[Advaita-l] Pitupaksha questions

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 1:44 PM, Srikanta Narayanaswami <
srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Apologies, correcting typo in last line. Pls read it as:
>
> So moving up to moksha is by performing karma perceiving akarma in it & not
> by giving up karma selectively. If at all karma is to be given up,
> sarva-karma-sannyAsa is the way.
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________________________
> As an addendum to my previous posting,I would like to say that,if we
> perform karmas again that some dosha will accrue,then we will be back to
> square 1.What is required is to come out of the loop(just as in a aubroutine
> loop in a software program),and exit from it,rather than keep on rotating in
> that cycle.The Mundakopanishath sruthi "Parikshya lokan karmacitan Brahmano
> nirvedamayannastkrtah krtena!
> tadvijnanartham sa Gurumevabhigacceth
> samitpanih shrothriyam Brahmanishtam!!
> Sri.Shankara,s commentary also substantiates this.This is the starting
> point of Vedantha,the jnanakhandha and the ending of karma khandha.
> N.Srikanta.
>

That mantra of the Mundakopanishat is only about kAmya karma.  The vedantic
position about vihita nitya karma is not covered by the above mantra.  This
category of karma has to be performed even by a mumukShu, if he is a
non-sannyasin.  Even for sannyasins various sampradayas have certain types
of rituals.  When Shankara says that even a jnani, if he remains a
grihastha, performs his Ashramochita karma, where is the question of the
Scripture and Shankara asking one to give up that kind of karma?  'shrAddha'
comes under 'deva pitR kAryAbhyAm na pramaditavyam'.

कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैः इन्द्रियैः अपि |*
योगिनः **कर्म कुर्वन्ति **संगं त्यक्त्वा*, *आत्मशुद्धये || ५.११

The engagement of a mumukshu in vihita karma as karma yoga will not put him
in further samsara.  Shankara has said that the greatness of karma yoga is
such that: karma which is by nature binding becomes releasing in nature when
performed as karma yoga.

Regards,
subrahmanian.v
*