Kanchi Maha-Swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-6)

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Namaste.

You may see a Table of Contents, under the Introduction, in

advaitin/message/27766

 

KDAS – 6

 

9. ELIGIBILITY FOR AATMA-SAADHANAA

 

Let us not forget one thing. The regimen for Atma-Sadhana

is to be undertaken only after the dirt in the mind and its

vacillation have been removed. This is what our Acharya has

prescribed. It is to eradicate this dirt and shakiness of

the mind that karma and bhakti have been prescribed. He

says so clearly that Saadhana-chatushTayam is only for him

who has crossed this barrier of dirty and vacillatory mind.

 

 

*sva-varNAshrama-dharmeNa tapasA hari-toshhaNAt /

sAdhanaM prabhavet pumsAM vairAgyAdi chatushhTayaM //*

(Aproksha-anubhUti: 3)

 

It is ‘sva-varNAshrama-dharmaM’ (the dharma of one’s own

varNa and own Ashrama) that is the karma-yoga of the

individual. ‘Hari-toshhaNaM’ is the satisfaction of Hari,

the Lord. In fact all our actions (karmas) are to be done

for the satisfaction of the Lord (*Ishvara-prItyarthaM*).

It is not necessary to do a separate pUjA (worship,

propitiation). According to the Gita, to dedicate one’s

svadharma-karma is itself bhakti. In Acharya’s

‘Sopana-panchakam’ (also known as Upadesha-panchakam)

(first shloka) he says “Do your svadharma-karma well and

consider that as the puja done to Ishvara”. However, to do

it that way, that is, to have the attitude that all our

actions are actually a propitiation to the Lord, is not

such an easy task; and so bhakti has also been prescribed

as a distinct loving worship of Ishvara. Karma is for

purification of the mind and bhakti is for obtaining the

one-pointedness of mind towards God. It is bhakti that is

called ‘hari-toshhaNaM’ here. ‘Hari’ does not just mean

Vishnu only. Every time when we say ‘HariH OM’ the ‘Hari’

means saguNa-brahman that denotes all possible deities.

 

That is what it means here also. The word ‘toshhaNaM’ means

‘to give satisfaction’ or ‘to generate contentment’. If we

show bhakti towards Bhagavan, He gets satisfaction and

contentment that ‘this child of mine is coming back to good

ways’. So ‘Hari-toshhaNaM’ means ‘bhakti-yoga’. The above

quotation adds a ‘tapasA’ to ‘svadharma’ and

‘hari-toshhaNaM’. ‘tapas’ need not be a third. The

‘svadharma’ and ‘hari-toshhaNaM’ have both to be done as a

penance (tapas), with the whole heart, regardless of any

physical discomfort. Only for such of those who do this

will Sadhana-chatushhTayaM’ be possible and be acceptable.

That is what “sAdhanaM chatushTayaM prabhavet” means. Only

after graduating from school you go to college. So also,

he says: ‘First you purify your mind; make your mind

capable of one-pointedness. Graduate from this and then

come to me for admission to my college. Then you can step

into the process of Enquiry into the Atman. Further up the

ladder you can do the Enquiry more deeply. And still

further on the question of its becoming an experience will

arise. It is as if one finishes college, then goes to the

master’s level and then on to the doctorate. In other words

it is actually only after one gets Sannyasa”.

 

This should not be taken to mean that one should not go

anywhere near Atma-vidya unless he has completely purified

his mind and obtained one-pointedness. If that stage has

really been reached, there would be no more necessity to

have any elaborate Atma-Saadhanaa or regimen. The mind

will then be ready to firmly establish itself in the

teaching of the Guru and Realisation will be almost

automatic. The Acharya has not taken all the pains to

elaborate the methodlogy of the Sadhana ChatushhTayaM to

such a highly evolved person. If we understand him right,

it is only this: A pure mind and the capability to be

one-pointed are surely basic to a certain extent; with that

basic equipment, one should read the shastras and enter

the kingly path of the Saadhanaa. Only then he can make

real progress. Otherwise he will only be touching the

fringes and have a false feeling that he knows everything.

 

The Buddhists said that they have opened the gates to all;

but what happened thereafter was seen by the Acharya. That

is why he prescribed that only those with preliminary

qualifications can make real progress in Atma-Sadhanaa.

