What Guru Dev Really Said
willytex
Thread: What Guru Dev Really Said
Subject: Don't get involved in philosophical confusions.
Author: Willytex
Updated: 03/03/2004
This page uploaded for easy reading:
http://www.willytex.org/archives/maharishi/gurudev/mahayogiraj.htm
Guru Dev (i) was a Dasanami Sannyasin of the Saraswati Order founded by
Shankara Acharya. According to most all accounts Guru Dev followed the
Adwaita Philosophy, which is based on the belief in one reality. The chief
exponents of this philosophy say that the belief in one reality is derived
from the utterances of illumninated men and women who lived in ages past and
who were fully realized. It might be worthwhile to enquire what these
enlightened people said, and to ponder on their sayings.
Acharya Sankara (ii) founded the Dasanami order in 792 A.D. at Badrika (iii)
in the Himalayas. He is the author of the Sutra Bhasya, that is, the
celebrated commentary on the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. (iv)
According to Sankara Acharaya, we know of the one reality, not by any
apriori knowledge or experience nor through discursive reasoning. We know of
the one reality by reading about it in the scriptures. Acharya Shree not
only read and pondered the sayings of the ancients, but he put into effect a
way to verify by thinking and then realization, a mean to a higher
knowledge, as did the rishis of old. In a nutshell, the basic truth of the
Vedantic one reality is found through knowledge - 'Know thyself' is the
perinnial philosophy leading to the glorious prescence.
The first question is obviously, 'Who Am I, really?'?
But, before we can answer this question we need to know by what means can we
gain true knowledge? We know the world around us primarily through the
senses, ours eyes and our ears. We can read, listen and think, but what
about human error? That's something that should not be, because if error
exists, how can we ever know the truth? If things are not as they seem, by
what means can we know things as they really are? Therefore, the first
postualte in any enquiry is that we see defectively and the defect is ours -
not in the object seen. For example, in the evening we see a snake, which
turns out to be a rope; a thief in the night turns out to be a fence post;
we see double vision, horn-on-a-hair, sky-flowers, etc., etc.
One of the main axioms of Adwaita is that we can know about the ultimate
truth by consulting wise men of the past. The ancient philosopher-saints who
composed the the Upanishads have pointed out one important thing - there is
human error. It's as if the absolute truth is there all the time but for
some reason we don't see it. This state has been compared to the dream state
by Gaudapada Acharya, (vi) in which things and events are not real, yet not
unreal either. Fact is, we don't see things exactly as they are - we see
only parts of the whole. And, the mere fact of seeing changes the properties
of the things seen. If things aren't as they seem, then how can know for
sure if anything will be really real? If things appear to be so, but are in
fact not so, then why so? If humans can err in the present what would have
prevented the wisest of men in the past from committing an error?
By establishing the fact that we are bound by error, we can then enquire as
to the means by which we can free ourselves and gain knowledge. But, the
knowledge neeeded is transcendental knowledge, a special kind of knowledge
that is beyond normal discursive reasoning. Acharya Shankara postulated that
we can know the real through transcendental knowledge - knowledge of the
real will set us free. In a nutshell, we must get a spiritual experience.
We know enough about ourselves to know that we do not know everything. For
example, we know about the laws of thermodynamics, a part of which states
that energy is neither created nor destroyed. We already know that not a
single particle of dust will ever escape from this world and go away to
another place. Burning camphor at arotik produces gases which if collected
would equal the exact amount of matter as the camphor just burned.
We know that everything is inter-dependant, just like Indra's Net - we
already know about the natural law of relationships and the second law of
thermodynamics - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Everything depends on something else, from the highest deva down to a blade
of grass.
We know that things happen for a reason, that is, events are caused, and we
know that there are no random events. Whatever goes up, must come down and
human excrement always flows downstream. The idea that everything is
connected is thus supported by science, and scientists have come very near
to proving it. And natural law seems reasonable, predictable and ordered.
When was the last time that you doubted the law of cause and effect? But,
because we can't know everything, we make mistakes - it's only human, right?
