[Advaita-l] Taittiriya Upanishad question

[V Subrahmanian]

On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 10:05 AM, Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr at in.abb.com> wrote:

> praNAms
> Hare Krishna
>
> >  dont you think we have to do this exercise to differentiate the genuine
> jnAni-s from the charlatans, who, in the name of god & religion engaging
> themselves in every questionable activity and justifying the same!! And
> jnAni-s are the role models for the ordinary mortals like us, if he, in the
> name of prArabdha karma, doing all sorts of gibberish work, what is the use
> of krishna's definition of sthitha prajna in geeta??


Namaste.

The practice of Sanatana Dharma has enough inbuilt safeguards to make the
journey safe for the aspirant.  It is very well known to those versed in
Vedanta the famous statement of the Taittiriya Upanishad:

*यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि । तानि सेवितव्यानि । नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकं
सुचरितानि । तानि त्वयोपास्यानि ।। नो इतराणि ।

The Acharya himself cautions the sishya that the latter has to use
discrimination in following what the Acharya does.  Only what is good,
admissible, that the sishya sees in the Acharya can be emulated.  Not the
others.  This shows that the  yadyadaacharati sreshtaH rule comes with a
caution; it is not a unbridled advice.   *


> credence of the jnAni..but, we the mortals would definitely  look for
> guidance from the shreshTa-s and try to follow what they do!!
> yadyadAcharati shreshTaH......sa yatpramANam kurute lOkastadanu
> vartate..says geetAchArya.  If the jnAni engages in 'gOdhUli saMbhOga' and
> blames it on his prArabdha karma, dont we, the ordinary mortals, find the
> same reason for all our illegitimate activities also prabhuji??
>

Which Jnani has blamed the above act on his prArabdha?  Can you give one
example?  Does the Prajapati's case talk of his blaming it on his
praarabdha?

The very same Bhagavatam that reports this Kashyapa episode also gives the
caution:

(27-28) S'rî Parîkshit said: 'To establish the dharma and to subdue the ones
defiant, descended indeed He, the Supreme Lord, the Controller of the
Universe with His plenary portion [Balarâma]; how could He, the original
speaker, executor and protector of the codes of moral conduct, behave to the
contrary o brahmin, touching the wives of others? (29) What did He, so
self-satisfied, have in mind with this assuredly contemptible performance, o
best of the vowed, please dispel our doubt about this.'
(30) S'rî S'uka said:* 'The transgression of dharma and thoughtlessness, as
can be seen with controllers of spiritual potency, does not, as with an
all-consuming fire [staying the same], mean they are at fault.*

*(31) Someone not in control sure mustn't even think of ever doing a thing
like this; such a one, acting out of foolishness, would be destroyed like
one not being Rudra would be with [drinking] the poison from the ocean [see
8.7]. *

(32) True are the words of the ones in control [with the Lord, with
themselves] and what they do should by people of intelligence [only]
sometimes be performed, *doing of them that which is in accord with what
they said [see also B.G. e.g. 3: 6-7, 3:42, 5:7].*

[The above conversation occurs in the Canto of the Bhagvatam where the Rasa
Krida is described]

So the message of the above is: It is best for one to do in accordance with
what the Jnani teaches/instructs and NOT indiscriminately follow everything
that a Jnani might *do.    T*here is a saying: 'Do as I say 'do' ; do not do
as I do.'  This caveat is always to be remembered when the advice on
shreshtAcharaNa anusaraNa is considered.

The references of the Bhagavatam are 10.33.29 and 10.33.30.

*dharmavyatikramo dR^iShTa* IshvarANAM cha sAhasam
tejIyasAM na doShAya vahneH sarvabhujo yathA

naitatsamAcharejjAtu manasApi hyanIshvaraH
vinashyatyAcharanmauDhyAdyathArudro.abdhijaM viSham


Regards,
subrahmanian.v