles Christian doctrines so much that some scholars even suggest that Madhwa was influenced by proselytizing Christain missionaires in 13th century Malabar coast. This school also resembles the Islamic doctrines in some respects.] Fortunately, Madhwa also found scriptural

references and

verses in the Gita [especially chapter 16] to

support his doctrines. At present, only a small minority of Hindus belong to the sect of Madhwa.The majority of Hindus follow either Shankara school or Ramanuja [vaishnava]school or sects with minor variations of these two schools. Apparent Reality and Absolute Reality Advaita philosophy clearly distinguishes between apparent reality at the transactional level,called 'Vivaharika' , as opposed to absolute reality, the real Reality of oneness with Brahman,called 'paramarthika". Apparent reality is felt and perceived by our senses, and has significance as far as this world is concerned. It is not permanent and therefore not Real (with capital R). We have to move with this apparent reality for the sake of our body and mind. It vaporises at any time. The impermanence of this reality is the illusive nature of "Maya". It is real for our relative existence. It is like the shadow behind the real object. To understand properly the apparent reality takes time.This preparation is essential. An advaitin has to respect and follow ethical behavior and laws because he is still operating in apparent reality or transactional level with the society. An

advaitin, even after self-realization or Jivan muktha [liberated while living] cannot go about saying that he is one with Brahman and therefore good and bad has not meaning for him or he gathers no sin and then engage himself in unethical actions; He is still a living entity inthe vivaharika reality.!Failure to understand this has caused much harm among the advaita and yoga circuits. Advaitic Experience versus Advaitic Knowledge Advaitic knowledge is obtained from studying the scriptures with the guidance of a teacher or guru. All the acharyas agree that a guru or preceptor is essential. Here advaitins have another advantage: one need not have a human ,living guru; the Self or soul itself is your ultimate guru ,though you may get direction from living gurus. [ God, Self and Guru are one and the same--according to Hindu traditions.] According to Advaita, only a guru who is self-realized can lead to realization. Others merely teach--in an academic sense. How many are there then? One can , of course, proclaim that he or she is self-realized and therefore can lead others to self-realization. This is what many neo-advaitin teachers claim! How did these teachers get realization?

In traditional path, one should first study with a master, then introspect and assimilate the teachings and then meditate with full awareness---the three steps are called" sravana, manana and nidhi-dhyasana".Most advaitins have done only partial study, and

hope that their masters will enable self-realization by their powers or grace---like kindling a candle with another lighted one. [There are also some traditional teachers who maintain that study alone or chanting scriptures like the Vedas is sufficient to

attain self-realization. I do not wish to mention the names of such teachers. I do not agree with this view. In fact it is clear that by studying Vedas or scriptures one does not attain liberation. They are like pointers to divinity. Even the Gita explicitly states this.] Advaitic experience is what self-realization is all about. Without this experiencing, just understanding the concept intellectually does not lead to realization.But many advaitic teachers claim to have attained self-realization by awakening to the consciousness that they are souls and not the body. Can this happen by listening to a master or having some mental introspection by sat-sang or questions arising in the mind and gathering lecture notes or tapes? I don't think so. It is easy to mistake advaitic knowledge for advaitic experience.

Advaitic experience is often likened to awakening from a dream; when the dreamer notes that he has had a dream.But here, the dreamer should be conscious that he is in a dream while dreaming,

not after getting awakened. Therefore many so called awakened persons assume that they are awakened with intellectual understanding ,but not with genuine experience of advaitic state. [I do admit that there could be some realized masters in this neo-advaita circuit, but they may not show any interest in fame and wealth at all.] How do we know a person has had this advaitic experience of The well-known

oneness with Brahman, apart from his telling us.

masters have not given clear guidelines. One quality that distinguishes them is total disinterestedness in worldly matters

and remarkable sense of compassion. We can learn something from the life of such masters as Sadashiva Brahmendra, Trilainga Swami[Benaras], Bhagawan Ramana, Swami Nithyananda [Ganeshpuri] among others. Though they have no interest in worldly actions, they may be engaged in actions for the welfare of the world or 'lokasangraha'.But such masters are indeed very rare. Advaitic Experience and Advaitic State or 'Being' Advaitic experience is what most persons can hope to achieve.

