[Advaita-l] Kanchi Maha-swamigal's Discourses on Advaita Saadhanaa (KDAS-61)

[V. Krishnamurthy]

Namaste.

For a Table of Contents of these Discourses, see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advaitin/message/27766
For the previous post, see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advaitin/message/32974


SECTION 46: CORRECT MEANING OF DEATH IN UTTARAAYANA
Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-120.htm


The idea of 'Death in Uttarayana' has become well-known.  But the general
opinion about it is not correct. What I am going to say may surprise you.
But I am telling you only what is in the Bhashyas of the Acharya. (B.G.
VIII-24. Brahma-sUtraM IV -3. Chandogya U. V-10-1. Brihadaranyakam VI-2-15 -
Bhashyas of these by the Acharya).  The Acharya never interpreted
'Uttarayana-death' as death in the six months of Uttarayana.  Then how has
he interpreted it?  The Yogi ( a desireless karmi and all upAsakas and
bhaktas - other than jnAni) goes to Brahma-loka by a divine path called
devayAna after the soul leaves the body through the nADi that goes from the
heart to the head. But before reaching the terminus there are several
junctions! Each of these is the seat of a devatA. First comes the seat of
Agni. Then comes the seat of the devatA for the daytime; then the devatA for
the white fortnight and then the seat for the  devatAs of the UttarAyaNa
period.

Mark this carefully! It is not UttarAyana period. It is the devatAs of the
UttarAyaNa period.

Thus the Acharya has explained that it reaches the terminus after crossing
several junctions.  The Lord also already has said in the Gita only in
accordance with what has already been said in the Upanishads of Chandogyam
and BrihadAranyakam.and others. The Brahma sUtra and the Bhashya of later
times (later than the Gita) also explains this point without the least
possibility of any doubt.

In the same manner,  the dakshhiNAyana-death is wrongly associated with the
result of having a next birth. DakshhiNAyana-death does not mean that the
time of death is dakshhinAyana, but the seats of the devatAs associated with
dakshhinAyana  constitute the path (*pitRyAnaM*) of the leaving soul.  

Further, another matter. This kind of passage through the path of the seats
of the devatAs like those of  UttarAyaNa, then passing through junction
after junction, finally arriving in Brahma-loka, and then at the time of
Grand Dissolution, becoming one with Brahman - all this process has nothing
to do with a jnAni. So by looking at the date or tithi of the leaving of the
body of a jnAni, it is not right to conclude that "the time is not that of
UttarAyaNa and so they have not got mokSha"! 

SECTION 47: TWO DIFFERENT RESULTS OF KARMA YOGA
Tamil Original: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/dk6-121.htm
 

I mentioned many times that for one who follows karma yoga well his mind
gets purified on account of that  and he gets the eligibility to tread the
jnAna path; and that, if such a karma-yogi gets that mental purity and
starts jnAna-yoga, either in this birth or in one or two more births, he
will obtain his advaita mukti in that very life. How does this reconcile
with the present statement that karma-yoga is nothing but one of the many
upAsanAs, and that instead of going to the path of jnAnayoga he will go to
Brahma-loka and then he will get advaita-mukti only after several crores of
years when the Grand Dissolution happens?

Let me explain this. It all depends on what he has been aiming at, what he
has been keeping as his goal. 

If he had had the goal as advaita, and if however he started karmayoga-type
of life just to get the mental purity and eligibility for jnAna yoga, then
that itself would lead him to the path of jnAna, as soon as his mind is
purified; and he will also soon  reach the destination of advaita mukti .  

If, on the other hand, his interest, taste or inclination not being in the
jnAna path,  he lives a life of   a karma-yogi (and nothing more) only with
the thought "Let me be relieved of this samsAra. Whatever possible, let me
do the karmayoga right", he will obtain only the Brahma-loka as his result.
As I said earlier, the Lord does not voluntarily give what was not asked.

Let us analyse how we got into this topic. We started analysing the
question: "Is Bhakti an allowed concept on the jnAna path? How is it a
garIyasI sAmagrI (most prominent accessory or instrument)?". After one was
told how to control the senses, mind and intellect, bhakti was mentioned
only for the control and destruction of ahamkAra which is the basis of
Jiva-bhAva. It is the sword to cut asunder the very root; that is the
'garIyasI sAmagrI'. All this we saw.  We further saw how the (spiritual)
heart is the seat of ego and how, if we make it the seat of bhakti, and by
that very bhakti if we dissolve the ego gradually and thin it out, then it
will go through the gate, the seat of Atman,  in  the middle of the heart
and the Jiva-bhAva disappears and  stays as the Atman.

It was in that context, the question arose: "If the jnAni goes like this,
what happens to the others? They also have their ego in the heart.  If it
does not go into the seat of the Atman, then where will it go?"

And thus came all the other matters in reply to this. "There are several
nADis that emanate from the heart. Among them are also those which end up in
the nine gates of the body. The mind, intellect and ego of all those whose
karma-bondage has not been cut asunder will remain fat, without getting
thinned out, till the last breath.  That last breath carries that heavy
luggage of the antaHkaraNaM  and goes out by one of those nine nADis.  Later
when another birth occurs, it enters that body.  Besides these nine, there
is one nADi which goes to the head.  Those who do not go by the jnAna path,
but still have the objective of the removal of the bondage of samsAra and do
the various upAsanAs,  --for them the soul leaves by that head-nADi and
reaches Brahma-loka."



(To be Continued)
PraNAms to all students of advaita.
PraNAms to the Maha-Swamigal.
profvk

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