surrender in advaita

February 11, 1999

Namaste,

On Feb 10, 1999 Shree Sadaananda wrote

>From Advaita standpoint, true surrenderence occurs only once-that is the

surrenderence of the ego when it dissolves. That happens when Self

knowledge or Self realization happens.

Further, while discussing VishisshTaadvaita, learned friend wrote "That

knowledge is the culmination of surrenderence " ( italicized by me).

I may be committing the same mistake committed by many novices - that of

trying to interpret a sentence out of context. But, the above two

approaches seem to be entirely different. In one surrender is THE

culmination of knowledge. In the other it is THE path to that knowledge.

Please explain what is the place of surrender in an advaitin's search for

Self-knowledge. What should he surrender to? What shall prompt him to

surrender?

with pranams

vijayakumar

February 12, 1999

Mundaka

>Upanishad -

>

> pariiksha locaan karma chitaan brahmano

> nirvedamaayaa naasch kRitah kRitena

> tat viJNaanaartham sa guru mevaabhigachhet

> samit paaNiH strotriyam brahman nishTaam||

>

>At some stage in life - a question arises - what is all this means?

one is

>looking for happiness in all pursuits and one is unable to get an

>everlasting happiness from external involvement. By examining ones

owns

>action- prompted results, one realizes that by doing action one cannot

gain

>any everlasting happiness. That is the time, the scripture advisees

the

>sadhak to approach a proper teacher to guide one self. One should

>approach a teacher with full of humility with an attitude of service -

to

>that teacher who is fully established in the truth and who can come

down

>and communicate this knowledge to the student. So what prompts one to

>surrender - a realization that all other means are not useful to secure

>what one is looking for - an eternal happiness.

>

>Hari Om!

>Sadananda

Dear Sadananda,

The question arises for most people sometime in their lives, but we

simply have no seriousness, energy or drive to pursue it to the end. I

have been searching for several decades to see whether there are any

records of any Being who has described His struggles on His way from an

ordinary man to Moksha/Nirvana/.... And how they were actually overcome.

Otherwise, even the above stanza has to be accepted on faith with no

real life example. I found very little of Christ's struggles recorded

in the scriptures. There is a bit about the Buddha's conflicts but not a

whole lot. None on Sankara that I know of. Hardly any on Ramana either.

The list goes on. It could be that some did not record their

experiences. Perhaps the organized religions that followed many of these

people did not think it was important, or destroyed them for fear of

their founder being perceived as a bit less than God! Anyway, I did come

upon the recorded struggles of Krishnamurti. If there is interest, I

will post some of them since they are long out of print. I hope that

anyone who knows of similar records would point me.

Regards,

---Viswanath

February 12, 1999

>Jyothi Vijayakumar <nandini

>

>Namaste,

>

>On Feb 10, 1999 Shree Sadaananda wrote

>

>>From Advaita standpoint, true surrenderence occurs only once-that is the

>surrenderence of the ego when it dissolves. That happens when Self

>knowledge or Self realization happens.

>

>Further, while discussing VishisshTaadvaita, learned friend wrote "That

>knowledge is the culmination of surrenderence " ( italicized by me).

>

>I may be committing the same mistake committed by many novices - that of

>trying to interpret a sentence out of context. But, the above two

>approaches seem to be entirely different. In one surrender is THE

>culmination of knowledge. In the other it is THE path to that knowledge.

>

>Please explain what is the place of surrender in an advaitin's search for

>Self-knowledge. What should he surrender to? What shall prompt him to

>surrender?

>

>with pranams

>vijayakumar

As I understand:

In advaita the knowledge is the knowledge of oneself. In a way it is not

an objective knowledge since the 'object of this knowledge' is not out

there but the very core of oneself - ones own self. That knowledge

involves - realization of oneself as an subject and not an object - and

most importantly there is only a subject and all objects are

superimposition on the subject - aham Brahmaasmi - I am the totality - This

is where as outlined sometime back in relation to the discussion of

PramaaNa, scriptures come to help us indicating that identity. All are in

me and I am in all of them - just as gold declaring that all gold ornaments

are in me and I am in all of the gold ornaments - Gold plus ornaments are

not two or many as gold as ornaments - yet gold is beyond the name and form

of the ornaments.

In VishishhTaadvaita, the object of surrenderence is in a way an objective

knowledge - the knowledge of the Lord and Jiiva's inter-relation with Him.

