Vivekachudamani 171 to 175

 VIVEKACHUDAMANI

                                                                      Talks by Swami Shivaprakashananda Saraswati.

 

सर्ववेदान्तसिद्धान्तगोचरं तमगोचरम् ।
गोविन्दं परमानन्दं सद्गुरुं प्रणतोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ १ ॥

sarvavedāntasiddhāntagocaraṃ tamagocaram |
govindaṃ paramānandaṃ sadguruṃ praṇato'smyaham || 1 ||

 

We are discussing Manomaya Kosha. MANAS—is responsible for SAMSARA. In other words there is karya - karana bhaav between Manas and Samsara.

Karya-Karana Bhaav means –cause -effect relationship

Manas is the cause and Samasara is the effect. Manas is Karana and Samasara is Karya.

The author is establishing Karya=Karana Bhaav between Manas and Samsara with a logic.The logic is called Anvaya Vyatireka.

ANVAYA is the co-relation of the existence of two things. In this Manas  is– sattva samsara sattvam. In the presence of Manas there is Samsara. This is observed in the waking and in the dream state. In the waking and in the dream states there is Manas and there is Samsara. The author discussed this in Shloka 170.

In waking and in the dream there is Manas and there is Samsara. This was discussed in Shloka 170 and therefore Shloka 170 is Anvaya and in Shloka 171 the author is stating Vyatireka.

The correlation between the absence of two. In this case manasa bahave---samsara abhavaha

In the absence of Manas there is the absence of Samsara. The author states this in Shloka 171 and thus in Shloka 171 is Vyatireka  and where do you observe Vyatireka?

We observe it in Sushupti in deep sleep where there is no manas and hence there is no Samsara.

Shloka 171.

सुषुप्तिकाले मनसि प्रलीने
नैवास्ति किंचित्सकलप्रसिद्धेः ।
अतो मनःकल्पितेव पुंसः
संसार एतस्य न वस्तुतोऽस्ति ॥ १७१ ॥

suṣuptikāle manasi pralīne
naivāsti kiṃcitsakalaprasiddheḥ |
ato manaḥkalpiteva puṃsaḥ
saṃsāra etasya na vastuto'sti || 171 ||

 सुषुप्तिकाले /suṣuptikāle ---in deep sleep.

In Sushupti /सुषुप्ति 

manasi pralīne मनसि प्रलीन--the mind is resolved . the manas is resolved. There is no Manas in deep sleep and in the same time there is no Samsara also.

 

नैवास्ति किंचित् / naivāsti kiṃcit--means that Samsara does not exist in deep sleep. How do you know this? The author says it is everybody’s experience. It is a universal experience,

सकलप्रसिद्धेः /  sakalaprasiddheḥ  --It is everybody’s experience –This  is Vyatireka  and based on this Anvaya and Vyatireka  we can arrive at a solution that the Samsara is caused by .

अत: Atha Therefore पुंसः संसार

 puṃsaḥ / saṃsāra .  The Samsara  of an individual – मनःकल्पितेव पुंसः
संसार एतस्य न वस्तुतोऽस्ति ॥ १७१ ॥

 अतः—therefore -- manaḥkalpiteva. It is Manah kalpitaha .It is caused by the mind and since it is caused by the mind it is not intrinsic to an individual. The Samsara is not the intrinsic nature of an individual

संसार एतस्य न वस्तुतोऽस्ति / saṃsāra etasya na vastuto'sti ---Samsara does not exist vastutaha ---intrinsically. It is not your nature. Because of the mind there is Samsara.

 

 

Shloka 172.

वायुनानीयते मेधः पुनस्तेनैव नीयते ।
मनसा कल्प्यते बन्धो मोक्षस्तेनैव कल्प्यते ॥ १७२ ॥

vāyunānīyate medhaḥ punastenaiva nīyate |
manasā kalpyate bandho mokṣastenaiva kalpyate || 172 ||

IF Manas causes Samsara, then how to put an end to Samsara? One may think that you destroy the Manas then the Samsara will also get destroyed but unfortunately, we cannot destroy the Manas. Some people tried destroying the Manas and in the process of destroying the Manas they only spoiled the Manas. The Manas can be spoiled but it cannot be destroyed because as long as there is ignorance there is Ajnana .Manas will continue to exist and it will continue to give problems also. Therefore, the solution is not to destroy the Manas. The solution is to destroy Ajnana , to destroy ignorance. How to destroy ignorance? There is only one way –knowledge!

