Vedic philosophy · Practice · Jyotisha

Teo Donnelly

Who I am and where my happiness is — the answer of the Vedas

Not my philosophy — the word of the Creator, read attentively

Teo Donnelly

For twenty years I have been reading the Vedic sources — the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-gita, the darshanas — and writing about what they say concerning a human being and happiness. In ordinary words, with no esotericism and no preaching.

The answer is not mine

Two questions decide everything else: who am I, and what is real happiness for me. Western philosophy answers them by a person reasoning about himself — and runs into the limit of what a person can learn about himself on his own.

The Vedas answer differently. The tradition holds them to be not a composition but the word of the Creator himself, and at the centre of that answer stands God, not the human being. I do not ask anyone to take this on faith and I convert no one. I read the text as a researcher and invite you to check it with me.

श्रद्धा
śraddhā
“shraddhā” — the trust that begins an inquiry, not blind belief
  • Two questions matter more than the rest: who I am and where my happiness lies.
  • The tradition holds the Vedic answer to be non-human in origin.
  • At the centre of that answer stands God, not the human being.
  • Faith is not demanded here — verification is offered.
  • Read the source, not a retelling of a retelling.

A researcher and practitioner of the tradition

For over twenty years I have studied the primary sources: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-gita, the darshanas, the commentarial tradition. I work with the text rather than with retellings about it, and I always name where a statement comes from: which text, which school, whose commentary.

I write about this in the open — text by text, verse by verse. Alongside that I practise Jyotisha: Vedic astrology is a technical discipline inside the same system, and it gives a calm language for talking about time, character and choice.

Initiated in the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage. Based in Montevideo, Uruguay. I write in English, Russian and Spanish. I have a library, not an altar.

Essays on the eternal questions

Close readings of the primary sources — in three languages, every claim standing on a verse you can check.

    Read all essays →

    How I work

    The source is always named

    Every claim comes with the text and chapter. If it is my own opinion, I say that it is my opinion.

    Uncertainty said out loud

    Where the tradition disagrees or a passage allows several readings, I name the options instead of picking the convenient one.

    An invitation to check

    I ask for no belief. Everything I say can be opened, read, and disagreed with.

    Sanskrit with translation

    Terms are given in the original, in transliteration and in translation — no untranslated words creating false depth.

    No promises of results

    No text guarantees anything. Promising results in this field would be dishonest.

    Get in touch

    Write on Telegram or by email — about something you read, with a question or with an objection. I usually answer within two or three days. I read and write in English, Russian and Spanish.