Mumukshuthvadhikara
CHAPTER - VI
Mumukshuthvadhikara
It is rightly declared that three things are very rare to be obtained. Of these three, to be bom as a human being is very rare. When one is endowed with the body, indriyas, mind and knowledge, a person will do well to obtain knowledge of the Reality and make an attempt to save himself from samsara. To be born in this world again and again, is never the goal of life. A wiseman should realise that the world nearest at hand is beset with dangers and defects and that it is not his goal to live here enmeshed in matter.
When one examines the real characteristics of this universe, he will understand that he is drowning in the ocean of samsara, being caught by the whirlpool of sorrows and sufferings. Being caught in this, he is subjected to birth, oldage, death, disease and others again and again without any cessation. The primordial matter which is in the subtle form at the time of pralaya, undergoes change and at the time of creation, forms the bodies of the migrating souls and will be causing great disasters in the form of clouding the knowledge of the jivatman and causing perverse knowledge of the Reality. A wiseman sees the defects and limitations of the earthly gains that are little, impermanent associated with sorrow at all levels, as Gita points out.
A person when he realises that life in this world being associated with matter, is heading to sorrow in all aspects, he gets displeased with this world at all levels. When a discriminating man understands this and the inescapable relationship between himself and the Supreme Lord and when he realises that he is qualified fully for attaining the supreme abode of the Lord which is free from sorrows and is of the form of supreme bliss which is verily his true nature, he yearns to get free from the clutches of samsara.
Then, he gains ‘mumukshutva’ which is the second rare state a Jivatman gains. It is very rare to gain mumukshutva. Though a person is endowed with right knowledge, though he is following right action, though he is a home of all virtues like kshama, dama and others, he may not have ‘mumukshutva’ for which God’s grace is necessary.
When a person is blessed with ‘manushyatva’ and ‘mumukshutva’ he must take refuge with a great, compassionate master, for guiding him to proceed on the way of spiritual realisation. This is Mahapurusha Samashraya
These three things lead one to gain spiritual perfection.
It is really to a fortunate person that these three happen. It will not happen on its own account. A person has to discriminate between right values and wrong ideals and gain true knowledge from the shastras through accredited masters and develop mumukshutva in an orderly manner. Who is a mumukshu ? How should an aspirant after moksha, behave in this world ? What should he necessarily know? What should he aspire for? These have been discussed in great detail in this section - Mumukshutvadhikara. As a pre-requisite for gaining the mumukshutva, Desika has described in the earlier section that (1) one should decide the utmost essence or the sarathama knowledge; (2) the fundamental relationship of the jivatma with paramatman, as shesha and sheshi; (3) one should have a perfect knowledge of the five truthsMumukshuthvadhikara
(arthapanchaka); (4) the essential nature of the three realities viz. the jivatman, matter and Ishvara as well as their mutual relationship and the truth of the nature of the Supreme Deity, who is to be worshipped and sought as a refuge. With these preliminary understandings, an aspirant will be able to know the nature of matter and its wonderful way of binding the souls down to samsara, the nature of the jivatman - who is a jnanananda swarupa and who is subservient to the one Supreme Lord and his true destiny of attaining the eternal service of the Supreme Divinity. It is necessary that he should have a decisive knowledge of the nature of the Supreme Deity whom he has to worship and gain, through supreme devotion and self-surrender. This will enable him to concentrate on the means of attainment of that Supreme Deity. Such an aspirant would be wholly displeased with the nearest world at hand and he would not bear to be imprisoned any more in the mortal body. He would yearn to free himself from the bondage of matter
Desika outlines in this chapter - Mumukshutvadhikara - very clearly how one should develop dispassion towards the world and how one should have an earnest desire to attain the Supreme Paramatman. In the introductory verse, Desika exhorts humanity to develop a keen desire to free oneself from the clutches of matter.
कालावर्तान् प्रकृतिविकृतीः कामभोगेषु दोषान् ज्वालागर्तप्रतिम दुरितोदकं दुःखानुभूतिम् । याथातथ्यं स्वपरनियतं यच्च दिव्यं पदंतत् काराकल्पं वपुरपिविदन् कस्तितिक्षेतबन्धम् । When one realises the following firmly that t
ILY.
I Everything in this world is subjected to the limitation of
time. Destruction is the destiny of all things in this world. They are all swept away by the huge flood of time causing birth, death, oldage etc. again and again. Even people
who live very long are destined to die one day. II The subtle matter undergoes change incessantly and
evolves in the form of indriyas, objects and other things
resulting in the shielding of Reality. III The pleasure of this world as well as the other world are
full of defects. They are little, impermanent, they are obtained through dukha or pain, they are mixed with sorrow, they lead to sorrow, are the causes of perverse knowledge and they are opposed to the experience of the
nature of the bliss of the atman. IV They are leading to the experience of the great suffering
of sorrow in ’naraka’ which is similar to the terrible cauldron of blazing fire, though they appear pleasant at
the present time. V The true nature of his own self and Paramatman and the
inescapable relationship of shesha-sheshi bhava. VI That immaterial abode, the abode of the Supreme
Paramatman which he is going to attain and which is bereft of any defect and which is agreeable to the
experience of the Divine. VII The body which he is now having is just like a prison
obstructing him from the true experience of himself and the Paramatman by limiting his consciousness.
