[Advaita-l] Karmas that are useful for the rise of the knowledge of self - Dr. N. Veezhinathan

[Divya Shiva]

Karmas That are Useful for the Rise of the Knowledge of Self

By Dr. N. Veezhinathan

Part 2

(2) Karma relating to one's class of life also is useful for the rise of
the knowledge of the self:
This view is advocated by Amalananda in his work Kalpataru and also in his
other work Sastra darpana. He holds that the expression asrama karma in the
Brahma sutra, vihitatvacca asramakarmapi referred to above stands for varna
dharmas also. And this view is based upon another Brahmasutra antarA cApi
tu taddrstEh. This aphorism refutes the prima facie view that those like
widowers who do not belong to any asrama are not competent to pursue karma
- the remote means of knowledge and to pursue sravana manana nididhyasana -
the proximate means of knowledge. Since only asrama karma is prescribed as
the means of knowledge in the aphorism vihitatvAcca ASramakarmapi and since
widowers are outside any stage of life, they do not have any asramakarma as
such. So they could not pursue karma which is the remote means of
knowledge. They could not pursue SravaNa etc also. It is because he alone
who possesses the four qualities of nityAnityavastuvivEka etc could pursue
SravaNa etc. The four qualities among other things consists of sannyAsA.
Widowers are not sannyAsins and so they could not pursue SravaNa etc. So
far the prima facie view.

The prima facie view is refuted on the ground that karma performed by those
who are outside any stage of life is useful in bringing about the knowledge
of self. Persons like Raikva, Vacaknavi, and others who are outside any
Asrama are said to possess the knowledge of self which would be impossible
without pursuing karma and SravaNa etc.

It may be objected that this aphorism is mainly intended to prove that
those who are outside any AsramA and have the desire to know the self owing
to karma performed in earlier births are competent to pursue SravaNA etc
and it is not intended to convey that karma performed by them now is useful
in giving rise to the knowledge of self. This objection does not hold good.
For in another aphorism it is said that karmas such as uttering prayers etc
which belong to caste (varna) as such and not restricted to a particular
stage of life are useful in giving rise to the knowledge of self through
the purification of the mind. This view is based upon the following smriti
text of Manu: 'There is no doubt that a brahmin becomes competent to attain
the knowledge of the self by mere prayers'. The author of the Brahmasutra,
therefore, explicitly admits that karma, not restricted to a particular
stage of life, that is, varna dharma also is useful for the rise of the
knowledge of self. And so the expression asrama karma in the aphorism
vihitattvacca asramakarmapi stands for karma belonging to classes of life
(varnadharma) also.

To sum up this discussion: Karma according to Amalananda relating to one's
stage and to one's class of life either severally or jointly is the means
of the knowledge of self through purification of the mind.

To be continued...

On Thu, Mar 6, 2025 at 8:56 PM Divya Shiva <divyameedin at gmail.com> wrote:

> Karmas That are Useful for the Rise of the Knowledge of Self
>
> By Dr. N. Veezhinathan
>
> Part 1
>
> The self which is non-dual, bliss, and consciousness is liberation when it
> is free from avidyA; it becomes free from avidyA when the latter is removed
> by the direct knowledge of the self. Knowledge thus is the sole means of
> liberation.
>
> The knowledge of the self would arise from the great sayings of the
> Upanishads only when one pursues Sravana, manana, and nididhyasana preceded
> by the possession of qualities like sama, dama, etc. The latter for their
> rise depend upon purity of heart which could not be achieved by anything
> other than the performance of karmas without any attachment toward their
> fruits. Thus performance of karma helps the rise of the knowledge of self
> indirectly.
>
> We shall now examine the nature of karmas that are useful for the rise of
> the knowledge of self. Two views are advocated by the advaitins; and they
> are: (i) the karma belonging to the various stages of life (asrama karma or
> asrama dharma) alone is useful for the rise of the knowledge of the self;
> (ii) the karmas relating to the several classes of life (varna dharma) also
> is useful for the rise of the knowledge of the self. The distinction
> between the views lies in this that according to the former asrama dharma
> alone is useful, while according to the latter asrama dharmas and
> varnadharmas either severally or jointly become useful,
>
> (1) Karma relating to the stages of life alone is helpful for the rise of
> the knowledge of self: The Upanishadic text "The brahmins seek to realize
> the self through the study of the Vedas, through sacrifices and gifts
> through austerity and fasting" (brhadaranyakopanishad) prescribes the
> performance of karmas such as the study of the Vedas and the like with
> reference to the knowledge of self. The expression 'the study of the Vedas'
> stands for the karma of the celibate (brahmachari dharma). Similarly the
> expressions 'sacrifice and gifts', and 'austerity and fasting' respectively
> stand for the karmas of the householder, (grhasta dharma) and for the karma
> of the forest dweller (vanaprastha dharma). Hence Upanishadic text cited
> above prescribes only the karma relating to the several stages of life with
> reference to the rise of the knowledge of self. This view has the sanction
> of the author of the Brahmasutra. The latter in the aphorism vihitatvacca
> asramakarmApi (Brahmasutra III, iv, 32), discusses the question whether
> karma which relates to one's stage of life and which is prescribed as the
> means for the rise of the knowledge of self, should be performed by one who
> does not desire the knowledge of self. The author of the Brahmasutra
> affirms that karma relating to one's stage of life must be performed even
> by one who does not desire the knowledge of self. It is because such karmas
> are prescribed by the scriptural passages such as 'One should perform the
> agnihotra as long as one lives' and the like; and, so their non-performance
> would lead to the sin of omission which in turn, will give rise to
> unwelcome fruits. The point that is of importance here is that author of
> the Brahmasutra who uses the word asrama karma in the aphorism referred to
> above must be taken to have this view, namely, that karma relating to one's
> stage of life alone is helpful for the rise of the knowledge of self
> (Siddhanta lesa sangraha, chowkhamba sanskrit series, 1916, p 409).
>
>
> To be continued...
>