Poojya Sri Anubhavananda Saraswati

POK Vivekachooddamani Talk 5 17th October, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1VKh6e08fQ

Sloka 26

सर्वदा स्थापनं बुद्धेः शुद्धे ब्रह्मणि सर्वदा । तत्समाधानमित्युक्तं न तु चित्तस्य लालनम् ॥ २६ ॥

sarvadā sthāpanaṃ buddheḥ śuddhe brahmaṇi sarvadā | tatsamādhānamityuktaṃ na tu cittasya lālanam || 26 ||

Samaadhana or one-pointedness is that condition when the mind is constantly engaged in the total contemplation of the ever-pure. Brahman; and it is not gained through any curious indulgence of the mind.

· Samadhaana is not about accepting your circumstances which is a no choice situation. Samadhaana is when you are at peace inspite of your circumstances. There is no reaction of any sort to them but complete acceptance

· Result of all Samadhana, a mind at peace, so ready for work on hand.

· At all times in peace by going beyond desires

Sloka 27

अहंकारादिदेहान्तान् बन्धानज्ञानकल्पितान् । स्वस्वरूपावबोधेन मोक्तुमिच्छा मुमुक्षुता ॥ २७ ॥

ahaṃkārādidehāntān bandhānajñānakalpitān | svasvarūpāvabodhena moktumicchā mumukṣutā || 27 ||

Mumuksutva is the burning desire to free oneself, by realizing one‘s true Self—from all bondages from that of egoism to that of identification with the body—which are bondages imagined due to ignorance.

· The next qualification is Mumukshutvam.

· Mumukshutva desire for moksha, deep desire to be free from ego, body identification, born out of incomplete knowledge.

· We must know that we are in bondage

· Liberation is needed from ignorance, wrong notions. Can be done only by recognising our real nature. Question shouldn’t be why, but who is disturbed.

· I – only the relational personality, not the real

· Ahankaar adidehantat – There is no need to destroy our body, the world or anything else to discover the Self. We only need to remove wrong notions about them from our mind. This is Mumuksha.

· This can be obtained by recognizing our real nature. Am I the role or the swaswarupa that I am.

· Take the example of a parrot who gets trapped by a hunter. A rod inserted into a tube is placed beside some bird feed. A parrot flies down to perch on the rod and peck at the food. Due to the weight of the bird, the tube around the rod shifts and the bird is suspended head down. The parrot holds on tightly to the tube fearing that it will fall if it lets go, not realizing that it has the ability to fly away. The hunter capitalizes on this fear, captures the parrot and cages it. Similarly humans are afraid to let go of the world not realizing that our true nature is that of complete freedom.

Sloka 28

मन्दमध्यमरूपापि वैराग्येण शमादिना । प्रसादेन गुरोः सेयं प्रवृद्धा सूयते फलम् ॥ २८ ॥

mandamadhyamarūpāpi vairāgyeṇa śamādinā | prasādena guroḥ seyaṃ pravṛddhā sūyate phalam || 28 ||

Even though slight or moderate, this longing for liberation may bear fruit through the grace of the Guru and through detachment, calmness of mind etc.

· Even if currently mumukshutvam is Manda or madhyama but if Vairagya + 6 wealths are strong then we can still make good progress and mumukshutva will increase.

· Manda mumukshutva – will pursue later. Let me enjoy now

· Madhyama mumukshutva – will pursue realization later after retirement. It is important but I will do it after all my responsibilities of the relative world are completed

Sloka 29

वैराग्यं च मुमुक्षुत्वं तीव्रं यस्य तु विद्यते । तस्मिन्नेवार्थवन्तः स्युः फलवन्तः शमादयः ॥ २९ ॥

vairāgyaṃ ca mumukṣutvaṃ tīvraṃ yasya tu vidyate | tasminnevārthavantaḥ syuḥ phalavantaḥ śamādayaḥ || 29 ||

Calmness and other practices have their meaning and they bear fruit indeed, only in one who has an intense spirit of renunciation and yearning for liberation

· All the four qualifications are working on the mind, and simultaneously.

