The four preliminary requisites(SaadhanachatushTayam) In order that hearing, reflection and meditation may be fruitful, the aspirant should have acquired the four preliminary qualifications mentioned below. B.S.1.1.1.S.B---
tasmaat kimapi vaktavyam
yadanantaram brahmajijnaasaa upadis’yate. --------- mumukshutvam cha. The
four requisites are— (1) discrimination between the eternal and the
non-eternal (nitya-anitya-vastu
vivekaH), (2) detachment towards all enjoyments in this world as
well as in higher worlds like heaven (iha-amutra-arthabhoga-viraagaH),
(3) possession of the six
virtues commencing with control of the mind (s’amadamaadisaadhanasampat),
and (4) yearning for liberation (mumukshutvam).
Each of these is explained in VivekachuuDaamaNi as below. V.C.
Verse 20—The firm conviction that Brahman alone
is real and that the universe is illusory (mithyaa)
is discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal. V.C.
Verse21—Detachment is revulsion towards all objects of enjoyment in
this world as well as in higher worlds, including one’s own body. The
six virtues starting with s’ama
are--- s’ama, dama, uparati,
titikshaa, s’raddhaa, samaadhaana. These are explained below. V.C.
Verse 22—Withdrawing the mind from all sense- pleasures by realizing
their harmful nature, and making it rest on one’s objective (namely,
the Self),is s’ama. V.C.
Verse 23--- Restraining the organs of sense and of action (jnaanendriya and karmendriya) is
known as dama. V.C.
Verse 24--- When the mind ceases to function through the external
organs, that state is uparati. V.C.
Verse 25—Enduring all adversities without lament or anxiety and
without seeking to counter them is titikshaa. V.C.
Verse 26--- Firm conviction about the truth of the scriptures and the
teachings of the Guru is s’raddhaa. V.C.
Verse 27--- The mind remaining firmly fixed in the attributeless
Brahman is samaadhaana.
The
fourth requisite, mumukshutvam is
explained in V.C. verse 28 as the yearning to become free from nescience
and its effect, bondage, by the realization of one’s true nature. In
the Bhaashya on Gita,4.11 S’rii S’ankara says that it is impossible
for a person to be a seeker of liberation and also a seeker of the
fruits of action at the same time. From this it is clear that only a
person who has attained total and intense detachment can be called a mumukshu.
The definition of yogaaruudha in
Gita 6.4 as one who is free from attachment to sense-objects and actions
and does not even think of them indicates that both these terms have the
same meaning.
Of these, detachment and the yearning for liberation are the most
important. Only if these two are strong, will the others like s’ama,
etc, be fruitful—Verse 30.
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