[Chaturamnaya] Upadesa-pancakam of Adi Sankaracharya - 12

[S Jayanarayanan]

 (Continued from previous post)
 
 
Since the subject is about  the law of adṛṣṭa-phalam, it has not yet been scientifically proved. Thus the law of karma is
accepted by us based on the śāstric teaching only. The acceptance of the law of karmā has got many advantages:
* The law of karma alone can explain the disparities in the world. They may be attributed to genetics which will lead to
the question, why should the genetics be like that? So, the law of karma helps in explaining the differences in humans or
animals etc.
* The law of karma helps in accepting some of the painful experiences for which we don’t see any immediate reason.
If one can see the reason, law of karma is not even required. Often we are not able to see  any reason; in such cases,
the law of karma will point out, that it is the prārabdha, which is the result of the past life that is fructifying now.
The effect is visible now, but the cause is not; and so, one doesn’t feel any injustice in one’s suffering.
* If one accepts the law of karma, one can take charge of one’s  future; because one knows that one alone is responsible for
the  present condition because of  past action. It is not determined by fate, or chance or god, but is determined by oneself.
Present “me” is the product of past “me”, and the future “me” will the product of the present “me”. And therefore one can
take charge of one’s future. If the law of karma is not accepted, every thing has to be explained based on chance;
and if everything is in chance, then the future also will be determined by chance, then, why should one work for at all?
It will be all chance; and, so law of karma helps one  to understand that one has  a free will to determine one’s future.
* We can introduce moral order in society only with the help of the law of karma. Because, in society, many times,
the moral, righteous, conscientious ones often suffer, while many other immoral ones seem to enjoy. When one understands
that these are driven by prārabdha, these disparities can be also appreciated. This is with respect to an ajñāni.
 
In the case of a jñāni,  the Acharya says,
प्राक्कर्म प्रविलाप्यतां चितिबलात्  — citi balaṃ means jñāna balaṃ – by the strength of knowledge, may you burn, destroy
pravilāpyatāṃ means may you dissolve – what?
prākkarma – saṃcita karmā; so, may you dissolve all the saṃcita karmā by the strength of knowledge; like a dreamer
dissolving all the dream-karmās by waking up.
 
Then what about āgāmi karmās?
नाप्युत्तरैः श्लिष्यतां –  may you not be affected by by the āgāmi karmā, because of your egolessness – ahaṅkāra abhāvāt –  just as the
lotus leaf is not affected by the water, even though it is in the midst of water.
Here  uttaraiḥ means  āgāmi karmābhiḥ. śliṣyatāṃ — may you not be tainted.
Thus, saṃcita is burnt; and one has insulated from āgāmi also. The karmā will produce phalam in the relative world, but this
jnani will not be wet by that. Then what about the prārabdha?
 
प्रारब्धं त्विह भुज्यताम् — may prārabdha be experienced  by you in this janmā itself; and so, the  experiences of pain and pleasure will be
there,  but the jñāni does not claim them as his experiences because, he does not consider himself as the secondary
illuminator – ahaṅkārā, but owns up his nature of primary illuminator, the ātmā,  in front of which awareness all these
experiences will appear insignificant.
 
So,  a jñāni also goes thru the same type of problems, but because of his higher vision, the sufferings lose their dimension,
and appear very small. Upto this is jīvan muktiḥ – now, the author talks about videha muktiḥ.
 
अथ — there after; i.e when the prārabdha has been exhausted,
परब्रह्मात्मना स्थीयताम् — may you remain eternally as param brahma. Because, what has gone is ahaṅkāra – the mind, body complex.
But jñāni is not the ahaṅkāra, but  is the primary illuminator, Brahman. Just as after breaking a pot, still the space
continues; similarly, after the death of the jñāni’s body, the primary illuminator, ātmā, continues. The difference is,
previously when the pot was around, the space was given a name, pot-space; when the pot is broken, only the name is
withdrawn – but space remains. Similarly, when the body is around, the ātmā is given a specific name,  so-and so – title etc.,
and when that is gone, that name is withdrawn – but ātmā continues. Therefore the Acharya says, parabrahmātmanā sthīyatām –
may you remain for ever as Brahman. This is videha muktiḥ, which is the final accomplishment.
 
To summarize, the Acharya talked about  four stages –
1. Brahmacarya-āśrama   –    veda adhyayanam
2. Gṛhasta – āśrama –   karmayoga
3. Vānaprastha-āśrama – upāsana, and
4. Sanyasa-āśrama – śravaṇam-manana-nidhidhyāsana - jñānayoga
 
Once a person goes thru all these four stages, he attains jīvan muktiḥ and videha muktiḥ. Whether a person physically goes
through stages are not, one has to mentally go through.
 
 
Thus is concluded the sādhana pañcakam or upadeśa pañcakam of Adi Sankaracharya.
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: </archives/chaturamnaya/attachments/20160409/f4e4e1a6/attachment.html>