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.
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.
Love.
