An Introduction to advaita vEdAnta
nArAyaNam padmabhavam vasishTam shaktim cha tat putram parAsharam cha vyAsam
shukam gowDapadam mahAntam gOvinda pAda yOgIndram atha asya shishyam sri
shankarAchAryam atha asya shishyAm padmapAdam cha hastAmalakam cha shishyam
tam tOTakam vArtikakAram anyAn asmad gurUn santatam AnatOsmi
Salutations to the guru paramparA - narAyaNa to brahma to vasishta .. sri
ShankarachArya..., his disciples padmapAda, hastAmalaka, tOtaka and the
followers of this lineage of gurus.
shruti smriti purANAnAm Alayam karuNAlayam
namAmi bhagavat pAda shankaram lOkashankaram
shankaram shankarAchAryam kEshavam bAdarAyaNam
sUtrabhAshya kritou vandE bhagavantau punah punah
Prostrations again and again at the feet of bhagavAn Shankara, the
storehouse of scriptures - shruti, smriti and purANAs - and who is also
a storehouse of compassion, who confers happiness and prosperity, who
has written commentary on the sUtras and belongs in the lineage of the
guru parampara of kEshava, bAdarAyanA ..
First, having offered the traditional salutations to the Guru Parampara
(lineage of teachers), let us chant the following shAnti mantra;
Om saha nA-vavatu, saha nou-bhunaktu, saha-vIryam karavAvahai
tEjasvi nA-vadhItam astu mA vid-vishAvahai; Om shAntih shAntih shAntih
Let us be protected together; let us be cultivated together; let us gain
strength and power together; let our study be successful; let us not
hate each other; Om peace, Peace and Peace (for all).
The scriptures of sanAtana dharma - called "darshana shAstrAs" are
nyAya, vaishEshika, sAmkhya,yOga, mImAmsa and vEdAnta, respectively the
sciences of Logic, Nature, Knowledge, Deep Meditation or concentration
of mind, Rituals of the vEda and the Philosophy of the Self. Though
VaishEshika is regarded as the study of nature, nature is integral in
the study of all the six Darshanas. A self evident thought common for
all of them is "The whole creation is ultimately intended for the
experience of the soul (Atman)".
We are concerned here in the study of vEdAnta - the Science of the Self.
We have already said that nature is integral in the study of all
shAstras, including vEdAnta. The nature and the body of beings are
inert; The vEdAnta shAstra tells us that being inert, a power is
required to drive them (Physical science also tells us that inert bodies
need an external force for change - Newton's first law of motion).
vEdAnta calls this power as "Chaitanya" or Consciousness. D.V. Gundappa,
a poet-philosopher from Karnataka, India, captures the concept in a very
subtle way in his work "Manku Timmana Kagga" (The ramblings of Timma,
the Dull) as follows.
jIva jaDa rUpa prapanchavana-vAvudO
AvarisikonDu moLaneredu mihudante
bhAvakoLapaDadante aLategaLavaDadante
A vishEshake maNiyO - mankutimma
An indefinable something envelops the living world
and the inert and appears to fill them to overflowing
It is not swayed by feeling and defies measurement
Render obeisance to that specialty - Oh! Manku Timma (Timma the Dull)
This indefinable something - of the nature of Pure Consciousness - is called
Brahman in vEdAnta.
So we have three entities here, Jagat or universe, individual person or jIva
and Brahman. The first two are in the tangible experience of all of us. The
third, Brahman is not the tangible experience for most of us.
Every philosophy that man knows today, attempts to describe the relation
between these three entities.
Advaita vEdAnta also offers a very unique description of this
relationship - the jIva and Jagat are not different from Brahman, but
appear to be different because of ignorance ( ajnyAna). The presentation
of this oneness of the three entities of Jagat, Jiva and Brahman is the
subject matter of the study of Advaita vEdAnta. Again, quoting from
Manku Timmana Kagga,
ihudO illavO tiLiyagoDadondu vastu nija mahimeyim jagavAgi jIvavEshadali
viharipudau oLitembudu gahana tatvake sharaNO - mankutimma
An entity whether existing or not is not to be known
But by its innate power it transmutes itself into the world;
Assuming the garb of life it sports itself; whether it is, or not is not, we know not,
Bow down to that profound principle - Oh! Manku Timma
What is the benefit of this study? This is a question we all want to
have answered, as we undertake to the study of any text or Thesis. There
are four issues contained in answering this question. They are (1)
subject matter, (2) benefit, (3) Relationship and (4) Pre-requisites.
