[Advaita-l] Ritambara Prajna

[V Subrahmanian]

In the tradition of Vedanta both the paths, Yoga and Jnana, are accorded
equal status.  The reason for this is stated here in the laghu Yoga
VaasiShTha:


*“द्वौ क्रमौ चित्तनाशस्य  ***योगो ज्ञानं च राघव !

योगो वृत्तिनिरोधो हि, ज्ञानं सम्यगवेक्षणम् । 27.72

O Raghava, yoga and jnana are the two paths leading to the dissolution of
the mind; yoga consists in intercepting transformations of the mind, and
jnana in the proper viewing of things.


असाध्यः कस्यचिद्योगः कस्यचिज्ज्ञाननिश्चयः   ।

द्वौ प्रकारौ ततो देवो जगाद परमः शिवः   ।| 29.60

To some yoga is unattainable, while to others is denied the capacity to
judge aright; hence, the Supreme Lord prescribed these two paths.


Sri Vidyaranya has quoted the above verses in the Jivanmuktiviveka (chapter
ManonAshaprakaraNam).



In the 12th Chapter 'Atmananda' of the Panchadashi, Sri Vidyaranya says:

ननु प्रियतमत्वेन परमानन्दतात्मनि |
विवेक्तुं शक्यतामेवं विना योगेन किं भवेत् ||७७||(Doubt): By
discrimination one can feel that the Self is the dearest, but
  without the practice of Yoga what good is it (for liberation)
?यद्योगेन तदेवैति वदामो ज्ञानसिद्धये |
योगः प्रोक्तो विवेकेन ज्ञानं किं नोपजायते ||७८||(Reply): The goal
which is reached by Yoga can also be reached by discrimination.
  Yoga is a means to knowledge; doesn’t knowledge arise from discrimination ?
  यत् साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते |
इति स्मृतं फलैकत्वं योगिनां च विवेकिनाम् ||७९||‘The state achieved by
the Sankhyas is also achieved by the Yogis’. Thus
  it has been said in the Gita about the identity of the fruit of both Yoga and
  discrimination.   असाध्यः कस्यचिद्योगः कस्यचिज्ज्ञाननिश्चयः |
इत्थं विचार्यमार्गौ द्वौ जगाद परमेश्वरः ||८0||Knowing that for some
Yoga is difficult and for some others knowledge, the
  great Lord Sri Krishna speaks of these two paths.
 योगे कोऽतिशयस्तेऽत्र ज्ञानमुक्तं समं द्वयोः |
रागद्वेषाद्यभावश्च तुल्यो योगिविवेकिनोः ||८१|| What speciality is
there in Yoga when knowledge has been declared as common
  to both ? Both the Yogi and the Viveki (he who practises discrimination) are
  alike freed from attachment and aversion.

From the above study we come to know that both the
paths of Yoga and Jnana when practiced give the fruit
of chitta shuddhi, the presence of which is a sine qua non
for Atma Jnana to surface.  Actually the aim and process of
cleansing the mind is dvaita nivRtti.

Usually it is a combination of the two that is found
to be possible in most aspirants.  For example, pranayama,
asana, etc. help in a unique way.  Viveka is embedded
in Yama consisting of brahmacharya, asteya, aparigraha,
etc. and niyama consisting of Ishwara bhakti, shoucha,
santoSha, etc.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v





On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 10:55 AM, Ramesh Krishnamurthy
<rkmurthy at gmail.com>wrote:

> On 19 August 2011 10:33, Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com> wrote:
>
> > The function of upasana in Vedanta is not to cause or increase jnana (or
> "a
> > more subtle jnana" which is a concept that doesn't make sense.  jnana is
> > jnana is jnana) but to annhilate ajnana which allows svayamaprakasha
> jnana
> > to shine forth.  To this end an untainted intellect can be useful just as
> > nirvikalpa samadhi can be useful but my point is it is orthogonal to
> whether
> > one understands the shastra or not.
> >
>
>
> Well, the function of upAsana is only to produce an untainted intellect. In
> an untainted intellect, the mahAvAkya pramANa can perform its function of
> annihilating aj~nAna, in the sense that the pramANa is actually meant for
> dvaita nivRtti rather than advaita siddhi (as AtmA is svavamprakAsha).
>
> nirvikalpa samAdhi is certainly neither necessary nor sufficient, but it
> may
> be an extreme statement to say that it is orthogonal. After all, an
> untainted intellect is necessary for the pramANa to function. The
> yogashAstra, which culminates in nirvikalpa samAdhi, is certainly a very
> powerful tool for achieving this untainted intellect.
>
>