Sadhana Panchakam - Post 6

Sankara cautions that awareness of Brahman referred as para vidya, supreme Wisdom of the imperishable Brahman is not possible without communication from an enlightened Teacher, even if one has the Knowledge of the words contained in the vedic scriptures.

Since Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance, upasana should be like uninterrupted flow of oil through continuous and constant receptivity, reflection and meditation and not spasmodic, sporadic or intermittent. 

One should ensure that one's every action becomes 

Tapas - energized austerity of external body and internal consciousness 

and 

Yagna - performance of actions to keep in motion the wheel set by the Lord. 

Vignyan, on the other hand is extra-ordinary wisdom sourced through supra-sensory medium. like a sudden flash of lightening, as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says. This vignyan can be known as Vedanta.

 Swami Sivananda says

“Vedanta literally means ‘the end of the Vedas’. The Vedas are mankind’s oldest scripture, containing the wisdom of all ages. The last part of the Vedas is made up of the Upanishads, whose sublime philosophy is called Vedanta and which have strongly influenced even great Western philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer. 

Vedanta is one of the six main systems of Indian philosophy. Its beliefs are non-dualistic. It declares that liberation cannot be reached by means of rituals, actions or charity. The goal of Vedanta is knowledge of Brahman (Absolute Existence) which is beyond the illusion (Maya) of the world and of one’s own mind. This ultimate reality lies beyond the realms of the limited intellect and the manifest world.

The philosophy of Vedanta represents an ideal which can be achieved through the practical methods of yoga. Vedanta says that, in essence, we and the Supreme Self are one. It reminds us of our true nature. A common Self or Consciousness dwells in each one of us. Thus Vedanta tells us to overcome the feeling of individuality, the belief in ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Instead, we should identify with the eternal, effulgent essence – to see the Self within us and in all beings. Vedanta teaches the unity of life and the unity of consciousness.”

Sankara assures that temporal activities and rites rituals prescribed by vedic and other scriptures cease when Wisdom dawns. Then the energized mind, drives out all obscurity from the mind commends not the Knowledge of the vedic scriptures but the comprehensive and all-inclusive Wisdom, not memorizing the words but being consciously receptive, reflective and meditative. If the purpose is well established in mind, the fulfillment becomes purposefully fulfilled. 

The mind having access to every noble thought coming from all quarters, one becomes comprehensively enlightened ‘as it were like lightening which flashes forth or the winking of the eye’.

 

Love.