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by Jayaram V
In his acclaimed work Vivekachudamani (the Jewel of Wisdom),
sri Shankaracharya
identified four important qualities that are
very essential for achieving salvation or perfection on the spiritual
path. They are collectively known as the four spiritual endowments (sadhana
sampatti) or the four means of spiritual practice (sadhana
chatushtayam). Every spiritual practitioner is expected to know
them and cultivate them. They are the means to know Brahman and attain
liberation. Spiritual life is not easy. On the spiritual path
one has to resolve many problems and overcome many obstacles,
and unless one is well equipped with knowledge and virtue, it is
very difficult to journey till the end. Those who are interested
in spiritual life and liberation should focus their effort on cultivating
these four endowments without fail, because without them one
will be vulnerable to many dangers and setbacks. The four
spiritual means of liberation are discussed below.
1. Discriminating intelligence (vivekam).
Many problems in our lives can be traced to the wrong decision we
make due to either lack of knowledge or lack of proper
reasoning. Discriminating intelligence is a superior faculty of
the mind, which enables a practitioner to know the difference between truth
and falsehood, reality and delusion, knowledge and ignorance and
right and wrong. Without discrimination it is not possible to
know the truths concerning ourselves and our existence. With
proper discernment one realizes that only Brahman is real and
everything else is an illusion. Cultivating such discerning
wisdom, one becomes indifferent to the phenomenal world and
develops dispassion and detachment (vairagyam). Eventually,
discernment
leads to sameness and equanimity. One of the principal aims of classical yoga
is to
cultivate viveka khyati or the ability to discern things
properly whereby one develops insight into the nature of things
and one's own Self.
2. Dispassion and detachment (viragyam):
Scriptures such as the Bhagavadgita say that desires are the
root cause of our suffering, bondage and delusion. Desires arise
because of the activity of the senses and our propensity to seek
pleasure and avoid pain. According to the Yogasutras (1.12) the
afflictions of the mind (citta vrittis) can be be stilled only
by practicing dispassion. Dispassion arises when we develop
discriminating wisdom and stop craving for sense objects. More
importantly, one has to become indifferent to everything,
including the gunas and their influence. True liberation comes
only when one is detached from everything, including the need
for liberation and dependence on God.
3. The six virtues (shatsampatti). These are the six virtues
or the six abilities which have to be cultivated or which should
be present in a person to attain liberation. They are listed
below.
- Shama: internal control of the mind and
the sense organs
- Dama: External control of the body ,
especially the organs of action (karmendriyas) and the
organs of perception (jnanendriyas) by withdrawing
them or disassociating them from the sense objects.
- Uparati: Cultivating sameness towards
the dualities of life by renouncing the world and attachment
with worldly things, whereby one becomes free from the
afflictions of the mind and remains stable and focused.
- Titiksha: It is the ability to tolerate
or withstand the sorrows and disappointments of life without
feeling disturbed or oppressed by them. It is the
willingness or the readiness to accept life unconditionally
as it happens without expectations, resignation, or
resistance.
- Shraddah: It is having faith in
yourself, you teacher, your religion, your scriptures, your
practice, your path, God, the divinities, the methods and
techniques you practice to perfect yourself on the spiritual
path.
- Samadhi: The ability to stabilize the
mind and remain self-absorbed. This happens only when the
mind is freed from all the afflictions through the practice
of the eightfold yoga and cultivation of sattva. Samadhi is
said to be of several types, but the highest of them is
known as the dharmamegha samadhi.
4. Mumuksatvam: It is the intense aspiration
for liberation from the triple evils, namely egoism, bondage and
ignorance to which we are subject and become one with the Self
or enter the highest world of Brahman. It arises in a person only
after several births and deaths and after attaining some merit
in his or her past lives through the performance of obligatory duties
and virtuous deeds. The desire for liberation also arises when a
person cultivates discriminating intelligence and attains the
knowledge of the self and Brahman from study of the scriptures
and the teachings of learned masters. Mumukstavam is a natural
and intense aspiration which arises in a mind that is filled
with the light of sattva and the knowledge of Brahman or Isvara,
the Self.
Suggested Further Reading
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