Sadhana Panchakam - Post 37

The Rationale of the Upanishads

This Step in Manana advises the Vedantic student to stick to Vedic logic. It is not that the student is forbidden from using his intellect. On the contrary, he is encouraged to establish firm ground for Vedantic principles. For that reason alone is enquiry given so much importance. However, the student is advised to do so using the rationale approved by the Srutis, which is not prone to perversion. 

Vedic rationale discriminates between the Real and the unreal. That is its special feature. There are uses of logic where this fact is totally ignored, as in the academic fields.

The seeker of Truth is solely concerned with discriminating Truth from Falsity.

  

An Example of Vedic Rationale

 

To establish a relationship between any two things, the common principle between them is sought. To relate two ornaments, the common material is gold. A steel bowl and a glass plate may be related by their common function in the kitchen. 

If there is nothing in common, one may go to the atomic level and see them both as atoms. The atheistic schools go further. They ask What about a vacuum having no atoms? Thus Space or emptiness is taken as the common factor. Space is God for these philosophers.

In this way, the limited vision of the Truth determines the relationship. The Vedantin takes the enquiry to the Absolute level. The Vedantin goes to the highest and deepest level of enquiry. 

He finds that even Space is part of creation and rests upon the substratum of Sat or Existence. Thus he takes the Absolute or Sat, to be the common factor for all things in the universe. Brahman, the Absolute, is defined as Existence Absolute in Vedanta.

The above rationale adopted by Vedanta gives rise to some novel definitions to these two important spiritual principles:

1. Defining Loyalty: Vedanta see Loyalty as that quality by which one is not deflected from one’s enquiry by limited standpoints. This does not mean narrow mindedness.

We simply stick to the Upanishads firmly, and practice what they ask of us. Vedantins remain loyal to the highest viewpoint possible. 

2. Defining Faith: In the light of this approach, Faith is firm adherence to the Upanishads, knowing that they will always lead us to the ultimate Truth consistently.

Sankara says that scriptures furnish knowledge of the spheres which are beyond one's sensory perception, only directing attention and revealing which are the things desirable and which are not, thereby establishing a relationship between goals and means to attain them. 

 

Swami writes in Upanishadvahini,

 

“Liberation from the consequences of ignorance can be secured only by spiritual knowledge (jnana). The Upanishads themselves declare,

By knowledge alone can freedom be won (Jnaanaath eva thu kaivalyam).

The Vedas are reputed to be “three-sectioned”, the three sections being spiritual wisdom (jnana), contemplation or worship (upasana), and dedicated activity (karma). These three are also found in the Upanishads; they provide the basis for the non-dualist (a-dwaitha), qualified non-dualist (visishta-adwaitha), and dualist (dwaitha) systems of philosophy.

The word Upanishad denotes the study and practice of the innate truth, Brahma-vidya denotes the supremacy of spiritual contemplation, and Yoga-sastra denotes the mental churning that brings success.

What is the fundamental activity that is required? What is the basic thing to be known? It is just one’s real reality. The Upanishads describe the various stages and modes of this search.

The name Upanishad is full of significance. Upa-ni means the process of studying with steadfastness (nish- ta); shath means the attainment of the Ultimate Reality. The name Upa-ni-shath arose for these reasons. 

The Upanishads do not only teach the principles of knowledge of the supreme Reality (Atma-vidya), they also instruct the practical means of realization. They point out not only the duties and obligations one has to bear but also tell us the acts to be done and those to be avoided.”

Seer is the one who has experienced Wisdom of Supreme divinity without the assistance of the sensory organs. 

Guru is one who having perfect receptivity, reflection and meditation, is enlightened to the mystery concealed in the vedic hymns, teaches clarifying the doubts and removing their ignorance. 

Clarification of doubts, sharing the warmth and illumination of their Wisdom rather than assertion of their own perceptions, has been the sign of the upanishadic intellectuals or later day commentators. 

Krishna too advises Arjuna to seek through humility, inquiry and service the Wisdom of That One from the men of Wisdom. 

Mundaka Upanishad recommends the aspirant to approach Guru in due form, with tranquil mind so that the Guru may instruct him the Wisdom of Brahman, by which one would be aware of the Immutable Purusha. 

Guru is one who offers wisdom to everyone who approached him and not the one who gathers followers to accept his interpretation of the Wisdom, who, even while expressing his personal and individual perception, encourages others to have their own personal and individual experiences. 

