[Advaita-l] Advaita-l Digest, Vol 63, Issue 7

Michael Shepherd michael at shepherd87.fsnet.co.uk
Fri Oct 9 13:21:20 CDT 2009


I agree with Vijayaji. One need not look further than the ashrama one is
presently fulfilling.. As one who is making, and thoroughly enjoying, every
effort to fill vanaprastha with all that it should be; and bearing in mind
that it's said that babies born today are likely to live to a hundred years,
then vanaprastha could be the great widespread spiritual adventure of the
21st century. And those who then are ready for sannyasin will know the
moment if and when it comes.

Michael

-----Original Message-----
From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
[mailto:advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org]On Behalf Of
vijaya1.kambhampati at tiscali.co.uk
Sent: 09 October 2009 18:35
To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Advaita-l Digest, Vol 63, Issue 7




Hello,

I have read with interest the e-mails on sannyasa. I am certain that
Sannyasa ashrama is not meant to only to impose restrictions and
inflict difficulties on holder of that ashram. It is meant to enable
the ashram holder to obtain jnana and practical spiritual knowledge.
This may not be possible as long as one is physically or mentally
wedded to the gross world and its objects.

Some may find it possible to remove themselves physically from the
vicinity of things they were attached to in previous ashramas but for
many this detachment in later years has to be a mental one. Getting
over the attachment to gross world  is difficult even with good
intention. I have heard that the great rishi Sivananda said that
Sanyasa of renouncing the world is not for everyone because some then
only take to begging for things they once had rather than seeing beyond
into the spiritual world.

It is better for most people to cultivate detachment and compassion
within the world rather than take an extreme step and renounce the
world they have known.


