Introduction to Vedanta -Drig Drisya Viveka - Swami Sarvapriyanandaji's lecture in Vedanta society of southern California part 2

By Shantanu -
Swami Sarvapriyanandaji's lectures are available on youtube. These are just the my personal interpretations and transcriptions of his explanation of the text of Drig Drisya Viveka. Actual Copyright of the lecture belongs to Vedanta Society of Southern California.

Drig Drisya Viveka is a Vedantic test written by Vidyaranya Swami in 14th century AD. Its an introductory text on Vedanta.

There are four essential steps for practising Vedanta. They are called Sadhan Chatustaya or fourfold practices. They are Viveka or discrimination, Vairagya or dispassion, Mumukshatva or desire for emancipation and Shama damadi Shat Sampad, i.e. six fold treasures that include Shama or control of mind, Dama or control of sense organs, Uparati - adherence to ones duties or dharma, Titiksha or forbearance, sraddha or basic (not blind) faith based on reason on Shastra and Guru & samadhana or concentration.
Vedanta is based on prasthan trayee, the three main texts of Upanishads, Gita and BrahmaSutra. Then there are prakarana grantha or introductory texts.

Eyes, ears and other sense organs deal with multiplicity and therefore are seen by the witness. Mind is the seer. Mind itself undergoes many modifications. It is consciousness that illumines mind and also the different feelings, emotions, thoughts, fear, intellect, desires, memories etc. Consciousness does not rise, nor it sets - "Na cha udeti, na astameti", it is always there. Even in deep sleep consciousness remains. Just as in deep space there is all darkness and even though we approach the sun because there is no object to reflect we cannot see the sunlight or daylight, consciousness is there in deep sleep but since the other objects like mind etc. are absent it has nothing to reflect upon or illumine. Thus we feel that there is no consciousness in deep sleep. Yet we are aware that we had deep sleep. Consciousness is behind everything, but only as a witness. It shines, therefore everything else shines in its light. Pure consciousness never changes, although mind undergoes modifications. The different states of minds are events in mind, they are fleeting. Consciousness is permanent, eternal, unchanging and ever lasting. It remains after the gross body dies and subtle body transmigrates to take another gross body.

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