[Advaita-l] Nidhidyaasana

[Venkatraghavan S]

There is a reference to three kinds of adhikAris in mANDUkya kArika 3.16:

आश्रमास्त्रिविधा हीनमध्यमोत्कृष्टदृष्टयः ।

उपासनोपदिष्टेयं तदर्थमनुकम्पया ॥ १६ ॥

This kArika occurs right after 3.15 (no surprises there):
मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गाद्यैः सृष्टिर्या चोदितान्यथा ।

उपायः सोऽवताराय नास्ति भेदः कथञ्चन ॥ १५ ॥

In 3.15,  Gaudapada says that shruti only provisionally teaches creation
through the mrit, loha, vishphullinga (clay, iron, sparks from fire)
examples. The tAtparya of shruti is not creation - it is only an upAya to
drive him the message (sovatAraya) of Brahman, from which there is no
actual creation. Once Brahman is understood for what it is, one should drop
the notion of creation too. The question that arises here is, why teach
creation in the first place, if it is to be dropped later?

This is where 3.16 comes in  - because there are students of different
calibre - superior, middling, weak. Out of compassion for the latter two
categories of students, upAsana and karma have been prescribed by shruti.
How does creation help in this regard? Because creation presupposes a
creator, and it is for the pleasure of this this creator (parameshvara /
nArAyaNa prItyartham) that shruti directs all upAsana and karma to be
performed. Once hIna and madhyama adhikAris have done sufficient nishkAma
karma/upAsana, they will attain the mental maturity to understand Brahman's
true svarUpa, and drop all the provisional tools such as karma, upAsana,
srishTi and Ishvara that helped them get there.

