Prashanth Parikh, Thursday, July 30, 2015 6:32 am

From Sadhaka to Siddha

Hari? Om.

FROM S?DHAKA TO SIDDHA:

I would like to briefly discuss the path of a mumuk?u leading his way up to mok?a with the firm assimilation of Self knowledge (aham sat chit ?nanda svar?pa? sarva antary?mi chit ?k?sha r?pa? asmi iti dr??ha ni?chaya ). This is a summary for quick recollection for those who have already studied an introductory text- especially Tattva Bodha.

1) Cultivating the s?dhanam chatu?taya?

a) nitya anitya vastu viveka? (discrimination between what eternal- the Self; and non eternal- the apparent jagat)
b) vair?gya (dispassion toward sense objects here or in the hereafter)
c) The six-fold discipline consisting of:

i. ?ama  (control of the mind),
ii. dama (control of one’s expressions),
iii. uparama (commitment to aligning with dharma),
iv. titik?a (patience/forebearance),
v. ?raddh? (faith pending understanding in the words of veda and guru),
vi. sam?dh?n (focus, steadfastness) and

d) mumuk?utvam (a desire for mok?a- freedom).

Sw?mi Param?rth?nanda ji maps these onto the 4 ‘D’s (discrimination (a), dispassion (b), discipline (c), desire (d) )

Now, viveka? itself comes in two flavors, so to speak:

i) nity?nitya vastu viveka?, knowing the difference between eternal and non eternal, and
ii) dharm?dharma viveka?- knowing the difference between dharma and adharma (sw?miji mentions this as greatly elaborated in the git?, though only hinted in tattva bodha), which is again a pre-requisite to gaining Self knowledge. Our tradition makes clear that a dh?rmika person may/may not be a jñ?ni, but in order to be a jñ?ni one MUST first be dh?rmika.

2) After having known ?tm? from an?tm? through viveka? the next step is to subsume an?tm? into its cause, being ?tm?. This resolves the first rung of duality between tat (‘that brahman’) and idam (this), by merging them into one, in our understanding.

3) The distance between ‘tatpad?rtha’ and ahampad?rtha is merely notional, one needs to eradicate the 3 malams afflicting the anta?kara?a through the 3 practices described by Sw?mi Param?rth?nanda ji in his Git? lectures

a) The grossest : Malam Layer or impure layer, removed by karma yoga
b) The subtle : Vik?epa? – disturbance caused by unwanted projections of the mind, removed by up?sana yoga
c) The subtlest final layer : ?varanam or ignorance or ajñ?nam, removed by jñ?na yoga (which leads to the next step)

4) Now, finally, through sufficient amount of ?rvanam, mana?am and nidhidhy?sanan, one starts identifying tat-pad?rtha (‘that’ brahman) with aham (‘I’/?tm?) AT ALL TIMES. This is the final resolution taking place in the mind. It comes in the form of akhan??k?ra vr?tti (‘thought modification taking the form of “I am the whole”) and it leaves behind a fullness that is independent of all vr?ttis, but by which all other vr?ttis are sustained

Hari? Om.

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