ADVAITA-SAADHANAA (Kanchi Maha-Swamigal’s Discourses) Acknowledgement of Source Material: Ra. Ganapthy’s ‘Deivathin Kural’ (Vol.6) in Tamil published by Vanathi Publishers, 4th edn. 1998 URL of Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-74.htm to http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-141.htm English rendering : V. Krishnamurthy 2006 CONTENTS 1. Essence of the philosophical schools......................................................................... 1 2. Advaita is different from all these. ............................................................................. 2 3. Appears to be easy – but really, difficult .................................................................... 3 4. Moksha is by Grace of God ....................................................................................... 5 5. Takes time but effort has to be started........................................................................ 7 8. ShraddhA (Faith) Necessary..................................................................................... 12 9. Eligibility for Aatma-SAdhanA................................................................................ 14 10. Apex of Saadhanaa is only for the sannyAsi !........................................................ 17 11. Why then tell others,what is suitable only for Sannyaasis?.................................... 21 12. Two different paths for two different aspirants ...................................................... 21 13. Reason for telling every one ................................................................................... 24 14. The matter of Bhakti Yoga ..................................................................................... 27 15. Knowledge of advaita basic requirement for every one ......................................... 27 16. Nitya-anitya-vastu-vivekam:................................................................................... 32 (Discrimination between the permanent and the ephemeral) ....................................... 32 17. Vairaagya (Dispassion)........................................................................................... 38 18. The Sextad of treasurable qualities......................................................................... 51 19. Shama and Dama .................................................................................................... 52 20. Uparati (Cessation) ................................................................................................. 63 21. Titikshhaa (Patience, Endurance) .......................................................................... 66 22. Shraddhaa (Faith / Dedication) ............................................................................... 73 23. Samaadhaana........................................................................................................... 84 24. Who is qualified to receive the teaching of the Upanishads? ................................. 91 25. Rigour in ‘SamaadhaanaM’ .................................................................................... 92 26: The sextad of the paramAtmA and the sextad of the JIvAtmA.............................. 94 27. Mumukshhu-tvaM (Longing for moksha) ............................................................. 95 28. Why is the ultimate stage termed as ‘Release’ and nothing more? ........................ 96 29. Mumukshhu: Definition by the Acharya ................................................................ 98 30. Mumukshu – Base level & intermediate level...................................................... 102 31. Guru’s Grace........................................................................................................ 103 32. Ancient Scriptures and the Acharya on mumukshhu........................................... 104 33. The four components of the armour of spirituality.............................................. 109 34. Prior to the three components of the third stage .................................................. 110 35. Bhakti and its place in the path of jnAna............................................................. 111 36. What is Bhakti?..................................................................................................... 113 37. What is Love? ...................................................................................................... 114 38: Inner Organ and Heart .......................................................................................... 115 39. Ego and Love ........................................................................................................ 118 40. What is the object of Love of an Atma-sAdhaka?................................................ 119 41. Nirguna Bhakti and Saguna Bhakti...................................................................... 121 42. Cooling life-giving Love...................................................................................... 123 43. To remove the conceit of the ego......................................................................... 125 44. Two stages of ego in sAdhanA ............................................................................ 125 45. Bhakti and the Heart ............................................................................................ 128 46. The NaaDis of the heart: JnAni’s life rests, Other’s lives leave........................... 130 47. Correct meaning of Death in Uttaraayana ............................................................ 138 48. Two different results of Karma-yoga................................................................... 139 49. The NaaDi that goes to the head: Mistaken Notion............................................. 141 50. Bhakti of the path of JnAna superior to Bhakti of the path of Bhakti ................. 146 50. Atman full of life, Not just an Abstraction ........................................................... 149 51. Bhakti of the path of JnAna, enunciated by the Veda itself.................................. 155 52.Even in Sutra BhAshya.......................................................................................... 155 54. JnAna itself is Bhakti: Krishna ............................................................................. 158 55. Third Stage............................................................................................................ 160 56. SannyAsa ............................................................................................................. 160 57. Chain of linked names in Vishnu-sahasranAmam............................................... 167 58: SHravANAm ET AL – Vedic Commandment..................................................... 168 59. ShravaNam and SushruushhA (Respectful Service)............................................ 169 60. Is an enlightened guru available?......................................................................... 172 61. Involvement in one single goal............................................................................. 173 62. ShravNa, Manana, NidhidhyAsana – Characteristics........................................... 174 63. Penultimate stage to siddhi .................................................................................. 175 64. Manana that transcends intellect; Nidhidhyaasana that transcends mental feeling ..................................................................................................................................... 176 65. To be rid of two wrong conceptions .................................................................... 178 66. Greatness of Manana & NidhidhyAsana ............................................................. 180 67. Worm becoming the wasp; Making the worm a wasp......................................... 181 68: What is to be done immediately?.......................................................................... 186 ADVAITA-SAADHANAA 1. Essence of the philosophical schools “There is a Supreme Entity as the Cause for all this universe. For us also there is the same Cause. That is what created us. We are only a finite JIvAtmA. But that is ParamAtmA, the infinite Supreme. This JIvAtmA has to go back to join that ParamAtmA. Only then this samsAra, the repetitive cycle of birth and death, the tortures to which this karma subjects us, and the unending turbulence in the mind will all end and we may reach the state of eternal happiness. It is that state which is called ‘Release’ or ‘moksha’. Once we have reached it then there is no more death and there is an eternal peace”. So says Religion and it also shows us the way to reach that ParamAtmA. Each religious or philosophical school gives a name to that ParamAtmA. One school says it is ‘Shiva’. Another says it is ‘Vishnu’. Still another says it is ‘Shakti’. Do this and this, then you can go to Kailasa where Shiva resides and that is the world of moksha, says one school. Another says that world of moksha is only Vaikuntha, the residence of Lord Vishnu. In the same way the Shakti school says moksha-world is the world of Amba, called Shri-puram. ‘Moksha is the Ananda-Bhuvana where Ganesha lives’ says another. ‘No, it is Skanda-giri, where Subrahmanya resides’; ‘Even Rama and Lakshmana did not go to Vaikuntha after they left this world, they have their own separate loka called ‘Saketa’; ‘Krishna has his own world of bliss, called ‘Goloka’ – thus the different schools of thought wax eloquent. Each one gives a methodology of worship and also mentions that the goal of all that Upasana