We correct ourselves by thinking, reasoning and by asking what others in the
past have concluded about such and such events.
But, according to Shankara Acharya, there is another kind of knowledge - a
transcendental knowledge that is not dependent on words, concepts, or
discursive reasoning, nor dependent on sense experience or verbal knowledge
of any kind.
Once we have formualted the query 'Who am I' and after we have established
the valid means of knowing, then we can enquire as to the means of
correcting our errors.
Following the thesis that the ancient rishis and sages had experienced Unity
Conciousness and had talked about it, commented on it, and explained it, the
answer to the question of practice must be in the sayings of the Masters
themselves. That is, the Masters must have left instructions for us to
follow, so that we could replicate their experience. What did they say and
what were there instructions, really?
In Shankara Acharya's Dakshina-murti Stotram, Shankara advises that for our
practice we should meditate on the South-Facing Form, that is, a
north-facing posture of meditative devotion to the Glorious Presence. How,
exactly, is this accomplished?
Here are the directions for practicing transcendental meditation enumerated
by the Adi Shankara Acharya:
"Devotion to that Glorious Presence,
Infinite Instructor, Who,
By means of the auspicious hand-sign,
Makes clear to the worshippers
His own real nature
Always shining within as "I,"
Following into all the successive states-
And those beginning with waking." (d)
The auspicious hand-sign in Sanskrit literature is refered to as the symbol
of wisdom or the mark of the "I" conciousness, which represents "Knowing
that I am", or "Knowing that I know." The auspicious hand-sign meditation
reminds us of the absolute truth, the circle made by the thumb and the
forefinger is the symbol of unity - a space that is empty, yet full at the
same time. It is the symbol of the one reality and for Shankara, the
one-without-a-second. In this stotram Shankara Acharya is advocating the
yogic practice of TM via a meditation on the form of the attributeless
Brahman by use of a mudra, the auspicious hand-sign being the mnemonic
device par-excellence. Guru Dev appartently agrees with this.
The auspicious handsign - Guru Dev in Padma Asana, Mahayogiraj:
http://willytex.home.texas.net/quest/mahayogiraj.htm
According to Guru Dev, "Brahman is Light, it needs no other light to
illuminate it." (a)
Do these statements by Guru Dev indicate a means to gain transcendental
knowledge? In other words, did Guru Dev teach or practice a technique that
was similar to the practice of TM?
I think it does and in support of my statement I present here the first
lines of Shankara Acharaya's commentary on the Brahma Sutras. The first
sentence in the Brahma Sutras is: "Now, an enquiry into Brahman." Thus
Badarayana establishes from the very beginning that the ancient philosophers
were concerned with the absolute truth, which is everywhere, which they
termed Brahman. Badarayana believed that the truth can be known based on the
four great dicta found in the Upanishads. Shankara Acharya (v)
All transcendental devotees following the Advaita School of Philosophy,
which includes the Saraswati Sampradaya, salute the entire Guruparampara,
starting from Lord Shiva himself with Adi Shankara in the middle till our
present Guru, Maharishiji. However, we Maharishi Bhagavats are indeed
blessed, as I find our relationship with Adi Shankara, vis a vis our
devotion to Guru dev, is much more intense than what is generally understood
by regular practitioners of TM alone.
Anyway, in this age of darkness called the Kali Yuga, apparently, hardly
anyone reads Sanskrit or understands the Vedas anymore, even in translation.
About the best we can do now is to ponder the ancient sayings, try not to
harm anything, do good to others, and try to be practical and enjoy life,
what's left of it. I'm donating everything to West Texas Rehab and getting
back to the basics - this could be my last message, but probably not.
I think it's important to understand the law of the excluded middle: you are
not going to get any more than you are going to get and wanting to change
that which cannot be changed will only result in despair.
