Fundamentals of Vedanta through Vivekachoodaamani - Day 03 - 16 Talk by Swami Aparajitananda-Rev-1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahJH5aw5qsc

"Fundamentals of Vedanta through

Vivekachoodaamani - Day 03 / 16" Talk by
Swami Aparajitananda.

Sunday, April 16, 2023 10:00 CRC-Time See Calendar

6,841 views 23 Feb 2021 MANGALORE
Hari Om!
QUALIFICATIONS OF STUDENT
Swāmī Aparājitānanda jï discusses main and secondary factors on which success of Spirituality
depends and explains general and specific FOUR-FOLD QUALIFICATIONS by a logical line of
thought.
Verse 20: Viveka of Nitya and anitya is the most important qualification to which the other
qualifications are directly connected. This is discussed by a beautiful analysis (importance of
pure mind). Swāmījī explains how in Spirituality, vishāda is seen as an auspicious sign, since it
opens up Higher possibility and can be a blessing in disguise and a turning point. (Example:
Arjuna).
Verse 21: How Vairāgya follows automatically and to what extent, is most interesting to know.
(Next: Six-fold Sampatti) (Vivekachūdāmani - Talk 3 of 16 - Verses 14, 16, 18 to 21)

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[Music]
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[Music] oh
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music] yesterday we had seen the first topic
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that is preciousness of human birth now we will move on to the next topic
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qualifications of a spiritual seeker what are the qualifications necessary
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so that we can successfully do sadhana and attain the spiritual goal verse number 14
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adhikari
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on what factors the palacidhi the success in spiritual life depends on
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bhagwan shankaracharya says there can be very many contributing factors santiasmin
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there can be very many contributing factors but bhalla siddhi
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there can be very many contributing factors like desha kala etc
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but the main factor is the qualification of the seeker is the seeker qualified all other
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factors are secondary very many times it happens the father
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calls the son who is not studying well now the son has brought home his progress report
4:22
with all marks below average now the father's advice begin my dear
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son in our school days we underwent so many hardships
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my father did not have money also the school was so far six to seven
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kilometers away and we had to go walking up and down
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no school bus no electricity no proper books no pencil or pen though i was a very
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brilliant child i did not study well because all these faculties which
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you are now enjoying we never got it so father is telling the son though i
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was a brilliant student i could not study because i lacked these facilities but you should study
because
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you have all the facilities well the father may fool his son but he
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cannot fool the world the fact is if the father were to be a brilliant child
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he would have definitely come up irrespective of the outer circumstances
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as the famous saying goes where there is a will there is a way
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among devotee class also there are so many people who come and say swamiji you are so lucky
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but we are all samsaris we have husband wife children father
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mother in-laws relations we have to take care of all of them also
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so many responsibilities at the family friend the professional friend
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so many social commitments so it is just impossible to do any sadhana swamiji
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to all such devotees bhagwan shankaracharya this clear-cut answer is shut up
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if i am not able to do my sadhana properly let me not blame my circumstances
6:30
i alone am responsible for my lack of seriousness in sadhana
6:36
let us not blame anyone else for this let us blame ourselves alone if this is our attitude then
definitely
6:44
slowly slowly the qualifications which are going to be discussed
6:50
will come to us but as long as we are blaming others we will remain where we were because we
6:57
will not focus our attention on ourselves but we will focus our attention on all
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unwanted and unimportant things
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so the first and the foremost thing is let us take the responsibility onto our
7:15
own shoulders so now bhagwan is going to discuss the
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qualifications necessary for a seeker the qualification can be
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divided into two one is general qualification and the other is specific qualification
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general qualification is mentioned in verse number 16
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medhavi purusho with
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foreign so bhagwan says these are the three general
8:02
qualifications for a seeker number one he must be a medhavi number two
8:10
he must be a viddwan number three he must be uh
8:21
so first let us see vedwan so who is avidwan
8:26
vidwan means a scholarly person but here it means a person who is
8:32
comfortable with the language of communication in the entire process of learning
8:40
the teacher imparts knowledge through a medium of communication
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he is using a language for communicating the scriptural message
8:51
so it becomes absolutely necessary that the seeker is comfortable with that language or else he
will never
8:58
be able to understand what the teacher is saying so medium of communication should never be a
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barrier in the transfer of knowledge so the first general qualification is
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being comfortable with the language of communication so viduan means a person who is
9:16
comfortable with the medium of communication he need not necessarily be a scholarly
9:22
person second one is medhavi so who is a maid
9:27
havi the one who has maida is called a medavi
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medha means memory power now why is this memory power important here
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now in this entire process of teaching the teacher is going to follow a systematic methodology
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there is a step-by-step development of thought in which we travel from the known
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to the unknown guided by the teacher so when the teacher gives a step-by-step
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explanation of teaching in a systematic and logical manner the
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student is expected to remember those previous steps which has led the discussion to the
10:11
present step what happens if the previous steps are forgotten it will be like
10:17
the lines drawn on water every time the teacher will have to start from the beginning so here
medhavi means.
