Vivekachudamani
Self-effort stressed
On hearing the questions put by the
disciple the Guru tells him that by his intense yearning for liberation he has
sanctified his lineage. Now the Guru stresses the importance of personal effort
by giving several examples. If a father has incurred debts, his sons and others
can relieve him by paying off the debts, but liberation can be attained only by
one’s own effort and not by anybody else’s help. Even the Guru can only show
the way. If a person carrying a heavy load is tired, some other person can take
it over, but the suffering caused by hunger can be assuaged only if the person
himself eats. A person can get cured of a disease only if he himself takes the
medicine. The nature of the Reality can be known only if the person himself
acquires the knowledge free from all doubt by his own effort by the practice of
hearing, reflection and meditation and not by merely hearing a learned person
talk about it. The beauty of the moon can be seen and enjoyed only through
one’s own eyes and not by somebody else seeing and describing it. This example
shows that one should himself attain the experience of the Reality and mere
intellectual knowledge acquired from books and teachers is not enough. Who,
other than the person himself, can liberate one from the bondage caused by
ignorance, desire and actions even in millions of years? Desire, action, and
rebirth form a continuous vicious circle, each being the cause of the next. This
circle can be broken only by the realization of the Self. Liberation cannot be
attained through the Yoga of Patanjali or the Sankhya of Kapila because they
give only dualistic knowledge and not the knowledge of the non-dual Brahman. Nor
can liberation be attained by any action including Vedic rituals, as already
explained earlier. Knowledge of the upasanas (meditations on Saguna Brahman)
described in the Upanishads too cannot give liberation. Only the knowledge of
the identity of the individual self with Brahman will give liberation. Even here
it is wrong to say that realization of Brahman is an effect of the knowledge of
Brahman. If it is an effect it will, like all effects, be subject to destruction
at some time. Knowledge of Brahman does not make one Brahman. It only
removes nescience or avidya and reveals the fact that he was always Brahman,
which was not known earlier. Scholarship in the Sastras and the ability to give
brilliant discourses on them can help to earn fame and a comfortable life, but
not liberation.
As long as the supreme Self is not
known, mere study of the Sastras is fruitless. Once the supreme Self is known,
the study of the Sastras does not serve any further purpose. The idea is that
the study of the Sastras is for attaining Self-realization. Until it is attained
the purpose of the study is not achieved. After realization the Sastras are no
longer necessary. Mere study of the words of the scriptures only confuses the
mind. One should, with effort, learn the inner truth of the scriptures from a
Guru.
For a person who has been bitten by
the snake of ignorance the only medicine is knowledge of Brahman. How can the
Vedas, Sastras, mantras and other medicines help? A person cannot be cured of a
disease unless he takes the appropriate medicine. Mere repetition of the name of
the medicine cannot cure him. Similarly, release from bondage can be attained
only by direct realization and not by merely repeating the word ‘Brahman’.
Without negating the world as unreal and without knowing the truth of one’s
nature, how can liberation be attained by mere repetition of words? In order to
retrieve a treasure buried under the earth one must first of all know the exact
location of the treasure from a knowledgeable person. Then he should dig and
remove the earth, stones, etc., that cover the treasure. Merely calling out to
the treasure will not make it come out. Similarly, the pure Reality which is
covered by the products of ignorance (the body, mind, and senses) can be
attained only by hearing the sruti from a competent person who has realized
Brahman, and by reflection and meditation and not by perverted logic. Therefore
each one should himself strive for liberation with utmost effort, just as a sick
man strives hard to get cured.
After stressing personal effort and explaining in detail what a seeker
should do, the Acharya encourages the disciple by telling him that the questions
he has asked are excellent, in accord with the scriptures, brief and full of
meaning. The answer to these questions should be known by all seekers of
liberation.
After this the Guru first takes up
the fourth question, how can bondage be got rid of, because this is the most
important subject.
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