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Thread: prerequisites to learn advaita?

  1. #1

    prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Hello

    What are the prerequisite to learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditonal teaching?

    What are the signs of someone who is fit and suitable to learn Advaita Vedanta?

    what are the preliminaries practice must be done before someone can learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditional view?

    thank you
    Last edited by Lokavidu; 18 November 2012 at 09:34 AM.

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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Sādhana Chatuṣṭaya

    Any mumukṣu (one seeking moksha) has to have the following four sampattis (qualifications), collectively called Sādhana Chatuṣṭaya Sampatti (the four-fold qualifications):
    1. Nityānitya vastu viveka—The ability (viveka) to correctly discriminate between the eternal (nitya) substance (Brahman) and the substance that is transitory existence (anitya).
    2. Ihāmutrārtha phala bhoga virāga—The renunciation (virāga) of enjoyments of objects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha) and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.
    3. Śamādi ṣatka sampatti—the six-fold qualities of śama (control of the antahkaraṇa[13]dama (the control of external sense organs), uparati (the refraining from actions; instead concentrating on meditation), titikṣa (the tolerating of tāpatraya), śraddha (the faith in Guru and Vedas), samādhāna (the concentrating of the mind on God and Guru).
    4. Mumukṣutva—The firm conviction that the nature of the world is misery and the intense longing for moksha (release from the cycle of births and deaths).


    http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Advaita

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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Namaste,

    Quote Originally Posted by Lokavidu View Post
    What are the prerequisite to learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditonal teaching?

    What are the signs of someone who is fit and suitable to learn Advaita Vedanta?

    what are the preliminaries practice must be done before someone can learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditional view?
    Traditional view is that Advaita VedAnta can be learned only under the guidance of a competent teacher. For studying Advaita VedAnta, I don't think there is any prescribed qualification as such ... the teacher has to decide if you are ready for learning Advaita VedAnta. It is prohibited to teach Advaita VedAnta to a person who is spiritually not ready for it.

    If you ask me, it is you to decide what actually appeals to you. It is a difficult path ... not due to high philosophy challenging you mental ability to understand it (that is a very small part of this path) ... but more due to the difficult practice involved. One must slowly develop detachment from this world and worldly pleasures. You must be highly focused and disciplined.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

  4. #4

    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Sahasranama has posted the prerequisites. You may also find them in the opening chapter of Shankara's Upadesha sahasri.

    It should be clear that the philosophy is pretty much restricted to Sanyasins or those who can take up Sadhana as their *fulltime* activity. Until printing made it possible for anyone to read scripture, philosophies were generally not available to the public. One had to approach a Guru and demonstrate the above qualifications to be accepted into the school, before gaining access to any scriptural material.

    An interesting requirement is the intense longing for moksha and the firm conviction that earthly life is misery. This is not a practical requirement for a lot of people as they do have some happiness in their lives, which makes it impossible for them to meet this prerequisite. All Karma based philosophies (Buddhism, Sankhya, Vedanta) are based on the idea the there is no happiness in wordly life - which is foreign to the Veda (Samhita) and also contradicts real life perception.
    Last edited by shiv.somashekhar; 18 November 2012 at 10:31 AM.
    http://lokayata.info
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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lokavidu View Post
    Hello

    What are the prerequisite to learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditonal teaching?
    What are the signs of someone who is fit and suitable to learn Advaita Vedanta?
    what are the preliminaries practice must be done before someone can learn Advaita Vedanta according to traditional view?

    thank you
    Vannakkam: I'm not an advaitan, and many have made clear posts here on it. I just want to point out that there is a huge difference between the intellectual study of advaita (which any Tom, Dick, or Harry, can do, and many have) and the practise of Advaita. At the very core of my sampradaya, I'd be an Advaitan, or at least not disagree with it. The method of getting there would differ.

    But sometimes it is extremely difficult to distinguish an intellectual advaitin, from a practicing advaitin, because their words will have overlap, or even be identical. But one is regurgitating it from what others have discovered from within themselves through reading, while the other is just speaking directly from the Self.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    hari o
    ~~~~~~


    namasté

    We are talking of one's desire to know (jijñāsa) the nature of the Self (ātma-vastunaḥ) I would then direct one's attention to ādi śaṅkara-ji's vivekacūḍāmaṇi , 16th śloka:

    medhāvī puruṣo vidvān ūhāpoha vicakṣanaḥ |
    adhikāryātma-vidyāyām ukta-lakṣaṇa-lakṣitaḥ ||

    This says,
    the person who has excellent/sufficient memory, is learned, possesses the power of comprehension and the ability to reason properly is alone considered qualified for the knowledge of the Self.

    One may call this person the qualified aspirant or ātmavidyā adhikārin.