He removes the impediments on their Path as a guide, as a sign post or stirs his indwelling energy becoming the stick which prods, stirs and stirs like a stick, used to kindle the fire. While the Path is pointed out, the Path has to be traversed by the sadhaka.

  

Love.

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 36

In the present context of Mananam, the services of the intellect are called for. At its best, the intellect is indispensable as a tool of enquiry. 

However, the play of Nature goes on in it as in all other human instruments. Argumentativeness is its number one drawback.

Our intellect, left to revel in intellectual gymnastics, will want to venture into and savor the thrills of intriguing logic, as we find in Nyaya. At this point in Sadhana, the seeker is being asked to beware of going on an intellectual “high”.

The warning given here is to avoid Dustarka or “wicked concepts”, to recognize them and steer clear of them, however tempting they may be to the intellect. The aspirant should steer clear of all “Intellectual Politics”.

THE POORVAPAKSHIN & THE SIDDHAANTIN

A debate is always between two people, namely, the Poorvapakshin who stands for the Opponent, and the Siddhaantin who stands for the Exponent. These two terms, if looked at etymologically, reveal a side of Vedanta that is not so easily known in the West, and rare to find in the West.

i) Poorvapakshin: literally this means “the earlier viewpoint”, Poorvapakshee.

ii) Siddhaantin: literally this means “the final perfect viewpoint”, Siddhaantee.

The very word meaning indicates the large-heartedness of Vedanta. The words do not really stand for opponent or exponent. 

In Vedanta no view is seen as an opposing view. If it is not fully informed, it is considered only to be an earlier view, a view that is temporarily held in the absence of further knowledge. Once more knowledge is gathered and taken into account, one shifts his viewpoint, until with complete knowledge he arrives at the perfect (siddha), final (antah) viewpoint.

There is no personal claim to any viewpoint. Vedanta never speaks of ‘my’ view and ‘your’ view. The viewpoint does not belong to any person, it belongs to the landscape, the ground we are standing on. Where a person stands in relation to the Truth is the view he sees. He cannot help seeing that view only. 

If he rises a little higher,his view changes to another one. If he gets to the top of the mountain, his view is “final and perfect”.

TYPES OF PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATES

Two people, A & B, can get together with the following three types of intentions in holding a philosophical discussion:

i) VAADA: “Both persons desire to know the truth.” A & B have an open mind which has not formed any fixed opinion on the matter. Both have a Sattvic interest in the Truth.

ii) JALPA: “Both persons intend to destroy the other’s position and establish their own position.” A & B have each decided their standpoint. Each one tries to prove the other one wrong. The aim of the discussion is Rajasic – to gain victory over the other.

iii) VITHANDA: “One person intends only to destroy the other’s position without having a view of his own.” Person A merely aims to disprove B’s position, whatever that may be. The aim is simply to destroy. This is a Tamasic stance, useful to none.

The essence of the step dealt in today's post was incidentally given in the last session on Nirvana Shatakam (NS-6) which is also posted in blog. He said, “Do not judge/do not criticize any one’s path”.

We all have taken up Spiritual Sadhana with one goal- Self Realization.

Self-realization or discovering SELF within happens when Ego (avidya) is uprooted.

So, wherever one faces a situation where, the other person is not talking correctly on Spiritual path/essence, at best, we can put forth the correct aspect (In Vedanta, as it is clarified, there is no “ your” view or “ my view”. There is only one view.) 

If the other person is not receptive, then we, who have taken up this path to eliminate/conquer our ego, should never end up arguing with the other person. Any Argument comes forth from one and only aspect, our ego, which pushes to fight/ argue and establish to the other person that “I AM RIGHT” and “YOU ARE WRONG”.

We face a downfall when we take up such arguments and then we have to restart our sadhana from a lower level all over again.

One who contributes only sound and not the light should be shunned, as impediment on the Path to Perfection. Because such one is fundamentalist without awareness of the fundamentals, accepting interpretations of Brahman than experiencing Brahman.  Those who are enamored by Knowledge lose sight of the Wisdom which is goal. 

Sankara says that one who is intent on Wisdom of Brahman should not be confused or confounded by conditioned Knowledge of the conceited nor by the facile arguments of the perverted people. 

Arguments do not necessarily lead to enlightenment; they exhibit poverty of intelligence rather than promise of Wisdom. 