10:25
a student who is able to remember the thought flow of the discussion taken up by the teacher
please
10:32
understand medhavi doesn't mean the one who can buy heart or memorize all the mantras and
10:37
the slokas of bhagavad-gita princess tothams etc there are people who just love doing it
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very good nothing wrong but here madhavi means the one who is able to follow
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the logical thought development of the teacher now the third general qualification is
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the one who is vijakshana an expert on who is efficient efficient in what uh and apoha
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means taking up apoha means giving up the one who is capable
11:14
of taking in that is grasping what is essential and giving up
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living out that is discarding what is non-institutional so when the teacher teaches he may use
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lot of anecdotes similes jokes stories day-to-day examples in
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order to convey a message very many people they get so absorbed in
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these stories and jokes that they forget the central message the central teaching
11:47
there are people who say oh puja gurudev what a great speaker what english then you ask him
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but what did he say oh he cracked this joke he told that story but what is the point
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he wanted to convey or that i don't know i forgot i didn't understand
12:08
very many times you are carried away by the non-essentials and the main thing is forgotten
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i remember an incident it's a true story once swamiji was giving a talk in order
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to convey the message of how in modern times people make illegal money he gave the
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example of the modern day doctors a person comes with a simple cold and
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how the doctors create fear in the patient and he is made to undergo all kinds of tests and scans
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and even if it is a minor problem he is made to undergo surgery and this and that etc
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so swamiji was narrating some case histories next day swamiji gets an anonymous
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letter if it said swamji i am very much disturbed you have insulted the doctor community
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now onwards i am not going to attend any of your talks now this person took that example
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personally the main message is forgotten and some incidental unimportant example
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became the most important so what is uh
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suppose you listen to a one hour lecture then you must be able to put the essence
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of the whole teaching in one word if needed
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in one sentence or if needed in one paragraph
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then we can say you have understood the essence of the whole teaching if one can do this
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then such a person is called without beating around the bush he is
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able to absorb the central message the core teaching
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so these are the three general qualifications number one with one being comfortable with the
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medium of communication number two medhavi the ability to
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remember the entire thought flow the steps the sequence the procedure the
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methodology etc and number three
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the ability to take what is essential and drop the non-essentials
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now why are they called general qualifications they are called general qualifications because a
person may have all these
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qualifications but in spite of these qualifications he may not be
14:45
qualified for spirituality okay then what are the specific qualifications or
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the most important qualifications necessary which really qualifies a
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seeker
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[Applause]
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what do they talk about chatwari sadhanani the fourfold qualifications yeshu satsu eva
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if the seeker has got these fourfold qualification then alone
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then alone he will be able to abide in the truth
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yet in his absence it is not possible he will not succeed
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so if the seeker has these fourfold qualifications he'll be able to abide in the truth
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he'll be able to experience the reality but if he doesn't have these qualifications then
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he will not be successful what are those fourfold qualifications
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verse number 19
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[Music]
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[Music] so what are the fourfold qualifications necessary for a seeker
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ah the first one nitya
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the ability to discriminate discriminate between water
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between nitya and anitya nitya permanent
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the ability to discriminate discern differentiate between the permanent and