· Vairagya (dispassion) + Mumukshutvam (intense desire for Liberation) + Samadhi shadsampatti(6 fold factors) = work on the mind.

· Vairagya takes away your mind and body from desires of this world and other worlds, Samadhi Shadsampatti work on the mind to withdraw from the relative world, Mumukshutvam causes the mind to be solely focused on the path of Self realization

Sloka 30

एतयोर्मन्दता यत्र विरक्तत्वमुमुक्षयोः । मरौ सलीलवत्तत्र शमादेर्भानमात्रता ॥ ३0 ॥

etayormandatā yatra viraktatvamumukṣayoḥ | marau salīlavattatra śamāderbhānamātratā || 30 ||

Shama etc., become as ineffectual as a mirage in the dessert in him who has a weak detachment and yearning for feedom

· If we are not fully convinced then we wont be sincere in our practice

· If we have the notion that we are practicing Shadsampatti which will liberate me, that is an illusion. It is like a mirage

· Whether we are bound to a steel chair or A golden chair, we are bound

· The maturity and result of Vairagya (dispassion) is Viveka (discrimination) which is the fourth qualification

Sloka 31

मोक्षकारणसामग्र्यां भक्तिरेव गरीयसी । स्वस्वरूपानुसन्धानं भक्तिरित्यभिधीयते ॥ ३१ ॥

mokṣakāraṇasāmagryāṃ bhaktireva garīyasī | svasvarūpānusandhānaṃ bhaktirityabhidhīyate || 31 ||

Among the instruments and conditions necessary, for liberation, bhakti alone is supreme. A constant attempt to live up to one’s own Real Nature is called single-pointed devotion.

· More important than all these for is bhakti. Because when we love everything happens automatically. Actions done with love is karmayoga. Some say Bhakti is enquiry about the self, swaswaroopa.

· For the attainment of liberation, we need the above 4 qualifications. There is Bhakti which is even more important than the other 4

· It is relatively easier for women to have vairagya in the matters of their families. This is because of the degree and intensity of love and commitment that they have towards them. One must have similar dedication towards Self Realization

· Action done with love is Karma

· Karma, Yoga, Upasna and Jnanam if done with Love and Bhakti lead to Knowledge of the Self

· Upasana/devotion should not be a performance

Sloka 32

स्वात्मतत्त्वानुसन्धानं भक्तिरित्यपरे जगुः । उक्तसाधनसंपन्नस्तत्त्वजिज्ञासुरात्मनः उपसीदेद्गुरुं प्राज्ञ्यं यस्माद्बन्धविमोक्षणम् ॥ ३२ ॥

svātmatattvānusandhānaṃ bhaktirityapare jaguḥ | uktasādhanasaṃpannastattvajijñāsurātmanaḥ upasīdedguruṃ prājñyaṃ yasmādbandhavimokṣaṇam || 32 ||

Other say that Bhaktimeans a constant enquiry into the Real Nature of one’s own Self….one who has the above mentioned qualifications and and is anxious to know the Self must ,therefore, devotedly serve a Teacher, well-established in knowledge, for redeeming himself from bondage

· Enquire into self

· Bhakti is swaswaroopa anusandana or inquiry into the self. Devotion to the Divine is devotion to the Self. Self = Divine

· A seeker with the above qualifications + Bhakti must approach an illumined guru to remove himself from bondage

· How to approach the teacher:

· First have all the qualifications + bhakti then the need to know who am I?

· Then approach the guru properly. Guru = well read and fully established in the knowledge. Learned through guru shishya parampara. No desire to even do any good to the world. Although living in the relative world he is fully withdrawn in the Absolute. Can be known by observing that he is at peace. He doesn’t try to find a reason to help because he is an ocean of compassion. Helps all students who have taken refuge at their feet. They are like the mobile wish fulfilling trees.

· Approach to such a guru by humility, service and devotion. And ask questions only pertaining to the truth.

