Vivekachudamani- Post 87

If you have indeed a craving for Liberation, avoid sense objects from  a distance, just as you avoid things known to be poisonous; and with  respectful reverence, daily cultivate the nectarine virtues - contentment, forgiveness, straightforwardness, calmness and self-control. (82)

So far, Sankara (through the Guru) was advising the seekers in Vedanta on what they should do in order to realize the Self, and thus end their misunderstandings and sorrows in life. He has, so far, insisted upon the importance of viveka and vairagya. 

Now he is slowly coming to a discussion to encourage the development of the noble qualities of the head and heart which, as we have earlier discussed, is the third item of adjustments to be  made by a student before a guaranteed success in Self-realization is assured to him. 

Having known a thing to be poisonous, however thirsty you may be, you will not be tempted to drink it: so too, however  tempting the sense objects may look, an individual who seeks  liberation should totally renounce the idea that they contain even  a trace of potency to supply joy. 

By withdrawing the sense organs from their field of activity, we conserve a tremendous amount of energy which would otherwise be wasted. 

If this newfound energy is not immediately harnessed to do special work, the chances are that we will spend this dynamism in mentally dreaming of sense indulgence. This brings about an ugly deformity in our personality. 

To remain physically inert but mentally sensuous develops a distorted personality, drained of all brilliance and beauty through suppressed desires  and unseen mental dissipations. 

It is to avoid such dangerous consequences at the mental plane that we should have the guidance of the Teacher. Fresh fields have been discovered where the energy so conserved  could be used up to raise smiling crops of beauty and profit. 

We are told how an individual who has learnt to shun sense objects must immediately take up the constructive scheme of developing the positive qualities such as, contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straightforwardness, calmness and  self-control. 

These are the six fold inner wealth Sankara gives here. It is not the six alone, many are mentioned in the Gītā 16th chapter.

Abhayaa satva samsuddhi; jnana yoga vyavasthih; etc.; all of them we should acquire. In fact, if you plan to earn them, in fact, it is a life long pursuit. And not only that, you will enjoy acquiring them so much; that you do not consider worldly acquisitions as a very big thing at all.

Therefore, bhaja; bhaja means acquire them; adarat; means diligently, with commitment, with involvement, wholeheartedly.

And when should I work for that. Nityam; nityam means regularly, consistently; start the morning with auto suggestion and end the day with introspection. Auto suggestion-introspection; it is a most beautiful life. 

When we analyze  all the above virtuous qualities,  we find that each one of these qualities is in itself an attitude of the mind which will not suffer even the least disturbance. 

As we diligently practice them, necessarily will we seek and establish our identity with our fellow beings and enjoy the intimate brotherhood of man and the divine fraternity of the soul.

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 86

Know that mortality soon overtakes a foolish man who walks the dangerous path of sense pleasures. Whereas one who sticks to the path of divinity, according to the instructions of well-meaning and noble Guru, constantly walks the path divine helped by one's own reasoning faculty, one achieves the end; know for certain this is true. (81)

In Vedanta, meditation is the technique for gaining the final experience of self -rediscovery but meditation can be successful only when the mind is not agitated by desires. In a sensuous life, 

One is never without some desire or the other. Thus, an individual cannot have success, both in the life of meditation and in the world of sensuousness. 

The human mind is disintegrated because of its desires, and  it cannot be brought back to its state of healthy integration without its renouncing the very germs of its present disease. 

So, in Vedanta, great stress has been laid upon the necessity of avoiding the mind’s running amok with its uncontrolled appetites. 

This idea is explained again in a very powerful style. Sankara crisply repeats what the rishis have been continuously saying in the  pages of the scriptures that the path of sensuousness leads straight to mortality while the path divine leads to immortality.  

Thus, sensuous activities with motives of pleasure and indulgence harden the animal impressions in our minds and thereafter, thoughts begin to flow in that direction increasingly powerfully. Such a stupid man becomes increasingly daring in his criminalities, until at last he becomes irredeemable and slips down the ladder of evolution to be ultimately destroyed. 

