[Advaita-l] Ramana's method

[V Subrahmanian]

On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Suresh <mayavaadi at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> Thanks for all the insights. It will take some time to study them
> carefully, but in the meantime I have a doubt related to this. This has
> been gnawing at me for a long time.
>
> In dualistic traditions, god vision is the objective, and even in Buddhism
> the seeker looks out for jhanas and such experiences. So my question is,
> Must something extraordinary happen in an advaitin's life to confirm that
> his advaitic realization is genuine, perhaps the advaitin equivalent of a
> jhana? If an advaitin has no such experience all his life (only theoretical
> understanding), does that mean his knowledge will not liberate him at
> death, and that he will have to take birth again?
>
> Suresh
>

In Advaitic tradition there is the requirement of what is known as
'akhanDAkAravRtti' which is said to be a kShaNa-trayAtmikA-vRttiH.  It will
arise, destroy avidyA and will also be destroyed.  Shankara refers to this
in the Mandukya Upanishad bhashya for the mantra no. 7:

 ज्ञानस्य द्वैतनिवृत्तिक्षणव्यतिरेकेण क्षणान्तरानवस्थानात् । अवस्थाने
चानवस्थाप्रसङ्गाद्द्वैतानिवृत्तिः ।
तस्मात्प्रतिषेधविज्ञानप्रमाणव्यापारसमकालैवात्मन्यध्यारोपितान्तःप्रज्ञत्वाद्यनर्थानिवृत्तिरिति
सिद्धम् ।

//...for knowledge (as a mental state) does not continue for a second
moment following that of the cessation of duality.  Should it, however,
continue, it will lead to infinite regress resulting in non-cessation of
duality. // (Translation by Swami Gambhirananda)

Shankara has talked of 'anubhavajnAnam' in a number of places.  One
instance, for example, is the Brahma sutra bhashya 4.1.2 (लिङ्गाच).:

तस्मात्सर्वदुःखविनिर्मुक्त एकचैतन्यात्मकः अहं इत्येष *आत्मानुभवः*    ।

न च एवं आत्मानं *अनुभवतः *किञ्चितन्यत्कृत्यं अवशिष्यते ।

तथा च श्रुतिः ऽकिं प्रजया करिष्यामो येषां नोऽयमात्मायं लोकःऽ (बृ. ४.४.२२)
इति आत्मविदः कर्तव्य अभावं दर्शयति । स्मृतिः अपि ’यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव
स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः    ।

आत्मन्येव च संतुष्टस्य कार्यं न विद्यते’ (गी. ३.१७) इति    ।

यस्य तु न एषः अनुभवो द्रागिव जायते तं *प्रत्यनुभवार्थ* एव आवृत्ति अभ्युपगमः
।


The Anandagiri gloss for the above says, among other things:
तस्मादेवानुभवात्कृतकृत्यता इत्यत्र मानमाह - तथा चेति । [From that
anubhava/experience alone will there be kRtakRtyatA (fulfillment/
attainment of the genuine state of 'nothing else need be done') arises for
which the proof/pramANa is the Gita verse: 3.15 cited in the bhashyam
above)


You can see the translation in Sw.Gambhirananda's book, at the concluding
portion of the bhashya for this sutra.  He uses the word 'realization'.


Regards,

subrahmanian.v


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