[Advaita-l] karma for sannyasis

[Ajit Krishnan]

namaste,

After thinking it over for a few days, I finally decided to send this
reply.


> If the sanyasi understands the true purport of vaidika marga
> and there is no binding factor.



If one truly has the adhikara for sannyasa, the system makes perfect sense.
But, it is unlikely that most ochre robes monks truly have this adhikara.


> There is every danger that the sanyasi may fall into the clutches of
shAstra vAsana


Though this is true, there is a delicate balance. We advaitins are
particularly adept at playing the karma vs gyana game in favour of the
latter. However, we are prone to gloss over the fact that proper adhikara
for sannyasa requires the performance of sustained karma (be they nitya
naimittika karmas or kamya karmas for chitta shuddhi like mantra japa).
i.e. most of us pay mere lip service to the adhikara for gyana.

For 99.99% of genuine sadhakas, which is the greater danger? Prematurely
rejecting all karmas out of some misguided notion that one has chitta
shuddhi et al? Or is it shraddha jaDatva in the final stages?

The reality is that the former is the primary danger. There will come a
point when shraddha jaDatva becomes a real danger to a sadhaka, but we
e-vedantins surely over-emphasize it. And, IMO, this applies to most
current day sadhakas ... be they grihasthas or sannyasis.

Bluntly put, would the majority of people who attend vedanta camps benefit
more from 2 hours of mantra japa, or two hours of vedanta shravana? Given
that the majority of people don't engage in nityahnika or meaningful
sadhana towards chitta shuddhi ...


> Hence if one can sit and listen to the scriptures without getting
distracted, then the mind is purified enough for knowledge.


I'm sorry, but I simply cannot agree. In such self-analysis, all of us will
simply glorify our ability to pay attention, and overlook our faults.

If I may, here is an alternate measuring stick. It is not about "preventing
distraction", but about the ability to focus the mind. If one can truly
focus the mind on a mantra, the mantra devata will grace the sadhaka. So,
once a person has obtained siddhi of any mantra, through sakshatkara of the
devata (even if it is just for an instant), one is truly purified enough
for knowledge.

sasneham,

    ajit



On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 10:25 PM, Venkata sriram P
<venkatasriramp at yahoo.in>wrote:

> Namaste,
>
> //
>
> It would be quite difficult to overcome some of these pashas while
> remaining within the confines of the vaidika karma marga.
>
> //
>
> If the sanyasi understands the true purport of vaidika marga and there is
> no binding factor.
>
> As the yoga sutra says "shauchAt swAnga jugupsA parairasansargaH" ie.,
> the purpose of shaucha niyamas in karma is to induce "jugupsa" towards
> one's own physical frame.  By repeatedly following the shaucha niyamas, one
> fine day, vairagya
> would dawn with the thought that "this body can never be pure" which is
> full of
> mala, mutra etc.
>
> On the flip side of shaucha :
>
> There is every danger that the sanyasi may fall into the clutches of
> shAstra vAsana
> which is called "shraddhA jADhya".   This "shraddha jaDatva" is giving
> excessive
> importance to karma kANDa apart from bahu-shAstra grantha paTana.
>
> regs,
> sriram
>
>
>
> shauchAt swAnga jugupsA parairasansargaH
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