jnani's prarabda!

[K. Sadananda]

>         Ok, it is my feeling (and I may be very much wrong) is that the
> Brahmajnana is *everyone's* natural state. Should the death of
> the body be dependent on jnana ? I am curious to know what the advaita
> position on this issue is.
>

Here is my two cents on the topic:

To understand this, the meaning of Jnana and self realization should be clear.
Self realization involves realization that I am not the upadies but the all
pervading consciousness.   When that realization takes place., obviously there
is no more misconceptions that I am only these particular upaadies.  There is no
more an individual, jeeva left, even for any identification that it is "he" as a
Jnani and that he has come down to teach (after or before 21 days!) etc.  Even
to say that there is some prarabdha that has to be exhausted also is meaningless
since there is no one to exhaust it.  It is like letter posted to a deceased,
since the jeeve accountable to the karma is no more there and has transcended
the very time concept within which the action and result or cause and effect
reside.  To say that Jnani has some Praarabda to exhaust is meaningless and
contrary to self realization concept.  Therefore to whom does the karma belong?

{In India there is also a notion that the efect of the bad karmas go to those
who accuse and good karmas go to the those who adore the realized soul.  It is
understandable that those who can see bad even in such mahaatma obviously
indulge in such bad qualities only and those who adore the good ness of the
mahatma will themselves evolve in gaining that goodness.  That is one of the
reasons why one should not abuse a mahaatma and the glory of Indian tradition is
that they always are trated with respect as Maharajas or Bhagavans.}

Then who teaches - ajnanai since Jnani is gone - That sounds ridiculous. And if
so why he teaches and it is whose Praarabda that keeps the upaadies going?

One way to look at.

In the birth of the jeeva with a particular upaadies (physical body, etc.)  -
several factors enter into picture - 1) the jeevas individual Praarabda karma
(2) the samishTi Praarabda karma ( this includes to start with, karma of the
parents - after all they have to suffer or enjoy the off-spring!, the spouse and
the rest of the nine yards that are required for the jeeva to exhaust his
vasanas, (3) as well as the karma of the matter too if one can call it that -
that which demands a particular matter and not any other matter that forms the
basis of his/her upaadies.) - (This is how one explains why one stone becomes a
idol for God and receive worship while the other one becomes a stepping stone to
do that worship)

When the Jeeva realizes -  he is no more,-  the individual karmas all including
have no more base as the jeeva has transcended the cause-effect relationships.
Now 'he' is Brahman - if we want to call it.  That something  descends or
avatarati, etc., concepts can now be seen.  It is the Brahman, no more the old
jeeva, that utilizes the readily available upadies for the samishTi Praarabda -
SamishTi Praarabda now includes all the desires of the disciples who are eager
or ready to receive the knowledge from such realized Guru   The nature and the
limitations of the existing upaadies; these include the body, the mental
capacities and the ability to communicate the knowledge, and the training that
the upadies have received when the previous jeeva was residing that is what
course of saadhana the pre-realized soul had used,  etc. will determine the type
of the disciples who can get benefit from that Guru.  You can see this clearly
from the type of disciples that went to Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta
Maharaj ( the author of I am that) and those that got benefit from Vivekananda
or Swami Chinmayananda and that who are approaching Amma or Satya Sai Baba etc.
It is the samishTi Praarabda as well as the Praarabda of the matter that formed
the upaadies, dictate the remaining life trajectory of those upadies till the
upadies become useless.   In one sense,  the almighty Lord, Iswara,  is most
efficient and highly Utilitarian.  He tries to utilize the resources readily
available than to create a new one in order to satisfy the needs of the samishTi
vaasanas.
Thus it is the samishTi that dicate the continuation of that particular upaadi.
That makes clear the Avataara concept too - Krishna's declaration yadaa yadaa hi
dharmsya .etc..

One can easily understand now why only those disciples who can surrender to that
teacher alone can see clearly the Bhagavan in that Guru.  - That is why Guru
Brahma  guru Vishnu guru devo Maheswarah, guru saakshaat para Brahma, tasmai Sri
gurave namah. is not just a praise but an acknowledgment.

Hari Om!

Sadananda