Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the
words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
We are now studying Aatmabodha. As
always, with each week, you are encouraged to review the previous teachings and
spend some time in contemplation of the meanings as the affect your life.
Please do consider purchasing the text. Remember, also, to recite the mangala charana before each study and
review the lessons before each new one.
The
Guru, having given instruction to the shishya to meditate (shravanam), and the
student taking on board the information (mananam), practice ensues… sitting in
meditation upon the Higher, which is called as nididhyaasana. It must flow as a
consequence of purposeful and worthy mananam; there must remain no questions or
doubts in order to process in nididhyaasana. The following two shlokas
demonstrate the flow of reasoning.
AmnSTvaÚ
me du>oragÖe;_ayady>,
Aàa[ae
ýmna> zuæ #Tyaidïuitzasnat!.33.
ingRu[ae
ini:³yae inTyae inivRkLpae inrÃn>,
inivRkarae
inrakarae inTymu´ae=iSm inRml>.34.
Amanstvaanna
me duHkha-raaga-dvesha-bhyaadayaH,
Apraano
hyamanaaH shubhra ityaadi-shruti-shaasanaat ||33||
Nirguno
nishkriyo nityo nirvikalpo niranjanaH,
Nirvikaaro
niraakaaro nityamukto-smi nirmalaH ||34||
I am not the mind; therefore I am free from sorrow,
attachment, fear and so on; because, as the scriptures say, "Self is
without praana, without mind, is pure, et cetera".
I am attributeless, actionless, eternal, formless,
desireless, (without) thoughts or modification, ever liberated and pure.
The
shishya, having taken a position of meditation, follows through on the logic
provided by both the teacher and the source of knowledge, the scriptures. This
last is important, because no matter how skilled or logical we may think
ourselves to be, there must be one accepted source of authority to which we can
refer and stabilise ourselves. Even the most experienced of orienteers carries
a map and compass!
Equally,
all seasoned travellers will have studied their maps thoroughly and committed
as much as possible to memory. This makes travelling much less cumbersome and
less prone to problems whilst on the journey.
This
is a key factor in Sanskrit tradition; indeed the whole tradition depends on
'mouth to mind'. Not rote learning. Rote learning only requires us to be able
to reproduce in the way a camera can reproduce a scene. It is two dimensional.
In learning, through repetition, the shaastras, the shishya must also inculcate
the knowledge and test it and make it their own. It is not about passing
written tests then forgetting that stuff and moving on to the next. It is about
lifting the words, juggling with them, extracting their lakshana and merging
with understanding. Becoming the knowledge, not just regurgitating it. Thus it
is three-dimensional.
Here,
then, we have an example of the shishya who has studied and disciplined
themselves sufficiently that they can be fully focused on Self-analysis. Having
made the study which informs the nature of Self, the meditator now seeks to
empty the mind, to release all joys and sorrows, which come from attachments
built through likes and dislikes; lets go of fear and other such things as
anger, hatred, jealousy. These things must be dropped, for they are ego states
and hold back union with that which does have any of these identifications. The
process is through negation of what "I" am not, then affirmation of
what "I" am.
In
successfully releasing the lower, there can be moments spent with the Higher
and it is there that the student can gain some experience of that pure,
unadulterated State of Being. There is nothing present other than
Consciousness. A glorious, shining 'Is-ness'.
Bear
in mind that this practice can take lifetimes! If in previous incarnations our
jiiva has done the prep work, then in this life itself, moksha may be ours.
However, that the goal may be not attainable in this life does not mean we
ought not to strive for it. What is more, it can transform our daily living.
The 'Is-ness' which we glimpse in our advanced meditations helps to draw us
ever onward on our spiritual quest. What, though, might be expected if we are
one of those rare and blessed individuals who can
establish fully in yoga, the union of the Self? This will be taken up next.