Determination of the oneness of Jiva, Jagat and Iswara (a synonym for
Brahman) through scriptural interpretation is the subject matter of this
study.
The benefit of this study is the preparation of the reader in the quest
towards the realization of the oneness described above. This realization
will release the Jiva from the cycle of births and deaths and the
associated pain and occasional pleasure. The realization will elevate
the jIva to a permanent state of absolute bliss. The TaittirIya
Upanishat offers a measure of quantification of this bliss. If a strong
and healthy human, living for hundred years or more, has all the
resources under his control and the support of all the people under him,
achieves all his objectives (YudhishTira is quoted as an example of such
a person), the happiness attained by him is one Unit of Human Happiness
(AshiShTO driDiShTO baliShTah..sa EkO mAnuSha Anandah... - Anandavalli).
The bliss of realization is indicated to be of the order of 1020 x
Human Happiness.
The relationship of any study is at three levels - between the subject
matter and the reader, between the subject matter and benefit and
between reader and the benefit. Application to the vEdAnta study, we
will understand the relation between jIva and Jagat, jIva and Brahman
and Brahman and Jagat.
What is the AdhikAra or pre-requisites for the realization? The
necessary and sufficient pre-requisites for the realization of this
oneness is a four step discipline (sAdhana chatushTaya), which will
discuss in detail in the next unit.
Now a question arises to all of us - If the realization is so blissful,
why is the mankind not serious about achieving it. Arjuna also had the
same doubt, when he asked Krishna in Bhagavad gIta the following;
Atha kEna prayuktOyam pApam charati pUrushah
ani-cchannapi vArshnEya balAdiva niyojitah
Oh! Krishna, as if constrained by a force, what makes a man commit sin,
even against his wish? - (3-36)
Sri Krishna answers;
kAma Esha krOdha Esha rajO guNa samudbhavah
mahAshanO mahApApma viddhi Enam iha vairiNam
Arjuna! it is the desire, it is the anger born of raJo guNa (the impulse
of action), all consuming and all evil; know this as the enemy here. - (3-37)
Driven by these desires and feelings, we act. When the outcome is less
than optimal, we repent -
kimakhagam sAdhu nAkaravam
kimaham pApamakaravamiti
why did I not do good deeds
why did I do bad deeds?
- taittirIya upanishad, Anandavalli
Elimination of this desire and anger is the pre-requisite
(sAdhanachatushTaya) discussed above. This will be the topic of
discussion in the next unit.
[ The material for the this study will be mostly drawn from the
following advaita texts
1) vEdAnta sAra (Kannada edition by Swamy harshAnanda) of parivrAjakAchArya
sadAnanda yOgIndra
2) vEdAnta PrabhOda by Swamy paramAnanda bhArati
3) vEdAntada jIvALa by hosakere chidambariah
Other quotes will be described when quoted].
From our birth to death man (or woman), is engaged in various activities.
All the activities have the effect of producing the fruits of action.
anishTam ishTam mishram cha tri-vidham karmaNah phalam
bhavati atyAginAm prEtya na tu sanyAsinAm kvachit
The three-fold fruits of action , desirable (life of dEvatAs), undesirable ( life of animals ) and mixed (human lives) accrue to
the non-renouncer (of fruits of actions),after death; but never to the renouncer (gIta 18-12).
The individual has to experience these fruits of action (karmaphala) in the vehicle of dEvas, humans or animals. So this makes it necessary to be born
again to experience the fruits of action, be it desirable or non-desirable. This is the law of karma. Figure 1 illustrates this law of karma.
The law of karma and reincarnation to experience the karmaphala are the corner stones of the philosophies of sanAtana dharma. We need to understand the three categories of karma (phala) in order to fully understand the law of karma.
1. sanchita karma (karma in storage)
2. prArabdha karma (karma that has begun to bear fruit)
3. AgAmi karma (karma resulting from future activities).
A man's current life comes his way to experience a fraction of the fruits of his activities in past lives, stored as sanchita karma. The fraction is called prArabdha karma or karma that has begun to bear fruit. The experiences of this life are the fruits of that fraction of past activities. As he go through this life, he does some good acts and some not so good acts and so on. These acts, if they are desire oriented will result in additional fruits to be experienced in future lives.