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the impermanent after that what is the next
17:21
qualification [Music]
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dispassion dispassion towards what bhoga towards all kinds of enjoyments
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which have come because of our karma fella therefore palaboga viraga
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we have done so many actions in the past as a result of those karmas
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enjoyments have come where do we get these enjoyments in this
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world or amudra in the other worlds like sarga etc
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so what should be our attitude towards these enjoyments
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our attitude should be dispassion disinterest no interest distaste this is called
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piraga or vairagya which is qualification number two details will
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come later next one the third one samadhi shatka
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sixfold inner virtues or inner wealth beginning from shaman what are those six
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fold qualifications it will be discussed in detail later
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the next one the fourth one means the desire for liberation
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it is undoubtedly these are the fourfold qualifications
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should succeed for them they will easily reach the goal
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right now what are these four full qualifications a detailed explanation begins first we will see
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foreign
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[Music] this is known as viveka
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[Music] a clear understanding a firm conviction
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in this that brahman alone is real and the world is an illusion this clear
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understanding is called vivega so nityana
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now let's see what this viveka is now the very text itself is named vivekachudamani that shows
the
20:32
importance of this virtue this virtue is the most important because all other qualifications are
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directly or indirectly connected to and they come from this virtue
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now in life we all go through various experiences and when we
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analyze these experiences of our life what do we see
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if our mind is impure and unprepared then we will not see the realities of
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life but we will see only the superficialities covering the reality
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we will see gain loss victory defeat pleasure pain honor
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dishonor praise criticism etc these are the things seen by analyzed by
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experienced by a mind which is stuck up superficially it is stuck there
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it just cannot go beyond it it cannot go deeper just like oil floating on water so all
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the time that mind is thinking of ragadvisha kama krodha mana apamana this person spoke
about me
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in this way that person commented about me in that way
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how dare he speak to me like this etc etc etc
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if this is the way we find our mind chattering then that is a sign of an impure mind
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and such a mind cannot see the realities of life it is stuck up in the superficial names
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and forms it is stuck up in its own raga devices vims and fancies and petty narrow-minded
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divisions and superimpositions now what about a pure mind how will a
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pure mind analyzes the situation of life how will a pure mind analyze the
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situations of life now a pure mind is capable of seeing the
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reality because it is free from colors of likes and dislikes
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sees things as it is now what does it see it sees the
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anita of the world the impermanence of the world
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to experience impermanence of the world no guru is necessary no shastra is necessary we only
need to
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analyze our life with a pure mind free from rakatvisha
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so with such a mind when we look around we find that everything in this world is impermanent
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if we observe carefully we see only the dance of death everywhere
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in full zoom lord death alone is dancing
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impermanence appears to be the only permanent thing look at this body every moment it is
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decaying and dying now when you start thinking this way you just cannot even celebrate your
birthday
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because you are not seeing the joy of birth but you are seeing
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the inevitability of death in every birthday you see yourself
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marching from the womb to the tomb there is this constant march going on
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all over the world plants insects animals human beings birds some reach the tomb
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crawling while others reach their flying some reach the tomb prepared others