Hence being an object, the Lord has attributes - infinite auspicious

qualities. Here, scriptural knowledge will help us understand the nature

of the truth, which leads to devotion towards the Lord, sharaNaagati or

surrender to the wisdom of the Lord. That intense devotion to the Lord

will be blessed with the knowledge of the Lord by the grace of the Lord,

when ones surrenderence is complete.

Similarity in both cases is that knowledge is not Purusha tantra, but vastu

tantra - cannot be willed by the Jiiva. It is only by the grace of the

Lord one can gain the knowledge of oneself or that of the Lord. But the

nature of the knowledge in the advaita and vishishhTaadvaita is different

- One is the I am the totality and in the second case the Lord is the

totality and Jiiva is dependent on the Lord as one of his part - Just a my

hand is part of me but I am not the hand etc. My-ness pervades the hand

since when you touch my hand you are touching me. It is duality with

qualified monism where Lord being infinite pervades chara and achara,

movable and immovable, similar to fire pervading the iron ball.

What is the place of surrenderence in the advaita - It is the antahkaraNa

- that has the notions that I am only a limited entity - that gets

reevaluated during sadhana or inquiry and when the knowledge takes place; I

know who or what I am - Bhagavan Ramana describes this beautifully in

Update Sara:

ahami naashabaagyahamaham taayaa|

spurati hRit swayam param puurNa sat||

When the false I falls(ego is surrendered), then in that place aham, aham

- I am - I am - swayam spurati - spontaneously raises - This "I am" that

raises is different from the previous "I am" (ego) with notions that I am

this and that etc., since it is paramam - supreme (there is nothing beyond

it); puurnam - Infinite without limitations since limitations belong to

"this" and "that". and Sat swaruupam - nature of pure existence with no

qualifications attached to "I am".

Where does it raise - in ones own inner core of personality where "I am"

(ego) currently raising along with notions that as I am body, mind or

intellect etc. Hence here also the surrenderence of ego, the false notions

about my self replaced by the true knowledge of my self - as the self in

all and all are in myself - sarva bhuutasta maatmaanam sarva bhuutanica

aatmani -

What should he surrender to - Here surrenderence is not something

surrendering to something - it is only negation process - neti - neti etc.

I am not this not this since there is no object for surrenderence. Via

negation one ascertains who one is. Realization of what I am searching

for, I am searching with. Tat twam asi - neti neti is a part of inquiry of

who I am not, by negating what I am not. What is left after all

negations is the negator who is negating. and cannot negate oneself. That

I am. The very inquiry is the surrenderence of the ego. As JK puts it;

the very observation of ones conditioning releases one from his

conditioning. Knowledge of who I am raises. In vishishhTaadvaita the

knowledge of the Lord raises - there the Lord is different from me yet I am

part of Him not independent of Him. The total is one - Creation is the

grossification of the subtle existence.

What shall prompt one to surrender - There is a famous sloka in the Mundaka

Upanishad -

pariiksha locaan karma chitaan brahmano

nirvedamaayaa naasch kRitah kRitena

tat viJNaanaartham sa guru mevaabhigachhet

samit paaNiH strotriyam brahman nishTaam||

At some stage in life - a question arises - what is all this means? one is

looking for happiness in all pursuits and one is unable to get an

everlasting happiness from external involvement. By examining ones owns

action- prompted results, one realizes that by doing action one cannot gain

any everlasting happiness. That is the time, the scripture advisees the

sadhak to approach a proper teacher to guide one self. One should

approach a teacher with full of humility with an attitude of service - to

that teacher who is fully established in the truth and who can come down

and communicate this knowledge to the student. So what prompts one to

surrender - a realization that all other means are not useful to secure

what one is looking for - an eternal happiness.

Hari Om!

Sadananda

K. Sadananda

Code 6323

Naval Research Laboratory

Washington D.C. 20375

Voice (202)767-2117

Fax:(202)767-2623

February 12, 1999

sadananda [sada]

Friday, February 12, 1999 9:27 AM

advaitin

Re: surrender in advaita

>Please explain what is the place of surrender in an advaitin's search for

>Self-knowledge. What should he surrender to? What shall prompt him to

>surrender?

>

>with pranams

>vijayakumar

- Bhagavan Ramana describes this beautifully in