Such an aspirant who has gained this kind of knowledge would never bear cven for a moment to be bound like that by the body
Mumukshuthvadhikara
The scriptures that teach the real nature of the Individual Self, matter and Paramatman, exhort man to act without delay in such a way that he will not be born again,
आब्रह्मभुवनादेते दोषास्सन्ति महामुने । अत एव हि नेच्छन्ति स्वर्गप्राप्ति मनीषिणः ॥
“Beginning from the world of Brahma, all these worlds are full of defects. It is on account of this reason that the wisc do not desire to gain heaven or svarga.”
Desika has described in detail the characteristics of persons who are competent to become aspirants after liberation, as follows : - 1. One should know from the spiritual texts that the
essential nature of the atman is self-luminosity and consciousness. The atman is endowed with knowership, doership, enjoyership and the nature of being associated with a body. His atman is ‘anu’ or atomic in nature, eternal, without any parts, and he is bereft of any kind of expansion or diminution, not possible of being cut or burnt or dried up, whereas the body is different and distinct from his self. He should have a general understanding that he is liable to be born with different bodies. Being endowed with this knowledge, he will be fit to gain the ultimate object of life.
He must be fully aware of the fact that he is different and distinct from Isvara on account of the fact of his utter dependence upon the Lord. One who realises that he is supported, ruled over by the Lord and used for the purposes of Lord himself, will realise that one should yearn for the attainment of the glory of divine service.
- The aspirant should be well aware of his alpa-shaktitva
and ajnana and having an inauspicious body. 3. He must get rid of the five kinds of ‘ahankara’ as shown
below after reflecting upon the true nature reflected in the third letter of the first word of the Mulamantra. :
ज्ञानत्वानुसन्धान in मकार ।
a. The ahankara that ensues on account of his relation with
the body and those that are related to his body such as children and others.
The illusion that he has mastery over his own self and the quality of that self. He should get rid of the illusion that he is shesha or
subservient to others. d. He should also get rid of the illusion that he is the cause
of his protection independent of others i.e. having ’nirapeksha-swantra’ in his own ‘rakshana-vyapara’. He must free himself from the illusion of the form of his independent doership and independent enjoyership i.e. Swadhina Kartrutva and Swadhina Bhoktrutva. Likewise, he must get rid of the illusion of the nature of Swartha Kartrutva and Swartha Bhoktrutva, i.e. doership and enjoyership for one’s own benefit. Such a person will realise that the experience of the objects of this world as well of the other world consisting of non-sentient things are little (alpa), impermanent (asthira), obtained through pain and suffering (duhka mularva), it is mixed with sorrow (duhka-mishra), resulting in sorrow (duhka-udarka), the cause of perverse
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Mumukshathvadhikara
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beliefs (viparita-abhimana-mula) and opposed to the experience of the natural bliss (swabhavika-ananda virudha). Similarly, he has to realise that the experience of the pure atman (unconnected with matter) is also having its own defects as it is deprived of the infinite bliss of divine communion.
When a person reflects upon these factors, mentioned above, he will come to a definite decision that he should turn away from all activitics that lead to re-birth in this universe, and he renounces interest in all these things and will be engaging himself in Nivritti-Dharma. Such a person is an adhikarin or aspirant of moksha.
This has been expounded by savants differently for exhorting man to have a breach with the nearest world at hand and to have a positive and genuine turn towards gaining liberation. The Alwar says like this - “they are of very little essence; having experienced them, I have given up all of them” (t.m. 3-2-6) “having experienced the objects of the five senses, I have realised that the pleasure from the objects is very little.” (t.m. 4-6-10)
The Gita says – ’the fruit of all those ignorant people becomes little and they end at a particular time’ (Gita 7-23). ‘Having come upon this world which is full of sorrow and impermanence, worship me alone to get rid of it’. (Gita 9. 33). ‘Having heard that the most mighty, the most valiant and the most wealthy have all been swept away by the floods of time, and nothing of them, other than their names, being left behind, a wise person will not become attached to a wife or a house or a land or money’. “Even in heaven, one will not have happiness, as he is ever afraid of a fall due to exhaustion of that punya.” “These defects are found in respect of all these worlds beginning with the world of Brahma. That is why wise people do not desire the attainment of swarga.” “The Supreme Abode of Vishnu, is above the abode of the four faced-Brahma. It is pure, eternal and luminous and known as ‘Brahman’ itself.” “The unwise that are devoted to the objects of the world, never reach that place.” “All these abodes are verily hells, when compared with the Supreme Abode of Paramatman.”
These authorities make it clear that all things other than the attainment and experience of Paramatman are subjected to defects. So, a discriminating person should turn away from all activities leading to worldly attainments and seek whole heartedly that means by which he attains immortality.
Such a person who has developed an aspiration for gaining liberation from samsara, should adopt the appropriate means for gaining moksha. Knowledge should be translated into appropriate action. This kind of anushthana or practice, will be in accordance with one’s refinement of mind that is gained by the teaching of all great preceptors. Sadupadesha is absolutely essential for leading one to the performance of the appropriate spiritual discipline for attainment of the highest object of life. One should engage himself in the Parama Purusha-Anushthana, without any delay according to his ability and the instruction of the teachers. Desika quotes here a verse which is very meaningful. -
वयसः कर्मणोऽर्थस्य श्रुतस्याभिजनस्य च । वेषवाग्वृत्तिसारूप्यं आचरन् विचरेदिह ॥
Mumukshuthvadhikara
“A person should behave in this world having unison with his attire, speech and action according to his age, profession, wealth, knowledge and birth”. This implies that a person who has gained rare knowledge from the preceptors should act accordingly.
In the ultimate analysis, it may be said that it is only through Lord’s grace that one will be born as a human being, will get a suitable teacher through whom he gains spiritual wisdom and becomes a mumukshu and adopts the necessary means for attainment of liberation,