Vivekachudamani - Post 22

  Verse 16    

मेधावी पुरुषो विद्वानुहापोहविचक्षणः ।
अधिकार्यात्मविद्यायामुक्तलक्षणलक्षितः ॥ १६ ॥

medhāvī puruṣo vidvānuhāpohavicakṣaṇaḥ |
adhikāryātmavidyāyāmuktalakṣaṇalakṣitaḥ || 16 ||

 

(He who has a keen memory with enough knowledge of the world outside and understanding of the world within, who can argue for the scriptures and refute arguments against them, is fit for receiving atma-vidya.)

 

Here are mentioned some essential qualities in a student before he can successfully undertake a study of the Upanishads.  

 

Medhavi means the one who has got the power of reception and retention. grahaṇa dharaṇa saktih medha. Grahaṇam means the capacity to grasp what the teacher has said. And not only he should grasp, he should retain also; because the whole teaching is in the form of analysis of the scriptures. 

By 'memory', Sankara means a capacity on the part of  the student to react intensely to an experience at the time of its  occurrence, so that later on, it automatically without any effort  springs forth into the level of memorised experiences. 

A student attending the discourses given by a Master is, therefore, required to react intensely to his words and thus make the ideas and theories explained on his own at the very time of listening to them.

 

The study of Vedanta insists on an immediate understanding. He who has this capacity is fit for a study of Vedanta. If there be a student who could not understand what the Master said on a previous occasion, then as the lessons proceed, the Master will not be able to give his discourses freely since the student, at every moment, will have to speak out his misunderstanding, doubts, and confusions. 

 

Every time the Teacher will have to go back to the chapters finished earlier and that would necessarily mean no progress at all. Such a dull-headed, wool-gathering mind is not a fit instrument for the study of the science of Vedanta. 

 

'Vidvan' means learned or well-informed. This does not mean a man already well versed in the scriptures, because without listening to the teachings of a Master, no amount of self-study in the scriptures will make one a true Vidvan'. 

 

What is meant here is that the student must have a fairly good general knowledge of the world outside and also a certain amount of insight into his own psychological and intellectual composition. The more general knowledge an aspirant has, the easier it will be for the Master to make him understand the subtle Truth through a variety of examples and metaphors.

 

Sankara says Vedanta is a matter of knowing. And knowing means doubt should not be there. That means thinking must be involved; therefore the student should be what: Vidvan; Vidvan means sufficiently educated to think logically. Sufficiently educated to think logically. 

 

An argumentative spirit of enquiry and understanding is also absolutely necessary for walking the path of knowledge. In the other paths of self-discovery, this spirit of independent enquiry is not so much emphasised because the seekers walking them do not demand an explanation for personal conviction. 

 

In vedanta, an intelligent student (vidvan), with memory power (medhavi) asks questions to his master, wherever he is not convinced with the subject taught by the master, gets all the required clarifications, gets convinced and once he gets convinced, the teachings enter him as experienced and gets stored within him with his strong memory. 

 

Summarily, a student of Vedanta must be a man of receptive and agile intellect, ready to catch every subtle idea thrown out by the Master and through a process of intellectual assimilation, get at its true significance. If this agility of the head and heart is lacking, he cannot hope to have a steady and unobstructed progress in meditation. In the following verses Sankara gives details of the qualities, which are prerequisites for a student of Vedanta. 

 

Love.

 

 

Vivekachudamani - Post 21

  Verse 15    

अतो विचारः कर्तव्यो जिज्ञासोरात्मवस्तुनः ।
समासाद्य दयासिन्धुं गुरुं ब्रह्मविदुत्तमम् ॥ १५ ॥

ato vicāraḥ kartavyo jijñāsorātmavastunaḥ |
samāsādya dayāsindhuṃ guruṃ brahmaviduttamam || 15 ||

 

(Therefore, a true seeker of the Self should learn to enquire and meditate after duly approaching a Guru who is himself established in the experience of the Self and who is an ocean of kindness.)

 

For the reasons so far given, it should be the endeavour of a true seeker to find a true Master and approach him duly to get initiated into the methods of enquiry through the process of meditation. 

Atah vichara kartavyaḥ. In the 13th sloka, Sankara said Vicharah alone will give knowledge.

And this vichara should be done by whom? jijnasu; by a person seeking knowledge. 

Jnatum icchuhu iti jijnasuhu; these are beautiful words in Samsr̥kit; ‘jij’ conveys the meaning of desire; jijnasuhu means desirer of knowledge; mumukṣuhu means desirer of moksha; tipadiṣuhu means desirer of studying.

So jijnasuhu vicharaḥ kartavyaḥ; one who is desirer of knowledge of the self. In short, desirer of self-knowledge. 