The karma, associated with the activities of this life is the AgAmi karma, that gets added into and stored in the sanchita karma, after death. Desire is the motive for a man's activities, which is captured very succinctly in the following two verses of gIta;
dhyAyatO vishayAn pumsah sanghah tEshu upajAyatE
sanghAt sanjAyatE kAmah kAmAt krOdhah abhijAyatE
krOdhAt bhavati sam-mOhah sam-mOhat smriti vibramah
smriti brimshAt buddhi nAshah buddhi nAshAt praNashayti
As man dwells on sense objects, he develops an attachment to them; the attachment turns in to desire to possess them (a fulfilled desire will lead to indulge in it or creates higher desires); an unfulfilled desire creates anger in him;anger leads to delusion which in turn causes loss of memory; loss of memory results in destruction of discrimination; Once he looses discrimination, he perishes. (Gita 2-62 and 63)
(there is an anti-dote to this, which we will review a little later). -These two verses capture the basic message of the law of karma; Being caught in the web of births and deaths is what Krishna describes as "he perishes".
It is generally the story of most humans that the pot of sanchita karma keeps growing with each life. As more karma is added to the pot, it necessitates additional births to experience the fruits of action. This is because of man's ignorance that happiness is derived by sense objects, which he goes after every waking moment of his life. The loss of discrimination is what leads man to wrongly identify happiness as coming from sense objects. D.V. Gundappa says in Kagga, that what man calls as happiness is a short interval between two long intervals of sorrow or happiness is absence of sorrow.
We said earlier that the prArabdha karma is only a small fraction of the sanchita karma. This fraction is generally understood to be proportional to the forbearing ability of the individual jIva to withstand misery and sorrow. If one's entire sanchita karma were to be translated to prArabdha for one life, the man will collapse under the weight of the misery (suicide!), that he will not fulfill the obligations of the prArabdha, which necessitates another life anyway. So God in His infinite mercy, will spare the human from such extreme encounters. So the jIva moves from life to life to experience his own desires, adding to the store of karma with each appearance, necessitating more births and so on.
What is the strategy for relief from the cycle of births and deaths? What is the exit strategy? Theoretically speaking, the answer seems to be simple enough - (1) do not add more AgAmi karma to the karma in storage and /or neutralize the store of karma (sanchita) once and for all. [ Here, an analogy can be made to an imaginary ring highway around a metropolitan area; this highway has no marked exits. A vehicle, with a perpetual source of energy, keeps going round and round with out any definite purpose. Such a vehicle, if it needs to get out, has to make a determined plan for and execute an exit strategy].
The Rishis of sanAtana dharma have determined such an exit strategy for a man to escape from the cycle of the law of karma. This strategy is a four step preparatory process called "sAdhana chatushTaya" a four step spiritual discipline. The four steps are
1. vivEka (discrimination of Real from unreal.)
2. vairAgya (detachment or dispassion from sense objects.)
3. shamAdi shat sampatti (a collective group of six behavior traits.)
4. mumukshtva (intense desire to achieve permanent bliss).
This preparatory process is the subject matter for Unit - 3.
The four step preparatory process is
- vivEka (discrimination of Real from unreal).
- vairAgya (detachment or dispassion from sense objects)
- shamAdi shat sampatti ( a collective group of six behavior traits)
- mumukshtva ( intense desire to achieve permanent bliss).
Adou nitya-anitya vastu vivEkah parigaNyatE
iha-amutra phalabhOga virAgah tadanantaram
shamAdi shatka sampittih mumukshatvam iti sphuTam
- Verse 19.
The first discipline is the discrimination between the Real and unreal. The next discipline is the detachment or dispassion from the enjoyments of
the world here and after death (heaven). The third discipline is the practice of the six behavior traits - shama, dama, uparati, samAdhAna, shradda and titIksha; the fourth discipline is the intense desire for escape from this samsAra or realization of the divinity in her or him.
The order in which they are stated is also very important as we discuss below.