On the other hand, the way up the evolutionary ladder is also open to man by climbing which he can slowly ascend to the very pinnacles of total fulfillment. 

This path has been beautifully described in the third line of the verse which insists that he must follow the instructions given by reliable guides, the Gurus, on the path of spirituality. 

Even if there be a sacred Guru and the disciples surrender unto him, this in itself cannot bear any fruit unless they are ready to actively cooperate with the Teacher and cultivate for themselves the perfection indicated to them by him. 

This verse  contrasts the paths of "preyas" (pleasurable) and "shreyas" (beneficial) and emphasizes the importance of seeking guidance from a guru to attain liberation. It highlights that the path of fleeting pleasures leads to suffering and mortality, while the path of self-knowledge, guided by a wise guru and one's own reasoning, leads to true liberation. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

The Path of Pleasure (Preyas):

This path is characterized by attachment to sensory enjoyments and worldly pursuits. It is portrayed as a dangerous and ultimately destructive path that leads to suffering and death. 

The Path of Benefit (Shreyas):

This path involves seeking self-knowledge and liberation through the guidance of a qualified guru and the application of one's own intellect. 

The Role of the Guru:

The verse stresses the importance of a guru who is not only knowledgeable in scriptures but also free from desires and deeply rooted in wisdom. Such a guru can provide the necessary guidance and support to navigate the path of self-discovery. 

The Importance of Discrimination:

The verse implicitly emphasizes the need for viveka (discrimination) between the real and the unreal, the transient and the eternal. This discrimination is essential for choosing the path of shreyas and avoiding the pitfalls of preyas. 

The Goal of Liberation:

The ultimate goal of the path of shreyas is liberation (moksha), which is freedom from the cycle of birth and death and the realization of one's true nature (Atman). 

In essence, this verse serves as a call to action, urging the seeker to renounce the allure of fleeting pleasures and embark on the journey of self-realization with the guidance of a true guru.

Love

Vivekachudamani-Post 85

He who has destroyed the shark called 'sense objects' with the sword of mature dispassion crosses the ocean of samsara unobstructed. (80)

Continuing the idea, it is said here that he alone, who has destroyed the shark of desire lurking in the ocean of samsara, can safely cross to the other shore. In order to kill the enemy we have no other instrument save the sword of discriminative knowledge. 

Suviraktyasina; powerful vairagya

what is the powerful vairagya?  I do not want to hold on to anything in the world for the sake of my security and happiness. If I will be around them; it may be giving security to them; I may give them security; that is different thing; I may love them; that is different thing; but I do not want to take anything from them; the moment I hold on to anything; I am in trouble. 

Either hold on to yourselves or next option is hold on to God; other than God or yourselves, holding on to anything else, is risky. And not taking that risk is called suvirakty. suvirakty asi; asi here means sword or knife.

Visayakhya grahaha ataha; the crocodile of viṣaya. So here visaya should be taken as visaya asa. The crocodile called visa asa should hataha; be destroyed, if you want to be strong; if you want to avoid risk; if you want to be independent psychologically, it should be destroyed. And ena; whoever accomplishes this, whichever person accomplishes this; this means what? 

The destruction of viṣaya asa  by the sword of vairagya; whoever accomplishes, saha param gacchati. He alone can cross over; he alone can reach the shore; param means shore. Of what? bhavambhodheḥ- Bhava means samsara; ambodihi means sāgara; he alone can reach the shore of samsara.

That means he alone can attain moksha . How, pratyuhavarjitaḥ; without any obstacle. pratyuhaha means pratibandah; vignaha is called pratyuḥ varjithah; without any obstacle; he alone can attain mōkṣa.

With viveka alone can we end our desires. Desires can come and sabotage our happiness only when the discriminative faculties in us have, as it were, gone to sleep. So long as the pure intellect is awake, the whims and fancies of the mind cannot emerge to loot and plunder the peace of the inner kingdom. 