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reach their unprepared some reach the tomb through prolonged disease while others
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reach there instantly through fatal accidents some reach the tomb old
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while others reach their young whatever be the mode of transport or the speed of transport but
one thing is for
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sure none can escape reaching the tomb none can escape death
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when we see the brutal truth of life that death alone will have the final laugh
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then how can we celebrate the birthday with every birthday we are one step
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closer to death is it that we need to celebrate with every birthday the body has become
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a little more older a little more infirm a little more weak is it that we need to celebrate
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this is the way in which a viveki thinks in front of him he sees reality and
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reality alone everything else is nonsense for him body
25:32
is impermanent relationships are impermanent possessions and positions are impermanent
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name and fame are impermanent love is impermanent earth sun moon galaxy stars
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all are impermanent tell me one thing which is permanent in this world
25:50
a viveki is interested only in the permanent because only a permanent thing can give
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permanent joy an impermanent thing however dear
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it may be it can never give permanent joy an impermanent thing can give only
26:08
anxieties and worries stress and tension and in the end
26:15
it can give us only lasting sorrow so there is a kind of revulsion in a
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viveki for everything impermanent when he interacts with the world when he
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is exposed to the world his intellect sees only one thing prominently protruding
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out that is the anita of the world now just imagine
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this person who is saying impermanence alone what will be his mental condition
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can he ever be happy impossible this experience of impermanence is
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really suffocating on the other hand what about
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an avivi foolish man well he either doesn't see the reality
27:08
or he always tries to escape from the reality he is either blind
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or an escapist he doesn't see or even if he sees he tries to ignore the truth by focusing
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on the fleeting joys in srimad-bhagavatam there is a beautiful metaphor
27:30
so here is a person who is running for life in a thick forest he's chased by some wild animal
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he's running and suddenly he stumbles across a stone and he falls into a dry deep well
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but as he was falling he catches hold of a branch protruding out from the side walls of
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the well now because of his weight the branch also starts giving way it also starts breaking so
now
28:01
while falling this person had knocked on one honey goo hanging from
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the top of the tree a dent was created in it and the honey was dripping
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now this person who is hanging on to a breaking branch seeing the honey dripping from the top
28:20
sticks out his tongue to lick that honey just imagine death is sure for him
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if he falls he will surely die the well is deep and dry it is filled with big stones
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and there are poisonous snakes crawling all over below
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outside there is this wild animal waiting for its spray so this man is encountering a sure death
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situation and here is this person forgetting all this and sticking out his tongue
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to lick the honey well this is our story our life is so
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uncertain we are also hanging on to that branch of life which may break
29:06
at any time
29:14
life is so uncertain like the water droplet playing on a lotus leaf
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even while living also there is so much of suffering
29:29
so we are having a life which is not only uncertain but a life which is full of suffering
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but alas our attention is entirely upon the petty paltry fleeting pressures of
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life and in the process we forget the sorrow-filled realities of life ignoring the breaking
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branch we are busy licking the drops of honey
29:56
now one may think why god has created so much of suffering in this world
30:02
well in fact in spirituality this suffering is considered to be the most
30:07
auspicious in the life of a seeker that is why bhagavad-gita starts with
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arjuna vishada yoga the yoga of sorrow it has to start with vishada because
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that is a beginning of the most auspicious thing
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the sorrows in our life are considered auspicious in spirituality because
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in those sorrowful moments there opens up a possibility of introspection
30:35
there opens up a possibility of looking within a possibility of seeking permanent peace
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there opens up a possibility for searching for the nithya vastu
