Gita Satsang - Ch 5 - sa.nnyaasa-yogaH - cogitations; shri shankara on karma (2)

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The bad part of the mImAMsic concepts of moksha and of karma leading

to moksha was the meticulous attention given to performance of nitya

karmA-s. This had been taken to such extremes that the essential place

of meditation and enquiry in SELF-realization was ignored altogether

and the existence of the upanishads had almost been forgotten.

 

This is nothing but spiritual ignorance. shri shankara exposed this

spiritual ignorance and showed the importance of the upanishads. The

height of this effort of shri shankara is the defeat of ManDana Mishra

in the famous debate. The arguments from either side are very well

described in shakara digvijaya by MadhvAcArya.

 

Further, we see in the bhAShyA-s of the various upanishads a systematic

refutation of these wrong ideas about nitya karma. shri shankara's

commentary on Brahma sUtra 1.1.4 is a mighty and most sustained and

precise logical attack on the mImAMsic thought about the importance

of karma in attaining moksha.

 

It is true that in the early stages of spiritual life, all have to

take up rituals of some sort or other. Once these are taken up, there

is a danger that they are considered be-all and end-all. From such

rituals, the result is bondage and is not freedom. shri shankara

considered that karma (whether it is nitya, naimittika, kAmya or

pratishiddha) is a child of spiritual ignorance and cannot bring

spiritual light. Rituals yield fruits in the form of enjoyment and

heaven; they are inadequate to uplift humans to SELF-realization.

shri shankara recognized the inevitability of karma in the infancy

of spiritual life, which must be outgrown. He did not disbelieve

in karma; He recognized that karma produces results like enjoyment

and heaven, but that is not SELF-realization.

 

It is to be recognized that shri shankara did not advocate quietism

or cessation of all activities. He had a most active life and was

never quiet. Karma can be divided into two groups according to the

effect they produce on man. Man is drawn by the senses to outward

activities. These cause bondage to man and are known as pravr^itti

karma. There are other activities or efforts which turn the mind

inward. These are nivr^itti karma and cause citta shuddhi. What

shri shankara condemned was pravr^itti karma alone, i.e., activities

leading the mind away from Atman. He, as vehemently, advocated

nivr^itti mArga, i.e. effort to conquer the mind and turn it inward.

This is the first step in spiritual infancy. If we follow the

nivr^itti karma, the karma, instead of causing bondage, causes

cittashuddhi, which is again an early step in spiritual progress.

 

shri shankara says categorically that karma pertains to the ignorant.

(bhagavadgItAbhAShya 18.66). Only people who have not grasped the

nature of Atman resort to performance of rituals and other activities.

Some call activities of realized persons as karma yoga. shri shankara

refutes that thinking. He says medicines are prescribed for the sick

and not for the healthy. ShAstra is meant for a sAdhaka and not for

a jIvanmukta. So He states in the introduction to bhAShya on chapter 2

of bhagavadgItA that activities of Krishna and such other jivanmuktA-s

cannot be comprehended under the term karma.

 

(continued)

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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