Kanchi Maha-swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-60)

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see

advaitin/message/27766

For the previous post, see

advaitin/message/32924

 

 

SECTION 45: THE NAADIS OF THE HEART: JNANI'S LIFE RESTS,

OTHER'S LIVES LEAVE (Contd.)

Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-119.htm

 

We can be even more generous and broad-minded. Once our Vedic religion

itself was objected to and there were founders of other religions. Let the

matter be whatever with these Founders. In fact our Vedas have said (see

Br. U. IV.3.22) the Veda is not a Veda beyond a certain stage. Maybe one or

two people might have transcended by themselves the ritual regimen of the

Vedas. Let us not try to infer anything about those individual people. But

unlike the avaidik (i.e. which do not accept the vedas) religions that

sprang up in other countries, other religions in our own country were

established by objectors to the Vedic religions that prevailed here. I am

now speaking of those who came in later times in these other religions. They

have been following these non-vaidik religions as their veda and have been

revering, with devotion and dedication, their founders and other important

persons as much as we revere our rishis and Acharyas. They cannot be faulted

for this. For them also it is possible that Brahmaloka is their

destination. For them it may be exactly what they think it is - void or

whatever. Whether Ishvara gives them Brahma loka or so, let me have the

credit of being 'broad-minded' for giving them this! If you ask the

hard-liner Vaidik people, they might not agree with me. They might opine:

'If those who belong to the non-vaidik religions follow their religion

steadfastly, as a consequence they will be born in their next birth in some

vaidik religion and only by properly doing the upAsanAs there they will

reach Brahmaloka'.

 

I have to tell you one or two more points on the subject of mokSha.

 

It is not as if only the mokSha of the 'dualistic'kind is what will be

obtained by all the followers of the Bhakti path till the end. That was said

only with respect to those devotees who circumscribe themselves by a

non-advaitic philosophy. But in actuality, when one adheres to bhakti that

comes from the heart and overflows in its own natural way, it cannot be

circumscribed by any boundary. Such were the devotees, like the Alwars and

Nayanamars. Instead of limiting themselves to visishtadavaita or

shaiva-siddhanta, they just allowed themselves freely to be led by their

noblest emotion of bhakti, wherever it tossed them, to whatever experiences

they were subjected to. For many of them, even this process was not enough;

they were not satisfied with doing this from outside, they wanted to be one

with their Ultimate. They poured all this in their songs and some have sung

about the non-dual experience that they were blessed with. Such

travellers who journeyed on the path of parA-bhakti and were led on to the

continuous state - *anusandhAnaM* - of one-ness, will not go to the

saguNa-brahman of Brahma-loka. Instead they will reach the MokSha of

non-dual Realisation (*advaita-sAkShAtkAra-mukti*).

 

The person who by himself does not do any yoga-sAdhanA, but keeps on

praying to God that He should grant him advaita-mokSha, to him also the

Lord grants the Brahma-nirvANa, that is superior to Brahma-loka. What the

pilgrim on the jnAna-path obtains, through his sAdhanA, without recognising

that it is also the Grace of God, this devotee-type person obtains by

prayer, knowing full well it is the blessing/benediction (prasAda) of God.

Of course elder traditionalists in our religion may say that the Lord might

not just give him advaita-mokSha on a platter, he will also be turned

towards the jnAna path and then only he will be made to reach his goal.

 

Thus there are several yogas. In one of these it has been stated that one

should hold on to the primeval shakti, hold on to it and rise on the

sushumnA nADi, chakra after chakra, and finally through that Power reach the

Source of that Power, namely the ShivaM that is Brahman and unite with it

in one-ness. And that mukti has been depicted as an advaita-mukti only. For

such upAsakas also, we may be sure that the destination is not Brahma-loka,

but the advaita-mukti itself.

 

Another opinion is the ashhTAnga-yoga siddhas who speak of the goal of

samAdhi in the attributeless Absolute also obtain *Brahma-nirvANaM*

(advaita-mukti). But the words of the Gita don't support this. There is no

greater suthority than Lord Krishna Himself. That He calls only jnAnis as

'sAnkhyas' or 'sannyAsis' is well-known to scholars of all the different

traditions. Krishna says: Only those who go on the advaita path become

'brahma-bhUtas' while living in this world and reach 'Brahma-nirvANaM' when

the body falls. (B.G. V -24). 'Brahma-bhUta'-becoming is also only

Brahma-nirvANaM'. Just to show the difference that one is in the jIvan-mukti

stage even when being in the body, we use the term 'Brahma-bhUta'. To clear

this , He himself says one or two shlokas later: (V-26): "abhito

brahma-nirvANaM vartate .": "In both situations, that is, both in this world

and in the other world, jnAni gets the Brahma-nirvANaM'.

