www.telugubhakti.com Digest Number 667

[Guest guest]

Dear Rao Garu and all others in TBP,

 

Love and Love alone....

 

Many thanks for the wonderful postings on Ramayanam. We are ready to learn and

relearn, though some might have already learnt, the essence or the inner-meaning

of this great scripture. And as you rightly said, there is no end to learning

from others. One is an eternal Sishya in this world, although one might be a

learned person. I am one to learn with all sincerity and seriousness. While

doing so, kindly allow me to add a few words about the same point from Srimad

Bhagawad Gita. What Srimad Bhagawad Gita says about the same is:

 

Tadviddhi pranipaatena pariprasnena sevayaa /

Updeksyamthi te jnanam jnaaninaastatwadarsinah //

 

Learn that Jnana, which the learned or great teachers of Vedanta, acquired, by

approaching them through prostration, through enquiry and through service.

 

The Learned Ones or the Jnanis or the Wise Ones or the Teacher or the Tattva

Darsins, who have realised the Truth, being pleased with the humility, interest

and service of the Sishya, will impart that jnanam or that Truth or that

Knowledge to him.

 

Knowledge imparted by those who have full enlightenment becomes effective, not

any other.

 

Even in Sri Sai Baba Satcharitra, the point has been emphasised. Kindly permit

me to quote that also:

 

Nanasaheb Chandorkar was a good student of Vedanta. He had read Gita with

commentaries and prided himself on his knowledge of all that. He fancied that

Baba knew nothing of all this or of Sanskrit. So, Baba one day pricked the

bubble. These were the days before crowds flocked to Baba, when Baba had

solitary talks at the Mosque with such devotees. Nana was sitting near Baba and

massaging His Legs and muttering something.

Baba - Nana, what are you mumbling yourself?

Nana - I am reciting a shloka (verse) from Sanskrit.

Baba - What shloka?

Nana - From Bhagawad-Gita

Baba - Utter it loudly.

Nana then recited B.G.IV-34 which is as follows :-

'Tadviddhi Pranipatena Pariprashnena Sevaya,

Upadekshyanti Te Jnanam Jnaninastattwadarshinah'

Baba - Nana, do you understand it?

Nana - Yes.

Baba - If you do, then tell me.

Nana - It means this - " Making Sashtanga Namaskar, i.e., prostration,

questioning the guru, serving him, learn what this Jnana is. Then, those Jnanis

that have attained the real knowledge of the Sad-Vastu (Brahma) will give you

upadesha (instruction) of Jnana. "

Baba - Nana, I do not want this sort of collected purport of the whole stanza.

Give me each word, its grammatical force and meaning.

Then Nana explained it word by word.

Baba - Nana, is it enough to make prostration merely ?

Nana - I do not know any other meaning for the word 'pranipata' than 'making

prostration'.

Baba - What is 'pariprashna'?

Nana - Asking questions.

baba - What does 'Prashna' mean?

Nana - The same (questioning).

Baba - If 'pariprashna' means the same as prashna (question), why did Vyasa

add the prefix 'pari'? Was Vyasa off his head?

Nana - I do not know of any other meaning for the word 'pariprashna'.

Baba - 'Seva', what sort of 'seva' is meant?

Nana - Just what we are doing always

Baba - Is it enough to render such service?

Nana - I do not know what more is signified by the word 'seva'.

Baba - In the next line " upadekshyanti te jnanam " , can you so read it as to

read any other word in lieu of Jnanam?

Nana - Yes.

Baba - What word?

Nana - Ajnanam.

Baba - Taking that word (instead of Jnana) is any meaning made out of the

verse?

Nana - No, Shankara Bhashya gives no such construction.

Baba - Never mind if it does not. Is there any objection to using the word

" Ajnana " if it gives a better sense?

Nana - I do not understand how to construe by placing " Ajnana " in it.

Baba - Why does Krishna refer Arjuna to Jnanis or Tattwadarshis to do his

prostration, interrogation and service? Was not Krishna a Tattwadarshi, in fact

Jnana himself.

Nana - Yes He was. But I do not make out why he referred Arjuna to Jnanis?

Baba - Have you not understood this?

Nana was humiliated. His pride was knocked on the head. Then Baba began to

explain -

(1) It is not enough merely to prostrate before the Jnanis. We must make

Sarvaswa Sharangati (complete surrender) to the Sad-guru.

(2) Mere questioning is not enough. The question must not be made with any

improper motive or attitude or to trap the Guru and catch at mistakes in the

answer, or out of idle curiosity. It must be serious and with a view to achieve

moksha or spiritual progress.

(3) Seva is not rendering service, retaining still the feeling that one is

free to offer or refuse service. One must feel that he is not the master of the

body, that the body is Guru's and exists merely to render service to him.

If this is done, the Sad-guru will show you what the Janna referred to in the

previous stanza is.

Nana did not understand what is meant by saying that a guru teaches ajnana.

Baba - How is Jnana Upadesh, i.e., imparting of realization to be effected?

Destroying ignorance is Jnana. (cf. Verse-Ovi-1396 of Jnaneshwari commenting on

Gita 18-66 says - " removal of ignorance is like this, Oh Arjuna, If dream and

sleep disappear, you are yourself. It is like that. " Also Ovi 83 on Gita V-16

says - " Is there anything different or independent in Jnana besides the

destruction of ignorance? " )* Expelling darkness means light. Destroying duality

(dwaita) means non-duality (adwaita). Whenever we speak of destroying Dwaita, we

speak of Adwaita. Whenever we talk of destroying darkness, we talk of light. If

we have to realise the Adwaita state, the feeling of Dwaita in ourselves has to

be removed. That is the realisation of the Adwaita state. Who can speak of

Adwaita while remaining in Dwaita? If one did, unless one gets into that state,

how can one know it and realise it?

Again, the Shishya (disciple) like the Sad-guru is really embodiment of Jnana.

The difference between the two lies in the attitude, high realisation,

marvellous super-human Sattva (beingness) and unrivalled capacity and Aishwarya

Yoga (divine powers). The Sad-guru is Nirguna, Sat-Chit-Ananda. He has indeed

taken human form to elevate mankind and raise the world. But his real Nirguna

nature is not destroyed thereby, even a bit. His beingness (or reality), divine

power and wisdom remain undiminished. The disciple also is in fact of the same

swarupa. But, it is overlaid by the effect of the samaskaras of innumerable

births in the shape of ignorance, which hides from his view that he is Shuddha

Chaitanya (see B.G. Ch. V-15). As stated therein, he gets the impressions - " I

am Jiva, a creature, humble and poor. " The Guru has to root out these offshoots

of ignorance and has to give upadesh or instruction. To the disciple, held

spell-bound for endless generations by the ideas of

his being a creature, humble and poor, the Guru imparts in hundreds of births

the teaching - " You are God, you are mighty and opulent. " Then, he realises a

bit that he is God really. The perpetual delusion under which the disciple is

labouring, that he is the body, that he is a creature (jiva) or ego, that God

(Paramatma) and the world are different from him, is an error inherited from

innumerable past births. From actions based on it, he has derived his joy,

sorrows and mixtures of both. To remove this delusion, this error, this root

ignorance, he must start the inquiry. How did the ignorance arise? Where is it?

And to show him this is called the Guru's upadesh. The following are the

instances of Ajnana :-

1 - I am a Jiva (creature)

2 - Body is the soul (I am the body).

3 - God, world and Jiva are different.

4 - I am not God.

5 - Not knowing, that body is not the soul.

6 - Not knowing that God, world and Jiva are one.

Unless these errors are exposed to his view, the disciple cannot learn what is

God, jiva, world, body; how they are inter-related and whether they are

different from each other, or are one and the same. To teach him these and

destroy his ignorance is this instruction in Jnana or Ajnana. Why should Jnana

be imparted to the jiva, (who is) a Jnanamurti? Upadesh is merely to show him

his error and destroy his ignorance.

 

Baba added :- (1) Pranipata implies surrender. (2) Surrender must be of body,

mind and wealth; Re: (3) Why should Krishna refer Arjuna to other Jnanis?

" Sadbhakta takes every thing to be Vasudev (B.G.VII-19 i.e., any Guru will be

Krishna to the devotee) and Guru takes disciple to be Vasudev and Krishna treats

both as his Prana and Atma (B.G.7-18, commentary of Jnanadev on this). As Shri

Krishna knows that there are such Bhaktas and Gurus, He refers Arjuna to them so

that their greatness may increase and be known.

 

 

I know the reply is a very lengthy one, but kindly bear with me, as it is

important to post all the above to bring home the point that HUMILITY AND

SINCERITY ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS TO LEARN VEDANTA. Then

only it will help removing all negative tendencies in us so as to allow the

reflection of Supreme Consciousness in us.

 

Love and Love alone....

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

=======

 

4. The first lesson in Philosophy of life drawn from the first Sloka of

Posted by: " nvkrao6 " nvkrao6 nvkrao6

Mon Aug 6, 2007 5:54 pm ((PDT))

 

 

tapasswAdhyAya niratam tapswI vAgvidAm varaM

nAradam paripapracCha vAlmIkirmunipungavam

 

This sloka teaches the humility with which one should learn, however

great / scholarly or even if he is a Brahmajnani. Though Valmiki was

himself a Brahmajnani, he was requesting another Brahmajnani Narada

with utmost humility to clarify his questions.

 

Learning is endless even to the so called well-read person. He should

continue to learn from others view points even though he is an adapt

in that subject. By doing so one expands his horizon of knowledge.

 

One can learn from any one. one should listen to the other, who ever

he be, but analyze it with a cool mind and decide for himself the

truth /helpfulness or the untruth /cheating in what the other man

said.

 

Keep your Prejudices away!

 

This is what is stated in a stanza in Sumati Satakam by Baddena :

 

vinadagu nevvaru cheppina

vininantane vEgapaDaka vivarimpadagun

gani kalla nijamu telisina

manujuDe pO nItiparuDu mahilO sumatI.

 

It is to be listened to who so ever may say but it should be analysed

without hurrying soon after hearing any thing.

One who analyses without haste, and finds the truth/untruth in what

who so ever had said, is a disciplined man.

 

This is the right way to learn from others.

 

 

P. Gopi Krishna

 

 

Do you get hundreds of mails everyday? Delete none. Keep them all.