Sadhana Chatustaya
Jnana Yoga of Brahma Vidya or
the science of the Self is not a subject that can be understood and realized
through mere intellectual study, reasoning, ratiocination, discussion or
arguments. It is the most difficult of all sciences.
A student who treads the path
of Truth must, therefore, first equip himself with Sadhana Chatushtaya - the
"four means of salvation". They are discrimination, dispassion, the
sixfold qualities of perfection, and intense longing for liberation - Viveka,
Vairagya, Shad-Sampat and Mumukshutva. Then alone will he be able to
march forward fearlessly on the path. Not an iota of spiritual progress is
possible unless one is endowed with these four qualifications.
These four means are as old as
the Vedas and this world itself. Every religion prescribes them; the
names differ from path to path but this is immaterial. Only ignorant people
have the undesirable habit of practicing lingual warfare and raising
unnecessary questions. Pay no attention to them. It is your duty to try to eat
the fruit instead of wasting time in counting the leaves of the tree. Try now
to understand these four essential requisites for salvation.
Viveka is
discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the permanent and the
impermanent, between the Self and the non-Self. Viveka dawns in a man through
the Grace of God. The Grace can come only after one has done unceasing selfless
service in countless births with the feeling that he is an instrument of the
Lord and that the work is an offering to the Lord. The door to the higher mind
is flung open when there is an awakening of discrimination.
There is an eternal,
changeless principle amidst the ever-changing phenomena of this vast universe
and the fleeting movements and oscillations of the mind.
The aspirant should separate himself also from the six waves of the ocean of Samsara - birth and death, hunger and thirst, and exhilaration and grief. Birth and death belong to the physical body; hunger and thirst belong to Prana; exhilaration and grief are the attributes of the mind. The Soul is unattached. The six waves cannot touch Brahman which is as subtle as the all-pervading ether.
Association with saints and
study of Vedantic literature will infuse discrimination in man. Viveka should
be developed to the maximum degree. One should be well established in it.
Vairagya is dispassion
for the pleasures of this world and of heaven. The Vairagya that is born of
Viveka is enduring and lasting. It will not fail the aspirant. But the Vairagya
that comes temporarily to a woman when she gives birth to a child or when one
attends a funeral at a crematorium, is of no use. The view that everything in
the world is unreal causes indifference to the enjoyments of this world and the
heaven-world also. One has to return from heaven to this plane of existence
when the fruits of good works are all exhausted. Hence they are not worth
striving for.
Vairagya does not mean
abandoning one's social duties and responsibilities of life. It does not mean
abandoning the world, for life in a solitary cave of the Himalayas. Vairagya is
mental detachment from all worldly objects. One may remain in the world and
discharge all duties with detachment. He may be a householder with a large
family, yet at the same time he may have perfect mental detachment from everything.
He can do spiritual Sadhana amidst his worldly activities. He who has perfect
mental detachment in the world is a hero indeed. He is better than a Sadhu
living in a Himalayan cave, for the former has to face innumerable temptations
every moment of his life.
The third requisite is Shad-Sampat,
the sixfold virtue. It consists of Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Sraddha
and Samadhana. All these six qualities are taken as one because they are
calculated to bring about mental control and discipline, without which
concentration and meditation are impossible.
1. Sama
is serenity or tranquillity of mind which is brought about through the eradication
of desires.
2. Dama
is rational control of the senses.
3. Uparati
is satiety; it is resolutely turning the mind away from desire for sensual
enjoyment. This state of mind comes naturally when one has practiced Viveka,
Vairagya, Sama and Dama.
4. Titiksha
is the power of endurance. An aspirant should patiently bear the pairs of
opposites such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc.
5. Sraddha
is intense faith in the word of the Guru, in Vedantic scriptures and, above
all, in one's own self. It is not blind faith but is based on accurate
reasoning, evidence and experience. As such, it is lasting, perfect and
unshakable. Such a faith is capable of achieving anything.
6. Samadhana
is fixing the mind on Brahman or the Self, without allowing it to run towards
objects. The mind is free from anxiety amid pains and troubles. There is
stability, mental poise and indifference amid pleasures. The aspirant has
neither like nor dislikes. He has great inner strength and enjoys unruffled
peace of mind, due to the practices of Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha and
Sraddha.
Mumukshutva is intense
desire for liberation or deliverance from the wheel of births and deaths with
its concomitant evils of old age, disease, delusion and sorrow. If one is
equipped with the previous three qualifications (Viveka, Vairagya and
Shad-Sampat), then the intense desire for liberation will come without any
difficulty. The mind moves towards the Source of its own accord when it has
lost its charm for external objects. When purification of mind and mental
discipline are achieved, the longing for liberation dawns by itself.
The aspirant who is endowed
with all these four qualification should then approach the Guru who will
instruct him on the knowledge of his real nature. The Guru is one who has a
thorough knowledge of the scriptures and is also established in that knowledge in
direct experience. He should then reflect and meditate on the inner Self and
strive earnestly to attain the goal of Self-realization.
A Sadhaka should reflect and
meditate. Sravana is hearing of Srutis, Manana is thinking and
reflecting, Nididhyasana is constant and profound meditation. Then comes
Atma-Sakshatkara or direct realization.
Excerpts from:
Sadhana Chatushtaya – Jnana Yoga by Swami
Sivanandahttp://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
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