Vijaya Kambhampati

>----Original Message----
>From: advaita-l-request at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
>Date: 09/10/2009 18:00
>To: <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
>Subj: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 63, Issue 7
>
>Send Advaita-l mailing list submissions to
>	advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
>
>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>	http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>	advaita-l-request at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
>
>You can reach the person managing the list at
>	advaita-l-owner at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
>
>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>than "Re: Contents of Advaita-l digest..."
>
>
>Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: shankara in bruhadAraNyaka on 'saNyAsa' (Bhaskar YR)
>   2. Re: shankara in bruhadAraNyaka on 'saNyAsa' (Pranipata)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 11:02:59 +0530
>From: Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com>
>Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] shankara in bruhadAraNyaka on 'saNyAsa'
>To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
>	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
>Message-ID:
>	<OFA3DC81F9.CA598018-ON6525764A.001C5F77-6525764A.001E7C78 at in.abb.
com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>When we talk about Janaka we should bear in mind that in the Bhagavad
Gita
>(3.20) Lord Krishna said that through action alone Janaka did Siddhi-
labh
>ie. achieved Perfection.  This, to my mind, means that Janaka had
ended up
>doing only Niskaama Karma and thus he achieved Sannyasa without
taking to
>Sannyasha. Does this not mean that despite being a Kshatriya nothing
>remained for Janaka to achieve?
>
>praNAms Sri Sunil prabhuji
>Hare Krishna
>
>Yes, this is what exactly I am trying to say here.  Kings like janaka
&
>ashvapati etc. have continued their karma due to past momentum, but
they
>did it with 'anAsakta' bhAva...And there is no doubt in janaka's
jnAna,
>coz. in mahAbhArata itself it is said that sage shuka went to janaka
for
>the brahma vidya & janaka obliged the request after testing shuka.
For
>the sake of lOka saMgraha & for saving the mankind, these jnAni-s
can
>still continue to do karma with naishkarmya siddhi.  Krishna himself
>admits it in the subsequent verse : na me pArthAsi kartavyaM trishu
>lokeshu kiMchana, nAnavAptamavAptvyaM 'varta eva cha karmaNi'.  There
is
>nothing to do for a jnAni in all the three worlds, there is
absolutely
>nothing worth attaining or otherwise for him. But still bhagavAn
himself
>continued to work & advised arjuna 'svadharme nidhanam shreyaH...
Because
>whatever shreshta does, the society would follow it, whatever
standard he
>sets up, the normal people would follow the same.  So, as long as one
is
>living in society, interacting with public, he has to 'work' with
the
>bhAva of 'yOga'.  This rule is equally applicable to both jeevan
mukta as
>well as loukika-s says Sri ParamArthananda-ji in vivekachudaamaNi
>discourse.   That is the reason why even today we could see pooja,
dhyAna,
>upAsana performed by the 'jagadguru-s' saNyAsi-s even in advaita
peeTams.
>
>Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
>bhaskar
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 2
>Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 19:13:11 +0530
>From: "Pranipata" <pranipata at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] shankara in bruhadAraNyaka on 'saNyAsa'
>To: "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta"
>	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
>Message-ID: <SNT128-DS8E0E8A062E49FCDEB68CCAFCB0 at phx.gbl>
>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>	reply-type=original
>
>Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at ...> writes:
>
>>   But in bruhadAraNyaka bhAshya, at two places shankara
>> explicitly says ONLY brahmaNa-s have the adhikAra to take saNyAsa
and
>> kshatriya & vysya-s donot have adhikAra to take pArivrAjya
saNyAsa.  Here
>> are those two instances :
>>
>> (a)  brahmaNAnAM eva adhikArO vyutthAne atO brahMaNa grahaNaM  (br.
up.
>> bhAshya 3-5-1).
>>
>> (b)  na hi kshatriya vyshyayOH pArivrAjya pratipattirasti
(concluding
>> remarks at br.up. bhAshya 4-5-15)
>>
>> I heard that sureshwara in his vArtika says all the three varNa-s
have
>> adhikAra to take saNyAsa.
>>
>> Kindly clarify how traditional vyAkhyAnakAra-s / AchArya-s would
reconcile
>> this seemingly contradictory statements??
>>
>>
>Hari Om Shri Bhaskarji, Pranaams!
>
>The interpretation of AcAryaji w.r.t. mantra portion etaM vai
tamAtmAnam
>viditvA ..  tiShThAset.(Br. 3.5.1) is:-
>
>yasmAt pUrve brAhmaNAH tam etam AtmAnam viditvA sarvasmAt
>sAdhana-phala-svarUpAt eShaNA-lakShaNAd vyutthAya bhikShAcaryaM
caranti sma,
>tasmAt adyatve api brAhmaNaH pANDityaM(AtmavignyAnaM AcAryataH
Agamatashca)
>nirvidya(niHsheShaM viditvA) bAlyena(gnyAnabala-bhAvena  sthAtum
icchhet.
>
>He also declares:
>
>w.r.t. first half, the vyutthAnam is vidhitsitam i.e.
>AtmasvarUpa-vaiparityasvabhAvatvAt vyutthAnam vidhi vAkyam eva.
Whereas
>bhaikshacaryam caranti sma is not as it is aprayojakam and is a
>sheSha-pratipatti karma.
>
>The word brAhmana in first place denotes Brahmins of yore and the
second one
>the brahmavit.
>
>The entire teaching of upaniShad/vedAnta is guiding towards AtmavidyA
and
>here shrutimAta is compassionately guiding the sAdhaka away from
>Atma-viruddhA-lakShaNa-viShaya by instructing vyutthAnam.
>
>This is the consideration for vArtikakAra to declare that here  the
prakrta
>vishaya is gnAna and hence AcArya's  meaning of brAhmaNa in the
second place
>i.e. brahmavit alone hold good and since this is not for fixing up
the
>adhikAratva for sannyAsa the first meaning Brahmins do not hold good
and
>hence this injunction i.e. eShaNAbhyo vyutthAya gnyAnabalabhAvena
>sthAtumicchhet includes kshatriya and vaishyas also.
>
>There is no contradiction between vArtikakAra and AcAryaji.
>When sannyAsa as a ashrama and its adhikAritva are taken up, which
is
>independent of AtmavidyA, may be the meaning of Brahmins for
brAhmaNas hold
>good.
>
>In Shri Guru Smriti,
>Br. Pranipata Chaitanya
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
>http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
>To unsubscribe or change your options:
>http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
>For assistance, contact:
>listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>
>
>End of Advaita-l Digest, Vol 63, Issue 7
>****************************************
>





Internet Security tips and offers from Tiscali -
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/security
_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________
Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita

To unsubscribe or change your options:
http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l

For assistance, contact:
listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org








More information about the Advaita-l mailing list