Sloka 33

श्रोत्रियोऽवृजिनोऽकामहतो यो ब्रह्मवित्तमः । ब्रह्मण्युपरतः शान्तो निरिन्धन इवानलः अहेतुकदयासिन्धुर्बन्धुरानमतां सताम् ॥ ३३ ॥

śrotriyo'vṛjino'kāmahato yo brahmavittamaḥ | brahmaṇyuparataḥ śānto nirindhana ivānalaḥ ahetukadayāsindhurbandhurānamatāṃ satām || 33 ||

A teacher is one who is well-versed in the scriptures, pure, unafflicted by desires, a perfect knower of the Supreme, who. continuously abides in the Supreme, who is as calm as the fire that. has burnt up its fuel, who is a spontaneous ocean of mercy that. needs no cause for its expression, an intimate friend to all good. people who surrender to him

· A teacher who is knowledgeable, teaches and lives such a life practically should be approached

· The guru accepts the disciple with love. Does the shishya accept the guru similarly or with doubt and suspicion?

· The principle of Upasana is when we are able to see the spark in ourselves having witnessed the same in our Pragnya Guru

· Who is a Pragnya Guru?

o Shrotriyaha – well versed and established in the scriptures and has studied them thru the guru-shsiya parampara

o Avrijinaha – One how does not have any sinful intentions and has a pure mind

o Akamahataha – one without a worldly goal. Not even such a goal to do good for someone.

o Brahmavittama – Fully established in the Absolute and is available to us at that time

o Brahmani uparataha – Fully abiding in the Absolute. Although living in the relative world is fully in the Absolute truth.

o Shantah nirindanaha - Calm like a fire without fuel

o Ahetukadayasindhu - Compassionate without a purpose/reason to be so

o Bandhu – Friendly to the sincere seekers of Truth

Sloka 34

तमाराध्य गुरुं भक्त्या प्रह्वप्रश्रयसेवनैः । प्रसन्नं तमनुप्राप्य पृच्छेज्ज्ञातव्यमात्मनः ॥ ३४ ॥

tamārādhya guruṃ bhaktyā prahvapraśrayasevanaiḥ | prasannaṃ tamanuprāpya pṛcchejjñātavyamātmanaḥ || 34 ||

Worship that Teacher with deep devotion and when the Teacher is pleased with your surrender, humility and service, approach and ask for what you must know.

· Only if we are convinced of the divinity of the guru then only we will start suspecting the divinity in ourselves.

· How to approach the guru. Ask with humility with an attitude of servility and happiness

· O Guruji you are a compassionate person. Please help me rise from the depths of samsara that I have fallen into

· Please accept me as I am and teach me the great truth

Sloka 35

स्वामिन्नमस्ते नतलोकबन्धो कारुण्यसिन्धो पतितं भवाब्धौ । मामुद्धरात्मीयकटाक्षदृष्ट्या ऋज्व्यातिकारुण्यसुधाभिवृष्ट्या ॥ ३५ ॥

svāminnamaste natalokabandho kāruṇyasindho patitaṃ bhavābdhau | māmuddharātmīyakaṭākṣadṛṣṭyā ṛjvyātikāruṇyasudhābhivṛṣṭyā || 35 ||

O Master, O friend of all who reverently surrender unto thee, thou ocean of mercy, I salute thee; save me, fallen as I am into this sea of worldly existence, with a direct glance from thy eyes which shower nectarine Grace Supreme.

· Approach by offering salutations. O merciful, please accept me as I am and uplift me from this relative world.

· I am roasted in this terrible fire which is very difficult to cross.

· The winds of desire are adding to the torture.

· I am fearful, please protect me; I surrender to you totally. There is no one else.

Sloka 36

दुर्वारसंसारदवाग्नितप्तं दोधूयमानं दुरदृष्टवातैः । भीतं प्रपन्नं परिपाहि मृत्योः शरण्यमन्यद्यदहं न जाने ॥ ३६ ॥

durvārasaṃsāradavāgnitaptaṃ dodhūyamānaṃ duradṛṣṭavātaiḥ | bhītaṃ prapannaṃ paripāhi mṛtyoḥ śaraṇyamanyadyadahaṃ na jāne || 36 ||

I am burning in the blazing infernal fire of this world-forest; I am being tossed around by the cruel storms of misfortune; I am terrified (within and without)—O Lord! save me from death; I have taken refuge in you, for I know no other shelter.

