/ An Introduction to the study of Sadananda's Vedantasara SWAMI HARSHANANDA OKSA OR LIBERATION from Vedanta, the last of these, is the crowning transmigratory existence is the glory of the Indian philosophical systems. final goal of human life. Hence It depends mainly on the Upani\>ads. it is also caned parama-puru~iirtha There are three main branches in ('the highest of the ends desired Vedanta, the result of three types of by human beings'). The mortal who traditions: Advaita, Visistadvaita and attains to that state becomes immortal. He Dvaita. Among these, Advaita seems to dives and swims in the ocean of bliss, he have been more popular and gathered gets dissolved in it. Who would not wish greater number qf followers. Starting with to get such a beatific experience? Gaudapacta and Sankara this tradition has However, none can get it without striving flourished continuously for 1,400 years for it. There can be no siddhi (fulfilment} and has produced hundreds of works. without siidhana (the means). That is why Some of these works have been written our philosophical treatises which keep as commentaries on the Prasthanatraya. I before us the parama-puru~iirtha, give as Others have come down as glosses and much importance to siidhana as to explanations of the main commentaries. intellectual speculations. In fact, this is When the arguments put forward in these the reason for calling them Darsanas. works to defend their thought were Darsana means seeing, direct experience. criticized by other schools, newer works - The Rsis (sages) 'saw' the Highest Truth, mainly dialectical to counter them, had experienced not only the nature of that to be written. Apart from these, which were Truth but also the path that leads to It. meant exclusively for the intellectual elite, That is why these treatise.. were simpler works for the benefit of common christened Darsanas. This is the people were also composed. Such works fundamental difference between our were called prakaratlas. Sadananda's Darsanas and the philosophies of the Vediintasiira has a special place among such West. prakaranas. Among such Darsanas, the Astika- Darsanas those which accept the supreme authority of the Vedas· are six l.The three basic scriptures: the in number: They are:. Nyaya, Vaise$ika, Upani$ads, the Brahmasutras, and the Sailkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Bhagavad GWi. The author IS a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order and the head of Ramakrishna Math. Allahabad. 19R9 VFOANTASARA 61 Not much is known about this The contents of this work may now be Sadananda. Scholars opine that he probably summarized as follows: lived at the end of the 15th century or the The word 'Vedanta' indicates the beginning of the 16th. He was the Upanisads which contain the quintessence paramaguru (Guru's Guru) of Nrsimha of the Vedas, the Brahmasutras of Sarasvati, the author of Subodhini ,one of Badarayana, the Bhagavad Gitii. and all the well-known glosses on the \Iedii.ntasii.ra. other works which follow the spirit of these. Two more Sadanandas are known to us: The Vedanta philosophy describes not only Sadananda Kasmlraka, the author of the nature of the Truth but also the path that Advaita -brahma -siddhi; Sadrmanda Vyasa, leads to its experience. But one who desires the composer of the work to follow it should have first cleansed his Advaita -siddhii.nta -sii.ra. Sch<1lars are mind by the proper study of the Vedas and undecided whether all these three are the by the performance of the various Karmas same person or are different. However (ritualsl and Upasanas (meditations) there are no two opinions about the beauty prescribed in them. After thus attaining a and the speciality of this work. certain degree of purity of mind, he should Vedii.ntasara, for the following reasons: now take up the practice of I.lt pays greater attention to the Sadhana-catustaya or the fourfold spiritual prameya (the things to be known} which are practice. It consists of". viveka more relevant to the spiritual aspirants. (discrimination), vairagya (renunciation), than the pramii./Jas (methods of samii.dl~a!ka (group of six virtues beginning knowledge). with sama or peace of mind and ending with , sraddhii. or faith). and mumuksutva (desire 2.It refers briefly to the post-Sankara • for emancipation). schools of Advaita. 