Regards,

Venkatraghavan

On Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 4:03 PM, Nithin Sridhar via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Are there any other references to uttama,madhyama, adhama adhikaris with
> respect to sravana etc. from Sanskrit texts written by our Acharys, be it
> in Bhashyas, Tikas, or Vartikas, or even Prakarana Granthas?
>
> On Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 2:00 PM, Nithin Sridhar <sridhar.nithin at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Thank you very much Chandramouli ji.
> >
> > On Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 1:32 PM, H S Chandramouli <
> > hschandramouli at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Namaste Sri Nitin Ji,
> >>
> >> You can refer to Vichara Sagara of Sadhu Nishchala Das in hindi which
> has
> >> a sanskrit commentary by Swami Vasudeva Brahmendra Saraswati. This is
> >> available for download from the Web. In the beginning of the fourth
> >> chapter,lakshana of a Uttama Adhikari is mentioned, and in the
> beginning of
> >> the fifth chapter, lakshana of a Madhyama Adhikari is given. I think
> >> lakshana of Adhama Adhikari is in the sixth chapter.
> >>
> >> Regards
> >>
> >> On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 8:43 AM, Nithin Sridhar via Advaita-l <
> >> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Can the learned members share references from Upanishads or works of
> any
> >>> of
> >>> the Acharyas about Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama adhikaris with respect
> to
> >>> sravana etc. ?
> >>>
> >>> Regards,
> >>> Nithin
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 8:19 AM, kuntimaddi sadananda via Advaita-l <
> >>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> > PraNams to all
> >>> > I had posted this before couple of years back discussing the
> obstacles
> >>> for
> >>> > Self - Realization. I am posting it again for those who are
> interested.
> >>> > -----------------------------------Obstacles for Self-Realization
> -7.
> >>> >
> >>> >  We are discussing about the madhyama adhikaari, who has sufficient
> >>> > four-fold qualifications, saadhana chatuShTaya sampatti, to have
> clear
> >>> > understanding of Vedanta, but not sufficient enough to have the
> jnaana
> >>> > phalam or the fruits of the knowledge. Most of us fall into this
> >>> category.
> >>> > Thus he has jnaanam but not jnaana phalam to be a jiivan mukta. The
> >>> mind is
> >>> > still habitually entangled in the changing diversities of the world.
> >>> ‘To
> >>> > change continuously’ is the nature of the world. To expect the
> changing
> >>> > world to remain conducive all the time to ones likes and dislikes is
> >>> > inherently faulty. Not to be affected by the changing world requires
> a
> >>> > disciplined frame of mind that can witness the events happening in
> the
> >>> > world objectively, without emotions getting on the way. Even though
> >>> jnaani
> >>> > understands he is pure existence-consciousness-limitless, due to
> >>> > lingering vaasanaas or habitual notions due to praarabda, emotional
> >>> > transformation of the mind is incomplete. In effect, the emotional
> mind
> >>> > does not abide in the knowledge of the intellect or the habitual
> >>> notions
> >>> > come in between the mind and the intellect. For such a person only
> >>> > nidhidhyaasana is prescribed by Vedanta. Hence nidhidhyaasana is not
> >>> for
> >>> > gaining any new knowledge but for making the emotional mind to abide
> >>> in the
> >>> > knowledge that has already been gained through shravana and manana.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >  Nidhidhyaasana is not for manda adhikaari. For manda adhikaari who
> has
> >>> > saadhana chatuShTaya sampatti at the lowest level, karma and upaasana
> >>> yoga
> >>> > are prescribed. Nidhidhyaasana is not needed for uttama adhikaari
> >>> since he
> >>> > gets both jnaana and jnaana phalam by shravana and manana, since his
> >>> mind
> >>> > has already been purified by saadhana chatuShTaya sampatti. Hence
> >>> > Nidhidhyaasana is required for madhyama adhikaari who has half-baked
> >>> with
> >>> > four-fold qualifications. He gains the knowledge but not the fruits
> of
> >>> > knowledge due to lingering vaasanaas. How do I know that I have
> >>> jnaanam but
> >>> > not jnaana nishTa. After the study of Vedanta under a competent
> >>> teacher and
> >>> > understood the essence of Vedanta without an iota of doubt then I
> have
> >>> > learned what needs to be learned. In principle, that is all what is
> >>> needed.
> >>> > However for many of us, the mind seems to get agitated whenever we
> are
> >>> > transacting with the world. This is due to emotional involvement with
> >>> the
> >>> > world due to attachments to things and people. This implies that the
> >>> > saadhana chatuShTaya sampatti needed is incomplete. Hence
> >>> nidhidhyaasana is
> >>> > prescribed by the scriptures to internalize the learning that has
> >>> already
> >>> > been taken place. It is like current switch is on and the bulb is in
> >>> good
> >>> > condition, but still no light is coming. The brighter and brighter
> >>> light
> >>> > will start beaming forth as one starts rotating the rheostat switch
> >>> slowly.
> >>> > Thus knowledge is there but for it to express in all its glory, the
> >>> > obstructive emotional attachments or raaga dveshas have to be reduced
> >>> > further.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >  What is to be done in Nidhidhyaasana: Nidhidhyaasana is defined as