The first step is to understand what is Real (nitya) and what is unreal (anitya). The mind generates several thoughts. The thoughts are debated internally in the mind. Intellect helps the individual to sort out the thoughts into right (of having value) or wrong (not of any value). Accepting the useful one and rejecting the useless is the discrimination faculty (vivEka). Any entity that undergoes change in time and space is unreal or anitya. An entity that remains unaffected in time and space is permanent and is called Real or Nitya. In the context of jIva, jagat and Iswara (Brahman - Brahman is the vEdAntic word for Iswara or God, not to be confused with the four headed creator brahmA), it is our experience that jIva and Jagat are affected by space and time; so they are anitya. The shruti declares that Iswara is unaffected by time and space (we have to accept the shruti here, since we do not have the ability to determine the nature of Iswara at this time) and hence is classified as Real. This understanding that Brahman is the only Real entity and everything else is unreal is viVeka. This is the first discipline in the pursuit of realization of Divinity.
The second discipline is the detachment or dispassion from the objects around us, as these are unreal. Obviously if the seeker has firmly accepted Brahman as the Real and everything else is unreal, this leads to the second discipline of vairagya or dispassion towards those
unreal entities. This is possible only if the seeker has developed vivEka as discussed above (for example if we have the discrimination that spicy food is not good to our health, we obviously are indifferent towards spicy food and develop detachment from it). Thus vivEka leads to vairAgya.
That is why vivEka is prescribed ahead of vairgya. The dispassion in the enjoyment of karma-phala (fruits of action ) in this life and after death-heaven - is the discipline that follows from discrimination, since these are not lasting; The fruits of finite karma are also finite and return from heaven to take another life is inevitable ( kshINE puNye marthya lOkam vishanti -after the good deeds are exhausted, the individual
returns to life of mortals , gIta, 9-21). The seeker having understood the temporary nature of all kinds of happiness derived from unreal entities, has to develop dispassion from such temporary happiness.
The seeker's determination to develop dispassion is challenged continuously by the sense organs' attraction towards sense objects. The third discipline - collection of six traits - is the next step in the preparatory process to fight the challenge of the sense objects. They are
- shama - Control of the mind away from sense objects, and focusing on the goal(here Brahman).
- dama - The sense organs are directed outwards, toward the sense
objects; so they naturally seek out sense objects. Diverting the sense
organs and
organs of action away from the sense objects is dama. dama is complimentary to shama in that, success in dama enhances shama. - uparati - giving up desire oriented actions or karma; It is our common experience that we seek out activities that are helpful to us and avoid activities that are not helpful or hurtful to us. Desire oriented karma is not helpful to seeking Brahman. Therefore a seeker of Brahman has to give up desire oriented actions.
- titIksha - is the forbearance. cultivating the ability to tolerate the dualities of life, like heat and cold pain and pleasure, profit and loss, friend and foe, honor and disgrace etc. These dualities are a part of life. Spiritual discipline becomes impossible by being agitated by these dualities. BhagavAn Shankara describes titIksha wonderfully in vivEka chUDAmaNi as follows; sahanam sarva dukhAnAm apratIkAra pUrvakam chintA vilApa rahitam sA titIkshA nigadyatE - verse 24. When various kinds of pain afflict a person, ability to forbear that pain without any remedial action and remaining unworried is tiIksha.
- shraddhA - The nature of Brahman cannot be understood by inference or any physical or mental effort. Brahman has to be understood only through shruti. Shankara describes ShraddhA as unwavering faith in the statements of shruti and guru ( a true teacher will only quote from authoritative shrutis)
- samAdhAna - Seating the mind firmly in Brahman is samAdhAna. Cuddling the mind with desired objects is not samAdhAna.
are generally complementary to each other. Gaining strength in one will
enhance the ability of the other traits.
Now where to begin on the practice of these six traits? Shankara, in Bhaja Govindam, describes in very simple terms, the practice of these six traits in the following verse;
sat sangatvE nissangatvam, nissngatvE nirmOhatvam
nirmOhatvE nischala tatvam, nischala tatvE jIvana muktih
Divine company will help cultivate detachment and dispassion, detachment will eliminate delusion of mind. When mind is free from delusion, a clear
and firm understanding will prevail, which takes a person towards freedom from the cycle of samsAra.
