Vivekachudamani - Post 24

  Verse 18    

साधनान्यत्र चत्वारि कथितानि मनीषिभिः ।
येषु सत्स्वेव सन्निष्ठा यदभावे न सिध्यति ॥ १८ ॥

sādhanānyatra catvāri kathitāni manīṣibhiḥ |
yeṣu satsveva sanniṣṭhā yadabhāve na sidhyati || 18 ||

(Great sages have spoken of four qualifications for attainment, which when present, one succeeds in the realization of Brahman and in the absence of which the goal is not gained.) 

 

In this sloka Sankara teaches by processes of agreement by presence and agreement in absence - that possession of the four fold means only qualifies for inquiry into Brahman.

 

In the world, if, when something exists there is the non-existence of something else, that something else cannot be the cause of that thing. To put it another way, when in the non-existence of a thing, something exists, the latter cannot be the cause of the former. When a cloth has come into existence in the absence of clay, the clay cannot be the cause of the cloth.

 

Applying this to viveka and to brahmajijnasa (the desire to know Brahman), where there is no jignnasa, there will not be viveka etc. There may be things other than viveka etc. Hence it becomes clear that viveka etc. are the cause of brahmajijnasa. 

 

Therefore, brahmajinasa on which depends brahmanishtaa will arise only when aided by the saadhana chatustaya beginning with viveka, and will not arise in their absence, it is established that these requisites are preliminary to barhmajijnasa which has as its goal what is known as Brahmanishtaa.

 

maniisibhih kathitaani: manisitvam means having knowledge of the import of the sruti.

Many sruti texts support Sankara’s enumeration of saadhana catustaya, and the requirement of nitya anitya vastu viveka. 

kathitaani: are said to be. The Upanishads convey the knowledge of Brahman which is the supreme object of human quest, which cannot be achieved by other means of knowledge and which cannot be sublated in any of the three periods of time. The qualification for such jijnasa accrues only to one who has the qualities mentioned successively in vivekadi (i.e., viveka etc.).

Sankara is emphasizing that a seeker must, first of all, try to see that he is fully equipped with these qualifications; and at all periodical reverses in spiritual progress, the sadhaka, instead of despairing, must intelligently evaluate himself and detect his own deficiencies. 

When a patient looks pale, the doctor will immediately examine him for deficiencies. To make up the deficiency, he will supply him with the necessary ingredients. Similarly, when a spiritual seeker is fagged out, it is never due to an external obstacle as people generally complain, but always because of a serious deficiency in his spiritual constitution.

 

Love.

 

Vivekachudamani - Post 23

  Verse 17    

विवेकिनो विरक्तस्य शमादिगुणशालिनः ।
मुमुक्षोरेव हि ब्रह्मजिज्ञासायोग्यता मता ॥ १७ ॥

 

vivekino viraktasya śamādiguṇaśālinaḥ |
mumukṣoreva hi brahmajijñāsāyogyatā matā || 17 ||

 

(He alone is considered qualified to enquire after the supreme Reality, who has discrimination, detachment, qualities of calmness and so on, and a burning desire for Liberation.) 

 

If the former verse gives us the broad characteristic of those who are fit receptacles for Knowledge, here we have more clearly etched specifications. 

 

These terms have often been found to frighten away the students since their orthodox interpretations have been rather severe and relentless. But on a closer analysis, they are found to be very healthy instincts present in every bosom. Only a very few of us, however, are conscious of them and even fewer consciously develop these qualities in themselves. 

 

vivekino viraktasya samadigunasalinah mumuksor. 

 

The student must be viveki; he must have discrimination. viraktasya, he must have dispassion; samadiguṇasalinah, he must have six-fold inner wealth, or inner virtues, mumuksor- with the earlier 3 qualifications, the seeker naturally develops intense craving for liberation.

 

Viveka is the capacity to discriminate between the Real and the unreal, between the true and the false, between the permanent and the impermanent. It is a faculty which we employ in almost all our day-to-day decisions but when it is brought to play into the inner constitution of the individual it is called 'viveka'. 

 

Vairagya is commonly translated as detachment. For many, it holds an uncanny fear, for it seems to point more to a condition of a living death than to a state of a better and fuller living. 

 

The 'vairagya' of Vedanta is only a fulfilment of viveka. Having discriminated between the Real and the unreal, it should not at all be agonising to pluck ourselves away from the false (unreal). 

 

When, through discrimination, we are intellectually convinced of the fallacy of our way of thinking, detachment is the fructification of that discrimination. Accordingly, it manifests to the degree to which we have been convinced that my shadow is not really me, it does not take an iota of my energy to rid myself of the sorrows of my shadow. 

 

Even if ten thousand elephants pass over it, I shall still smile and be happy for I know that no matter how much my shadow is trampled upon, it cannot bring me any pain. 

 

'Sama' means calmness. This and associated qualities will be taken up by Sankara in the coming verses and we shall be going into them at length there. For the time being, suffice it to understand that these are the mental values in life, which should be cultivated by a healthy man with an evolutionary urge. 

 

Success in any creative thinking will be directly proportional to the amount of these qualities in an individual. Even in the material world, an individual's success can be increased if only he develops these qualities in himself. 

 

Last but not the least of four qualifications mentioned here is 'mumuksutva' means a burning desire for Liberation. This, in its old drapery, may have the ugly look of an impracticable idea. 

One must have desire for inner freedom and that too intense desire. Because intense desire will be implemented. Casual desires, luke worm desires will not be implemented. 

 

So, tivrah mumukshu alone gets translated externally; therefore mumukshu means the one who has intense desire for inner freedom. That has become a top priority of life. 

 

And for such a person who has DISCRIMINATION, DISPASSION, for inner wealth, we can use the expression DISCIPLINE, and for mumukshatva, we can say DESIRE. 4 Ds. and for such a person alone Yogyata matha; there is yogyata, eligibility; he alone has got fitness; for what? Brahma jijnasa or Brahman enquiry, Athaatho brahma jijnasa, the first verse with which Brahma Sutra starts.

This verse is just an introductory verse on Sadhana Chatushtaya. In the upcoming verses, we would be going through the 4 qualifications in detail.

In the experience of author, there would be atleast some 10 spiritual aspitants who stayed through the intiial abosrbing sessions but left after Sadhana chatusthaya session.

Without qualifying 100% in all these 4 requirements, no seeker can hope to sustain his sadhana and to ultimately get glimpse of “SELF”.

Discriminate between real (SELF) and unreal (world with all its objects), develop dispassion towards all that is unreal, strive to get  all virtuous qualities and then with all the virtuous qualities attained, develop/feel the  intense craving to attain the one reality, your own true nature divine.

 

Love.

 

 

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.