[Advaita-l] adhikara for jivanamukti

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

[Was: RE:  Bajanai sambradayam]

On Fri, 22 Jul 2022, Bhaskar YR wrote:

Sorry for the late response.  During Shravan masa my abhishek takes 2-3 
hours then we had Kevda Trij, Ganesh utsava, anant choudash, sharad 
purnima etc. and I'm just finding time again now.  I've changed the title 
as the subject has changed somewhat from the earlier topic.


>>  For jeevanmukti karma tyAga (Ashrama sannyasa where sanyasi formally
>>  takes the initiation and leaves yajnOpavita, veda karma etc.) or karma
>>  phala tyAga rUpa sannyasa is must??

Neither.  Remember we had discussed that the paramahamsa is an atyashrami, 
one who is beyond the four ashramas.  What does that mean?  Well, the 
vyavaharic world is run on the basis of samkalpa (intention.)  "I will do 
this" or "I will do that."  In a vidhi or in a contract etc. Samkalpa is 
formally stated but it can also be a mere thought maybe not even a fully 
conscious one.  Even the karmayogi who says "I will renounce the fruit of 
karma" or the karma sannyasi who says "I will renounce all actions" is 
expressing samkalpa.  But for the vidvan paramahamsa there is no 
intention, actionlessness is his very nature.

Have you ever just slapped yourself in the face?  That's crazy right?  You 
never took a vow, "I will not slap myself in the face" it's just something 
that would never occur to you to do.  The paramahamsa also simply does not 
feel the need to act.

At this point, one may ask what then is the point of sannyasa ashrama.  I 
think I've given the analogy before of when the municipality is doing 
roadwork, they put orange cones all around.  This is not for the benefit 
of workers digging the hole but so that unwary passers by do not 
accidently fall in.  The sannyasi is partly apart from society but also 
partly in it.  The sadhanas he does as a Vedantin are not necessarily 
appropriate for all.  Society has temptations which may cause him to 
deviate from his sadhana.  The customs of sannyasa remind both sides of 
their difference.

>>  sannyasa only dvija-s are eligible, only brAhmaNa-s can take Ashrama
>>  sannyasa at one place and at other place both brAhmaNa & kshatriya are
>>  eligible to take Ashrama sannyasa says bhAshyakAra and dvija-s who
>>  take sannyasa are eligible for mOksha / Jeevan mukti that means moksha
>>  will become AshramAdheena unlike avidyA nivrutti and by this sUdra-s
>>  like vidhura, strees like gArgi, atyaashrami-s like raikva,
>>  vAchaknavi, kings-s like janaka are not eligible for mOksha.  Geeta
>>  bhAshya categorically insist on the importance of Ashrama sannyasa
>>  (karma tyAga) and at various other places also it has been said
>>  sannyasa is the most conducive Ashrama for doing the jnana sAdhana but
>>  I don't see bhAshyakAra anywhere saying ONLY sanyasi is eligible for
>>  mOksha/Jeevan mukti.
>  Please let me know where should I refer.


It is best to refer to history and the living tradition to see how 
eligibility is carried out in practice.  We have instances of orders who 
only accept Brahmana males but also instance of women, dvijetara etc. 
being accepted in other places.

My personal opinion is that it is highly unlikely that one who is not a 
shrotriya Brahmana male will be able to achieve jivanmukti.  But unlikely 
does not mean impossible.  Anyone who has inclinations towards moksha 
should be encouraged to atleast try and if they fail in this life, there 
will be plenty of time in future lives.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>