[Advaita-l] Teachings on the Vijaya Yatra - Sri Adi Shankaracharya’s Timeless Teachings

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sat, May 18, 2019 at 7:11 AM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> S Jayanarayanan sjayana at yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>
> If someone is wondering why HH often teaches about developing "Good
> Qualities":
>
> It is because the development of Good Qualities results in the removal of
> bad Vasanas and tendencies that obstruct
> the True Nature of the Self. Thus, the practising Saattvic tendencies
> ultimately leads to Self-Realization.
>
> The Gautama Dharma Sutra lists eight qualities called "Atma-guNAH" that
> are a pre-requisite to Moksha:
>
> https://www.prekshaa.in/eight-atma-gunas-gautama-dharma-sutras-part1
>
> https://www.prekshaa.in/eight-atma-gunas-gautama-dharma-sutras-part2
>
> 1. Dayā (Compassion)
> 2. Kṣānti (Forbearance)
> 3. Anasūyā (Lack of Envy)
> 4. Śauca (Purity)
> 5. Anāyāsa (Tranquility)
> 6. Maṅgala (Auspiciousness)
> 7. Akārpaṇya (Lack of Greed)
> 8. Aspṛha (Lack of Covetousness)
>
> In fact, Gautama goes so far as to say that the above qualities are
> practically synonymous with Moksha:
>
>   "He who is sanctified by these forty sacraments, but whose soul is
> destitute of the eight good qualities,
>   will not be united with Brahman, nor does he reach his heaven."
>   "But he who is sanctified by a few only of these forty sacraments, and
> whose soul is endowed
>   with the eight excellent qualities, will be united with Brahman, and
> will dwell in his heaven."
>

It is indeed exalting that the Gautama Dharma Sutras are actually proposing
'Brahma vaada':

If these *saṃskāra*s take place in the proper order, the performer attains
internal purity and attains the mental framework for the pursuit of
philosophy – this is a commonly accepted notion. However, Gautama
says, ‘*Yasyaite
catvāriṃśatsaṃskārā na cāṣṭāvātmaguṇā na sa brahmaṇaḥ sāyujyaṃ sālokyaṃ
gacchati*’ (GDS 1.8.25) – ‘one who has undergone all the forty *saṃskāra*s
but lacks the eight *ātma-guṇa*s will not attain either oneness with
*brahman* or proximity to the divine.’ Further, he declares, ‘*Yasya tu
khalu saṃskārāṇām ekadeśo’pyaṣṭāvātmaguṇā atha sa brahmaṇaḥ sāyujyaṃ
sālokyaṃ cagacchati gacchati*’ (1.8.26) – ‘one who has undergone but a few
of the forty *saṃskāra*s but is endowed with the eight *ātma-guṇa*s attains
oneness with *brahman* or proximity to the divine.” This is a magnanimous
pronouncement that instils hope among people of all varṇas as well as
people outside the *varṇa* framework, who might not have undergone any of
the sixteen *saṃskāra*s (let alone forty).

Shankara has expressed his immense respect to Gautama in the Brahma sutra
bhashya 1.1.4 by referring to him as 'Acharya':  तथा च आचार्यप्रणीतं
न्यायोपबृंहितं
सूत्रम् — ‘दुःखजन्मप्रवृत्तिदोषमिथ्याज्ञानानामुत्तरोत्तरापाये
तदनन्तरापायादपवर्गः’ (न्या. सू. १ ।………

Some historians have identified the Gautama of the nyaya sutras and dharma
sutras as the same individual.

regards
subrahmanian.v



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