Advaitic state or sahaja samadhi is difficult to be in. Some ,like Ramana could be in that state for many years--the state of "Stitha-prajna". [There is even a statement that after one reaches nivi-kalpa samadhi, unless effort is made by the person or his guru, the person will leave the mortal coil and attain Mahasamadhi, the final exit from this body-cage.There are many details that cannot be discussed in this article.] Apart from Jivan Mukthi state, the advaitic state would mean that the person is totally devoid of body consciousness ; such a person is in total silence without any human contact.Hagiographic details are available for a few saints in such a state..Such a person is not communicative to this world except through "silence". Preparatory steps for Advaita experience Advaita and Jnana Yoga require that one follows several preparatory steps leading to a tranquil state, leading to stillness of the mind or at least some degree of mental peace and tranquility. A stern master will put a disciple or chela through these steps , unless he is already far advanced due to previous good karma and practices. Of these, two major steps are attaining viveka [loosely termed 'knowledge' but means "discrimination"] and

"vairagya" or dispassion. Viveka would lead to vairagya, though a few saints attain "vairagya" first due to life-changing or traumatic experiences. Disrimination is distinguishing the real ,permanent stuff from unreal,ephemeral, changing things. This could be physical things that we see in phenomenal world or changing fortunes of name,fame, wealth, health and so on. It does take a while to disenchant this world. Advaita is strongly dependent on a life of asceticism, austerity one's mind from the changing things of

and gradual renunciation. Association with great sages, that is true satsangha , and ashram life are meant to foster this, in a

gradual manner.The ashram environment should be conducive for such a austere life, unlike modern ashrams which are only vacation resorts. I know that some gurus in the 1970's and later have played down this approach of ascetic life and had pampered to the tastes of westerners and money-bags to build their following with disasterous results. [One guru accumulated foolishly nearly a hundred expensive cars, another a fleet of Cadillacs and so on. Both of them got into legal problems and were hounded out of the country and had to flee from one place to another. There are many such bogus swamis and yogis in our midst that I need not elaborate at all.]

Vairagya is a result of viveka. For some getting vairagya is a snap out of mundane life, due to some traumatic event in their lives-- a sudden process. Many saints and sages in Indian soil had approached the Divine with vairagya , with little or no knowledge of Advaita to begin with. Many Hindu children are taught several stories of these saints in recent history ; this helps them to follow a simple life style with high thinking.

You can understand the twin steps of Viveka and Vairagya from the life of Gautama, the Buddha. But remember that these steps are not only for those prophets and for those who establish religions, but for any seeker trying to attain self-realization. [There is a crazy-wisdom tradition and other traditions in which a sage may outwardly indulge in luxury, but inwardly withdrawn from the worldly life. Such instances are rare, but can be easily discerned from some of their actions.] Often times saint and sages leave the comfort of the ashram and disappear into forest towards the end of life, as it happened in the case of Swami Ramtirth, Swami Abhishiktananda [Henri Le Saux] in recent times. Without such attainment of Viveka and Vairagya, the possibility of awakening to the knowledge of "Reality" in the advaitic sense is a delusion.What most people gain with listening to lectures and questioning by a master like Papaji is an intellectual perception

or understanding of advaita. Neo- Advaita Neo -advaita is practised by several western swamis and teachers who have derived some knowledge of Advaita with brief encounters with some gurus or yogis in India or elsewhere. Many were initiated by Osho [Rajneesh in Pune or Oregon ranch] and had listened to his lectures.Later many went to H W L Poonja, affectionately called Papaji, in Lucknow.Some had the privilege of listening to Nisargadatta Maharaj in Mumbai. Unfortunately none of them had any formal 'training' as such in advaitic lore for

extended periods. Then after Nisargadatta's samadhi, many went to Ramesh Balsekar , who had listened to Nisarga and was one of his translator for many years. Ramesh gave lectures at his home and held a few seminars. Poonjaji himself was given much instruction by Ramana Maharshi in Thiruvannamalai a few decades earlier.. His maternal uncle was the great Swami Ramtirth, a contemporary of Swami Vivekananda. It is moot point how far Poonjaji had established himself in advaitic experience. I am not doubtful about their sincerity or genuine interest in

teaching others as a service to humanity.But understanding the concepts of Advaita is one thing but experiencing the Advaita or self-realization is another matter. Furthermore, does one get

awakened just by listening to a master? At the most, many received an intellectual perception of advaita. [You may read more about the approach and attitude of Papaji in teaching the western students in the book "Nothing Ever happened"

by David Godman. Did he consider these students as parasites, disturbing him .If so, why did he entertain them at his Lucknow residence? This raises many questions about Papaji himself and the neo-advaita circuit spawned from there.] The students of Ramesh Balsekar, Papaji , Nisarga and Osho have become the neo-advaitins preaching advaita doctrines and methods.