This is the opposite (and positive) path of the gIta verse we reviewed in unit 2;
" dhyAyatO vishayAn pumsah....". In contrast to the description there of how the desires will cause a jIva to perish in the cycle of births and deaths, the divine company suggested here will lead the jIva towards freedom.
Now what is a divine company? Any congregation that praises the glory of God is a divine company like bhajan singing, vEda chanting, puja services at home or temple etc. This is where we begin the practice of the six disciplinary traits. A totally dispassionate person will accept outcomes of all actions as God's prasAd. He clearly understands that God facilitates success or failure, as stated in gIta 18.-14;
adhiShTAnam tathA kartA karaNam cha prithak vidham
vividhAscha prithak chEShTA daivam cha Eva atra panchamam
In the accomplishment of karma, the five factors determining outcome are (1) the body or seat of action, (2) the doer, (3) the various sense organs and organs of action, (4), various functions and (5) the presiding deity being the fifth.
When this conviction becomes firm, he is neither elated when success comes his way nor worries if he meets failure (na prahriShyEt priyam prApya nO dvijEt prApya cha apriyam -gIta 5-20).
The impact of desire or dispassion on an individual is illustrated in Figure 2. The desires takes the individual towards destruction, while the dispassion takes the individual towards liberation.
The infatuation with desire is interestingly described by D.V. Gundappa in
the Kagga as follows;
bEku bEkadu bEku bEkidena-ginnodu
bEkenuta bobbiDutaliha ghaTavanidanu
Ekendu rachisidanO bommanI bEku japa
sAkenipu-dendigelO mankutimma "
---I want that, I want this and I want that other
this body which hangs on to a continuous howl of wants
why ever the creator made it - this incantation (japa) of wants
when is it we would feel that we have enough - Thimma?
Such an avalanche of desires will not dry out at our will and an immediate total dispassion may not be possible; The seeker tempers his desires and incrementally practices dispassion; over a course of time, the desires subside and dispassion grows, ultimately eliminating desires and firmly established in dispassion. This incremental growth is illustrated in Figure 3; during the early years (or lives), desire and dispassion coexist, each trying to overtake the other. As he progresses in dispassion , desire is eliminated, paving the way for the next step of the discipline, the intense desire for liberation (while desire for sense objects is a road block for liberation, desire for liberation itself is not a deterrent).
The fourth and final discipline is the mumukshtva - intense desire to exit the wheel of samsAra or the cycle of birth and death. This is one desire that a seeker will find useful in pursuit (unlike all other desires of objects around us). One of Sri Ramakrishna's disciple was pursuing spiritual discipline, but he was unable to make much progress. One day he asked Sri Ramakrishna why he has been failing. Sri Ramakrishna asked him to follow him and led him in to the middle of the Ganges river. Right there with the water up to their chest level, Sri Ramakrishna placed his both hands on the head of the Disciple and pressed him into water totally immersing him. He held him there for a few seconds or so and released him. As the disciple came above water, the teacher asked the student - what was one intense thought in your mind during the time I had you in water, for which the student replied; I was intensely praying that you release your hand away from my head, so that I can breathe. Sri Ramakrishna, then replied- "your desire for mOksha should be so intense for you to make progress".
These four disciplines are the pre-requisites, called "adhikAra" for understanding and experiencing the nature of Brahman. These disciplines constantly practiced will prepare the seeker for spiritual realization. The disciplinary steps will cleanse the mind of all sense objects and prepare
the mind for the steps of sAdhana - shravaNa, manana and nidhdhyAsana.
It is possible that these debts are a sub set of prArabdha karma; therefore some or all of them may be obligatory for a person to fulfill. These debts are fulfilled by the following karma.
- Nitya karma
- Naimittika karma
- Nishiddha karma
- PrAyaschitta karma
- KAmya karma
- UpAsana.
