[Advaita-l] Mandukyopanishad for the Sanyasis

[Venkata sriram P]

Namaste Sunilji,

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I wish you added the case of King Janaka to your discussions as to how Adi sankara 
explained that. Regards,
 
Sunil KB

//

Don't know how the Sankara explained.  But Shri Appayya Dikshitar in his work
"siddhAnta lESha saMgraha" explained this aspect in the chapter 
"sanyAsasya vidyOpayOgitva nirUpaNaM".  
 
Dikshitar says that Janaka might have taken sanyAsa in his previous janma
and hence the "vastu prApti" is in grihasthAshrama.  It is apUrvata phala siddhi. 
That said, for shravana, sanyAsi is the mukhya adhikAri and grihastha is the
gauNa adhikAri.  If the pre-requisite to study upanishad is sanyAsa, then
there should only be a vividisha sanyAsi.  But sastra do mention about
vidwat sanyAsa ie., the sanyAsa after the vastu prApti (obviously in grihasthAshrama).
Now, why this sanyAsa because again the family members would observe
shrAddha karma.  
 
There is one beautiful verse by Kalidasa that "yogena ante tanuH tyajatAm". 
So, how the jiva sheds his mortal coil and passes away is decided by the
above verse of Kalidasa.  
 
If the grihasthA achieves the yOga siddhi and sheds his mortal coil
through prANAyAma and by raising the kuNDalini pierces the brahmarandhra
(also called as kapAla mOkSha), such a grihasthA never returns back
to this martya lOka.  
 
And there are the grihasthAs who having undergone the shravaNa, manana
have shed their physical bodies through brahma randhra bhEdana.  
There is no pratipandhana for mOkSha for these grihasthAs.
 
regs,

sriram