[Chaturamnaya] Upadesa-pancakam of Adi Sankaracharya - 5

[S Jayanarayanan]

 (Continued from previous post)
 
 
Thus, the first stage, namely, brahmacharya ASrama, enables a person to learn the vedic scheme of life, and the second stage,
namely, GrihasthASrama, enables one to get viveka, vairAgya and mumukshutvam, through svadharma anushThAna or karmayoga.
 
Then one comes to the third stage, given as, निजगृहात्तूर्णं विनिर्गम्यताम् nijagrihAt tUrNam vinirgamyatAm – May you get out of
(attachment to) your home as soon as possible.
 
tUrNam → immediately, quickly
nijagrihAt → from one’s home
vinirgamyatAm → May you get out.
 
which indicates the third ASrama, namely, vAnaprathASrama.
 
That means, actions (karma) are reduced significantly giving place to meditation or upAsanA.
 
Till then, the mind was extravert only all the time, and to come to vedAnta, one has to be more internally focused.
 
One can get in to this life style either by physically leaving one’s home and retiring to seclusion, or stay in the home
itself without any active participation in the affairs of the home.
 
सङ्गः सत्सु विधीयतां भगवतो भक्तिर्दृढा धीयताम् .
शान्त्यादिः परिचीयतां दृढतरं कर्माशु सन्त्यज्यताम् ..
सद्विद्वानुपसर्प्यतां प्रतिदिनं तत्पादुकासेव्यताम् .
ब्रह्मैकाक्षरमर्थ्यतां श्रुतिशिरोवाक्यं समाकर्ण्यताम् ..
 
saN^gaH satsu vidhIyataaM bhagavato bhaktirdR^iDhaa dhIyataam.h .
shaantyaadiH parichIyataaM dR^iDhataraM karmaashu santyajyataam.h ..
sadvidvaanupasarpyataaM pratidinaM tatpaadukaasevyataam.h .
brahmaikaaxaramarthyataaM shrutishirovaakyaM samaakarNyataam.h ..
 
To maintain the spiritual urge and develop it in the third stage, the Acharya says,
सङ्गः सत्सु विधीयतां sanga: satsu vidhIyatAm
May you have satsanga, association with spiritual seekers and wise people as much as possible, and
भगवतो भक्तिर्दृढा धीयताम्  bhagavato bhaktirdriDhA dhiyatAm – May you resort to an intense devotion to god.
 
Here bhakti means upAsanA – meditation, which always goes with Patanjali’s ashTAngayoga, which are:
1. yama: ahimsA, satyam, asteyam, aparigraha and brahmacharyam, as seen earlier.
2. niyama: saucham, santosha:, tapas, svAdhyAya and ISwara-praNidhAnam, as seen earlier. So, yama and niyama will streamline
one’s activities.
3. Asana : Will integrate the physical body through yogAsanas.
4. prANAyAma : breathing discipline
5. pratyAhAra: discipline of sense organs
6. dhAraNa ability to hold in the mind
7. dhyAna ability to focus the mind
8. samAdhi ability to get absorbed in the mind
This scheme helps to integrate the personality.
 
 
(To be Continued)
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