APAROKSHANUBHUTI
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APAROKSHANUBHUTI
(Immediated and Direct Self-Realization)
Discourse By - BrahmaShri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao (Advaita Teacher)
aparokShAnubhUti, jnAna shAstra
aparokShAnubhUti is a short
treatise of 144 verses on the Science of Self-knowledge (jnAna shAstra) by
Sri Adi Shankaracharya. It describes the most Direct Path
method of Self-realization right here and now.
The clear and lucid verses of Sri Shankara, further elucidated by
Brahmasri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao
garu, facilitate an immediated and direct experience of brahman, the Non-Dual
Universal Reality.
In an attempt to
share the great wisdom of these great sages with the English-speaking Advaita
Vedanta students of the world, Dr. Ramesam Vemuri and Ms. Padma Neppalli have
made a humble effort to transcribe and translate into English the speeches given
by Sri. Yellamraju garu over a course of eight days. It is not an exact word to
word transcription but corresponds broadly to the talk in Telugu by Shri Guruji.
Dr. Ramesam Vemuri retired as an Adviser in the Department of
Science and Technology, Government of India. He is the author of the book
Religion Demystified, and has also translated from Telugu to English several
philosophical works, such as the Yogavasishta and Yogataravali. His articles
appear regularly at many Advaita web sites.
Padma Neppalli is a student of Advaita Vedanta. She has been listening to Sri
Yellamraju Srinivas Rao’s lectures for over ten years. She is a technical writer
by profession, and currently works as the Director of Information Development in
a semi-conductor company in California, USA.
Video 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWiqh_EvP74
Om namo
gurubhyaH
The text, aparokShAnubhUti, is a short treatise of 144 verses on
the Science of Self-knowledge (jnAna shAstra). It is quite different from the Science of
Yoga (yoga shAstra)
of Patanjali. It is in anuShTup meter. It is very concise in
expression, but the content is highly profound and powerful.
aparokShAnubhUti is a well-known prakaraNa grantha of Shankara.
It is different from his commentaries on the traditional texts (scriptures). Although
the text is crisp, the meaning it conveys is as deep and comprehensive as his
commentaries. While his commentaries contain long complex discussions and
polemic debates on opposing views, the prakaraNa granthas written by him are short monographs. They focus
on key concepts of Advaita without any diversion, and
cover smoothly the entire course of the subject matter. Their style is simple
and intelligible to all. “dakShinAmUrti stotra,” “nirvANa ShaTkam” etc.
are examples for other monographs in the genre of aparokShAnubhUti penned by him.
Shankara was a genius of an
incomparable ability in his observation of people and nature. He grouped
spiritual aspirants into three categories based on their capacity to grasp
complex concepts: the best, the intermediary and the slow types.
Students of the first type (best) comprehend things even
before an instruction is given. They infer and learn through keen observation
of the nature. The visible world is a great teacher, the Supreme Guru for them. Their Guru, thus, is none other than the Supreme Self,
Itself.
We say we worship the
Supreme Guru:
कृष्णं वंदे जगद्गुरुम्
|
[KrishnaM vande jagadgurum.]
We also recite the guru lineage as,
नारायणं पद्मभुवं वसिष्ठं शक्तिं च तत् पुत्र पराशरं च |
[nArAyaNaM, padmabhuvaM, vasiShTaM, shaktiM ca tat putra parAsharaM ca.]
Who is the first Guru? He is Narayana. What does Narayana
mean? “nAraM”
means the five fundamental elements. “ayanaM”
means substratum, support. So Narayana is he who pervades the five elements and
is the substratum of everything in the visible world. The visible world is, therefore,
a superimposition on Narayana. There cannot be a superimposition without a
substratum. The substratum is the root of everything as stated in the Bhagavad
Gita:
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । -- Ch. XV, verse 1, Bhagavad-Gita.
[Urdhwa mUlaM; adhaH shAkhaM.]
That is the form of Narayana. He is the Guru. His teaching
is through “Silence”
मौनव्याख्या
प्रकटित परब्रह्मतत्त्वं
युवानं | -- 1, dakShiNAmUrti stora dhyAnam
[mauna vyAkhyA prakatita brahma tatvam, yuvAnam.]
This is the description of the Lord Dakshinamurti,
who teaches in Silence. True teaching is Silence only. Why so?
Words, however abundant and expressive, are still
limited. Silence, on the other hand, is complete and
perfect. A single word uttered shatters the infinite Silence into pieces. An
experience in general and a spiritual experience in particular, loses its
intensity and gets diluted once it is expressed in words.
The spoken word is an expression of the thought that
preceded it. A thought is a vibration, a movement, a perturbance.
You can hear your thoughts. So a thought is also like a word! When a thought is
not articulated, it is heard by you alone. If it is uttered it is heard by all.
Speech is a movement in the mouth.
A word first takes shape as a thought in the mind, then
forms into a word in the mouth, and is finally expressed externally as speech
by the body. Mind, speech, and body are
instruments of action, so they are the source of movement. No movement is ever perfect. It is always limited.
A wave in the ocean moves, but does not pervade the entire ocean. It is finite
and limited. Water is unlimited and
pervades the entire ocean. The ocean does not move, it is still. Stillness is
Silence. Silence is all-pervading.
