vivekachUdAmani.

[Vaidya N. Sundaram]

18)
 saadhanaanyatra chatvaari kathitaani maniishhibhiH .
 yeshhu satsveva sannishhThaa yadabhaave na sidhyati

 In this, the wise have spoken of four preliminary requisites. the
experience of th Real is possible only if they exist and impossible in
their absence.

 In this sloka Sri Bhagavatpaada teaches by processes of anvaya and
vyatireka: agreement by presence and agreement in absence - that
possession of of the four fold means only qualifies for inquiry into
Brahman.

 In the world, if, when something exists there is th non-existence of
something else, that something else cannot be the cause of that thing. To
put it another way, when in the non-existence of a thing, some thing
exists, th latter cannot be the cause of t he former. When a cloth has
come into existence in the absence of clay, the clay cannot be the cause
of the cloth.

 Applying this to viveka and to brahmajijn~aasaa (the desire to know
Brahman), where there is no jignjn~aasaa, there will not be viveka etc.
There may be things other than viveka etc. Hence it becomes clear that
viveka etc. are the cause of brahmajijn~aas aa. There fore,
brahmajijn~aasaa on which depends brahmanishtaa will arise only when aided
by the saadhana catustaya begining with viveka, and will not arise in
their absence, it is established that these requisitesare preliminary to
barhmajijn~aasaa whic h has as its goal what is known as Brahmanishtaa.

 maniisibhih kathitaani: manIsitvam, the quality of being a manIsin means
having knowledge of the import of the sruti.

 Many sruti texts support Sri Bhagavatpaadaa's enumeration of saadhana
catustaya, and the requirement of nityaanityavastuviveka. The
saadhanacatustaya are enumerated as saanto daanta uparatastitiksuh
samaahitassraddaavitto bhUtvA AtmanyevAtmAnam pasyet (B rh.)
 kathitaani: are said to be. The Upanishads convey the knowledge of
Brahman which is the supreme object of human quest, which cannot be
achieved by other means of knowledge and which cannot be sublated in any
of the three periods of time. The qualificatio n for such jijn~aasaa
accrues only to one who has the qualities mentioned successively in
vivekAdi (i.e., viveka etc.).



                      Vaidya N. Sundaram
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 The place, time, objects and their knower etc., projected in a dream
during sleep are all mithyA (an illusion/false). So too, here. in the
waking state, the world that is seen is a projection by one's own
ignorance. Likewise, this body, the senses, the breath, the ego etc.,
are all unreal. Therefore, That thou art, the peaceful, defectless,
supreme, non-dual Brahman.  -- Adi Shankara in VivekacUdAmani.
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