Guru Dev has also said "Don't get involved in philosophical confusions." (b)
Rocks Are Melting: The Everyday Teachings of Brahmananda
Saraswati Yahoo! egroups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/7617
Textual Sources:
a. Rocks Are Melting: The Everyday Teachings of Brahmananda Saraswati
Original title: Nectar of the Advice of Shri Shankaracharya (forthcoming)
b. The Whole Thing the Real Thing
The official biography of Shree Guru Deva
c. Text and Context
J. Randolp Coplin, Ph.D.
d. TM by Robert Hollings...
e. The Glorious Presence
Chapter 25, Dakshine-murti, Shankara's Ode to the South-Facing Form
Translation by Ernest Wood
p. 198
Biographical Notes:
Maharaj Shri, Rajaram Mishra, was born on Thursday, December 21, 1870. in
village Gana, near Ayodhya. [1]
On Sunday, 20 December 1868 in the village of Gana close to Ayodhya, Rajaram
Mishra was born. [2]
Several different accounts agree that Guru Dev was born on Thursday, which
was the 21st. December 29th 1868 was Sunday. [3]
He was the real thing. [2]
He was born on the 20th December 1868, but his hour of nativity claimed him
for the recluse order and for that of the secular. [4]
Archives:
The auspicious handsign - Guru Dev in Padma Asana, Mahayogiraj:
http://www.willytex.org/images/maharishi/gurudev/mahayogiraj.jpg
Rocks Are Melting: The Everyday Teachings of Brahmananda
Saraswati Yahoo! egroups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/7617
Works Cited:
1. "Maharishi: The Biography"
By Paul Mason
Element 1997
Barnes and Noble
A Critical Review of the man who brought TM to the West.
p. 5
2. "The Whole Thing, The Real Thing"
By Rameshwar Tilwari
Delhi 1977
The Biography of Sri Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, Shankacharya of
Jyotirmath.
Hardback. Illustrated.
p. 11
3. "Our Spiritual Heritage"
By Lynn D. Napper
Hesperides Books, 1998
An informal history of the Shankacharya Tradition by an early adopter of TM,
TTC 1968.
Paper. Illustrated. Bibliography.
p. 99
4. "Love and God"
By Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
SRM Publications, Oslo Norway 1965
Official Biography of Guru Dev by Mahesh Yogi - 'Our Guiding Light'
p. 6
5. "Strange Facts About a Great Saint"
By Raj P. Varma
Jabalpur, India
Varma & Sons Pub. 1980
p.10
Notes:
i. Rajaram Mishra, later to become Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, was born on
Thursday, 21 December, 1868 in village Gana, which is close to the city of
Ayodhya, in North India. Rajaram was enrolled at the Sanskrit Institute at
Kashi at the age of eight and later became a student of Swami Krishnanand
Saraswati of Utter Kashi.
Rajaram took the renounced order and became Chaitanya Brahmachari. He was
well known and often referred to as 'Guru Dev'. By the age of twenty-five,
it is said that Chaitanya had become fully established in Unity Conciousness
and had completed a full study of the Scriptures.
At the turn of the century, at age 34, at the Khumbha Mela at Allahahabad,
Chaitanya was ordained by his master into the order of Sanyas, thus becoming
Sri Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, and recieved the insignia of the Holy
Tradition of Sri Adi Shankaracharya.
On Tuesday, 1 April 1941, at the age of 72, Swami Brahmamanda Saraswati was
invested, with traditional rites, as the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath,
Badrikashram, Himalayas, and given the title Jagadguru Maharaj.
ii. Adi Shankaracharya was born in 788...
iii. The location of Jyotirmath corresponds to a former Buddhist Vihara
called Badrika, meaning 'resting place of the tree of life, the Badri tree'.
According to tradition, Shankara discovered a murti in a nearby river and he
swam out to retrieve it. The murti, actually a crude Buddha statue in the
form of a meditating yogi made from black basalt, was installed by Shankara
in a cave where used to perform his daily devotions. It was in this cave
that Shankara composed his famous commentary on the Brahma Sutras of
Badarayana.
iv. Badarayana...
v. The four great dicta...
vi. Gaudapada and the Mandukhya Upanishad -
vii. The Shri Chakra with bija mantras inscribed thereon...