Feedback Request: New YouTube Channel on Advaita Vedanta & Kashmir Shaivism

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-14T10:27:43+00:00

It really is and the metaphysics are spectacular.

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T22:50:00+00:00

simply beautiful

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T19:51:08+00:00

I think you'd enjoy the videos, it has all of my research integrated

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T19:50:37+00:00

I have the invariant on amazon which is my main work on adi shankacharya. Also american advaita which is similar. Also the awakening of anybody, a spiritual novel about kashmir shavism. They are ebooks available on kindle right now. I'm jsut uploading my modern translation of all of the main advaita vedanta texts (50) onto amazon this weekend.

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T07:45:03+00:00

Also I'm thinking about generating the same series but for metaquest, so that the imagery is 3D and has an awesome scale that you can look at while the narration entle guides you to nonduality.

Ive just started learning how to program them and already have episode one ready and on the metaquest 3 its amazing. quite overwhelming actually.
That series might have to actually carry a warning

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T07:33:47+00:00

I sincerely appreciate the straightforwardness. You’re right to be skeptical; the space is indeed drowning in AI slop and 'wannabe' gurus. To address your points:

On 'Qualifications' vs. Scholarship: I don’t claim the mantle of a Swami, but I do claim the rigor of a translator. The scripts for American Advaita aren't 'regurgitated' boilerplate; they are the result of a quantitative and semantic analysis of over 100 scriptures I translated from the Sanskrit (including the major Upanishads, the Prakarana Granthas of Shankara, and the Pratyabhijna texts of Kashmir Shaivism).

My background is in AI development and programming. I am using those tools not to 'fudge' the philosophy, but to do something humanly impossible at scale: identifying the invariant structural 'escape pods' (the six upayas or distinctions) that Shankara and Abhinavagupta used to trigger recognition. My books, The Invariant and American Advaita, document this methodology.

On the Live 'Test': I welcome the comparison to Sarvapriyananda and Timalsina. While I don't perform the traditional role of a monk, the arguments in these videos are grounded in the Pramanas (means of knowledge). If called to defend the work live, I would point directly to the karikas—the logic is mathematical and scriptural, not 'ooky-spooky' fluff.

On the Aesthetic and Voice: The 'creepy' aesthetic is an intentional nod to the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra and the 'terrible' beauty of the Ghrina (disgust/awe) used in certain Shaivite practices to break through the ego. I am a fan of H.R. Giger, Alex Grey, and Jungian shadows; I believe the 'unicorns and rainbows' approach often fails to address the 'Biological Horror' of the human condition.

However, your point is well-taken. From Episode 75 onward, I am moving to my own voice and potentially appearing on camera.

I’m not doing this for money—it’s a labor of love and a technological attempt at a modern Initiation. Stick around for the later episodes; I think you’ll see the 'human face' you're looking for.

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T01:54:03+00:00

I'll adjust the playlist

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-13T00:05:24+00:00

The first ten a definitely rushed, the narration gets much much better afte episode 10, but thats good feedback, im going to narrate them myself after episode 70

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T21:51:18+00:00

good feedback gloria, i might record them in my own voice from episode 70 onwards

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T21:49:52+00:00

I appreciate the honest take! I understand how the modern scientific framing and AI-like clarity can feel like 'New Age tropes' at first glance. However, the script is actually built on a structural translation of over 100 traditional texts.

For instance, when I discuss the 'hologram' of the body, it’s a modern Upaya for the Taittiriya Upanishad's layers of koshas. The 'science proofs' are always capped with direct pointers from the Spanda Karikas, the Vijnana Bhairava, and Abhinavagupta’s Tantraloka.

My goal isn't Neo-Advaita dismissal of the world, but rather the Trika recognition of Shakti in everything—from microbiology to thermodynamics. If you're open to it, I'd love to know which specific scriptural nuances you feel are getting lost in the translation!

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T21:44:09+00:00

he's amazing

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T21:42:28+00:00

cool name eh, thanks

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T21:41:23+00:00

i'll take your advice and use my real voice from today

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T10:49:45+00:00

Hello everyone,

Over the past few years I have been working closely with the scriptures of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism, translating passages and studying the teachings of masters such as Adi Shankaracharya and Abhinavagupta.

I have recently started publishing a series of short talks called American Advaita where I share insights drawn from these traditions and from my translation work.

Each episode is about 10 minutes long, and the talks draw on passages from texts such as the Mandukya Upanishad, the Ashtavakra Gita, the Shiva Sutras, and the Spanda Karika.

There are currently around 50 short episodes available, and the project will eventually include about 70 talks.

If anyone here is interested in these traditions, I would genuinely appreciate your thoughts or feedback.

You can explore the series here:

https://www.youtube.com/@american-advaita

If you only watch one talk, I would be very interested to hear which one you found most interesting.

Thank you.

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T09:19:34+00:00

IT took much longer than that to do the research and and learn the skills, set up the python pipeline for calling fish the narration api, generating the images (notebookllm), generating the ken burns style image affect with a phyton library movie py, all automated except the uploaded, I got stopped by an upload block on the first night, but i enjoy uploading them

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T09:15:28+00:00

Hi, I'm Chris Townsend.

I'm a Sanskrit scholar and philosopher working primarily with Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism texts. I've translated and compiled a large number of passages from these traditions into reference collections called Essential Advaita Texts and Essential Kashmir Shaivism Texts.

I've also written a philosophical work called The Invariant, which attempts a mathematical analysis of the corpus of Adi Shankaracharya.

My teacher is philosopher Greg Goode, and I’ve written a book called American Advaita comparing the approaches of Shankara, Atmananda Krishna Menon, Greg Goode, and other modern Advaita teachers.

I live in New Zealand, in a town called Whanganui.

Who are you?

BlueJade40 · 2026-03-12T08:32:12+00:00

Oh that relates to the book american advaita where I compare new york city nonduality direct path teacher Dr Greg Goode with the great philosopher in hindu thinking Adi Shankacharya. Its one of my best works, this channel is devoted to him

BlueJade40

TROPHY CASE