[Advaita-l] 'Questioning' as a sAdhana

[V Subrahmanian]

Swami Paramarthananda during a class  mentioned that approaching the Guru
and putting questions pertaining to the Atman is a 'sAdhana' required of an
aspirant and cited the  following verse from the anubhUtiprakAsha of Swami
Vidyaranya:

In the Kenopanishat vivaraNam, Swami Vidyaranya says this:

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।  [this line is from the BG 4.34]
इत्यर्जुनाय भगवानाह प्रश्नाख्यसाधनम् ॥ २

[Seek to know the Truth through prostrations to the Acharya, posing
questions and rendering service to him.  Thus taught the Lord  the means
called 'questioning'.]

Swamiji pointed to just this verse and I am reproducing the next two to
make the context clear:

नापृष्टः कस्यचिद्ब्रूयान्न चान्यायेन पृच्छतः ।
जानन्नपि तु मेाधावी जडवल्लोकमाचरेत् ॥ ३

['Unasked let this vidyA be not given to anyone and even when
inappropriately asked this vidyA aught not to be given.  Even though the
AchArya knows, let him act like an ignoramus in the world.'  This is a norm
laid down in the scriptures.]

इति शास्त्रमवेक्ष्यात्र कश्चिच्छिष्यगुणान्वितः ।
उपसद्य गुरुं सम्यगप्राक्षीदात्मबुद्धये ॥ ४ ॥

[Knowing this [above two instruction/injunction of the shAstra, an aspirant
endowed with all the traits of a serious student approaches a Guru and
poses questions with a view to get the knowledge of the Atman.]

subrahmanian.v