The word 'samasadya', by duly approaching is a simple word full of suggestions. It pinpoints the mental attitude with which a seeker should approach the Master in order that he may derive the maximum benefit during his association with the Teacher.

Sankara stresses; gurum samasadya; never make independent enquiry; but by approaching a guru. What is the definition of a guru; gr̥ nati atma tatvam upadisati iti guruḥ; to teach, to communicate; to consistently impart knowledge. 

गु gu means darkness; र ru means remover; गु र is equal to darkness remover; and what is darkness, ignorance; गु means ignorance; र means remover; and therefore guru means darkness remover; 

And what are the qualifications of the guru? 

Two are mentioned. Brahmavit uttamam; he is the greatest brahma jnani; brahmavit means brahma jnani; uttamam means greatest brahma jnani; and uttama indicates nishta; 

Sankara  mentions another qualification: dayasindhum; who is an ocean of compassion; Daya, compassion; sindhuḥ means samudrah; daya samudruh; kripa sagarah; karuna sagarah;

A Guru should not only be a man of Self-experience, but he should also have a large heart full of kindness and sympathy for all types of seekers. 

Swami Chidananda, Disciple of Swami Sivananda, writes on Guru Kripa,

“We have been told by our scriptures that guru kripa is a wonderful, mysterious factor that will enable the aspirants to seek and to attain the summum bonum of life, Self-realisation, darshan of God, or moksha. 

But then, how can we receive it? How should we conduct ourselves if we are to be ready to receive this grace? By discipleship. For, the question of Guru and guru kripa arises only for the disciple. For those who are not of the category named disciple, it is said that mercy, compassion, grace and ashirvad will be given, but not guru kripa. 

Inasmuch as guru kripa takes us to the highest state, discipleship is qualifying ourselves to attain that highest state or the realisation of ourselves as satchidananda. 

The best thing is to humbly leave everything to the Guru:

“I do not know whether I am a disciple or not. Therefore, O Ocean of Mercy and Compassion, pray make me a proper disciple. Generate in me that mumukshutva that makes me a disciple, and give me the spirit of willing obedience. 

Help me in trying to follow thy instructions. Help me in trying to mould myself upon the pattern set up by thee.”

This must be our constant prayer. And by this alone shall we be able to draw the kripa of our Guru and make our life fruitful. And the perfect way of praying is trying our best to be a real disciple.”

 

Love.

 

Vivekachudamani - Post 20

  Verse 14   

 

अधिकारिणमाशास्ते फलसिद्धिर्विशेषतः ।
उपाया देशकालाद्याः सन्त्यस्मिन्सहकारिणः ॥ १४ ॥

 

adhikāriṇamāśāste phalasiddhirviśeṣataḥ |
upāyā deśakālādyāḥ santyasminsahakāriṇaḥ || 14 ||

 

(Ultimate success in spiritual endeavours depends entirely upon the degree of fundamental qualifications in the seeker. Auxiliary conveniences such as time and place, all have a place indeed, but they are essentially secondary.) 

 

Here is a suggestion to seekers who generally get disappointed at having to encounter obstacles at the very outset of their sadhana. 

 

When a team of students is working under the instructions of the same Master, it is always observed that some of them progress faster than others. Those who lag behind soon reach a state of despair and they complain about the hollowness of the sastras. Such students are advised to attribute their lack of development to some intrinsic subjective maladjustment in their psychological and intellectual make-up. 

The indispensable requisites of a work worth studying are four in number and are collectively called Anubandha Chatushtaya.

One of the requisities is “Adhikari”.

Swami Sivananda writes, 

“Adhikari - A qualified student. Here it is one who is endowed with the four means of salvation. i.e., Sadhana Chatushtaya, viz., Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-sampat and Mumukshutva, who has removed Mala (impurities of the mind) by Nishkama Karma Yoga and Vikshepa (tossing of mind) by Upasana, who has Chitta Suddhi and one-pointed mind and who is endowed with Yukti (reason), Samartha (ability) and Buddhi (sharp intellect). 

 

Adhikaris are of two kinds, viz., Kritopasaka and Akritopasaka. He who has done full Saguna Upasana and who is endowed with perfect one-Pointed mind is a Kritopasaka. He will be equipped with all the Sadhanas mentioned in the scriptures. He who has done imperfect Upasana of Saguna Brahman is an Akritopasaka. He has only partial concentration of mind. He is equipped with only a few Sadhanas. 

 

He has Viparita-Bhavana though he possesses knowledge of Brahman by study of Vedantic Literature. He must practise constant and intense meditation.”

The qualifications necessary for a successful spiritual pilgrimage have been enumerated here by the Acharya only for self-scoring of the seekers themselves. 

