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Upadesa-pancakam of Adi Sankaracharya – Part I
S. Yegnasubramanian
karma. Regarding sakAma karma, he says, Generally we talk about three-fold defects in
worldly pleasures:
J@,XD" LHS23X)XS@LÆ!" kAmye matistyajyatAm –
May you give up the actions meant for material 1. Du:kha-miSritvam - they are mixed with
pain – since, to acquire, preserve and to lose,
wealth one has to go through pain
2. atrupti-karatvam – will never give
This means one should be satisfied with what satisfaction
one has, and acquire only that much to lead a 3. bandhakatvam –will make one slave of
them; one gets addicted to them
simple life. Here kAmye refers to sakAma
kAmas and mati: refers to interest or craving; And, by following one’s svadharma, through a
tyajyatAm Æ may you give up (gradually). refined mind, one will be able to discern these
defects. That means, one becomes a vivekI –
O@O@$Ç="OHQW4XS@LÆ;"pApaugha: paridhUyatAm
mature person. And because of that, one can
renounce kAmya-karmas discussed earlier. It is
Strive against the call of likes and dislikes.
not enough if one understands this; it should be
Ogha: - multitudes or bundles of
constantly remembered; so the teacher says,
pApa : here, rAga-dvesha – likes and dislikes; anusandhIyatAm – should be constantly
they are called pApa, because they obstruct
reminded.
spiritual growth.
Since material pleasures are defective
paridhUyatAm – should be wiped out, cleaned
leading to sorrow, one turns one’s attention
Since in following svadharma, worship of the from them to spiritual fulfillment.
Lord is done which gives the blessing of the
Lord and so, the mind becomes cleaner and @3LD"#@"5XUR(XS@LÆ;"AtmecchA vyvasIyatAm
cleaner. When the mind becomes free from the – May you cultivate strong desire for AtmA, the
infinite, ever secure and stable.
grip of rAga-dvesha,
That means, one should turn away from
ÃURTND"C@DG@DHMTR-W(XS@LÆ;"bhavasukhe ephemeral –anityam, to eternal – nityam, which
dosho(a)nusandhIyatAm – May you see the requires the ability to discriminate between
defects of worldly accomplishments. them, namely, viveka. Then, to turn away from
anityam, one needs to have dispassion or
This is more an explanation of the previous
instruction – pApaugha: paridhUyatAm – vairAgyam. And to crave for what is nityam,
paraphrased here. one needs mumukshutvam. Thus, viveka,
vairAgya and mumukshutvam are implied in
these three lines, as follows:
pApaugha: paridhUyatAm Æ indicates viveka seclusion, or stay in the home itself without any
bhavasukhe dosho(a)nusandhIyatAm Æ active participation in the affairs of the home.
indicates vairAgya, and,
AtmecchA vyavasiyatAm Æ indicates RØ="R3RT"HUW(XS@5"ÃFUS@D"ÃHÄ}1%@"W(XS@LÆ;"
mumukshutvam
Y@-3X@HC="OHQB(XS@5"}%SQ5"JL@1YT"R-3X)XS@LÆ!"
RHbb@MTOR/X1S@5"eHSHCM5"S3O@¯J@RD5XS@LÆ;"
Thus, the first stage, namely, brahmacharya
ASrama, enables a person to learn the vedic g|$J@<QL6X1S@5"rTHSHYQ@DU@*X5"RL@JZX1S@LÆ!"
scheme of life, and the second stage, namely,
To maintain the spiritual urge and develop it in
GrihasthASrama, enables one to get viveka,
the third stage, the Acharya says,
vairAgya and mumukshutvam, through
svadharma anushThAna or karmayoga. RØ="R3RT"HUW(XS@LÆ;!sanga: satsu vidhIyatAm
May you have satsanga, association with
Then one comes to the third stage, given as, spiritual seekers and wise people as much as
possible, and
HMIFPG@^4:T" HUHMF1,XS@LÆ!" nijagrihAt tUrNam
ÃFUS@D"ÃHÄ}1%@"W(XS@LÆ; bhagavato
vinirgamyatAm – May you get out of bhaktirdriDhA dhiyatAm – May you resort to an
(attachment to) your home as soon as possible. intense devotion to god.
which indicates the third ASrama, namely, 1. yama: ahimsA, satyam, asteyam, aparigraha
vAnaprathASrama.
and brahmacharyam, as seen earlier.
That means, actions (karma) are reduced 2. niyama: saucham, santosha:, tapas,
svAdhyAya and ISwara-praNidhAnam, as
significantly giving place to meditation or
seen earlier. So, yama and niyama will
upAsanA. streamline one’s activities.
3. Asana : Will integrate the physical body
Till then, the mind was extravert only all the through yogAsanas.
time, and to come to vedAnta, one has to be 4. prANAyAma : breathing discipline
5. pratyAhAra: discipline of sense organs
more internally focused. 6. dhAraNa ability to hold in the mind
7. dhyAna ability to focus the mind
One can get in to this life style either by 8. samAdhi ability to get absorbed in the mind
physically leaving one’s home and retiring to
This scheme helps to integrate the personality.
With the practice of yoga and upAsanA, one
RHbb@MTOR/X1S@LÆ; sad-vidwAn-upasarpyatAm –
should develop another group of six-fold
disciplines, called, SamAdi-shaTka-samapatti: may a wise person be approached by you. One
Which are, has to seek a teacher for gaining knowledge,
who is a sad-vidwAn, a jnAnI or a competent
1. Sama Æ mind or thought control teacher, who has also studied under the guidance
2. dama Æ sense control
of his teacher, coming through the guru-
3. uparama Æ the mind from unwanted
fields, should not again go back to them paramparA. And,
4. titkshA Æ inner strength to face
opposite experiences of life
5. SraddhA Æ faith in the scriptures and
eHSHCM5" S3O@¯J@RD5XS@LÆ; pratidinan-tad-
the guru
6. samadhAnam Æ concentration; non- pAdukA-sevyatAm –May his sandals
wavering mind (representing his feet) be worshipped by you. In
this process, the student the ego and develops
Y@-3X@HC="OHQB(XS@LÆ; ShAntyAdi: faith in the teacher who is the personification of
paricIyatAm – May you develop ShamAdi- the scriptures themselves. In addition, direct
shaTka-sampatti or citta ekAgratA – focused contact with the teacher also enables the student
mind
to firm up his viveka, vairagya etc.
With this third stage, namely vAnaprastha qualifications. And then,
ASrama is over. Now the Acharya talks about
the last stage, namely, pursuit of jnAnayoga g|$J@<QL6X1S@LÆ; brahmaikAsharm-arthyatAm
entering in to sannyAsa ASrama .
May the knowledge of Brahman be asked. Here
eka-aksharam indicates the non-dual,
}%SQ5"JL@1Y"T R-3X)XS@LÆ!"driDhataram imperishable, reality. In this context, Brahman
karmAshu samtyajyatAm – may all karmas and should be taken as brahmajnAnam. JnAnayoga
upasanas be totally given up. comprises SravaNam, mananam and
nidhidhyAsanam, which the Acharya mentions
driDhataram --. Absolutely, firmly; all karmas
can be given up at this stage because, they have briefly,
served their purpose of getting cittaSuddhi and
rTHSHYQ@DU@*X5" Sruti-shiro-vAkyam; means
citta ekAgratA.
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