The Nitya karma is the obligatory duties required of a person; for example, the sandhyAvandana is expected of brAhmin, kshatriya and vaishya men following initiation. Learning and teaching vEdic chantings (svAdhyAya) may also come under this category - "svAdhyAya pravachanAbhyAm na pramaditayam - don't stray from learning and chanting vEdas"
The most important benefit of Nitya, Naimittika and PrAyaschitta karmas is the cleansing of the mind. The upAsana will help focus the cleansed mind on the object of meditation. It is also our experience that when we are agitated, we cannot focus on any activity. Sri SurEshvarAchArya has very beautifully described the progression from karma level to realization level in Naiskarmya siddhi as follows;
" Nitya karmAnushTAnAt dharmOtpattih, dharmOtpattEh pApa hAnih, tatah chitta shuddhih,
tatah samsArayAthAtmya avabOdhah, tatah vairAgyam, tatah mumukshatvam, tatah
tadupAyapryEshaNam,
tatah sarva karma-tat-sAdhana samnyAsah, tatah yOgAbhyAsah, tatah
chittasyapratyak-pravaNatA,
tatah tatva samasyAdi vAkyArtha parijnyAnam, tatah avidyO-cchEdah, tatascha
svAtmani Eva avasthAnam "
- The discipline of nitya karma will create dharma, dharma destroys sins (fruits of bad deeds), This helps understand the helplessness of samsAra, this creates vairAgya or dispassion to samsAra, vairAgya leads to intense desire for liberation, leading to ways for achieving it. Then follows renunciation of karma followed by the discipline of yOga, then the internalization of the Shrutis, leading to comprehension of statements like "tat tvam asi" - you are that. The seeker thus sheds ignorance and stays firmly seated in Atman.
The value of the NItya karma lies in that it is said to reduce the impact of PrArabdha karma. If the Nitya Karma is not performed, the undesirable fruits will exert with full force. That full effect of prArabdha is called pratyavAya.
Naimittika karma is the required rituals to be performed on special events, like birth of a child, death of a parent, the annual observance of parents' shrAddha etc.
The Nishiddha karma is the prohibited karma which includes homicide, being untruthful, promiscuity and alcohol consumption etc. While the former two are legally and socially prohibited also, the latter two are socially and legally condoned, if not acceptable. However, they are detrimental to spiritual progress and are listed under Nishiddha karma.
PrAyaschitta karma is the rituals performed to reduce the severity of or eliminate the effects of bad or prohibited deeds. PrAya is austerity and chitta is firm resolution; a firm resolution to take up austerity and following thru with it is PrAyaschitta. As an example from our daily life, if one gets a ticket for traffic violation, he or she can decide to go under court supervision (attend a defensive driving class and pay up a small fee), the traffic violation will not be entered into records. This is an example of PrAyaschitta karma.
KAmya karma is the performance of rituals in anticipation ofr specific fruits of action, like to have a progeny - Dasharatha's "putrakAmeshTi yAga" or yajnya performed for rains - varshEshTi etc. Doing SatyanArAyaNa pUja desiring specific results is also of this category. Rituals performed to attain heaven after death is also KAmya karma.
UpAsana is a mind level activity - meditation or japa - focusing on a deity like Sun, Linga (a proxy for Shiva), ShalagrAma (a proxy fro VishNu), SriChakra (a proxy fro shakti). UpAsana is performed to cleanse the mind, to allow for advancement in the quest for Realization. This UpAsana is called SaguNa ( Brahman visualized with a name and form) UpAsana. Advaita posits that Brahman is NirguNa (that is with out name and form). So, how does SaguNa UpAsana supposed to help in the realization of NirguNa Brahman? This is to be understood as a temporary concession to help seekers in the disciplinary activities to cleanse the mind. Cleansing the mind is equivalent to wash out the sense objects and interaction with them from the mind and replacing those thoughts with Brahman. SaguNa Brahman upAsana may therefore be considered as an initial stage of discipline to aid the seeker in help focus his upAsana. Over time, the saguNa upAsana will lead to nirguNa upAsana.