In contrast, word is movement. It is limited. It cannot
pervade everything, but is pervaded by the Supreme Self. The Supreme Self is expansive, space-like. Hence,
It is formless. The Supreme Self is the Guru that pervades all.
His words are formless, so permeate everything as Silence.
The seeker of the first kind approaches the Supreme Guru and
receives the silent teaching. Such a seeker is the Upanishadic Sage. Thus, the seekers of the best category don’t
need any instructions from anyone. They receive the vibrations directly from
nature and draw their lessons from the world itself. Examples for such seekers
are Prahlada and Kuchela. Since
we in turn receive the teaching from such a Sage, we are “twice removed from
Truth,” as Plato said.
Knowledge implies deciphering the unknown from the known.
From an observation of the world, the effect, the seeker of the first kind will
be able to directly infer the originator (the cause) of the world. The seeker
of the Intermediate category will learn only if a Guru teaches him. He
understands the word of the teacher and practices what is learnt to firm up his
understanding.
Seekers of the third category will not understand the truth
even after an instruction is given to them by the teacher. They cannot follow
logical deduction. They can arrive at the truth only through an illustrative
metaphor. They first appreciate the meaning of the metaphor, see the reason
behind it, and then grasp the truth. They learn slowly. But there are people
who are totally incapable of grasping the truth. They fall into the fourth
category – the extremely slow type. Those people are unfit to learn the truth. Human
life is wasted by them. They have no value for the spiritual world. We will not
be concerned with such people. Shankara’s teaching,
and in fact all Vedantic teaching, is addressed to
the top three categories.
Seekers of the first category do not need any instruction
from Shankara, since they are at the same level as
him. However, to be sure they have correctly understood the truth, they need to
assess and validate their understanding with that of the established elders, who
are experts in the field. It is for their sake that Shankara
had written the commentaries on the three canonical texts – prasthAna traya.
If you are a seeker of the first category, study these texts,
grasp the essence of the teaching, and internalize the understanding (the Truth)
experientially. These commentaries help test one’s ability in assimilating the
Truth. The one who can stand to that test is indeed the best seeker. That is a
real challenge.
Shankara wrote short treatises for
the sake of the intermediate or the second type of seekers. These treatises are like manuals. The entire
gamut of the teaching is comprehensively presented at one place in a straight
forward and clear manner, and in simple words. They are direct and crystal
clear. Unlike commentaries, the treatises do not contain twisted or complex
arguments. The commentaries are more combative in style, debating in detail the
Vedantin’s theory, while demolishing all the opposing
views. They make a statement, take up an argument, question the argument, and
raise questions on questions. They proceed in that fashion, making it difficult
to follow the logic and reasoning, unless one is very intelligent and sharp in
mind.
The second or the intermediate type of seekers need to be
instructed in a simple and straightforward manner so that they can confidently
say that they understood the essence of the teaching. The short treatises
written by Shankara meet the needs of these seekers. We
can safely claim that we belong to the second category without overrating our
brilliance or condemning ourselves too much. With such an attitude, we will
find the treatises to be highly satisfying to our intellect.
Shankara has written over a
hundred of the treatises. The most significant of those are the dakShinAmUrti stotra, nirvANa ShaTkam, aparokShAnubhUti, anAtmaShrivikarhaNa,
swAtma nirUpaNa, upadesha sAhashrI, sarvavedAnta siddhAnta sArasangrahaH, and a few others. The present book, aparokShAnubhUti stands out among them as a very deep, concise,
yet profound work. It encompasses the entire doctrine, the praxis, and the
achievement of the goal.
For the third (slow) category of seekers, Shankara wrote many “Hymns of Praise for Worshiping” different
Gods/Goddesses. An example is the composition of bhajagovindam verses. It asks the seeker to worship Govinda.
Shankara upbraids the slow seeker with the words:
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं, गोविन्दं भज मढूमते|
संप्राप्तेसंनिहितेकालेिहि िहि रक्षनत डुक्ंुकरणे||
[Bhajagovindaṁ bhajagovindaṁ
govindaṁ bhajamūḍhamate
| samprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakśati ḍukṛñkaraṇe || ]
Meaning: O Fool! Seek Govinda,
Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda. When the appointed time (death) comes churning on the-rules
of grammar will surely not save you.
Thus Shankara rebukes first, but
later teaches with compassion a grammarian lost in a study of the rules of the
grammar about the root verb “kri” (to do) and how to parse the word in all the three
tenses etc. He reminds the grammarian that when death approaches there will be
no time left. One has to get ready to leave the body, take up a long travel to
some unknown destination.
This Hymn known as Mohamudgara is
a great teaching. It comprises 14 captivating verses written by Shankara, followed by 12 more verses added by his twelve
disciples. These 26 verses are adequate to help us transcend the miseries of
the world.
We shall now take up the study of aparokShAnubhUti meant for the
second type, mid-level seekers like us, with the silent blessings of Shankara. It is a superb text, and we shall cover it in
eight days. Though we study it for eight days, we have to reflect, deeply
contemplate and meditate on its teaching till the end of our life. It may be
said to be worthy of reflection for a life time.
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