vivekachUdAmani.

Vaidya N. Sundaram sundaram at ECN.PURDUE.EDU
Mon Aug 10 10:44:05 CDT 1998


 21)
  tadvairaagyaM jihaasaa yaa darshanashravaNaadibhiH .
  dehaadibrahmaparyante hyanitye bhogavastuni

 Vairaagya (detachment) is revulsion from all that has been seen and
heard, from all transient objects of enjoyment beginning with the body and
up to Brahman.

 darsanasravnaadibhih: darsana refers to seeing the objects of
sense-enjoyment, here on earth, of the body etc. sravana refers to hearing
about the objects of enjoyment in heaven including the celestial bodies
etc.
 vairaagya means revulsion as from the leavings of a crow. Such a
revulsion arises from a resolve that never again may there be a connection
with all objects of enjoyment whoch range from one's own body to the body
of Hiranyagarbha which includes the lordhip over the fourteen worlds,
living for a hundred years reckoned by Brahma's calendar.
 In this subject of vairaagya, slokas from the Sarva vedaanta
siddhaantasaarasangraha are to be pondered. It says clearly that 'who will
not get vairaagya thinking of those in heaven who, on exhaustion of their
punya, with their limbs shattered are made to fall down in the form of
stars'
 It may be objected: The eternality of the fruits of karma is inferred by
seeing sruit statements like apaama somamamrtaa abhUma: "We drank soma;
we are immortal", and statements from the Taitt. Samh. saying "The effect
of performing th caaturmaasya sacrifice is permanent". Yet in accordance
with the rule: yat krtakam tadanityam: "Whatever is effectuated by an
action is impermanent", and sruti 'yatheha karmacitah ... etc 'as here
what has been gained by karma ... ' etc the words amrta etc are to be
understood as referring only to an inevitably terminable duration, however
long it may be. So these sruti are not valid arguments against our
position. Even Hiryangarbhaloka to which all creatures go is only inferior
to Brahmaanubhava, however otherwise eminent it may be. The immortality is
Hiryanyagarbha is only aapeksika, i.e., it is only relative immortality
with reference to this world.


                      Vaidya N. Sundaram
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 The place, time, objects and their knower etc., projected in a dream
during sleep are all mithyA (an illusion/false). So too, here. in the
waking state, the world that is seen is a projection by one's own
ignorance. Likewise, this body, the senses, the breath, the ego etc.,
are all unreal. Therefore, That thou art, the peaceful, defectless,
supreme, non-dual Brahman.  -- Adi Shankara in VivekacUdAmani.
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