Tattvamasi The Direct Way of Advaita Vedanta. Advitiya Sakshat Sadhana

Description

Advaita Vedanta is the simplest doctrine (siddhanta) and method (prakriya) of Sanatana Dharma, since it required neither prior cultural preparation nor any psychosomatic effort to be practiced. At the same time, there is no more difficult Truth in the world for the human intellect to comprehend, as advaitavada is devoted to the mystery of the Absolute, of Brahman. The vicarin who engages in its inquiry with an ardent desire for knowledge, under the guidance of a realized Guru, may come to recognize it as his very own Atman. Gaudapada, Samkara, Suresvara, and the teachers who have followed them up to the present day have transmitted the means to ascertain that one’s true Nature lies beyond every illusion caused by lack of understanding, misunderstanding, and doubt.

This is the method of adhyaropa-apavada, through which, by observing appearances, one comes to discern their weaknesses. In this way, through discrimination (viveka) between the true and the false, one is able to verify the unreality of what appears to the senses, the mind, and the intellect. The most immediate object available for applying this method is the world – including the seeker’s ego – as it appears in the waking state (jagrat avastha), with all its contradictions and inconsistencies. Should this not suffice, the inquiry may be extended to the dream state (svapna avastha) and, further still, to deep sleep (susupti avastha), the other two experiences that make up the individual’s life.

The investigation of the three avastha-s must be carried out by listening to the teachings of the Upanisad-s (sravana), reflecting upon what has been learned (manana), and striving to understand beyond logical and scriptural formulations (nididhyasana). This may perplex the karma kandin-s, who often regard such a prakriya as mere philosophy or an abstract theory. Yet the jnanin has no need of karma in order to realize that one is already, here and now, the Absoluted.

The second part of the book consists of a translation of the eighteenth chapter of the Upadesa Sahasri of Sri Samkara Bhagavatpada, a text that fully confirms what has been described above.