 

He also says what happens to those who go along the ashhTAmga-yoga (the

eight-component-yoga) path, what we ordinarily call the yoga-mArga. But the

Yogi he refers to must have practised well his ashhTAnga-yoga, and must have

perfected both the breath-discipline and the mind-control regimen. In

addition, as an added qualification he should have deep devotion and must be

one who constantly and continuously thinks of God - not just one who has to

think of God (*Ishvara-praNidhAnaM*), as per the prescriptions of the

yogashAstra, for the purpose of developing concentration . Krishna says "mAM

anusmaran" (remembering Me continuously) "satataM yo mAM smarati nityashaH"

(B.G. VIII - 13, 14) (he who remembers me always and every day) . Such a

yogi who has also devotion, even though he may leave the body in the

contemplation of praNava that has been equated to shabda-brahman, will

still not get the advaita-mukti. This is what the Lord says in the eighth

chapter called 'akshhara-brahma-yoga'. It has been described

that his soul goes only to Brahma-loka along the path of the

'uttarAyaNa-Sun'.

[R. Ganapthy, the collator of these discourses, writes this note at this

point:

In Chandogya VIII- 6.5 also, the Jiva who leaves the body

in the contemplation of Aum

is said to reach saguNa-brahma-loka only

In the fifth prashna of prashnopanishad the mukti ascribed

for the worshipper of Aum has been commented on

by the Acharya in his Bhashyain the same way.]

 

SECTION 46: CORRECT MEANING OF DEATH IN UTTARAAYANA

 

 

 

(To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest on my website is an article on Krishnavatara, the Miraculous. See

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/Krishnavatarapage1.html

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

This was a timely post. Kanchi Mahaswamigal has distinguished two

differenet results of Jnana Sadhana & Yoga Sadhana. For the benefit of

all who desire clarity with reference to Yoga & Jnana. Cheers.

 

 

On 9/4/06, V. Krishnamurthy <profvk > wrote:

> Namaste.

>

> For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see

> advaitin/message/27766

> For the previous post, see

> advaitin/message/32924

>

>

> SECTION 45: THE NAADIS OF THE HEART: JNANI'S LIFE RESTS,

> OTHER'S LIVES LEAVE (Contd.)

> Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-119.htm

<<Snipped>>

 

> Another opinion is the ashhTAnga-yoga siddhas who speak of the goal of

> samAdhi in the attributeless Absolute also obtain *Brahma-nirvANaM*

> (advaita-mukti). But the words of the Gita don't support this. There is no

> greater suthority than Lord Krishna Himself. That He calls only jnAnis as

> 'sAnkhyas' or 'sannyAsis' is well-known to scholars of all the different

> traditions. Krishna says: Only those who go on the advaita path become

> 'brahma-bhUtas' while living in this world and reach 'Brahma-nirvANaM' when

> the body falls. (B.G. V -24). 'Brahma-bhUta'-becoming is also only

> Brahma-nirvANaM'. Just to show the difference that one is in the jIvan-mukti

> stage even when being in the body, we use the term 'Brahma-bhUta'. To clear

> this , He himself says one or two shlokas later: (V-26): "abhito

> brahma-nirvANaM vartate .": "In both situations, that is, both in this world

> and in the other world, jnAni gets the Brahma-nirvANaM'.

>

> He also says what happens to those who go along the ashhTAmga-yoga (the

> eight-component-yoga) path, what we ordinarily call the yoga-mArga. But the

> Yogi he refers to must have practised well his ashhTAnga-yoga, and must have

> perfected both the breath-discipline and the mind-control regimen. In

> addition, as an added qualification he should have deep devotion and must be

> one who constantly and continuously thinks of God - not just one who has to

> think of God (*Ishvara-praNidhAnaM*), as per the prescriptions of the

> yogashAstra, for the purpose of developing concentration . Krishna says "mAM

> anusmaran" (remembering Me continuously) "satataM yo mAM smarati nityashaH"

> (B.G. VIII - 13, 14) (he who remembers me always and every day) . Such a

> yogi who has also devotion, even though he may leave the body in the

> contemplation of praNava that has been equated to shabda-brahman, will

> still not get the advaita-mukti. This is what the Lord says in the eighth

> chapter called 'akshhara-brahma-yoga'. It has been described

> that his soul goes only to Brahma-loka along the path of the

> 'uttarAyaNa-Sun'.

> [R. Ganapthy, the collator of these discourses, writes this note at this

> point:

> In Chandogya VIII- 6.5 also, the Jiva who leaves the body

> in the contemplation of Aum

> is said to reach saguNa-brahma-loka only

> In the fifth prashna of prashnopanishad the mukti ascribed

> for the worshipper of Aum has been commented on

> by the Acharya in his Bhashyain the same way.]