Kanchi Maha-Swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-12)

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Namaste.

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

in

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13. THE MATTER OF BHAKTI YOGA

 

An important point. Why did the Acharya, as well as Lord

Krishna Himself, demarcate only two classes of people:

those who qualify for karma yoga and those who qualify for

jnAna yoga?

[Note by VK: cf. B. G. III – 3]

 

Why did they not make one more classification, namely,

those who qualify for bhakti? This is because, both the

karma yogi and the jnAna yogi need to have bhakti. In both

the classes, bhakti is an important part and both have to

do it. That is why it was not separated into a class by

itself. The karma pathfinder has to show bhakti at a

certain level while the jnAna pathfinder has to do the same

at a different level. Already I told you about two levels

of shraddhA. Just as we use the word bhakti-shraddhA, in

bhakti also there are two such levels! – as we have two

levels of courses in Shorthand and Typewriting!. The lower

level – karma pathfinder does bhakti in order to recognise

the thought that there is an Ishvara above us who watches

us and gives punishment. He should then progress in the

same level and continue to do bhakti now to focus the mind

through Love. A further progress – still in the same

‘lower’ level, not ‘higher’ – would make him carry on

bhakti with the attitude of surrender of all fruits of

action. And now at the higher level, the jnana pathfinder

does his bhakti with the thought: ‘The Brahman or the Atman

for which I am doing my saadhanaa, it is the same brahman

that, in its saguna, is the Ishvara; it is that Ishvara who

has granted me the taste in this path and it is only by His

Grace that I should obtain siddhi (success).

 

Above this -- above or below, higher or lower, none of

which is applicable now – is the bhakti of those ‘siddhas’

who have reached that experiential stage (of Brahman

Realisation). For them there is no reason why they do

bhakti, says Sukacharya , one such realised soul. (Shrimad

Bhagavatam I – 7 – 10).

 

Thus, at all levels, there is bhakti in both karma and

jnAna; that is why bhakti is not separately mentioned.

 

14. KNOWLEDGE OF ADVAITA BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR EVERY ONE

 

Thus the entire society was conceived of by the Acharya as

two classes – karma pathfinder and jnana pathfinder – and

he kept advaita saadhanaa only for the jnana pathfinder.

But though it was kept like that, the general knowledge

about that shastra should be there for all, including the

karma pathfinder – so did he feel.

 

I happen to hold his name. So I have the duty to tell every

one about the advaita siddhanta that he propagated so

meticulously. That is why I began to talk on this topic.

Usually I don’t talk on this. Because there is too much

talk about advaita from every quarter and mostly it all

ends up in talk and nothing in execution; and in the

process, every one has a false feeling that they have

become advaitins by just talking!. And I did not want to

add to this talk and add to the Illusion of the general run

of people. But recently ,

 

[Note by Ra. Ganapati: He is referring to the Shankara

Jayanti celebrations at Tandiarpet, Chennai in 1965. This

talk of his and a substantial part of the other portions

were delivered to a select group of devotees, just a few

days after that celebration]

 

there was a jayanthi celebration here and also a

vidvat-sadas (symposium by scholars). Some persons came to

me and requested: “ Why can’t we be taught some advaita?”.

So I thought, in the name of the position I hold as an

advaita-guru, I ought at least to tell people about what

the requirements are for advaita saadhanaa and what the

restrictions are therein. Those who so requested me are

also here; so without further postponement, I am now

beginning ....

 

I was telling you how from his elementary treatise

entitled ‘Bala-bodham’, we can easily conclude that the

Acharya holds the view that every one should have the

thought about the Atman and should know about the basics of

advaita shAstra.

 

Another of his prakaranams for the general public is called

“Prashnottara-ratna-mAlikA”. This is also written for the

average householder. It is in the form of Questions and

answers. ‘Prashna’ means question and ‘Uttara’ means reply.

The two are combined in a raga-malika fashion and called

prashna-uttara-malika.

 

‘Who is dead even while living?’ is one such question. *ko

hatah*. The reply is: *kriyA brashhTaH*, that is, the one

who avoids doing the karma that is his due. The same

Acharya, who has said in works of Jnana like Viveka

Chudamani that “Only he who renounces all his karma

regimen, takes Sannyasa and enquires into the Atman does

justice to this human birth, all others have killed their

Atman; in other words they are dead even though living” –

the same Acharya now says that man has to do only his

bounden karma, otherwise he is ‘dead even while living’.

This shows that this work has been aimed at an audience of

average people. Again, to the question ‘By what is a man

free from unhappiness?’, the reply is given: ‘By an

obedient wife’ (Verse 31); ‘Who is the friend?’ – ‘Wife’

(Verse 49); again to the question ‘Who is a true friend?

The reply goes ‘certainly the wife’. All these show that

he keeps as his audience the householders who are living in

the grahasthashrama. But even in such works the Acharya

does not avoid things that pertain to the Atman. And he has

done it very artistically. What I mean is, whenever he

talks about the situation of the jnAni and his state of

mind, he subtly indicates “This is not for you. You need

not be right away like this. This applies to only those who

have fully taken up the Atma-Saadhanaa”, though he is

actually describing the lakshana (characteristic) that

pertains wholly to a jnani. When he talks about

generalities applicable to all, he just carries on his

teaching without delineating any characteristic behaviour.

An example will help the understanding.

 

(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