The most important benefit of Nitya, Naimittika and PrAyaschitta karmas is the cleansing of the mind. The upAsana will help focus the cleansed mind on the object of meditation. It is also our experience that when we are agitated, we cannot focus on any activity. Sri SurEshvarAchArya has very beautifully described the progression from karma level to realization level in Naiskarmya siddhi as follows;
" Nitya karmAnushTAnAt dharmOtpattih, dharmOtpattEh pApa hAnih, tatah chitta shuddhih, tatah samsArayAthAtmya avabOdhah, tatah vairAgyam, tatah mumukshatvam, tatah tadupAyapryEshaNam, tatah sarva karma-tat-sAdhana samnyAsah, tatah yOgAbhyAsah, tatah chittasyapratyak-pravaNatA, tatah tatva samasyAdi vAkyArtha parijnyAnam, tatah avidyO-cchEdah, tatascha svAtmani Eva avasthAnam "
- The discipline of nitya karma will create dharma, dharma destroys sins (fruits of bad deeds), This helps understand the helplessness of samsAra, this creates vairAgya or dispassion to samsAra, vairAgya leads to intense desire for liberation, leading to ways for achieving it. Then follows renunciation of karma followed by the discipline of yOga, then the internalization of the Shrutis, leading to comprehension of statements like "tat tvam asi" - you are that. The seeker thus sheds ignorance and stays firmly seated in Atman.
The necessity of a Guru (Teacher).
The shrutis declare that Self realization is possible only through the support of a Guru. It is our experience that even secular knowledge requires the help of a teacher or someone of a higher knowledge to guide us in achieving the educational objective. It is common experience that a the first step of a Doctoral student is to choose an advisory committee headed by an advisor. So what to speak of Brahma vidya? The seeker during or following his preparatory stage, should approach a Guru. The role of Guru in spiritual quest is described very well in the following
verse
" dhYnamUlam gurOh-mUrthih pUjAmUlam gurOh pAdam
mantramUlam gurOh vAkyam mOksha mUlam gurOh kripA "
- meditate on the form of Guru, worship the feet of Guru; The Guru's statements are the (vEdic) mantras and his grace is the source of realization.
In approaching a Guru, the seeker follows a protocol, documented comprehensively in the shrutis;
the verse (4-34) in gIta sums it up; " Tat viddhi praNipAtEna pariprashnEna sEvaya.."
- know that in seeking a Guru, offer him salutations, offer him service and learn by questioning him; the questioning is not to challenge the Guru, but to understand through clarification. In gIta itself, Arjuna asks questions here and there when he had difficulty in understanding or doubts came up.
The sEva or service develops humility in the seeker. Learning and progress are possible only with a humble attitude. The seeker is also required to take samit - the firewood for sacrificial fire - in approaching the Guru. It is said that when ever we go to see a Guru or king or God, we should take something as an offer. When we go to temples, we offer some donation in the collection box; SudhAma took poha - beaten rice, when he went to see Sri Krishna.
The scriptures say that, if the seeker comes to an understanding that the Guru is unable to help him in the realization of Atman, he should at once reject that Guru and seek the help of a competent Guru.
Success in the Realization of Brahman.
As we may have understood by now, the path to realization of Brahman is a long and arduous path. Even with practice of the pre-requisites earnestly, and performing the obligatory duties, the difficulty of realizing Brahman is captured in the following statement of Krishna in Gita;
"Manushyanaam Sahasreshu Kaschit Yatathi Siddhaye
Yatataamapi Siddhaanaam Kaschin Maam Vetthi Tatvataha" (Ch.7-3)
- Among thousand of men/women, one will try to reach me; Among those, one in thousands will attain me
(To put it in context, there are about six billion people in the world. If we assume that one in a 100,000 people try to seek Him, which makes about 60,000 persons earnestly seek Him. If one in 100,000 of earnest seekers reach Him, then it takes a few generations before one will realize Brahman). Generally recognized realized persons in recent times are bhagavAn RamaNa maharshi (20th centuary) and Sri Ramakrishna (19th centuary)
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
The knowledge of any object is called pramA - mA is to measure and pra means very well. That is, a knowledge established by a thorough analysis and
review is pramA. The knower is pramAtru.
The object of pramA is pramEya
The source of pramA is pramANa.
As an example, looking at an ornament, the seer of the ornament is the pramAtru, the eyes seeing it is pramANA and the ornament is pramEya; the firm knowledge that the object is an ornament is pramA. pramAtru, pramEya and pramANa form a triad called tripuTi. In advaita, the three merge into one on realization - there is no bhEda or difference between the three at the supreme level. Similarly, jnyAna (knowledge), jnyAtru(knower) and jnyEya (known) form a tripuTi and a realized person will not see any bhEda among them.
