Advaita 1001

[Ms. Aikya Param]

Namaste mitrANi

Thank you to Rushikesh Joshi for the following:
Scholarship, and knowledge of Sanskrit is by no means necessary
for Realization. You are making a mistake if you are going by the quantity of
Sanskrit one knows or the process of obtaining Diksha !

My guru used to say that no one needed any Sanskrit to get the
knowledge nor did he or she need to study many texts. Sometimes
due to praarabdhaH someone needs only a short lesson and they
are clear about who they are and that lesson can be in their
mother tongue.  Or also some rare ones are born knowing, requiring
no particular knowledge.

Most of us need more instruction.  Even Arjuna needed 17 chapters
worth.  So on the way we may learn Sanskrit. It's handy because then you
can read on your own and not be dependent on others.

If someone wants to teach others or if that is that one's praarabdhaH,
then the Sanskrit and study of the texts as well as the subtleties
of the teaching method must be well mastered.

For some one searching for a person who would be a good teacher,
it is easier to assess whether the person has studied Sanskrit and
the upanishads and Gita than it is to assess the individual's degree
of clarity in self-knowledge.  One you yourself are clear, then you can
pick out the other jnaanis in a minute and you will have found a
buddy, shall we say? You will have found a peer and together you
appreciate the oneness pretending to be many.

I appreciate these two thoughts sent by Rushi as well:

Respect other languages and other means of Knowledge.
The whole world has given us so many great Saints and Seers.

There is a nice quote of Shankaraachaarya which you are not aware of:

|| Sampraapte Sannihite Kaale, Nahi Nahi Rakshati Dukrin Karane ||

It is extremely beneficial to study the life stories and teachings of
Saints than to induldge in proving X > Y.

Sukhi bhava!

Aikya