Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
Antaranga saadhana - inner fine-tuning. If we are to hit a bullseye on a target some distance away, we need first to have a bow, then an arrow, we must know how to maintain them for optimum performance, we must have practiced regularly so that we are familiar with the tools and we must have a focus on that distant mark which is unwavering. The saadhana chatushtaya are the tools provided for us to prepare and adjust our focus. What is to be added?
vedaNtE> ïv[< kuyaRNmnn< caeppiÄiÉ>,
Yaaegena_ysn< inty< ttae dzRnmatmn>.17.
vedaantaiH shravanam kuryaan-mananam chopapattibhiH,
Yogenaabhyasanam nityam tato darshanamaatmanaH ||17||
One should listen to the Upanishads and do reflection with rational analysis.
Practice is to be done always with yoga. Then there arises the vision of the Self.
First; attend discourses and satsangs.
Second; the three basic requirements of the shishya who is intent on moksha; shravanam, mananam and nididhyaasanam. Listen with intent and focus, committing to memory and imbibing as much as one can from the teacher as to the nuance and balance of the texts. Here we are told that the Upanishads are the ones to be paying attention to. Later, when sitting alone, ponder deeply and meaningfully on what has been read, heard and discussed in the discourse.
Third; practice. Nothing of any value in life is ever achieved without continual attempts to improve one's skills in any given field. This takes regular and dedicated effort. Only through this can one hope to become at all proficient. In the case of the Vedantin, the aim is to attain Realisation of Self.
Why the Upanishads? There are many, but even if one only reads the ten or eleven which have been much discussed by all the great masters, and that too in the correct order, it will be found that each lifts one up a rung, spiritually speaking. All of life's experience can be found in them and the methods of rising above samsaara, of returning to Om, are to be found in these texts. As to the 'rational analysis'; Vedanta doesn't want sheep and blind followers. Realisation doesn't just arrive nor can it be given. It is something to be worked for. Each must do this for themselves. That too, it must be done in the manner described within the shaastra itself; with a clear mind, quiet mind, questing mind. A mind tamed from rampaging thoughts. It is a scientific approach to spirituality. Test and retest each theory until one has become settled that the ancient teachings are as fresh today as they ever were, as applicable as they ever were and as needed today as they ever were.
The 'yoga' referred to in this case, then, is nididhyaasanam. Meditation takes practice. To remove the distractions - the obstacles - of indulgences, false logic, fancies and nonsense. To absent the thoughts and sit in the inner emptiness of oneself is to be open to rising to communion with the Greater Self. The body becomes nothing, the world is nothing. Self alone Is.