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only in those moments of failure in those moments of utter dejection helplessness and misery one
starts
30:57
searching for the nityvastu tragedies failures and kicks from the
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world can become a blessing in disguise because they can become a turning point in our life
31:12
many times we take only success prosperity wealth name fame only these goody-goody
31:19
things we take it as a blessing from god but according to scriptures
31:25
that which opens the doors of liberation alone is the highest blessing
31:31
sorrow and sufferings in this regard have a great role to play in making us seek the permanent
and the
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eternal so they are indeed blessings of the lord alone so the first qualification necessary for
31:44
a seeker foreign that ability to painfully be aware of
31:51
the impermanence of the world because only then we will seek the nitty-gritty
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now this viveka brings in automatically the other three qualifications that is
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viraga samadhi shatka sampathi and mumakrita how
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the moment you divide the whole world into nithya and anitya what is your attitude towards
anitya
32:19
you develop a distaste a disinterest towards anity because they cannot give
32:25
permanent happiness this distaste for everything impermanent is called viraga
32:31
dispassion now what will be your attitude towards nithyavasta
32:36
you will badly want to have it this badly wanting the nithyabasto
32:42
the desire for liberation all those virtues needed for the mind to shift its
32:49
attention from these six virtues are called shatters
32:57
therefore we can say that viveka gives birth to all the other three qualifications
33:03
now if you see the definition given here it says viveka is brahmas
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so here we have to understand the viveka in a seeker starts with nithyanathy vastu viveka
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which later on after guru shastra pradesha
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so in the beginning seeker doesn't see jagates mithya he only sees anitya
33:37
what is the difference between anitya and mithya when we say jagathi's anitya we mean to
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say that jagat though impermanent still exists but when we say jakarta is mithya it
33:50
means jagat is illusory and non-existent though it may appear to exist
33:57
so as a seeker he starts with nithya nithya vastu viveka but later on
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with knowledge his understanding his viveka matures into brahmasatyam
34:15
next comes viraga or
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[Applause]
34:45
what is what is jihasa the desire to give up
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what is that which you desire to give up all the objects of enjoyment
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the desire to give up all the objects of enjoyment is called vairagyam why do you want to
35:08
give up because they are impermanent
35:14
an impermanent thing can give only permanent impermanent joy
35:19
an impermanent thing can give us only impermanent joy we are not interested in
35:25
impermanent joy because impermanent joy is nothing but pain alone when you are attached to
35:33
someone or something which is impermanent there is joy no doubt there is joy
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when we are attached to someone or something but when that someone or something is
35:46
gone and it will definitely go because everyone and everything is impermanent
35:54
so what happens when that impermanent thing or being is gone suffering alone
36:00
is the result pain alone is a result so vairagi is the person who sees the pain
36:07
in the superficial enjoyments so therefore he gives up the objects of enjoyments
36:14
those objects of enjoyments how are they experienced
36:20
by the sense organs all the objects of enjoyments are experienced by our sense organs we
36:27
see it smell it taste it touch it feel it
36:37
is the desire to give up these sense enjoyments because you are not interested in it
36:44
because you see only pain
36:51
in the beginning it is like nectar but in the end it is like poison to what extent is his
36:58
dispassion they are the brahmapariyanti from his body till brahmaji's body
37:07
he just cannot be tempted even if you give him brahmaji's body
37:15
even if you give him brahmaji's world he will just reject it
37:22
now you must be thinking what is so great about brahmaji you see brahmaji's one full day
37:29
is two thousand chatura yoga one chatura yoga is
37:35
four yogas put together satya dwapara and kali four yugas put together
37:42
is one chatur yuga so one chaturuga is 43 lakh 20 000 years
37:50
brahmaji's one day is two thousand chaturugas and this way brahmaji lives up to
37:56
hundred years so you can calculate so how many years brahmaji lives
38:04
2000 into 365 into 100 into 43 lakh 23 000 years
38:12
it comes to crores and crores and crores of human years
38:18
and not only that brahmaji lives in satyaloka which is also called as brahmaloka the highest
among all the 14
38:25
worlds everything is available there it is said there is no disease no old age
38:32
and the only suffering the brahmalokawasees have is the pain due to compassion
38:37
their hearts melt when they see jivas suffering in this world this is the only
38:43
pain they have so now to such a vairagi even if brahmaji's body is given to him
38:51
brahmaji's world is given to him he rejects it now this is the height of dispassion
38:59
now why does he reject brahmaji's body see brahmaji may live for crores and crudes
39:05
and crores of years but a day will come when he will also have to vacate his past
39:12
he will also have to give up his body so that is also anity only
39:18
how does it matter whether your anity is shorter anitium or longer anithium it is also anity
39:26
so this is viraga viraga means the desire to give up
39:31
due to distaste in sense enjoyments viraga v plus raga is passion
39:40
attachment desire we v means devoid of so viraga viraga means
39:47
freedom from all kinds of ragas desires that is viraga or vairagya
39:55
next qualification is shamadi the six-fold qualifications what are
40:02
they we will see tomorrow
40:10
[Music]
40:22
um [Music]
40:33
oh
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