Kanchi Maha-Swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-35)

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For a pdf document of all the 30 posts from 1 to 30, go to

http://www.advaitin.net/Discussion%20Topics/advaita-saadhanaa.pdf

 

For the previous post, see

advaitin/message/32019

 

 

SECTION 21 : SHRADDHAA (Faith/Dedication) (continued)

 

It is the play of Mother Goddess – Bikshaa of Illumination

– that, at a certain stage, one rises on the strength of

his shraddhaa alone, without any effort on the part of the

intellect. That is when shraddhaa becomes most significant.

Even those who have taken several steps on the sAdhanA path

should simply continue in the path of shraddhaa and ask no

questions; questions will not get any answers palatable to

the intellect, nor will it be able to elicit any answers

from the Guru understandable by the intellect. It is for

this reason that shraddhaa has been placed as one of the

parts of the sAdhanA regimen.

 

This kind of shraddhaa, that is the opposite of “I shall

find it myself; I will be able to intellectually understand

it”, has to be there not only in the beginning but till the

end. “The shastras say so; our guru says so. Let me go on

doing what they say – whatever may happen in between. It

will automatically take me to the Goal” – this attitude is

shraddhaa. It is not just one of the components of sAdhanA

; it is the peak component. The Acharya says in his

introduction to the second chapter BrihadAranyaka Bhashya

*shraddhaa ca brahma-vijnAne paramaM sAdhanaM*. The Lord

also emphatically says (B.G.IV-39) *shraddhAvan labhate

jnAnaM* ((only) he who has shraddhaa gets the enlightening

wisdom).

 

A special status is attached always to the mantras of the

Upanishads called *mahA-vAkyas* that declare the identity

of jIva and brahman. Even among those mahAvAkyas, one of

them gets a further unique status, because it is the one

which is directly imparted to a shishhhya (disciple). It is

the one in Samaveda, where it is given to a celibate

youngster who is not a renunciate. The Absolute ParamAtmA

who is denoted by ‘That’ is what You, the jIvAtmA, are –

This is the message there. The father Uddalaka Aruni is the

one who doles out the teaching; and the receiver of the

teaching is the son, Svetaketu. The father keeps on reeling

mantra after mantra and ends up with the emphatic refrain:

“That is what You are”. As he goes along, right in the

middle, he says, “Go and bring a banyan fruit, my child”.

“Here it is”, says the son and produces the fruit.

“Break it” says the father.

[Note by R. Ganapathi, the author of the Tamil rendering:

‘Here the Swamigal gives the conversation in a dramatic

fashion

feigning two voices, one of the guru and one of the

disciple.]

 

“Done, my Lord”

“What do you see within the broken fruit?”

“Seeds, and seeds, like small small particles”

“Well, my child, break that seed also”

“Done”

“What do you see inside, now?”

“Nothing, my Lord”

“The nothing that you are referring to has an invisible

subtle thing in it. “It is from that subtlety the entire

banyan tree springs out” says the sage Aruni, and it is at

that point, he addresses the child with affectionate warmth

: “Saumya (Smart one), Believe me. Have faith in what I

say. *shraddhasva*” *shraddhasva* means ‘Have shraddhaa’.

 

This is the mahAvAkya that is at the lofty peak of Vedanta

that is taught as the great first step to SanyAsis at the

time of their taking sannyAsa. And when this upadesha is

being given first to that supremely qualified celibate

youngster, the Rishi finds it necessary to say

*shraddhasva*. This just means that one has to have

shraddhaa as his only armour even at the last moment when

the stark reality of Realisation of Brahman takes place.

 

Not only in the trust that we place on the concepts and the

like. The trust has to be also that, ‘by that Guru who

gives them to us one would also see the final gate open for

us’. This is very important. Even though he might be a

jnAni, he has to play his role of a human, just as God

plays the part of an Avatara. Even that would be only a way

of showing the right path to some one. But when he

involves himself in some of these human activities, the

disciple may land himself into a doubt about whether his

guru is indeed a jnAni. Once he starts doubting why the

guru is acting like an ordinary human, and whether such a

personality can ever deliver the spiritual release that he

is seeking, there begins the disciple’s downfall. That very

doubt assumes gigantic proportions and like a ghost

occupying his brain, does not allow him to continue his

sAdhanA. The constant thought that one has been cheated

devours him as well as the dreams about his goal.

“samshayAtmA vinashyati” (B.G. IV – 40) says the Lord --

‘He who doubts, goes to ruin’. And when He says this he

adds the words *ashraddha-dAnascha*, meaning ‘one who has

no shraddhA’. In IX – 3, He says

 

*ashraddha-danAH purushhaaH nivartante

mRtyu-samsAra-vartmani* --

 

‘the man without faith (is ruined and) comes back to this

transmigratory cycle again and again’. In fact he frightens

us with a warning, at the same time very compassionately.

It is not just a false warning; it will surely happen that

way. We should not allow it to happen. We have to develop

an unshakeable faith in the thought ‘I have come to this

Guru. Let him appear to others in whatever way they think.

As far as I am concerned, God will not let me down; He will

certainly grace me, through this Guru, with the Release

that I seek’. The conviction and faith that we usually

develop in our Vidya-Guru (the teacher who instructs us

with the basics of education) in our early days, -- that

same conviction and faith has to be there in the

dikshA-guru (the Guru who finally grants us the sannyAsa

status). It is important to cultivate this

shraddhA-cum-bhakti-cum-sharaNAgati.

 

Of course it is true that one should resort to a guru only

after thorough enquiries about him. But suppose you land

yourself with a fake guru. Even then, if without losing

faith in him, if you surrender to him, the All-knowing Lord

will bless you with Enlightenment through that Guru, though

he may not himself be a jnAni!

 

 

(To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

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