Only in the darkness of the bosom, when the illuminating intellect has disappeared behind the cloud of ignorance, can the temptations and desires of the heart walk out of their hideouts to steal the wealth of peace and tranquility which the individual enjoys. 

Once in the grasp of these minions of the moon, the person identifying with desires gets choked and drowned in the stormy sea of plurality. 

To live intelligently with discriminative analysis,  ever conscious of the fallacies in each thought and not getting  victimised by fanciful desires, is to live in viveka. Where viveka is  steady, the desires, however strong they be, will not dare to attack. 

So if we ultimately see all these verses are only commentary upon the word vairāgya; which is one of the sadhana catuṣṭaya sampatti .

Love

Vicvekachudamani- Post 84

Those who have only an apparent dispassion and are trying to cross  the ocean of change are caught by their throats by the shark of desire  which violently dragging them along, drowns them in the middle of  the ocean. (79)

Suppose there is a person; who wants to cross a river or a lake; a water, water pool he wants to cross. And he is a swimmer and somehow he has struggled; and he has almost crossed the river; 75% over; but what happens? there was a crocodile; this crocodile pulls him back, catching hold of his neck; the crocodile pulls him back and again immerses him into the water.

Similarly, a person by the study of scriptures etc. is trying to cross the river of saṁsāra; āśā is a crocodile; which we do not know when it will come; again it will catch without our knowledge; if you are complacent, it will just catch and pull a person down.

And therefore, let a person be alert with regard to āśā or vairāgyaṁ. Therefore he says: mumukṣun, so there are some mumukṣus who are interested in spirituality.

With regard to materialistic people, we need not discuss at all, because they never attempt to cross the river; like the buffalo; they are enjoying the dirty pool of wateritself. So we are only talking about those people who have felt that this water is a dirty pool and I want to cross.

Therefore, mumukṣun, they want to cross over; but what is their problem. Āpātavairāgya vataḥ; so they have got vairāgyaṁ but it is not intense enough.

A spirit of detachment and a craving for dispassion may be generated in us as a result of repeated tragedies. A tragic bereavement, a shocking disappointment, a painful failure, an agonizing physical pain, all these have been found, either individually or collectively, capable of creating a temporary sense of vairagya, termed in Sanskrit as 'smasana vairagya' - an aversion to life and its finitude which is usually generated when one has occasion to visit a cremation ground.  

True dispassion is a wise condition of the ego created from a deep intellectual conviction, which in its turn, has its roots in perfect discrimination. Only in the maturity of an individual's spiritual florescence, can one hope to gather the fruits of wisdom. 

False vairagya has ruined more men than even atheism has ever done. Hundreds and thousands of indiscriminate people, in almost all the religions of the world, reach the sanctuaries of their respective monasteries. 

In the long run, however, they discover that they are not fit for a life of total renunciation and perfect self-  control. Many of them who find sufficient moral courage return to the marketplace and the world of contentions to fight for and acquire and enjoy material wealth. 

But some come to live a choking life of frustrations and sorrows, with neither the capacity to live the life of renunciation nor the daring to return to the world of cut-throat competition. 

Sankara has briefly pointed out these dangers by comparing men of insincere vairagya to those who are ship wrecked on the 'ocean of change' which is infested with ravenous sharks of sensuous desires. 

These desires jump at the throats of the poor victims and drag them down and drown them midway on their pilgrimage to the Beyond.

How, kaṇṭhē nigr ̥ hya; catching hold of this person by his very throat; like some of the sharks which catch their prey by their neck. When the neck is caught; you cannot even think. 

Similarly when the attachment is powerful; then this person's thinking power is also gone and if somebody wants to give an advice; he says who are you to be an advice; I know what I am doing and I am very sure about what I am doing. 

Vinasakale viparitha buddhi; like our Ravaṇa who never listened to anyone; he was very sure what he does is right; nobody can help. Only thing is let him perish and come back again.

Rama could not change Ravaṇa; Krishna could not change Kamsa; we also end up as Ravaṇa and Kamsas; does not mean that we should become raksasas; materialistic itself is raksasatvam.

Love