· We never suffer because of death but because of fear of death. In the Puranas, the asuras always desired immortality.

· How do we go to sleep? We go to sleep in the role that we associate with and wake up the same way. Make it a practice to tell yourself every night as you sleep, that you are merging with the divine.

· I am the body is a Bhavana. So go to sleep with the Bhavana that I am the Divine. I must disappear and merge with divine.

· It is by practice that we associate ourselves with an identity. Do the same practice being the Divine

· Then at the time of the death of the body you will realize that you are the Divine. The space in the bottle when it is broken is the same as it is outside. There is no ‘inside’ – ‘outside’ in space.

Sloka 37

शान्ता महान्तो निवसन्ति सन्तो वसन्तवल्लोकहितं चरन्तः । तीर्णाः स्वयं भीमभवार्णवं जनान् अहेतुनान् यानपि तारयन्तः ॥ ३७ ॥

śāntā mahānto nivasanti santo vasantavallokahitaṃ carantaḥ | tīrṇāḥ svayaṃ bhīmabhavārṇavaṃ janān ahetunān yānapi tārayantaḥ || 37 ||

There are peaceful and magnanimous saints who ---like the spring season—are ever doing good to the humanity. They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied) existence through their own efforts and without any (personal) motives, they help others to cross it.

· Nature of great masters

· Like the arrival of spring, in their presence everything changes.

· On the surface there are waves but in the deep ocean there are no waves there is only peace. Similarly, the teacher who has deep understanding doesn’t get disturbed by the waves of the relative world.

· Suffering happens when we live at the periphery of the personality. Move towards the centre.

· Although they are living in this, but they have transcended this relative world. They are always happy to help without asking for anything in return. For e.g. flower and fragrance, likewise mahatma and knowledge.

Sloka 38

अयं स्वभावः स्वत एव यत्पर श्रमापनोदप्रवणं महात्मनाम् । सुधांशुरेष स्वयमर्ककर्कश प्रभाभितप्तामवति क्षितिं किल ॥ ३८ ॥

ayaṃ svabhāvaḥ svata eva yatpara śramāpanodapravaṇaṃ mahātmanām | sudhāṃśureṣa svayamarkakarkaśa prabhābhitaptāmavati kṣitiṃ kila || 38 ||

It is the very nature of the magnanimous to alleviate troubles of others on their own accord. The moon on its own initiative saves the earth, scorched by the flaming rays of the sun.

· They are always ready to take initiative to relieve us from our problems.

· Student approaches the guru by praising him and requesting him to shower us tormented people with your coolness of Brahman knowledge.

· If we are not fully convinced then we will not have that intensity in our practice.

· Teacher can only show the way but how to proceed on that is the seeker’s responsibility.

Sloka 39

ब्रह्मानन्दरसानुभूतिकलितैः पूर्तैः सुशीतैर्युतैः युष्मद्वाक्कलशोज्झितैः श्रुतिसुखैर्वाक्यामृतैः सेचय । संतप्तं भवतापदावदहनज्वालाभिरेनं प्रभो धन्यास्ते भवदीक्षणक्षणगतेः पात्रीकृताः स्वीकृताः ॥ ३९ ॥

brahmānandarasānubhūtikalitaiḥ pūrtaiḥ suśītairyutaiḥ yuṣmadvākkalaśojjhitaiḥ śrutisukhairvākyāmṛtaiḥ secaya | saṃtaptaṃ bhavatāpadāvadahanajvālābhirenaṃ prabho dhanyāste bhavadīkṣaṇakṣaṇagateḥ pātrīkṛtāḥ svīkṛtāḥ || 39 ||

O Lord, thy nectarine speech, sweetened by the elixir like Bliss of Brahman, pure, cooling, issuing in streams from thy lips as from a water-vessel, and pleasing to the ear do thou shower upon me who am tormented by worldly afflictions as by the flames of a forest fire. Blessed are those who have received even a passing glance from thy eyes, accepting them under thy protection

· I am tormented and miserable in this relative world. Blessed are they to whomever you are available and who are available for your grace