[Advaita-l] adhikAra - veda - vedAnta, a query

[V Subrahmanian]

Here is an incident recorded in the book '108 Facets of the Inimitable
Guru':  p.167 -


Quote:
His Holiness accorded high priority to spiritual aspirants. An Italian came
to
Sringeri in November 1974, hoping to receive some clarifications regarding
Gauḍapādācārya’s Kārikās on the Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad. However, His
Holiness was rather busy at that time with the śiṣya-svīkāra ceremony slated
for 11th November. Hence, it was felt that it would be impossible for the
foreign aspirant to have a private audience with His Holiness. Yet, in
response to his request, He readily consented to spare time and, with Sri
Subbaramaiya acting as an interpreter, answered his questions and resolved
his doubts. On later being asked about this, His Holiness said, “He is
sincere
and has come all the way to India to learn. It is my duty to provide him
clarifications and, hence, obligatory on me to spare time for him.”

Unquote

One can note that an Italian was accorded priority in regard to the
Gaudapada Karikas which are based on the Mandukya Upanishad.

regards
subbu

On Wed, Oct 6, 2021 at 9:31 PM Vinodh via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Thank you for the pointer, Sri Subbuji. It indeed makes sense that the
> qualification for sannyaasa is vairagya. Because sannyaasa is essentially
> the renunciation of all karma (nivrutti marga or renunciation of all
> activities) by exiting the pravrutti marga (indulgence in activities). The
> pravrutti marga and the various dharma vidhis in it are meant for the
> rightful pursuit of one's desires through appropriate activities (karma)
> that are suited to one's characteristics in this birth. However, after
> having attained the viveka (discernment) of the permanent and the ephemeral
> that all pursuits of desires are ephermeral and that the only permanent
> thing is the attainment of moksha through jnana, one attains true vairagya,
> which is essentially a disinterest towards pursuit of all karma, including
> the dharmic ones. Then, one is ready to really renounce all actions and
> become a true sannyaasi. The praisha mantra that one utters when taking up
> sannyaasa is essentially nothing more than a declaration that one is no
> longer a threat to any other being because even for sustaining one's body
> one will only use whatever comes in one's way and not actively go in
> pursuit of it; this is why a sannyaasi lives on bhiksha alone. Based on
> this understanding of sannyaasa truly means, it is not hard to see that the
> only qualification for sannyaasa is vairagya born out of viveka.
>
> Having said the above about the qualification for sannyaasa (or the
> nivrutti marga), however, the qualifications for the various dharmas in the
> pravrutti marga, like veda adhyaayana, etc., depend on the shaastras. A
> traditional matam will never endorse a blanket deviation from the shaastras
> on these matters for all. This is because these have been laid down for the
> betterment of the individual and the society, by allowing them to pursue
> dharma (a system of activities prescribed according to one's varna and
> ashrama) through various karmaanushtanas, to attain artha (material
> possessions) through these karmas, to satisfy their kamas (desires) through
> these arthas, and to eventually come to a point where one sees the
> ephemeral nature of satisfying these kamas and hence enter the nivrutti
> marga. Any deviation, as already mentioned, may be allowed by one's Acharya
> on a case-by-case basis for particular individuals, and this is purely out
> of the compassion for the these individuals who are struggling to follow
> their dharma given their current situation. This case-by-case advice on
> matters pertaining to conduct by a learned Brahmana is also the meaning of
> the Taittiriya Upanishad vakhya I had referred to earlier. However, a
> blanket endorsement like anyone can do anything they want because now the
> times are different is something a traditional matam will never support.
> The only general advice that is consistently given by all traditional
> matams is to follow the shaastras and act according to one's svadharma as
> much as possible according to one's ability.
>
> Om tat sat 🙏
>
>
>