[Advaita-l] Swarupa Ashtakam - 3

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Continued from previous post)
 
 
Verse 1
तपोयज्ञदानाभिः शुद्धबुद्धिर्विरक्तो नृपादेः पदे तुच्छबुद्ध्या ।
परित्यज्य सर्वं यदाप्नोति तत्वं परं ब्रह्म नित्यं तदेवाहमस्मि ॥
 
Through the practice of Tapa (austerities), Yajna (regular worship of Isvara) and Dana(charity) one who attains a pure mind (Shuddha buddhih) and even ends up
rejecting (Viraktah) the status of a king (Nrpade pade) as insignificant (Tuchha) and develops a sense of detachment (Parityajya sarvam) that I am that eternal
supreme Brahman.
 
Yajnam, Danam and Tapas are primary part of Karma Yoga. Here, Yajnam means worship of the Lord. In the beginning phases, though one might indulges in these
activities for self-serving purposes, eventually these very same activities help attain purity of the mind. To illustrate this point further, Lord Krishna Himself
in the Bhagavad Gita talks about an Artha Bhakta for whom God is the means and world is the end although He does not deride him. But on the other hand,
if we continue to remain Artha Bhakta for long, there will be spiritual stagnation. Similarly, everyone starts as a consumer of resources, contributing
very little to the world in return. But one must outgrow this tendency and start giving more and more to the world, taking lesser and lesser from it in return.
Danam, it is said, is the stepping stone to Tyaga and Tyaga, to Moksha. Next comes Tapas, which in this case, denotes Upasana Yoga. By keeping the
Shanta swaroopi Lord in our minds for ten mins at least every day, the guna will tend to rub off on us as well. By keeping at these, we will gradually attain
Chitta-shuddhi or purity of mind. What are the indications of a pure mind? The presence of Viveka (the realization that the world is Anitya and only Brahman
is Nitya) and Vairagya (the tendency to exist in and serve the world, but not lean on it) Only by Chitta-shuddhi can one reach a state of mind evolved enough
to reject even kingship and develop a sense of detachment towards the world. This stage is called Jnana Yogyata Prapti – which means that the spiritual seeker
is now fit to attain Jnana.
 
Verse 2
दयालुं गुरुं ब्रह्मनिष्ठं प्रशान्तं समाराध्य मत्या विचार्य स्वरूपम् ।
यदाप्नोति तत्वं निदिध्यास्य् विद्वान्परं ब्रह्म नित्यं तदेवाहमस्मि ॥
 
Having approached a Guru who is compassionate and abides in his real nature, revere the liberating wisdom received. The revelation and wisdom thus attained
by meditation on reality, I am that eternal supreme Brahman.
 
Karma Yoga only converts a person from being impurely ignorant to purely ignorant. It does not give Moksha. After purity of mind is established through
Karma Yoga, the next step would be to systematically study Vedantic scriptures for a length of time under a competent guru who himself has been a Shishya
under another such guru. This exercise is Shravanam. If Ahamkara and Mamakara remain in the mind, the mind is pre-occupied and shallow and not available
for Shravanam. Hence it is important to renounce our so-called ‘possessions’ including the mind and body and offer everything to the Lord – which is achieved
through the Karma Yoga stage. Once Ahamkara and Mamakara disappear, mind opens up for Jnana.
 
One should also note that when materialistic knowledge itself can take up to twenty or thirty years to gather, a profound subject like Vedanta cannot be
grasped through a crash course. It requires time and effort. Following Shravanam, comes Mananam – the conviction that follows the academic knowledge gained.
It indicates an earnest dialogue between the guru and Shishyaand clearing of doubts, if any.
 
Vedanta, in essence, addresses three fundamental questions:
(1)   Who am I and what is my purpose?
(2)   Why does the world exist and why are there so many problems and suffering?
(3)   Does God exist?
 
And by no means, do these answers reveal themselves instantly. It requires study and tutelage under a compassionate guru who is kind enough to accept the
spiritual seeker as a disciple and who himself abides in his real nature of Shantam and Anandam.
 
 
(To be Continued)