The three legs of awakening - Advaita Vedanta

[dwai]

In the advanced text of Advaita Vedanta, titled “jivanamukti Viveka”, the author, Vidyāranya Swami lays down three requisites for liberation, enlightenment, awakening. The three are — 

 

• Self knowledge, jñāna 
• dropping of vāsanās, or habitual patterns of the mind that appear in the form of compulsive behaviors and cravings 
• Cessation of the mind, in the sense the mind stops clinging to things

 

According to the book, all three must happen simultaneously, and not sequentially. 

 

However, depending on whether one is a seeker or a knower (jñāni), the emphasis is on different components of the triumvirate.

 

While for the seeker, the primary emphasis is on gaining the knowledge (via studying the texts, transmission from a realized master, contemplation and meditation), along with cessation of the mind, for one who has realized the Self already, the emphasis is on dropping the habitual patterns of behavior that arise from activated karma. 

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by dwai
Typo fix

[3bob]

a key aspect perhaps alluded to by "transmission" is Grace,  all three really have an aspect of Grace manifesting.

[neti neti]

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Edited January 11, 2021 by neti neti

[dwai]

Grace is constantly available. Only seeker needs to prepare himself to receive it. That’s where effort plays a role.

 

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that Grace is like the wind that is constantly blowing on the river, the seeker is like the boat which needs its sails raised to catch the wind.

[3bob]

1 hour ago, dwai said:

Grace is constantly available. Only seeker needs to prepare himself to receive it. That’s where effort plays a role.

 

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that Grace is like the wind that is constantly blowing on the river, the seeker is like the boat which needs its sails raised to catch the wind.

 

unconditional grace needs no conditions and is not dependent on or only reactive to merited effort....for it spans and penetrates, without harm,  the entire multi-verse and being-ness in less than an eye blink. (eye of the true Guru)

Edited June 12, 2019 by 3bob

[dwai]

26 minutes ago, 3bob said:

 

unconditional grace needs no conditions and is not dependent on or only reactive to merited effort....for it spans and penetrates, without harm,  the entire multi-verse and being-ness in less than an eye blink. (eye of the true Guru)

Yes and no  

 

the sun is shining all the time. But the earth needs to rotate for the night to turn to day. That’s what I mean by “seeker needing to be ready”...

[Spotless]

It is interesting to look at the concept of "raising ones sail"

 

One might be a doing - another may simply be unfurling openness - in a sense getting out of the way.

 

One may have a raised sail and is fighting upwind - simply giving "3 sheets to the wind" may be a non-effort raising of the sail - going with the wind.

[dwai]

1 minute ago, Spotless said:

It is interesting to look at the concept of "raising ones sail"

 

One might be a doing - another may simply be unfurling openness - in a sense getting out of the way.

 

One may have a raised sail and is fighting upwind - simply giving "3 sheets to the wind" may be a non-effort raising of the sail - going with the wind.

Very insightful. Imho, the “doing” part is just turning in the right direction and unfurling the sail. The “not doing” is maintaining course and sailing with the winds. 

[Spotless]

In the case of grace - turning in the "right" direction may be willfulness - in the metaphor it can be many things but it appears the main appeal is to an openness to grace - and an openness to grace is an openness to abandoning willfulness and the identified self - dropping the white knuckles and giving the tiller way to the winds and the currents and the flow.

 

It takes tremendous effort to relax the grasp - to abandon habituations - to not feed the flames - to Be in silence without filler and fight and the trance that greys the awareness.

 

This is no rebuke - this is simply subtle stuff - lots of way to see "raising a sail" - lots of ways to drop ones sails in the rigidity of beliefs or in the abuse of the gross physical body - the sails may be ones eyelids - opening them where they were closed.

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by Spotless

[Spotless]

On 6/11/2019 at 12:07 AM, dwai said:

While for the seeker, the primary emphasis is on gaining the knowledge (via studying the texts, transmission from a realized master, contemplation and meditation), along with cessation of the mind, for one who has realized the Self already, the emphasis is on dropping the habitual patterns of behavior that arise from activated karma. 

Even if ones Awakening is like Krakatoa and it seems nothing is left - there are remains. The "work" - the "practice" is entirely different - but a great deal is still in the works. 

The subtle bodies require effort - even in no-effort.

Faint remains - are often not so faint.

Measuring ones head cannot be a discarded habit.

 

Thankfully - hopefully - patience and grace and prior practice endure and carry through. It is said it takes 10 years before one should teach - this seems good guidance - and it is not a long time - particularly in no time/no space.

[Spotless]

Post Awakening Qi Gong has been an excellent non-doing doing-in of "remnants".

Patience and Grace as well.

 

It is extraordinary to find the ball and chain of willfulness nearly gone - in the vast peace and patience - riding out what appears and happens and attending to facing subtle and not so subtle constrictions and well worn paths is beautiful and IN Grace - but it is also a constant fresh abidance very much embodied in changes taking place.

 

You don't need to look in the mirror - you see and feel it in everything - a chaos that is OK - 

 

It would be interesting if you could elaborate more on:      "activated karma"

Edited June 12, 2019 by Spotless

[Finder]

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 3:06 AM, Spotless said:

In the case of grace - turning in the "right" direction may be willfulness - in the metaphor it can be many things but it appears the main appeal is to an openness to grace - and an openness to grace is an openness to abandoning willfulness and the identified self - dropping the white knuckles and giving the tiller way to the winds and the currents and the flow.

 

Yes, turning in the "right" direction is not willfulness if one considers it as an abandonment of resistance to what is.

 

A melting...a relaxation....a surrender.

 

Language can be so deceptive, because the implicit assumption is status quo = doing nothing.

 

But status quo here is very much doing "something" - maintaining resistance.

 

So you're not doing "something" to turn to grace, you're ceasing to do something.