[Advaita-l] Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi Jayanti

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste
Today is Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi Jayanti. He says -
"The word dhyana usually signifies meditation on some object, whereas
'nididhyasana' is used for enquiry into the Self."

Bhagavan thus generally uses the words self-enquiry and nididhyAsanam
interchangeably. His exalted teaching is a topical and contemporary
articulation of Advaita Vedanta emphasising nididhyAsanam. It is no wonder
that orthodox traditional teachers of Advaita Vedanta like Swami
Tattvavidananda Saraswati and Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati unfold
Bhagavan's sanskrit canonical compositions like upadesha-sAram and
saddarshanam to effectively communicate the mahAvAkya knowledge to modern
students. The proof of the pudding (Bhagavan's teaching) is in the eating
(it's unfoldment by a traditional Guru reveals self-knowledge to a student)
as the cliche goes.

Bhagavan distinguishes between nirguNa upAsanam (or abheda bhAvanA as
Bhagavan calls it) and AtmavichAra/nidhidhyAdanam. The former is at best
preparatory to the latter.

In nirguNa upAsanam, the aspirant without sufficient cognitive clarity in
to the mahAvAkya, merely keeps repeating the thought, "I am Brahman" -
imagining, visualizing or superimposing "brahmatvam" (brahman-ness)  upon
the self.  This practice of nirguNa upAsanam (explained in panchdashi for
instance) is not nidhidhyAsanam of the Advaita vedAntic tradition, per se.

 This nirguNa upAsanam is an exalted practice, but still one step short, so
to speak. This nirguNa upAsanam was familiar to the non-advaitic Vedic
mImAmsA adherents (ritualists) too - and they sometimes gave their nirguNa
upAsanam meditation the name "nidhidhyAsanam" leading to some confusion.
(This nuance is dealt with in naishkarmya siddhi).

But in Advaita Vedanta, nidhidhyAsanam is to see the Self as non-dual to
dispel a residual dualistic disposition. It is a cognitive process which
presumes exposure to the traditional non-dual teaching from a sAmpradAyika
Guru. (pramANa-vyApAra)

 This nididhyAsanam is explained through phrases like
"atma-samstham-manaH", "svAtmani avasthAnam" etc. That very same sAdhana of
nididhyAsanam was explained by Bhagavan using his words like,
"self-abidance", "self- enquiry", "Atma-samsthitiH" etc.

 NididhyAsanam a.k.a Atma-vichAra (Self-enquiry) can happen only with
sufficient exposure to the teaching of nonduality from a traditional
Advaita Guru, rather than reinventing the wheel and "figuring out" the true
nature of the Self from one's own paperback studies and practicing being a
"chloiceless witness" etc.

Om
Raghav