Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Dear Venkat, Can u add your knowledge to this query. Reg : " Mantra Sadhana can only purify and prepare the sadhaka for self inquiry and make the process of self inquiry easy. Even SriVidya upasakas have to do self enquiry along with their sadhana to get moksha. Mere mantra japa/homa cannot give moksha. That is as far as I gather. Maybe Srividya upasakas here can elaborate." Rgds Reply from a Non member but a senior Upasak on a query of one of the member of our group. Venkataraman Ranganathan <kaamakshi wrote: "Venkataraman Ranganathan" srividya101 Mantropasana and Vichara - Sun, 01 Feb 2004 14:09:20 +0530 Pranams I have no authoritative support to my perceptions: These are limited and relevant to me at my present state of understanding, having heard from diverse philosophical darshanas from childhood: Any sadhana has a mixture and proportion of other sadhanas too and are not mutually exclusive. Our preponderance in a particular sadhana at a point in time is what we require. Mantra, bahya puja, antaryaga, raja yoga, karma yoga, bahkthi yoga et all are inter-related at subtle levels, one leading to and strengthening the other. When we talk of a particular prayoga - or a tatva to the exclusion of others - the purpose is - for us to understand its importance or potential in its entirety. These are like economic theories' exposition - where we assume other things being equal. The other example which comes to mind is - what we do while cooking - we make many things, some are parellel, some are sequential. but it depends on what is being cooked and how we want it. In the same way, though the ultimate result could be sweet, some could be like chakrai pongal whereas some could be like laddu and someother could be like thenkuzhal in vellam. What is essentail in these is- what have we chosen to do and not to mix up at that level. If Thenkuzhal has to be first fried, the process or sequence for that dish should be strictly followed while doing that dish. In Chakkarai pongal we donot fry it. these are different at operational levels though the end result is sweet. Mixing up or comparison of superiority or inferiority takes the essence of whatever upasana we do. The statement that vichara is superior to mantropasana does not arise in that context. We should have srdahha that mantropasana itself will lead us to our stated objective. Otherwise, mind will wander and make the mantropasana to just a ritual. We should be convinced that mantropasana also has vichara element embedded into it and strengthen our upasana through vichara on the mantra and the lakshyartha. The objective in exclusive devotion to a particular sadhana is to develop ekagrathai and unstinted devotion to what we do. It is impossible to conceive of mantra sadhana as complete, without vichara. For example, when we meditate on the mantra unless we are in line with the Lakshyartha of the mantra, how can there be focus on the mantra? While mantras will certainly produce results, the matter for us is how much of it can we benefit from, in our journey towards realisation?. It depends on our sradhha in the marga. For this vichara is certainly required. Vichara removes our inherent contradictions, which are not apparent at the conscious level. In the same way, if we keep doing only vichara without karma, we can not proceed. In vedantha there is a story of Dhonnaikku vennai aadaram. The Guru sends a disciple to the shop to get some ghee from the shop and the shop keeper gives ghee in a dhonnai, a container made of plantain leaf. The ghee was solid as it was winter. The disciple had a doubt - which is the basis - the ghee or the container? While doing the vichara on way he found that the entire ghee melts and he is left with empty dhonnai. Obviously, when this story is told, they do not mean to deride vichara, but these have to be understood as - we have a place for all darshanas in right proportion at the right time for the right adhikari. Our emphasis should be to pursue what is given to us and have implicit faith that it has the potential for achieving the realisation. Otherwise, why should sanatana dharma prescribe so many margas. This is the reason there is emphasis on the right preceptor who dispels our doubts in our journey. Such a person is defined as one who is BrahmaNishtha, rooted in THAT. If this is there, then we will realise that what comes to us has everything in right proportion as relevant to us. I would put the example of sandhya worship as an example. Does it have mantra sadhana, yes. Does it have dhyana - yes. Does it involve bahya puja, yes. Does it have raja yoga, yes. Does it have karma yoga, yes. Does it have bhakthi, yes. Does it have nirgunaopasana, yes. Does it have sagunopasana, yes. Does it have vichara yes. Then how can we say only mantropasana or vichara alone gives mukthi? It is a combination of all that is required for us to actualise THAT state. I believe the Divine rushes to each upasaka what he or she or it requires,as She is the one who kindles our intellect and energy in that direction. If we remain open to Her, to cook us the way She desires, if we have the trust that it is She who works, our emphasis will shift to the action of surrender and will remain open to Her and receive Her abundant grace. It is not vichara or mantra or yoga or any other sadhana, which will give self realisation or Mukthi, it is Her Grace alone which gives mukthi. Otherwise, many Ramana followers should have become gnanis by practicing "who am i" vichara, or many tantriks, mantriks or vedantins should have become liberated, by pursuing exclusive yogas. On the contrary, there are innumerable illustrations in vedantha where receptive and enquring mind is emphasised alongwith undiluted devotion to the Guru. We pursue these to become adhikaris to receive Her Grace. If she decides even without these we become adhikaris. It all Her karuna. This is why JK said truth is a pathless land. Pranams Venkat Ranganathan Venkata Raman Audit Manager, Dubai National Insurance & Reinsurance PSC PO Box - 1806, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Ph: 009714-2635568® - 0097150-4535970 (Mobile) Ganapathy --- Vijaya " Jai Bhavani " - - - - " Jai Sri Lalitha Maha Maha Tripura Sundari " " Sarvam Shakti Mayam Jagath " SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 , ganapathy = = vijaya <srividya101> wrote: > Venkataraman Ranganathan <kaamakshi@h...> wrote: "Venkataraman Ranganathan" > It is not vichara or mantra or yoga or any other sadhana, which >will give self realisation or Mukthi, it is Her Grace alone which >gives mukthi. Otherwise, many Ramana followers should have become >gnanis by practicing "who am i" vichara, or many tantriks, mantriks >or vedantins should have become liberated, by pursuing exclusive >yogas. On the contrary, there are innumerable illustrations in >vedantha where receptive and enquring mind is emphasised alongwith >undiluted devotion to the Guru. > > We pursue these to become adhikaris to receive Her Grace. If she decides even without these we become adhikaris. It all Her karuna. This is why JK said truth is a pathless land. No doubt it is Her grace that gives moksha. Shankaracharyas works clearly say that moksha is through knowledge alone. And that knowledge of self can be obtained through proper vichara. It is Her karuna/kataksha that grants the ability and desire to do such atma vichara , which(Her kataksha) is obtained through sadhana(i.e performing all enjoined karmas and puja/Japa/Homa etc). In that sense it is Her karuna alone that gives moksha. This does not mean that one stops upasana and starts doing just vichara. As you pointed out, both of them are done in parallel, as we have seen from the lives of great Srividyopasakas like HH ChandraShekara Bharati Swamigal, who are jivanmuktas and never missed their anushtana. In those instances where it appears that without sadhana the individual becomes adhikari to receive Her grace, it is because they did sadhana in their previous births and received the results from Her in this birth of theirs. That is my understanding for now. Corrections welcome. Rgds Satish. > > Pranams > > Venkat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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