[Advaita-l] Pitupaksha questions

[Srikanta Narayanaswami]

On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 1:44 PM, Srikanta Narayanaswami <srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com> wrote:

Apologies, correcting typo in last line. Pls read it as:
>
>So moving up to moksha is by performing karma perceiving akarma in it & not by giving up karma selectively. If at all karma is to be given up, sarva-karma-sannyAsa is the way.
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>As an addendum to my previous posting,I would like to say that,if we perform karmas again that some dosha will accrue,then we will be back to square 1.What is required is to come out of the loop(just as in a aubroutine loop in a software program),and exit from it,rather than keep on rotating in that cycle.The Mundakopanishath sruthi "Parikshya lokan karmacitan Brahmano
>nirvedamayannastkrtah krtena!
>tadvijnanartham sa Gurumevabhigacceth
>samitpanih shrothriyam Brahmanishtam!!
>Sri.Shankara,s commentary also substantiates this.This is the starting point of Vedantha,the jnanakhandha and the ending of karma khandha.
>N.Srikanta.
>

That mantra of the Mundakopanishat is only about kAmya karma.  The vedantic position about vihita nitya karma is not covered by the above mantra.  This category of karma has to be performed even by a mumukShu, if he is a non-sannyasin.  Even for sannyasins various sampradayas have certain types of rituals.  When Shankara says that even a jnani, if he remains a grihastha, performs his Ashramochita karma, where is the question of the Scripture and Shankara asking one to give up that kind of karma?  'shrAddha' comes under 'deva pitR kAryAbhyAm na pramaditavyam'.  

कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैः इन्द्रियैः अपि |
योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति संगं त्यक्त्वा, आत्मशुद्धये || ५.११

The engagement of a mumukshu in vihita karma as karma yoga will not put him in further samsara.  Shankara has said that the greatness of karma yoga is such that: karma which is by nature binding becomes releasing in nature when performed as karma yoga. 

Regards,
subrahmanian.v
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it covers all karmas kamya or otherwise.One has to be discriminatory in this.Kamya karma is still worse.It involves selfishness.There is no distinction between grihastha and a sanyasi.all karmas are binding the individual.Infact,the purpse of Vedantha is to free an individual from this bond.if one has to remain in darkness,then he can remain there!All karmas end if one has this discrimation.Bhagavan also says:Sarva karmakhilam Partha Jnane parisamapyate".Just as one who travels in a train,on reaching his destination alights from the train,and will not travel  further in that train,so a person on knowing the truth that all karmas are binding,will not perform them.
Shankara has dvelt upon all this inorder to create vairagya for a mumukshu.If the mumukshu has this clarity he neednot perform any action,except for his "Sarira Yatra".Karma will be released only if one realises the gratness of Jnanayoga.No where he has said that karma frees a person.Only by Jnana,he he is freed from karma bandha.Then all will have the ticket for travelling in a superjet concord!
N.Srikanta.