Pre-requisites for Realization ?

[Gummuluru Murthy]

There was considerable discussion on the List in the past few weeks
re celibacy, sannyasa-ashrama as requirements for Realization (of the
SELF). My views, expressed below, are not in response to any specific
posting.

Are celibacy and sannyasa really pre-requisites ? The most important
and the only thing, in my view, is maanasa-sannyasa (mental
renunciation). If a person has shunned the world and has taken complete
withdrawal (mentally) from all, celibacy and other things follow
naturally. A person need not be conscious of celibacy (or sannyasa) as
a requirement. If, in fact, a person regards something (anything) as
a requirement, he/she is no longer a celibate (or a sannyasi), because
he/she still mentally indulges in those worldly activities. That would
not take the person anywhere. Thus, it is counter-productive to look
for specifications for a Realized person (jeevanmukta).

I like to bring in another point on which I would like to see the
List-members' views. I submit that Realization will not come with
practice. What I mean is, that one cannot consciously practice toward
that end. A person's ajnana will be removed when he/she is ready for
it. No preparation by the individual is either required or even
possible. If a person is ready, a mental change takes place in the
person without the person's efforts. I emphasize the word "efforts"
here, because whenever an effort is made, it is a conscious act which
cannot lead to vairaagya. This may be the kartutva-bhaava which
Sri Sadananda was referring in some of his postings.

Even apeksha on mumuuksha (i.e. the desire to be freed from the
worldly miseries and the birth-death cycle) would not be there.
The person will simply be enjoying the bliss of nirlipta, completely
detached from the world. That does not mean that the person withdraws
to Himalayas. It can happen in the middle of a city while living with
wife and children. The mental peace settles of its own accord.

It is a mystery (to me) what decides when a person is ripe for
Realization. I think it is indeed what Shri Nageswara Rao calls
Shri Lalitha's grace. It ultimately is, as seen by the human mind.

Shri Shankara lists 40 criteria for a vedic student (Saadhana Panchakam).
While they are important criteria, I believe they do not lead to
Realization. If a person is ripe for Realization, we see these
qualities automatically in the person. The same with celibacy and
sannyasa. Thousands and thousands of people have followed consciously
Shri Shankara's 40 criteria for a vedic student. Thousands and
thousands have followed celibacy and sannyasa. They all have not
become jnanis. There is a verse in Bhagavad Gita which states that of
the thousands and thousands which surrender to the God, only a handful
reach the God (or words to that effect).

Regards
Gummuluru Murthy
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Adau ante ca yan nAsti vartamAnepi tat tathA !
                                GaudapAda in Mandukya kArika
What did not exist at the beginning and what is not going to exist at the
 end is as good as non-existent even in the present.
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