> >>> > dwelling upon the teaching that has been gained via shravana and
> >>> manana, by
> >>> > remaining in the teaching, as often as possible, as intensely as
> >>> possible,
> >>> > as long as possible, as repeatedly as possible. It is essentially
> >>> living in
> >>> > the teaching itself. This dwelling on the teaching can be done by
> >>> selecting
> >>> > any or all of the methods listed here. These include: 1. Repeated
> >>> listening
> >>> > to scriptures – shravana – mind to dwell on the teachings. 2.
> Repeated
> >>> > reading of the Shaastras or reading the notes prepared. 3. Repeated
> >>> > writing, while the mind dwells upon the teaching 4. Discussions of
> the
> >>> > Shaastras with those who have shraddhaa on the teaching
> >>> (advaita-list-serve
> >>> > comes in handy in this regard) 5. Teaching of the Shaastras to
> others,
> >>> if
> >>> > one can manage to get some one to listen to. 6. Contemplating on the
> >>> > teaching in a secluded place (essentially meditation on the
> teaching).
> >>> In
> >>> > all these saadhanas, mind is essentially dwelling on the Vedanta
> >>> teaching.
> >>> > Since the teaching is centered on the self-itself as Brahman or the
> >>> > totality, whatever is not aatma (which then is anaatma) is slowly
> >>> reduced
> >>> > to mithyaa that includes the likes and dislikes.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >  In the nidhidhyaasana, the physical posture is of secondary
> >>> consideration
> >>> > as it is predominately a mano vRitti, i.e., a contemplation using the
> >>> mind.
> >>> > Therefore mind should be awake and available without getting high
> >>> jacked by
> >>> > any other thought. Any physical posture that keeps the mind conducive
> >>> for
> >>> > contemplation on the teaching without falling asleep is the right
> >>> posture.
> >>> > In essence, the posture should be such that mind should not be
> >>> dwelling on
> >>> > the posture or become conscious of it during contemplation. In this
> >>> regard,
> >>> > one can also employ aShTaanga yoga meditation stages to keep the mind
> >>> alert
> >>> > and contemplative. Shankara discusses the application of the ashTanga
> >>> yoga
> >>> > steps for self knowledge in his aparokshaanubhuti text. Here chitta
> >>> nirodha
> >>> > involves only withdrawing the mind from the extroverted pursuits and
> >>> > investing in the teaching of mahaavaakya gained through Shravana and
> >>> manana
> >>> > or enquiry of the nature of the self.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >  Therefore, nidhidhyaasana is not silencing the mind, but involves
> >>> mental
> >>> > inquiry or vichaara on the essence of the advaitic teaching – Brahman
> >>> > satyam- jagat mithyaa and jiivaH bhramaa eva na aparaH, Brahman alone
> >>> is
> >>> > real and the world is just apparent projection on Brahman and jiiva
> is
> >>> none
> >>> > other than Brahman. To abide in this understanding, any or all of the
> >>> above
> >>> > methods can be practiced at the seat of meditation. One can even
> >>> meditate
> >>> > on anaatma that is a worldly object with name and form to see the
> truth
> >>> > behind that object. When I meditate on anaatma, I have to see the
> >>> mithyaa
> >>> > aspect of the name and form and shift my attention to the Brahman or
> >>> pure
> >>> > existence as the reality that lends existence to the object.
> >>> >
> >>> >  The next question is how one should meditate? Bhagavaan Ramana gives
> >>> > illustrative examples. He says in Upadeshasaara- aajyadhaarayaa
> >>> srotasaa
> >>> > samam, sarala chintanam virala tatparam. He says the contemplation
> >>> should
> >>> > be – like a flow of ghee or flow of river. The ghee example is to
> >>> > illustrate sneha bhaava or love for the goal, just as ghee sticks to
> >>> the
> >>> > fingers, the mind has to stick to the goal. The river example is
> given
> >>> to
> >>> > emphasize the persistence to reach the goal, in spite of small or
> large
> >>> > obstacles that invariably come on the way. For small obstacles the
> >>> river
> >>> > joyfully jumps over with gurgling joyful noise, and for large
> >>> obstacles she
> >>> > gracefully goes around, even taking few steps backward, without
> loosing
> >>> > sight of the ultimate goal to reach, namely, the ocean where its
> >>> identity
> >>> > with name and form gets dissolved. The mind should be constantly
> >>> dwelling
> >>> > in the understanding of the truth, in spite of any incidental
> obstacles
> >>> > that arise. Hence Bhagavaan Ramana says it should be continuous flow
> of
> >>> > thoughts (sarala chintanam) rather than with starts and stops (virala
> >>> > chintanam). Initially it will be of the later type but as the mind
> gets
> >>> > absorbed more and more it becomes continuous flow of thoughts.
> Abhyaasa
> >>> > (constant practice) and vairaagya (withdrawal from attachments) that
> >>> Shree
> >>> > Krishna emphasizes again and again are the essential ingredients -
> >>> > abhyaasenatu kounteya vairaagyena ca gRihyate.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >  To be continued
> >>> > _______________________________________________
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> >>> >
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> >>> >
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Nithin S
> >>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>
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> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > Nithin S
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Nithin S
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