Kanchi Maha-swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-68)

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For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see

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For the previous post, see

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SECTION 51: BHAKTI OF THE PATH OF JNANA,

ENUNCIATED BY THE VEDA ITSELF

Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-125.htm

 

 

In the path of jnAna the direct sAdhanA that finally takes you to the

destination is called 'nidhidhyAsanaM'. It is also considered as belonging

to dhyAna-yoga. When considered like that, it is thought of as continuous

reflection on the tattvaM, without the notions of life, relationship, etc.

But it is not so. It has to be practised only as dhyAna-yoga in which the

bhakti yoga of self-surrender through a relationship with the Universal Life

is imbedded. In Vivekachudamani itself the Acharya has made this explicit in

another place. He doesn't talk of it as his opinion alone. He says the

commandment of the Veda itself is this: (Shloka 46/48)

*shraddhA-bhakti-dhyAna-yogAn mumukShoH

mukter-hetUn vakti sAkShAt shruter-gIH /*

 

A basic shraddhA, over and above it a mix of Bhakti yoga and dhyAna-yoga -

which means dhyAna yoga in which the Bhakti attitude is imbedded -- this is

what leads to mukti for a mumukShu. Thus says the Veda itself. *shruteH gIH*

means "the word of the Veda".

 

"Is that so? Does the Veda itself say that in the path of jnAna there is

also bhakti? Where does it say so? In Kaivalya Upanishad. It occurs in

Krishna Yajur Veda. The beginning itself of its teaching says

*shraddhA-bhakti-dhyAna-yogAd-avaihi*

meaning, By shraddhA, bhakti and dhyAna-yoga (reach brahman).

It is these words of Upanishad that formed the basis of the Acharya's own

statements.

 

 

SECTION 52: EVEN IN SUTRA-BHASHYA.

Tamil Original : http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-126.htm

 

It is not only in Vivekachudamani that the Acharya has talked about Bhakti

as an 'antaranga sAdhanA' of jnAna. Even in (Brahma-)Sutra-Bhashya he has

said the same thing. Why did I say "Even in"? Among the various Bhashyas,

expository works and stotras in the name of the authorship of Acharya,

there are many questions raised about whether it was he who wrote it. Though

people ask such questions of one another, one thing that all of them

unanimously agree about is his authorship of Brahma-Sutra Bhashya. Further,

among all his works on advaita shAstra, it stands at the peak. So whatever

is said there has a high value.

 

In Brahma-sUtra, the means of achieving Brahman-experience is called

*samrAdhanaM* . (III -2-24). The word gives the same meaning as 'ArAdhanaM'

or 'samArAdhanaM'. The worship through bhakti is called 'ArAdhanA' in

general. Here, worship through jnAna is called 'samrAdhanaM'. When the

Acharya elaborates on the word in his Bhashya, he says

*bhakti-dhyAna-praNidhAnAdi anushhTAnaM*.

*praNidhAnaM* is a word synonymous with 'samAdhi' or 'samAdhAnaM' ; it

means a complete one-pointed unification. Whenever we think of jnAna-sAdhanA

for the purpose of Brahman-experience, we always think, in line with the

Acharya's teachings, that it is a discipline of meditation by making the

antaHkaraNaM totally one-pointed. But the same Acharya here gives priority

to bhakti and then only mentions dhyAna and recommends a praNidhAna

(profound meditation) in both cases and by both means.

 

Like ArAdhanA, upAsanA also generally refers to worship of something with

attributes. Not just 'generally'. In Vedas and Vedanta ShAstras it is so

referred. Instead of Karma-Bhakti - JnAna, the Vedic scholars call it Karma-

UpAsanA - JnAna.

 

In Brahma Sutra (IV - 1 - 1) it says, one has to repeatedly recall (mananaM)

the teaching that was learnt - in other words, one has to think about it,

analyse it and confirm it . Here in the original sutra there is no mention

of upAsanA done with bhakti, or the jnAna-sAdhanA based on the intellect.

It is just a general mention of necessity for mental repetition. But it is

clear from the organization of the Sutras that go before and after that the

repetition recommended in the context is for a mumukShu who has formally

obtained the MahAvakya teaching.

 

The Acharya has clearly emphasized this point in his commentary.

 

But when he finishes the commentary on this particular sutra, he himself

takes up the matter of the upAsanA path and demonstrates how the Upanishads

talk about both the process of upAsanA and the process of knowing as the

same without any distinction between them.

 

DhyAna is the continuous dwelling mentally on the meaning of something which

has been repeatedly already analysed (manana) by the mind after hearing it

(shravaNa) as taught; in the same way if a disciple dwells his mind without

break on his guru we call it guru-upAsanA; if a subject does the same thing

to his Lord the King, we call it upAsanA of the King; a chaste wife does the

same thing to her husband and we call it 'pati (husband) upAsanA' -- thus

demonstrates the Acharya. Thus he delineates the highest bhAvas among all

bhakti-bhAvas -- AtmanivedanaM (offering up of one's self), dAsyaM

(servitude), mAdhuryaM (Love) . Only after doing all this, he comes to the

Upanishad matter of knowing and worshipping and says they have been spoken

of as the same and also offers two examples in this context (ChandogyaM

IV-1-4 and IV-2-2 for the first example; ChandogyaM III - 18-1 and III - 18

- 3 for the second example).

 

Of the two, the first example is a great support to what we have been

talking all along. Instead of keeping the goal as just an abstraction, it

should be figured as a living entity and it should be contemplated on with

love and devotion. Let me tell you what it is. One hamsa bird, as it flies

along in the sky, tells another hamsa bird about a jnAni named Raikva in a

most complimentary manner: "Whatever every one knows is all subsumed by

what he knows". This shows that he should be a brahma-jnAni. A King by name

Janashruti, who was relaxing in the balcony of his house heard this

statement of the bird and sets out to find this jnAni. And here comes our

topic. He goes to request that jnAni to teach him that Knowledge which he

knows. But when he goes there, he does not say: "Please teach me the

Knowledge of Wisdom that you know". Instead he says: "Please teach me about

the Deity that you worship (do upAsanA)"! in other words, it is very clear

that what we call Philosophical enquiry, research or contemplation, in

Vedanta tradition is to be done with the attitude(bhAva) of a worship of a

living mUrti (icon, deity). This is of great significance, since it is

straight from the Upanishads, and our own Acharya has specifically quoted

it, in almost what looks as an out-of-context mention.

 

The Acharya, though he writes elaborately in his commentaries, usually makes

all that elaboration only to explain what is there in the original; he never

goes about in a roun-about way or take unnecessary digressions. Even Vinobha

has said: "The commentaries that he makes for the sUtras are themselves

crisp like the sutras themselves. *vyartha-vistAr kahIm nahIm karte* (he

nowhere does unnecessary elaborations)". If such is the nature of our

Acharya and here he appears to be drawing something out from a total

out-of-context source, it only means it is of great significance.

 

At the same time he is a great supporter of Tradition. So probably he

thought it not fit to explicitly mention and elaborate bhakti in his

advaita shAstras and create confusion in the minds of unknowing people. So

he might have left it for disciples to learn from their respective gurus at

the appropriate time. However, when it comes to Viveka Chudamani in which

he condescends to explain as if this is his final upadesha (teaching), in

the manner of *eshha AdeshaH, eshha upadeshaH, etad-anushAsanaM* (This is

the commandment, this is the teaching, this is the order), he talks about

bhakti and mentions it as the most important of all the accessories to

jnAna-yoga.

 

(To be Continued)

PraNAms to all students of advaita.

PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

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