[Advaita-l] Vikalpa, Savikalpa, and Nirvikalpa

[Bhaskar YR]

sAshtAnga praNAms Sri Vidya prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Here we go again. Please name the sources who you say INVARIABLY
prescribe yoga and dhyAna and samAdhi for ALL vedAnta jijnAsu-s and
mumukshu-s. 

>  prabhuji, as you know some prakaraNa grantha-s and advaita Acharaya-s 
dialogues with their disciples would prescribe and insist for  the 
requirement of experience in samAdhi (the yOgik flavoured asaMprajnAtha 
samAdhi like nirvikalpa samAdhi).  I dont have to name those writings 
since your goodself knows the source and we have discussed about it as 
well earlier. 
 
In fact, if you agree that most people are madhyama-manda-adhikArin-s,
then I would suggest reading the bhAshya on the eighth chapter of the
gItA. Here, dhAraNA yoga is described in detail and explicitly prescribed
for such adhikArin-s. Needless to say, there is a heavy dose of what you
would call pAtanjala ashTAnga yoga mArga in this bhAshya chapter. 

>  prabhuji I think we have discussed about this earlier during viveka 
chUdAmaNi discussions. ( I may be wrong, but I remember somewhere!!) I 
think we have agreed at that point of time that it talks about 
yOgAbhyAsi-s krama mukti which can be achievable after yOgi's deha tyAga, 
tyajan dehaM yOgiH then he would achieve parama gati or something like 
that says krishna (exact verse of this chapter I can provide you on Monday 
prabhuji) and I think in this chapter only Krishna eulogizes the  yOgi and 
says he would achieve the superior sthAna (status) that cannot be achieved 
through vedAdhyayana, yajna & tapas. But can we compare this krama mukti 
of yOgi-s with shAstra vAkya janita sadyO mukti prabhuji?? If we say 
yOgAbhyAsa is an another way to reach the parama gati, then antya 
pramANatva of shAstra-s, ekameva jnAna mArga would suffer from this 
alternative yOgAbhyAsa method. 


One can talk all one wants about jnAna sAdhana, but if one shies away from
the explicit advice given by bhagavatpAda for the appropriate kind of
adhikArin, for fear of being labeled a yogin who is not a vedAntin, then
at a personal level, one is making no progress in jnAna mArga.

>  For manda &madhyamAdhikAri-s shankara recommends, vibhuti upAsana, 
archana, IshwarArpita karma yOga/ phala etc. I dont think jnAna mArga 
which has the sAkshAt sAdhana-s such as shravaNa etc. can be linked with 
patanjali's ashtAnga yOga which is anyway dvaita shAstra and sAdhana-s 
prescribed there in that system is quite appropriate for the yOgAbhyAsi-s. 
 But vedAntins too can adopt some general anga-s of ashtAnga yOga in the 
spirit of paramataM apratishiddham anumataM bhavati, like yama niyamAdi 
till pratyAhAra to gain chitta svAstya & chittaikAgrata to do shravANAdi 
direct sAdhana-s .  But as you know shankara himself says chitta vrutti 
nirOdha is not mOkshOpAya or mOksha sAdhana.  na tu brahma vijnAna 
vyatirekeNa anyat mOksha sAdhanaM avagamyate, as you know, it is the 
declaration of bhagavatpAda in bruhadAraNyaka immediately after his vAkya 
on 'smruti saNtAna'.

Your humble servant
Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar