Vivekachudamani

   The four preliminary requisites

(Saadhanachatushtayam)

   In order that hearing, reflection and meditation may be fruitful, the aspirant should have acquired the four preliminary qualifications mentioned below.

   The four requisites are� (1) discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal (nitya-anitya-vastu vivekah), (2) detachment towards all enjoyments in this world as well as in higher worlds like heaven (iha-amutra-phalabhoga-viraagah), (3) possession of the six virtues commencing with control of the mind (shamaadishatkasampattih), and (4) intense yearning for liberation (mumukshutvam). Each of these is explained below.

(1) The firm conviction that Brahman alone is real and that the universe is illusory (mithyaa) is discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal.

(2) Detachment is revulsion towards all objects of enjoyment in this world as well as in higher worlds, including one�s own body.

(3) The six virtues starting with shama are--- shama, dama, uparati, titikshaa, shraddhaa, samaadhaana. These are explained below.

(a) Withdrawing the mind from all sense- pleasures by realizing their harmful nature, and making it rest on one�s objective (namely, the Self) is shama.

(b) Restraining the organs of sense and of action (jnaanendriya and karmendriya) is known as dama.

(c) When the mind ceases to function through the external organs, that state is uparati.

(d) Enduring all adversities without lament or anxiety and without seeking to counter them is titikshaa.

(e) Firm conviction about the truth of the scriptures and the teachings of the Guru is shraddhaa.

(f) The mind remaining firmly fixed in the attributeless Brahman is samaadhaana. 

(4) The fourth requisite, mumukshutvam is intense yearning to become free from nescience (avidya) and its effect, bondage, by the realization of one�s true nature. In his Bhashya on Gita,4.11 Sri Sankara says that it is impossible for a person to be a seeker of liberation and also a seeker of the fruits of action at the same time. From this it is clear that only a person who has attained total and intense detachment can be called a mumukshu. The definition of yogaarudha in Gita 6.4 as one who is free from attachment to sense-objects and actions and does not even think of them indicates that both these terms have the same meaning.         

   Of these, detachment and the yearning for liberation are the most important. Only if these two are strong, will the others like shama, etc, be fruitful. If detachment and desire for liberation are not very strong, the other qualities will be unreal like the water in a mirage and will be of no use.

   In sloka 32 of Vivekachudamani it is said, �Among the various means for liberation, bhakti is the greatest�. But the word �bhakti� is not used here in the usual sense of devotion to a personal God. In this sloka itself bhakti is defined as �continuous contemplation of one�s essential nature�-sva-svarupa-anusandhaana. According to the commentary of Swami Chandrasekhara Bharati this word means nididhyaasana  or profound repeated meditation on the mahaavakya, which follows sravana, hearing the sruti from the Guru, and manana, reflecting on the same to remove all doubts. 

   In this context the specific meanings of these three words, sravana, manana, and nididhyaasana, as given in other authoritative works may be quoted because these words have a very important place in Vedanta:--   

Vedanta saara of Sadaananda, ch.5, para 182�Hearing is the determination, by the application of the six characteristic signs, that the purport of the entire Vedanta is the non-dual Brahman.  The six signs are�(1) the beginning and the conclusion, (2) repetition, (3) originality, (4) result, (5) eulogy and (6) demonstration. The Sanskrit terms for these are, respectively, upakramopasamhaara, abhyaasa, apoorvataa, phala, arthavaada, and upapatti. Each of these terms is explained below.

Vedanta saara,ch.5. para 185�The term � the beginning and the conclusion� means the presentation of the subject matter of a section at the beginning and at the end of the section. For example, in the sixth chapter of the Chhaandogya Upanishad, Brahman, which is the subject-matter of the chapter, is introduced at the beginning with the words, �One only without a second�, etc. (6.2.1). At the end of the chapter Brahman is again spoken of in the words, �In It all that exists has its Self�, etc. (6.8.7).

Para 186�Repetition is the repeated presentation of the subject-matter in the section. In the same chapter, Brahman, the One without a second, is mentioned nine times by the sentence �Thou art that�.

Para 187��Originality� means that the subject-matter of the section is not known through any other source of knowledge. For instance, the subject matter of the above section, namely, Brahman, cannot be known through any source of knowledge other than the sruti.    

Para 188�The �result� is the utility of the subject-matter. For example, in the same section, we find the sentences� One who has a teacher realizes Brahman. He has to wait only as long as he is not freed from the body; then he is united with Brahman�. (6.14.2). Here the utility of the knowledge is attainment of Brahman.  

Para 189�Eulogy is the praise of the subject-matter. The words in this section, �Did you ask for that instruction by which one knows what has not been known, etc� (6.1.3) are spoken in praise of Brahman.

Para 190�Demonstration is the reasoning in support of the subject-matter, adduced at different places in the same section. An example is��My dear, as by one lump of clay all that is made of clay is known, every modification being only a name, and being real only as clay��(6.4.1). This shows that the universe has no reality except as an apparent modification of Brahman, the only Reality. 

Para 191�Reflection is the constant thinking of Brahman, the One without a second, already heard about from the teacher, by making use of arguments in a constructive manner.

Para 192�Meditation is keeping the mind fixed on the thought of Brahman, uninterrupted by any other thought.    

 The result achieved by �hearing� etc.

�Hearing� removes the doubt whether the upanishadic text which is the pramaana purports to teach about Brahman or about some other entity. This doubt is known as pramaana-asambhaavanaa, or the doubt about the pramaana itself. The pramaana here is the upanishad.

�Reflection� removes the doubt whether Brahman and the jiva are identical or not. This doubt is called prameya-asambhaavanaa, doubt about the subject-matter.  

�Meditation� is intended to remove wrong notions such as �The universe is real; the difference between Brahman and jiva is real�, which are contrary to the teachings of the upanishads, by developing concentration of the mind. Such wrong notions are known as viparita-bhaavanaa.     

                  Thus the purpose of hearing, reflection and meditation is the removal of obstacles in the form of doubts and wrong notions that stand in the way of the origination of Self-knowledge.

   A person who has acquired the preliminary qualifications mentioned earlier should approach a Guru and seek his help. Sri Sankara says in his Bhashya on the Mundakopanishad that no one should undertake the enquiry about Brahman without the help of a Guru. This is because the subject is very subtle and one is apt to misunderstand the scriptures.

Qualities of the Guru

   The Guru should be well-versed in the scriptures, sinless, free from desires. The mind of the Guru is always fixed on Brahman. He is full of compassion. He is always intent on helping others without the expectation of anything in return. The disciple should approach the Guru with humility and pray to him to instruct him on the means to attain liberation. The Guru tells such an earnest seeker that he is in reality none other than the supreme Self and that all sufferings are due only to ignorance of his real nature. This ignorance can be removed by the knowledge that will arise by a proper enquiry into the import of the Upanishads. The disciple then asks the following seven questions.

1. What is bondage?

2. How did it arise? 

3. How does it continue? 

4. How can it be eradicated? 

5. What is the not-Self?

6. Who is the Paramaatmaa?

7. How can we distinguish between the two?  

These questions are answered in the rest of this treatise.