    From here the (famous) 4 fold prerequisites ( sādhana catuṣṭhaya) of ādi śaṅkara-ji's offering unfold , starting with the 17th śloka and continues in review to the 29th śloka. The 4 are offered above in post #2.
    I urge the reader to take a look at this fine work, vivekacūḍāmaṇi¹.

    praṇām



    1. Vivekacūḍāmai or the Crown jewel of Discrimination ( some say crest jewel) .


    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  7. #7

    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    thank you for the answers

    Why is it prohibited to teach Advaita Vedanta to someone who is not ready?
    Why is the advaita philosophy restricted only to sanyasin?


    what is the danger of learning the Advaita Vedanta without guidance of an authentic Guru?

    which one is more traditional way of learning Advaita Vedanta, learning in Chinmaya Mission or in Sringeri Mutt? Is Chinmaya Mission as authentic as Sringeri Mutt?

    Does Sringeri Mutt accept non Indian people like caucasian or mongoloid to become a disciple?

    Is there anybody here who has learned Advaita Vedanta in Sringeri Mutt?

    thank you very much

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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Namaste Lokavidu,

    Quote Originally Posted by Lokavidu View Post
    Why is it prohibited to teach Advaita Vedanta to someone who is not ready?
    Why is the advaita philosophy restricted only to sanyasin?
    what is the danger of learning the Advaita Vedanta without guidance of an authentic Guru?
    Advaita VedAnta can be misunderstood and an unprepared person would be harmed spiritually by taking a wrong route. I will tell you why :

    The highest Truth proclaimed by Advaita VedAnta is that you yourself are Brahman (Thou Art That), I am Brahman (Aham BrahmAsmi) etc. ... all sufferings and cycles of births and deaths are due to "ignorance" and once the knowledge dawns upon the practitioner, he ceases to be bound (by Karmas and cycles of births and deaths). Now, by hearing these statements some people may start thinking in wrong ways :

    a) That one can do any sin any get scot free as now he has known what the Truth is and that He is Brahman !
    b) That all forms of worshiping God and devotion to God is useless as He Himself is Brahman and He needn't worship any other.
    c) I myself have found many self-proclaimed Advaitins on the internet who feel that they are enlightened as Buddha as they are able to argue well on the subject and they think that they are out of ignorance by reading various books on Advaita.

    etc.
    etc.

    The reality is very different. Hearing, discussing and contemplating does help but one has to "experience" that "I Am Brahman" or "All this is Brahman". It doesn't come just by reading books or discussing on forums like this. Getting an intellectual feel is quite different from the Realisation of the Truth.
    Meditations, Kriya etc. take you further towards the Reality (enlightenment) but that also depends upon "grace" or Guru/God. There are several possible pitfalls due to wrong interpretation of the teachings and therefore, a Guru has been considered an important prerequisite for doing this sAdhanA. Now, who can be a Guru ? A Guru can be only one who himself is Self-Realised (that is the meaning of a competent teacher). A blind person cannot lead another blind person towards the desired destination. So, a Self-realised Guru is a must. It is better if He is in physical body but a Guru even when not in his physical body can guide his disciples. The most important point to note here is that Guru's grace is considered very important for success on this path.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

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    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Quote Originally Posted by devotee View Post

    a) That one can do any sin any get scot free as now he has known what the Truth is and that He is Brahman !
    b) That all forms of worshiping God and devotion to God is useless as He Himself is Brahman and He needn't worship any other.
    c) I myself have found many self-proclaimed Advaitins on the internet who feel that they are enlightened as Buddha as they are able to argue well on the subject and they think that they are out of ignorance by reading various books on Advaita.
    Vannakkam Devotee et al: Very well summarised, and I've experienced the same. But the intellect (at least a basic understanding) is a good first step. Problem is when you think that that means you're done. It's sad though, as it does a great disservice to a true Advaitin.

    Aum Namasivaya

  10. #10

    Re: prerequisites to learn advaita?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lokavidu View Post
    thank you for the answers

    Why is it prohibited to teach Advaita Vedanta to someone who is not ready?
    Why would you teach anything to someone who is not ready to learn it or may not have the aptitude? Think of the requirements to get into med school.

    Why is the advaita philosophy restricted only to sanyasin?
    Because Sadhana has to be a fulltime effort. A sanyasin has no personal relations and no material goals to distract him. With the rest, it can only be a part time effort - much like a hobby, which is not quite enough.

    what is the danger of learning the Advaita Vedanta without guidance of an authentic Guru?
    More than authentic, qualified would be a better term. A qualified Guru should have studied under a qualified Guru himself. Obviously, this can only be possible if the Guru has an unbroken chain of Gurus leading all the way to Shankara. In fact, before the age of printing, this was the only to gain access to the relevant material.

    which one is more traditional way of learning Advaita Vedanta, learning in Chinmaya Mission or in Sringeri Mutt? Is Chinmaya Mission as authentic as Sringeri Mutt?
    The Sringeri Mutt has been recognized as started by Shankara, and maintains the full list of pontiffs from its inception. I am not aware that the Chinmaya ashram makes such a claim.

    Does Sringeri Mutt accept non Indian people like caucasian or mongoloid to become a disciple?
    A key requirement - as I know - is the person should be a Brahmin - as in, born into a Brahmin family. But you should check with them directly on your options.
    http://lokayata.info
    http://shivsomashekhar.wordpress.com/category/history/

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