 

There are people who say: “Every one is fit to carry on

advaita-saadhanaa. No prerequisites are necessary. After

all it is about learning about the truth of oneself by

oneself. Why are qualifications necessary to become

ourselves? It is enough to have the urge to know oneself.

By the tempo of that urge, once we discard our mind then

that is all that is needed to have Realisation.

Self-Realisation is every one’s birthright. No

qualifications need to be prescribed”. Maybe some of these

people who proclaim this are really true jnAnis who know.

And some who follow them even if they be young, be a

householder, be in business-like professions, be a

westerner, could have done the Atma Vichara with real

fervour and single-minded dedication and could have

obtained clarity of jnAna. But even among these who speak

of such things and who listen to such things there may be

possibly one or two percent who have really attained the

Realisation. They read a lot of Vedanta topics, they are

smart, and they have thought for long about Atman and the

Vedantic knowledge; and they can construct beautiful

arguments for what they say, present papers, submit theses

and so on. When one looks at all these one is amazed and

one feels that they are really Enlightened JnAnis. But in

truth, among such talkers and claimers there may be one in

thousand who have really SEEN what they claim to have seen!

The real ones who have SEEN it usually don’t talk about it,

like Dakshinamurti. For the welfare of the world

(*lokAnugrahArthaM*) the Lord Isvara Himself prompts a few

like our Acharya to talk and write about Atma Vidya.

 

Certainly there may be rare ones who may have directly

obtained Realisation, without really renouncing in due

manner, due manner meaning, proper observance of svadharma

and then of bhakti yoga, and then embarking upon the deep

study of Atma-VidyA. But they cannot say that others also

can do what they have done. What they have obtained is by

their prior samskara and that has given them the necessary

spiritual qualification in their previous lives itself and

in this life they have the Grace of God in full. Such

people are not the ordinary run of people. Maybe the

Acharya himself would give them only very special treatment

for spiritual uplift. But when the Acharya writes or talks

to all humanity for their general good, he writes only

keeping in mind the ordinary run of people and therefore he

talks about karma yoga and bhakti yoga as prerequisites to

Atma SadhanA.

 

Accordingly he has chalked out the four-fold regimen of

Sadhana-chatushhTayaM. First with a purified and one

pointed mind study the Shastras, find out what is eternal

and what is ephemeral, use discretion to accept and reject,

and go on until the state of ‘mumukshutA’ being the only

breath. This itself is not the end of it. The final end of

all this graduation through bachelor’s and master’s degrees

ends when the PhD of ‘MumukshutA’ leads him on to the final

Realisation.

 

(To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

Latest on my website: A conversation on the Concept of God in Hinduism.

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/VK2/ConceptofGOD.html

[Guest guest]

Sir,

 

You hvae said in the mail -

************************************************

First you purify your mind; make your mind capable of one-pointedness. Graduate

from this and then come to me for admission to my college. Then you can step

into the process of Enquiry into the Atman.

 

************************************************

 

This "Graduation" itself might take more than one lifespans. So how a person is

to know whether he has already completed the graduation or not. Because the

person can not start everything from scratch in the current life. If he does it

will take few more lifetimes. And he will never be able to start the PG.

 

 

 

So how can we measure our efforts from our past lives and gauge our level in the

current life?

 

 

 

Regards

 

 

 

Madhav

 

Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger.

 

 

[Guest guest]

advaitin, Madhav Mundlye <madhavm_99>

wrote:

> Sir,

>

> You hvae said in the mail -

> ************************************************

> First you purify your mind; make your mind capable of one-

pointedness. Graduate from this and then come to me for admission to

my college. Then you can step into the process of Enquiry into the

Atman.

>

> ************************************************

>

> This "Graduation" itself might take more than one lifespans. So

how a person is to know whether he has already completed the

graduation or not. Because the person can not start everything from

scratch in the current life. If he does it will take few more

lifetimes. And he will never be able to start the PG.

>

>

>

> So how can we measure our efforts from our past lives and gauge

our level in the current life?

 

Namaste, Madhav-ji

 

Sorry that I allowed your question so long without responding to

it. Well, there is no use trying to measure our efforts from our

past lives. We can feel it in our bones when we try to concentrate

or when we try to curb our anger and other passions. Our business is

only to keep trying for the spiritual ascent, not to judge or grade

ourselves. The maturity will come of its own accord by God's

Grace. But we should not slacken our efforts or fail in our

performance of duties and obligations.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk