oneness with brahman

[Vidyasankar]

>>After this, there has to be mumukShutva - not only detachment but a wish
to
>>be totally liberated from transmigration.
>
>I was under the impression that mumukshutva usually goes hand-in-hand with
>(or is a prerequisite of) vairagya. Isn't vairagya itself developed due to
a
>desire to be totally liberated from the birth cycles?
>

Not necessarily. vairAgya, or a feeling of detachment, can develop due to a
variety of reasons, e.g. loss of a loved one, disappointment over not
getting something that was deeply desired, etc. This feeling, if it is only
fleeting, can easily be replaced by others, e.g. rage, grief, a desire for
revenge, hate, etc.

>>vairAgyaM, tato mumukShutvaM, tatas sarva-karma-tat-sAdhana-saMnyAsas,
>>tato yogAbhyAsas, tatash chittasya pratyak-pravaNatA, tatas tattvamasyAdi
>>vAkyArtha pariGYAnaM ...
>
>Here, what is the meaning of "pariGYAnaM"? does it mean repeated meditation
>("parisamkhyanam"?)?

No. If I understand our authors right, it refers to complete understanding
of what is meant by tattvamasi. Repeated meditation, as a japa, is not
going to reveal this. When Sankara teaches parisaMkhyAna in the
Upadesasahasri, what he refers to is not repeated meditation on tattvamasi,
but a process of distinguishing between nitya and anitya, deha and Atman,
indriyas and Atman, etc.

>but isn't a complete stilling of the modifications of the mind a
>prerequisite for advaita-siddhi? Or is this a later step?
>

So long as the mind exists, it will continue to undergo transformations,
for it is in its very nature to do so. In the bRhadAraNyaka commentary,
Sankaracharya advises a constant recollection of the Atman (Atma-viGYAna-
smR^iti-saMtAna) as a means to check the activity of the mind. Later
teachers like Vidyaranya and Madhusudana Saraswati talk of the complete
destruction of the mind (mano-nAsha) as concommittant with (not a
prerequisite for) advaita siddhi.

Best wishes,
Vidyasankar