They again give lectures or answer questions in sat-sangh style. While some knowledge of Advaita gets widely disseminated, the real essence of Advaita grounded in Viveka [discrimination] and Vairagya [dispassion] may be missing in their teachings. What we have now is the packaged academic style seminars on Advaita. This ,of course, would generate comfortable income for the

teachers.The traditional masters always taught without charging any fees. The neo-advaita efforts may dilute or distort the proper approach of advaita.Here lies the real danger. The neo-advaitins

may be misguided by these gurus, often unwittingly. Neo-advaita is only a quick-fix method for aspiring western seekers who may not take the trouble of going through rigorous traditional training and yet feel a sense of Guru Lineage Guru parampara or lineage, among Hindu traditionalists, means that one has been formally initiated by a guru, and therefore he is privy to any esoteric or special knowledge of methods/techniques /styles of practice handed down by the guru. A guru will select very carefully his chela after much testing of the chela's worthiness,capability and integrity before initiation. It is not just paying a fee and getting 'diksha' or title after a few days. A true guru will not initiate all and sundry for money or name or other forms of support he gets from the chela. The chela becomes eligible to learn from the guru some secret doctrine or specialised knowledge which the Guru would not reveal to the public or write in his books.This would also include certain anecdotes or details or experiences of the Guru passed on to the Chela. One can understand how modern masters of advaita have been been careless in giving initiation to anyone after a attainment in this direction.

few days and after certain familiarity with the guru. This has

been the serious flaw in the advaitic movement since the days of Osho and others, from early 1970's. [Osho or Rajneesh rejected the traditional method as an unacceptable method for modern people!.] This easy initiation into advaitic lore, with the presumption of quick awakening or realization after attending lectures or seminars, had been going on in India with several so-called 'masters' . The neo-sannyasins have sprouted everywhere because eager to get name, money and

of 'masters' and gurus who were power over others.

Therefore the lineage claimed by many students is just farce, like getting a certification after a short course. If one had listened to Papaji and Papaji was a student of Ramana, one does not belong to the lineage of Ramana. He can claim to be a student of Papaji or Ramana. Using a picture of Ramana or Papaji does not entitle

one to impart training in the 'lineage' of these masters. The masters must acknowledge them as authentic disciple to carry on the teachings.Many times the chelas use some letters received from the masters written in casual style to authenticate their lineage. [There had been other movements in which a guru or swami claims that he can awaken en masse hundreds of devotees with his/her special powers or shakti gurus transmitted or broadcast from him. These

even assert that they can raise the kundalini of these

devotees in a short time. This 'shakti-pat' is , to say the leastnot genuine and may not lead to any effect. Some gurus assume they can do this as if uprooting hundreds of trees in a tornado. It does not take a long time to realize that the masters have been misguiding the chelas; some had even misbehaved with the students. It takes much preparation before one can safely experience the state of awakened kundalini and withstand its aftermath results. Yet such gurus have been highly successful Advaitic training Though it is not possible to outline in sufficient detail what this training could be, I may indicate the essential elements for this training. The training has to be in ashram style living with a master in a quiet environment. It has to include a daily practice of pooja [worship] and chanting [Japa] with intense meditational practice. These practices help to control the restlessness of the mind.Some form of formal scriptural study, say of the Gita ,followed by discussion is required. The remaining time should be spent in silence with introspection. [Some form of social service for the needy may be included, but not just some manual work around the ashram.]Serving the sick and the poor is essential to develop humility. With these steps , advaitic in the west.

contemplation should be practised.

A long,long preparation is required before advaitic experience comes to pass.The final act may be sudden,but only after long gestation. As Nisarga himself told, the falling of a ripe fruit may be sudden, but the ripening had taken many days.So, I would say that without proper preparation and long introspection, the chances of getting advaitic experience is almost negligible. [Note: visit my website: www.nksrinivasan.webs.com for much information on "inner enquiry" and other details.]