The firm knowledge of different objects or issues are established differently and they are all recognized as pramANAs. They are
- pratyaksha - Direct knowledge
- anumAna - Inference by association
- upamAna - Comparison
- arthApatti - inference by removing inconsistency
- Agama - scriptures.
pratyaksha pramANa - All objects around us fall into one of the following five categories - Sound, Touch, Form, Taste and Smell. The living beings
understand these five through their five organs of knowledge respectively as follows - Ear, Skin, Eyes, Tongue, and Nose. A firm knowledge is established when the respective sense organ interacts with the object. The source of that firm knowledge, the mind in this case, is the pratyaksha pramANA. pratyaksha pramANA is possible only when the sense organ, the mind and the context of the interaction are all in perfect
condition. A knowledge established by pratyaksha pramANA under these conditions is called SamyajnyAna (samyak+jnyAna); Otherwise, even pratyaksha
may lead to mithyA jnyAna (mis-understanding) or uncertain knowledge (samshaya jnyAna).
anumAna pramANa - It is in our experience to know an object or issue by other than interaction with the sense objects. For example, if we see smoke, it is possible to infer that there must be fire; this is because, it has been our experience that, smoke is associated with fire. Thus, the ability
to know an object by its relationship with another object is anumAna pramANa. However, anumAna has to be confirmed by pratyaksha pramANa, because if we follow the smoke and visit the place of smoke, we may notice there is no fire, but the smoke coming from a tobacco product, in which case, the
anumAna pramANa, that it is fire, is negated. pratyaksha pramAna is therefore called the Nirankusha pramANa (independent pramANa), for it cannot
be negated by any other pramANa; on the other hand the anumAna pramANa can be negated by pratyaksha pramANa.
upamAna pramANa - The knowledge obtained by comparing an unknown object with that of a known object is called upamAna pramANa. For example a person knows a dog. However, he does not know a wolf. A friend tells him that a wolf looks like a dog. So, if the person spots a wolf in a forest or countryside, he identifies it as a wolf by comparing it to the knowledge of the dog he has. upa is near or close (known
in this context) and mAna is to understand; thus upamAna is knowledge by comparing to a known object. upamAna has limitations and cannot be all encompassing.
arthApatti pramANa - arthApatti is an inference from circumstances, when the presented knowledge is inconsistent with the facts. For example, a child's parents claim the child is very intelligent; however, the child fails in every grade and progresses very slowly. So one has to understand that the child is not intelligent or is dull. Such a knowledge arrived at by removing the inconsistency between the presented knowledge and facts, is called arthApatti pramANa. The legal system uses this extensively, when the statements of a witness are inconsistent with the findings, say by investigators.
Agama pramANa - This is also called shruti pramANa. When it comes to issues beyond the reach of human mind or intellect, shruti pramANa is the only
means to acquire the knowledge of that issue or object. Shruti has been accepted as the final source, since it is apourushEya - not created by any human/humans. They are the statements of Brahman, presented along with creation. The following five rationales have been offered to establish the apourushEya of Agamas.
- There is no authorship for vEdas - If there was an author, the human ego would have revealed it.
- It is so comprehensive that a single human could never have composed them.
- There are no contradictions in the shrutis - So this rules out possibility of multiple human authors; if there were multiple authors, contradictions would be the norm.
- Its spelling, punctuations and intonations have been retained over time; a human composition could not have survived in original form over time.
- There are many facts in vEdas that humans have come to recognize
and understand only in recent times; if humans had composed vEdas, they
would
have known about these facts.
Sri Krishna gives a clue to this in gIta 10-6.
"maharshayah sapta pUrve chatvArO manvah tathA
madbhAvA mAnasA jAtAh yEshAm lOka imAh prajAh "
- The seven great Rishis and four manus were born of My nature from My mind; and from them have come forth all these beings in the world.
The seven Rishis and four manus are the most evolved souls of the previous kalpa or creation. These are the mantradrishTA, to whom the vEdas were
revealed in their meditation (they were not the creators). The vEda has come to be handed down by them and maintained through generations.
Therefore issues related to dharma / adharma, nature of Brahman and nature of jIva has to be understood from the Agama only; such understanding is
Agama pramANa.
Om shAntih, shAntih, shAntih ( Om peace, peace, peace).
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations Sreeman Brahmasri Ramakrishna-
Advaita Vedanta dot org for the collection)
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