Kanchi Maha-Swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-19)

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Namaste.

 

For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see

advaitin/message/27766

 

For the previous post, see

advaitin/message/28128

 

SEC.16. VAIRAAGYA (DISPASSION) – (Continued)

 

In Sadhana-chatushhTayaM, when the Acharya mentions

vairaagyaM he actually refers to it with a long qualifying

adjective as *ihAmutrArtha-bhoga-virAgaM* or

*ihAmutra-phala-bhoga-virAgaM*. (Brahma-sutra- bhashya: I.

1-1; Vivekachudamani: 19).

 

‘iha’ + ‘amutra’ is ‘ihAmutra’. ‘iha’ means this world we

live in now. ‘amutra’ means the pitR loka or indra loka

etc. which are not ‘here’ or ‘near’ but ‘far,

somewhere’. The world of the divines where several of the

devas live as well as the farthest ‘brahma loka’ where

Brahma lives – all of these are included in the ‘amutra’.

Tiruvalluvar says: “Those with no Money miss this world;

those with no Grace miss the other world” – ‘this world’

here is ‘iha’ and ‘the other world’ here is ‘amutra’. The

experiences in that brahma loka are also not the spiritual

experiences; nor are the bliss of the Brahma-loka the Bliss

of the Atman. The pleasure of Brahma-loka also vanishes

during dissolution at the end of the kalpa. It is not

eternal or permanent like the Bliss of the Atman.

Further, even there one gets only the pleasure that keeps

the distinction between jIvAtmA and paramAtma and so it

won’t be even an iota of the great Bliss of identification

of the two. Thus the ‘virAga’ is the ‘vairAgya’ in the

experience (‘bhoga’) of the objects (‘artha’) that one gets

in ‘iha’ or ‘amutra’. That is why it is

‘ihAmutrArtha-bhoga-virAgaM’. When we talk of this in

another way as ‘vairAgya’ in the experience of the fruits

of this world or the other world, he calls it

‘ihAmutra-phala-bhoga-virAgaM’. ‘artha’ is an object;

‘phala’ is that which we get from the object.

 

Those who have ‘vairAgya’ are known as *vIta-rAga*’s. The

‘vAtApi GanapatiM’ song has *vIta-rAginaM vinata-yoginaM*.

In Mundakopanishad (III – 2 - 5), the Rishis are said to

have obtained contentment in their Enlightenment, to have

been established in the Atman, to be ‘vIta-rAga’s (free

from attachment) and finally are described as ‘prashAnta’

– those who are fully composed.

 

It is the distaste that arises from vairAgya that is

called *nirvedaM*. When one obtains complete indifference

to worldly matters, that is ‘nirvedaM’. Incidentally, it

is this feeling that is at the source of ‘shAnta rasa’ –

says the alankAra shAstra. ‘vairAgyaM’ and ‘nirvedam’ are

similar words. It is also spoken of in the same Upanishad

(I – 2 – 12) that speaks of *vItarAga*’s. The Acharyal

comments in his bhashya: The prefix ‘ni’ added to the root

‘vid’ gives rise to the word ‘nirvedaM’ and the meaning is

‘vairAgyaM’ -- *vairAgyArthe*. Two things that are spoken

of very highly in the path of karma is what is known as

*ishhTA-pUrtaM*, namely the yajnas and social services. But

even they are only preliminaries (*pUrvAngas*) to be

renounced after they have taken us to jnAna-yoga. Instead

of taking them to be part of karma yoga, those who think

they can lead us to the goal are only downright fools --

*pramUDha*’s, says the Upanishad. ‘Not just ordinary

fools, but totally deluded fools’. “An intelligent brahmin

should discover by analysis that even the heavens that one

obtains even by the highest type of karma are only ‘anitya’

(impermanent) ; should get the knowledge that brahman which

is actionless cannot be obtained by any action; and thus

get *nirvedaM* , that is, he should get vairAgyaM.

Thereafter he should seek a Guru who is a brahma-nishhTa,

get the upadesha from him and himself get brahma-jnAna”.

 

Earlier we saw that Karma yoga is the first stage; to get

the formal teaching for brahma-jnAna after becoming a

sannyAsi is the third stage; what comes in between as the

second stage is the sAdhana-chatushhTayaM; and the second

item in this four-fold SadhanA is VairAgyaM. But here the

first stage is spoken of as karma, then is mentioned only

vairAgyaM and then quickly the teaching of brahma-jnAna,

which is actually the third stage, is mentioned. From this

it is clear that vairAgyaM alone suffices and if one holds

on to it steadfastly, all the four parts of

sAdhana-chatushhTayaM will be acquired automatically.

 

When the Acharyal is writing the BhashyaM for this

Upanishad, several mantras earlier, when the matter of the

worldly apara-vidyA and the spiritual parA-vidyA comes up

(I – 1 -5) he says: “All can study the Brahma-vidya

intending to give Brahma-jnAna and become very

knowledgeable; but if one wants to get the experiential

knowledge of Brahman, one has to go, with vairAgyaM, to a

Guru, and get the upadeshaM – *gurvabhigamanAdi-lakshhaNaM

vairAgyaM*” . Thus he refers only to vairAgyaM here.

 

(To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

Latest on my website: Shrimad Bhagavatam and advaita bhakti. Introduction.

Chatushloki Bhagavatam. Vidura and Maitreya. Kapila Gita.

Dhruva charitam. JaDabharata, Ajamila Stories. Prahlada Charitram.

 

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

 

and succeeding pages.

[Guest guest]

Namaste ProfVK-Ji

Can you please explain why we capitalize certain words in the English

translation of Sanskrit words. For example "I" and "A" in vIta-rAga.

 

Regards

Hersh

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "hersh_b" <hershbhasin@g...> wrote:

>

> Namaste ProfVK-Ji

> Can you please explain why we capitalize certain words in the

English

> translation of Sanskrit words. For example "I" and "A" in vIta-rAga.

>

> Regards

> Hersh

>

Namaste, Hersh-ji

 

The pronunciation of vIta-rAga (as a Sanskrit word) is viitaraaga. The

double 'i' is to lengthen the sound of 'i'. The double 'a' is to

lengthen the sound of 'a'. Instead of using the double letters I use

(according to the Kyoto-Harvard convention for transliteration)

capital letters. Thus:

 

'a' stands for the 'u' sound in 'but'

'A' or 'aa' stands for the 'a' in 'father'

'i' stands for the 'i' in 'sit'

'I' or 'ii' stands for the 'ea' sound in 'meal'

'e' stands for the 'ay' sound in 'may' (Note: There is no short vowel

sound in Sanskrit corresponding to the 'e' sound in 'belt')

'o' stands for the 'o' in 'go'. (Note: There is no short vowel in

Sanskrit corresponding to the 'o' in 'wonder')

'u' stands for the 'u' sound in 'put'

'U' or 'uu' stands for the 'oo' sound in 'fool'

'N' stands for the 'n' sound in 'band' or 'land' or 'vendor'

A final 'M' stands for the sound 'um' as in 'mum'

't' and 'd' are dentals

'T' and 'D' are linguals.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk