surrender in advaita

[Guest guest]

 

sadananda [sada]

Friday, February 12, 1999 9:27 AM

advaitin

Re: surrender in advaita

>Please explain what is the place of surrender in an advaitin's search for

>Self-knowledge. What should he surrender to? What shall prompt him to

>surrender?

>

>with pranams

>vijayakumar

 

- Bhagavan Ramana describes this beautifully in

Update Sara:

 

ahami naashabaagyahamaham taayaa|

spurati hRit swayam param puurNa sat||

 

When the false I falls(ego is surrendered), then in that place aham, aham

- I am - I am - swayam spurati - spontaneously raises - This "I am" that

raises is different from the previous "I am" (ego) with notions that I am

this and that etc., since it is paramam - supreme (there is nothing beyond

it); puurnam - Infinite without limitations since limitations belong to

"this" and "that". and Sat swaruupam - nature of pure existence with no

qualifications attached to "I am".

 

Where does it raise - in ones own inner core of personality where "I am"

(ego) currently raising along with notions that as I am body, mind or

intellect etc. Hence here also the surrenderence of ego, the false notions

about my self replaced by the true knowledge of my self - as the self in

all and all are in myself - sarva bhuutasta maatmaanam sarva bhuutanica

aatmani -

 

What should he surrender to - Here surrenderence is not something

surrendering to something - it is only negation process - neti - neti etc.

I am not this not this since there is no object for surrenderence. Via

negation one ascertains who one is. Realization of what I am searching

for, I am searching with. Tat twam asi - neti neti is a part of inquiry of

who I am not, by negating what I am not. What is left after all

negations is the negator who is negating. and cannot negate oneself. That

I am. The very inquiry is the surrenderence of the ego. As JK puts it;

the very observation of ones conditioning releases one from his

conditioning. Knowledge of who I am raises. In vishishhTaadvaita the

knowledge of the Lord raises - there the Lord is different from me yet I am

part of Him not independent of Him. The total is one - Creation is the

grossification of the subtle existence.

 

What shall prompt one to surrender - There is a famous sloka in the Mundaka

Upanishad -

 

pariiksha locaan karma chitaan brahmano

nirvedamaayaa naasch kRitah kRitena

tat viJNaanaartham sa guru mevaabhigachhet

samit paaNiH strotriyam brahman nishTaam||

 

At some stage in life - a question arises - what is all this means? one is

looking for happiness in all pursuits and one is unable to get an

everlasting happiness from external involvement. By examining ones owns

action- prompted results, one realizes that by doing action one cannot gain

any everlasting happiness. That is the time, the scripture advisees the

sadhak to approach a proper teacher to guide one self. One should

approach a teacher with full of humility with an attitude of service - to

that teacher who is fully established in the truth and who can come down

and communicate this knowledge to the student. So what prompts one to

surrender - a realization that all other means are not useful to secure

what one is looking for - an eternal happiness.

 

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda

 

Harsha: Beautiful and eloquent response from Sadananda Ji. Thank you. Will

take the liberty to forward this portion.

[Guest guest]

Um,

 

Can you enlighten me to what an advaita is?

 

thanks

 

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