Advaita Sadhana - What worked for me.

[V Emani]

Dear fellow Mumukshus on the path to liberation - 

HariH Om. 

I have pursued very rigorous sadhana for the past decade and by the grace of the Lord, got liberated. 

I am providing some helpful points here which may help my fellow mumukshus. 

 

I studied the Prasthana Traya (  The Ten Upanishads, Brahmasutras and BhagavadGita) with Shankara Bhashya from Swami Paramarthananda Ji and Brahmasri Yellamraju srinivasa Rao garu. 

I have the following observations which would help:

1. Follow one Guru ( or no more than two).  

2. Commit at least 3-6 hours daily for Sharavanam. Listening while driving  and exercising or walking won't count. 

3. Liberation should be your top goal. Can't be lower than that. You will be able to arrange your daily schedule around this objective. You will never fully grasp Advaita if you are not a mumukshu. It requires considerable grace of the Lord. 

4. Make sure you understand the basics first before studying Upanishads. I recommend you start with Tattvabodha and Viveka Chudamani.  Chinmaya Mission publications help a lot for these.  Vedanta parbhasha is essential to grasp. 

5. Resist the urge to argue or question right away.  Give your mind and Buddhi time to grasp the teaching.  

6. Try not to follow online group discussions. A lot of discussion revolves around intellectual curiosity which may not be required for your Sadhana.  You can always post your understanding and have someone correct or corroborate it, if your Guru is videha Mukta. 

7. Repeated Shravanam is the key Sadhana for Advaita.  Your understanding gradually goes up with time. 

8. Mananam or reflection is important but only after an year or so. Until then just keep doing Shravanam. 

9. If you can, try to learn Sanskrit in parallel. Until then, better stick to the language you are most comfortable. 
10. Follow Karma Yoga.  Don't ask for material gains from the Lord. Shankara warns about this clearly in Gita Bhashya. ( 4-11)

(  Na Hi ekasya mumukshutvam phalarthitvam cha yugapat sambhavati)

Lord will give you either of them, but not both. 

Isvara Anugraha is the only way you get the Jnana. 

Liberation in this life is verily attainable. 

Best wishes. 

[V Emani]

Part2

In Viveka chudamani, Pujya Shankara directly starts with - JantunAm Nara Janma Durlabham..". and also says  "Muktirno SataKoti Janma Sukrtaih PunyaiH vina labhyate! " .  ( Liberation is the culmination of 100 crore lives of Punya acquired).

Our Human life is a precious gift...and the fact that you are reading this message means you have reached nearly the end of your birth-death cycle, having accumulated many lives of Punya. 

Advaita is the essence of everything our scriptures preach. I studied the Puranas and they all preach the message of Advaita in a secret capsule wrapped around some pretty entertaining stories. 

You can check any Purana and anytime devatas praise the Lord, they always say -  "you are everything...you are Anantha..."

Well if he is Anantha, which means infinite, where does that leave you and I? 

If you check any Ashtottara Nama of any God/Goddess, you will invariably see the nama - Ananthaya NamaH !     Same thing...

Understanding this key secret is very essential for your sadhana. You'll gradually lose the sense of Kartrtva ( doership ). Once you lose it, the result of any action becomes Prasada. ( grace) 

This is the real karma yoga. You don't ask for anything from the Lord....you simply submit yourself and learn to say -- whatever is given is your Prasada. 

This is what BhagavadGita calls as karma yoga .  -  " Durena hi avaram karma..." 

Doing a karma and asking for a result is the worst form of karma. In fact, this is where BhagavadGita starts. 

Gita preaches only two paths to liberation.  

1. Through karma yoga ( to purify your antahkarana) and then proceed to Jnana yoga for liberation. 

2. If you have performed enough karma yoga in previous lives, you can directly proceed to Jnana yoga. 

How do you know which path is right for you? You'll know.  If you don't, follow #1. 

Start now, start early.. Don't think you can start when you retire. That day may never come. Even if it does, old age makes your Indriyas weak. Vasanas will wreak havoc. 

If you lose this precious opportunity, it will be Mahati vinashtiH ( Kenopanishad). The loss is tremendous...  You may have to wait for thousands of lives again..

I will write some more points helpful for sadhana next time.  

Best wishes.