Arguments often lead one to assert and refuse to consider that every proposition could possible also have different perception. It is said that some are clever only at exposition while others have the ability to practice what they learn; the hand carries food to the mouth but it is only the tongue that tastes it.

Sadhaka’s mind should be broad and vision expansive, without the restraint of traditional dos and don’ts. His mind should be receptive since that is one of the important avenues for enlightenment, says Adi Sankara. 

It is to be observed that even after communicating Wisdom more secret than all secrets, Sri Krishna leaves it to Arjuna to pursue the Path on his own. 

Even the fully manifested Divinity allows individual to choose the Path to be followed, not the orthodox and argumentative one.

 

Love.

 

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 35

Surrender or Faith in the scriptures is the vital element that is added into Mananam by this step. The path necessarily involves a combination of Effort and Surrender.

This Step comes as a warning sign for the serious spiritual aspirant: “Do not take the Upanishads lightly. Be serious about your search for God, especially from here onwards.” 

Combination of Effort & Surrender

The head and the heart must unite in our quest for the Truth. Both are necessary – deep inner intellectual reflection as well as surrender of the heart to the Divine.

i) If surrender is absent, then the effort is likely to become egoistic; the ego in our effort can poison it. So effort has to be balanced by surrender. 

ii) If effort is absent, one’s surrender becomes vain and unworthy, almost slavish. In surrender without effort, we run the risk of being driven by emotion or sentiment, and there lies the danger – that is what Fanaticism is made of. 

Main goal in spiritual sadhana is to transcend our ego. It is in the context that Effort and Surrender must go together in perfect alignment.

We start putting in all-out efforts / Purushartha in Sadhana and if surrender is lacking, the belief that "I am doing sadhana", where, ‘I’ refers to our ego, that belief itself may take us away from our goal to transcend our ego.

And, we cannot sit quiet, giving up all efforts, saying that we have surrendered to God and He shall take us to the goal of realization. 

The saying "Do your best and leave the rest" applies as much or in fact, applies most in Sadhana. We have to do out very best as far as spiritual sadhana and rest in total surrender, allowing Lord to take over and guide us and elevate us in our path to reach and merge with Him.

On this spiritual path we are restricted only by the subtlety and sharpness of our Intellect, and the intensity and stability of our Faith. Faith, going hand in hand with the intellect, is the only way open for us. 

Faith could arise due to the authority and reverence in which we hold the scriptures, or it could be due even to the authority of a Guru whom we love and in whose words we trust. This initial basis of faith is vital, for it keeps us focused on the pursuit of the Goal. 

When well-nurtured, faith grows and grows with time. As from seed to tree, so also from faith to conviction. Given the water of logic and the sunlight of enquiry, faith begins to experience change. 

The ultimate test of faith is actual Discovery. A series of experiences, each one taking us closer and closer to the Goal, marks the route to the ultimate Experience.  

In this process of transforming faith into conviction and culminating it in Discovery, we have a perfect picture of what the purpose of Vedantic Sadhana is. 

Veda is Wisdom, the supra-sensory experiences, the seer being the one who ‘sees’ or ‘hears’ the resonance of OM, the eternal sound in extra-ordinary moments of enlightenment. Vedic hymns represent the expressions of those experiences without any human effort in composition.  

Wisdom of Vedanta and renunciation, ascetics of purified nature, dwell in silence of the forests at the end of their lives in the supreme immortal world of Brahman.  

Sankara clarifies that with Mind purified by scriptures, enlightened teachers and restraint of the senses aid realization of the self. Scriptures remain neutral like sun light, but do not reveal truth. It is necessary that one should study vedic scriptures as the means for realization of Brahman, and not only reading them. 

Swami says, 

“From the principle of Brahman emerged Akasha (ether). From Akasha, Vayu (air) originated. From Vayu, Agni (fire) emerged. From Agni, Jala (water) emerged. From Jala came Prithvi (earth). From Prithivi, Oshadhi (vegetation) emerged. Oshadhis gave rise to Annam (food) and man is born out of food. 

Thus, you can see that man and Brahman are intimately related. On this basis, Lord Krishna declared:

 “Mamaivamso Jeevaloke Jeevabhuta Sanathana” (the eternal atma in all beings is a part of My Being). Without the principle of Brahman, nothing can exist, be it ether, air, fire, water, earth, vegetation or food.”

 

(SSS- Volume 33)

 

Love.