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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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What is Sankara's reply to this argument?
What the Vedas state need not necessarily serve the purpose of involving
us in any work. The mimamsakas accept the Vedas because, according to
them, the karma mentioned in them serves a purpose. So the purpose
served by karma is the message of the Vedas, not the karma itself. If to
be
without any karma, without any work, is itself a great purpose, must not
the jnanakanda of the Vedas then be acceptable since it deals with a
condition in which there is no karma to be performed, or nothing is to
be
done? That is if being without karma is "useful" by itself - if it
serves a
"purpose" - that can also then be the message of the Vedas. So the
underlying goal of the Vedas is not karma itself but the purpose behind
it.
The Vedas admonish us: "Do not drink wine". How do we react to this
interdiction? We react by doing nothing; there is indeed nothing for us
to
do. The message of this Vedic commandment is that we ought not to ruin
ourselves by drinking. To remain without doing anything is called
"abhava". All nisedha (prohibition) belongs to the abhava category. The
mimasakas themselves admit that the Vedas forbid certain actions. If it
is
beneficial not to perform certain actions, how can you object to the
possibility that not doing any karma at all can also constitute a great
purpose? Vedanta has great "use" thus since it serves the supreme
purpose of the action-less or quiescent state in which we realise the
Self.
This cannot be rejected as arthavada.
Krsna says in the Gita: "Sarvan karma' khilam Partha jnane
parisamapyate" (All works, Partha, find their goal in jnana). All karma
must be consecrated to Paramesvara, must be laid at the feet of the
Supreme Lord. To be without work, and experience the bliss of the
Brahman is he greatest of "uses". In this state there is no birth again
and
it means freedom from worldly existence. That is the ultimate message of
the Vedas. The karmakanda must be woven together with the jnanakanda
if it is to be meaningful and if it is to serve a purpose.
Sankara succeeded in convincing Mandanamisra, Kumarilabhatta and
others about the rightness of this view. To recapitulate his argument:
"The karmakanda of the Vedas mentions works because their
performance is of some use in cleansing the mind. If the purpose
achieved by not performing them is a million - million times greater
than
that gained by performing them, then that must be understood to be the
message of the Vedas, the ultimate teaching of the jnanakanda. The
karmakanda helps a seeker in his early stages. The performance of rites
creates inner purity and takes him to Isvara. Karma performed for the
sake of karma leads a man nowhere. The Vedas speak of the sannyasin's
stage of life in which the ascetic, as he attains the Paramatman,
becomes
the Paramatman". The Acarya spoke in this vein to Mandanamisra
[converted him to his point of view] and gave him initiation into
sannyasa.
In the karmakanda certain acts are declared sinful. If a person keeps
doing them it is because he feels he finds some pleasure in them. But
such pleasure is momentary and becomes an obstacle in his efforts to
know the joy that is greater. The mimamsakas, respecting the injunctions
of the Vedas, abjure sinful acts. By the performance of Vedic karma they
derive certain fruits, a certain degree of happiness, find well-being in
their mundane existence and go to the pitr-loka or devaloka. But these
do
not mean everlasting bliss. When the fruits of their virtuous acts are
exhausted, the joys also come to an end. Even if they go to the world of
the celestials they will have to plunge into this world again on
exhausting
their merit. "Ksine punye martyalokam visanti".
What is that well-being which is eternal? The answer is that which is
experienced by the jnanin when he dissolves in the Supreme Godhead.
Then there is no "doing" for him. One must abjure sinful acts that
afford
petty momentary pleasure and instead perform noble works such as
those mentioned in the Vedas. But what use are even these if they do not
lead to the experience of plenary bliss? Are we, however, capable of
directly attaining such blessedness abandoning Vedic karma? No. Jnana is
not easy to obtain. For it the consciousness, the mind, must be made
pure and un-oscillating. So Vedic rituals are essential.
But they must be performed not for impermanent rewards like paradise
but for the removal of inner impurities. We must not be deflected from
the higher path by the fruits yielded by karma-these must be placed
devotedly at the feet of the Lord. He will bless us with the higher
fruit of
inner purity and then the mind will become mellow enough for Atmic
inquiry, for the inward journey. That is the way to the supreme
blessedness, the quiescent state in which one is oneself. |
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