3.Tt deals in great detail with the Viveka is the knowledge that Brahman interpretation of the famous Vedantic alone is real and eternal. and this world dictum tat {yam asi. of attractive sense-pleasures is transient. This naturally produ~es vairagya or spirit 4.1t considers the Yoga of Pataiijali as of renunciation towards the world. Then an integral paFt of nididhyii.sana the aspirant tries to cultivate the six (meditation). well-known virtues viz .. sama (peace of Though short. this work has been very mind). dama (self-control), uparati popular among the students of Advaita (withdrawal of the mind from the Vedanta. The five commentaries that are sense-objects), titik~a (forbearance), samii.dhii.na (concentration of mind) and available on it are proof of this. They are: • (a)Bii.labodhinf of Apadeva; (b)Subodhinf sraddhii (faith). As a result of this, his of Nrsimha SarasvatI; mumu!c~utva (desire for liberation) grows. (c) Vidvanmanoranjanf of RamatIrtha; Then he respectfully approaches a (d) Vedii.ntasii.ra-tikii. by an unknown author; competent Guru for instructions. He (e) Vedii.ntasara- vyii.kh yii. by listens (srava/Ja) to the Guru's teachings, Ramacandrananda Sarasvati. reflects (manana) over them, and then meditates (nididhyii.sana) on the Truth Among these, the first three have been that emerges in his mind as a result. This printed. The other two are available in ripens into realization of his Atman or manuscript form in some Oriental libraries. Self that has always been present in his 62 THE VEDANTA KESARI FEBRUARY heart, through the destruction of ajfldna priijila; the three bodies sthula, (ignorance). As long as the silk$ma and kdra~a; the five Kosas Prarabdha-karma (the Karma that is (sheaths) annamaya, prii~amaya, responsible for this birth) lasts, he manomaya, vijfldnamaya and continues to live in the body, but as a dnandamaya; the three- forms of livanmukta (one who is free even while Paramatman, viz., Isvara, and living). Then when the body falls, he Hiraryagarbha and Virii!; the fourteen attains Videha-mukti (freedom from worlds beginning with Bhu; the bodies of rebirth) . the beings that inhabit them and the five elements that are their causes all these When the disciple, who is a jijiltisu are the products of ajiliina, the effect of (aspirant after Truth) and a mumuk$u its vik$epa-sakti! (aspirant after liberation) approaches the Guru, the Guru teaches him the Truth by Through right perception, under the following the method of adhytiropa and right circumstances, the snake is sublated apavtida. These are technical terms and its substratum, the rope is seen as commonly used in Advaita literature. it is. Similarly, when through pramd~a Adhyiiropa is also called adhydsa. In (right means of knowledge), yukti (logic) semi-darkness, we superimpose a snake and anubhava (experience) the world on a rope due to the ignorance of the fact which is being perceived in Brahman that it is a rope. Similarly, we through ajiliina is sublated and its superimpose this world on Brahman due substratum Brahman is seen as It is, the to the ignorance of Its nature. This method followed in doing so, is called superimposition is adhydropa. apavdda or de-superimposition. This ignorance, technically called Brahman appears to evolve in~o this ajiliina or avidyii, is neither sat (real) nor world, as described in the Upani~ads, in asat (unreal) nor even sat-asat particular order. In nididhydsana one (real-unreal). It is impossible to define it, should meditate on this in the reverse though it is a fact of experience. Hence direction and dissolve the world into it is termed anirvacaniya (indefinable). Brahman. Then Brahman alone remains This ajilana comprises three GUlJas and the world totally disappears. (qualities) called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Also, it is jildnavirodhi (opposed The most important fact that emerges to knowledge) and bhdvarupa (positive). out of this apavdda is that the Jiva and isvara are the same in essence. It is This ajildna has two powers: tivara~a exactly this that the Mahavakyas (Great (of concealment) and vik$epa (of Sentences) of the Upanisads declare. projection). Semi-darkness conceals the Among these, the sentences tat tvam asi real nature of the rope and makes it ('That thou art') and aham brahma asmi appear like a snake. Similarly, the (J am Brahman) have been described and dvara1)a-sakti of ajildnq conceals the real commented upon in great detail in the nature of Brahman. Its vik$epa-sakti Vedantic works. Incidentally, the first projects the world appearance in the sentence is called upadefa-vdkya ('the same. sentence of teaching'); and the latter, The three aspects of the Jivatman anubhava-viikya ('the sentence of (individual self) viz., vis va, taijasa and experience'). In this work, Veddntasiira, 1989 VEDANTASARA 63 the method by which tat tvam asi is to This identity has to be experienced be interpreted has been depicted in great and for this the aspirant has to perform detail. siidhana. In this scheme, of siidhana, srava~a comes first. Srava1,la does not As already described, the literal • • mean merely 'hearing'. It is listening meaning of the senten~e: tat tvam aSl, IS attentively to the teachings of the 'That thou art'; i.e., Isvara and ]iva .are Upani~ads from the Guru, and the same, or identical. Since Isvara, the determining their correct'meaning as per Lord, and Jiva, the individual soul, are the six lingas or rules of understanding, poles apart, they can never be equal or like upakrama (beginning), upasarithiira identical in the literal sense.