 

That is, if success on the spiritual path has been slow or unsatisfactory, the seeker himself is to blame. It is invariably because of some clogs of the heart. All that he has to do in order to achieve more progress in his efforts is to remove these clogs and apply himself more intensely to self-development. 

 

Qualification of a student plays a very important role in the rise of knowledge.  

 

Just as a prepared land is required for a plant to grow. If seed is put in the desert land; it will not sprout; it is not the mistake of the seed; only that the land is not prepared. And land preparation is not an easy job; tilling the land is important; and also the temperature must be right to grow; 

 

The accomplishment of the result; that is moksha which very heavily depends upon or primarily depends upon what? adhikarinam; the competent student or the competency of the student; and that is the reason that in the olden days they never brought vedanta to the public.

When in meditation a sadhaka finds his mental avenues blocked, it is meaningless for him to sit in the asana and rave in disappointment, cursing the entire hierarchy of rishis or the science of Vedanta. He must, at once, look within to see if the necessary adjustments are all properly maintained therein. The description of the necessary qualifications is for our guidance, that we may know what are the common troubles that arise in the inner vehicle during our flight to the beyond. 

 

There are some seekers who wait for better circumstances to do their sadhana, a more suitable time or a greater Master to initiate them.

 

No doubt time, place and so on, are important, but not unduly so, for they are only subsidiary requirements. Without the needful inner adjustments even if a sadhaka is placed under the best conditions of time and place, he will not be able to make use of them. On the other hand, a true seeker, even under adverse conditions, will turn them to the best advantage and will progress steadily, unhampered. 

 

Love.

 

Vivekachudamani - Post 19

 Verse 13   

 

अर्थस्य निश्चयो दृष्टो विचारेण हितोक्तितः ।
न स्नानेन न दानेन प्राणायमशतेन वा ॥ १३ ॥

 

arthasya niścayo dṛṣṭo vicāreṇa hitoktitaḥ |
na snānena na dānena prāṇāyamaśatena vā || 13 ||

 

(Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even hundreds of pranayamas can give us the knowledge about our own Self but a firm experience of the nature of the Self can be gained when we send our thoughts along the rails of arguments laid down in the salutory advices of the wise.) 

 

In the previous verse, Sankara said enquiry alone can give knowledge. Here he emphasises nothing else can give knowledge. 

 

When you say enquiry alone can give knowledge it is a positive statement called anvaya; nothing else can give knowledge is stressing that negative.

 

Here again we find the superficial methods of easy religious practices condemned. Since the student is a Vedantin, Sankara's efforts are to show him the right and direct path. In thus indicating to the student the correct path, every Master has to be very severe in his criticism of the by-lanes of religion. No doubt, they too can help in the progress of the individual, but they are all primary lessons. 

 

External methods of self-purification such as baths at the sacred confluences of rivers, visits to various temples and other sacred places, desire prompted or even unselfish charities, exercises such as breath control and  asanas are wholly condemned as they would not take one to Moksha. 

 

The hasty convert to Vedanta suddenly finds it very convenient to give up every religious practice and call himself an accomplished Vedantin. This attitude also has no sanction in the Master's advice. 

 

Here it is said, snanena would not give mokṣa; It is never said that snanena will not give anything; It not only purifies the body; as it is done with Ishvara samaraṇam; it purifies the mind also. Similarly we never condemn praṇayama; praṇayama is extremely wonderful practice; to tone up the annamaya kosa; to tone up the praṇamaya kosa; to tone up the mano maya kosa; 

 

Vedanta does not question the validity and role of praṇayama; But after integrating through praṇayama; come to sastra. That is to be done. 

 

While condemning these preliminaries, he is, at the same time, very strict and severe in prescribing the more subtle and intense practices of Vedanta. For a Vedantin, he prescribes correct thinking and continuous self-analysis. Merely giving up the usual methods of religious discipline is not the Vedanta prescribed by the Acharya. 

 

If at all they are to be given up, it is only after greater abhyasa called 'vichara'. This atma-vichara is not to be done in any manner that pleases the individual. There is an exact method of correct and intense thinking and this method is advised in the scriptures. Therefore, vichara, undertaken as taught by the rishis (hitoktitah), alone can take us ultimately to our redemption.

 

In the previous verse, we said, Sastras / scriptures are like a torchlight which throws light on reality.

 

Here also what is the extra torch light; hitoktitah; hitaḥ means guru; a well-wisher; a guide; a support is called hitaḥ; literally one who is a well-wisher, Hitoktitah means guru vakyeṇa; and what is the guru vakyam? the extra torchlight.

So in the previous sloka, we said sastram vakyam is the extra light; here we say guru vakyam is extra light; we do not make any difference between sastra vakyam and guru vakyam; because guru is by definition one who teaches based on sastra.

 

Love.