There is no other way to destroy ignorance than Knowledge. In this case, it is Atma Jnana –Self Knowledge or Brahma Jnana . Both mean the same. There is no difference between Atma Jnana and Brahma Gyan. Brahma Jnana alone destroys the Ajnana which is responsible for Samsara.  But to get Jnana you need MANAS because every Jnana happens in the MIND which is the instrument for all Jnana –for any Jnana!

For English Jnana,  Samskrita  Jnana,  Chinese Jnana, Science Jnana,  History  Jnana .

All happens in the mind! Likewise, even Brahma Jnana takes place in the MIND only, therefore, you need the Manas and therefore the same Manas which causes Samasara also works as an instrument, to make one free from Samsara.

The mind favours Samsara and the same Mind favours Moksha also! Therefore, in Bhagwad Geeta chapter 6 Krishna says:-

आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥

ātmaiva hyātmanō bandhurātmaiva ripurātmanaḥ৷৷6.5৷৷

 

Manas-- Mind is a friend,  as well as an enemy. The mind works as both -- as a friend and as an enemy depending on how you groom your mind. There is an Upanishad called ‘Amrita Bindu Upanishad’ . There is a very important statement in ‘ Amrita Bindu Upanishad’

मन एव मनुष्याणां कारणं बन्धमोक्षयोः |

 

mana eva manushyanam
karanam bandha-mokshayoh

Manas is the instrument for both Bandha and Moksha . Both  Samsara and Moksha. The author conveys the same idea here with an example. How can the same thing  be both favourable and unfavourable to  Samsara?
How can the same mind cause Samsara and remove Samsara also ?

The author gives a beautiful example. The example is of the Wind.

Sometimes the wind brings the clouds if it blows in a favourable direction and in a favourable velocity.

The wind brings clouds and favours rains and sometimes the same wind if it blows in an unfavourable direction and in an unfavourable velocity the same wind can disperse the clouds  and prevent the possibility of rain!

वायुनानीयते मेधः / vāyunānīyate medha—cloud --it is brought by the wind! If it blows in a favourable direction. Likewise, the same wind removes the cloud.

Punaha eve noyate

By the same wind the cloud is removed niyate –नीयते-taken away. Similarly ---

मनसा कल्प्यते बन्ध: / manasā kalpyate bandhah-

 Bandhah --Samsara is caused by Manas.

Manas kalpyate =it is caused by Manas.

Mokhyate na kalpate

मोक्षस्तेनैव कल्प्यते /mokṣastenaiva kalpyate

Likewise, the same mind if it is favourable it can facilitate Moksha also.

Now the author explains what kind of Manas causes Samsara and what kind of Manas  facilitates Moksha.

If the Manas is impure and  full of undesirable emotions then it cause Samsara. It binds a person to Samsara and  on the other hand if the Manas is pure filled with desirable qualities  like Viveka, Vairagya, Sham-aadi shat Samapati , Mumushtava etc then it is conducive for Moksha.

Shloka 173.

देहादिसर्वविषये परिकल्प्य रागं
बध्नाति तेन पुरुषं पशुवद्गुणेन ।
वैरस्यमत्र विषवत्सुवुधाय पश्चाद्
एनं विमोचयति तन्मन एव बन्धात् ॥ १७३ ॥

dehādisarvaviṣaye parikalpya rāgaṃ
badhnāti tena puruṣaṃ paśuvadguṇena |
vairasyamatra viṣavatsuvudhāya paścād
enaṃ vimocayati tanmana eva bandhāt || 173 ||

 

 

The first half talks of the binding Manas. The Manas that causes Samsara. The mind when it is filled with Raga.

Attachment towards various objects and the objects start with our body. Deha aadi – देहादि

Attachment to our own body etc. Body onwards, everything related to the body like relatives, house etc.

देहादिसर्वविषये परिकल्प्य रागं

dehādisarvaviṣaye parikalpya rāgaṃ
Causing Raga-- Causing attachment /desire.

 तेन पुरुषं  बध्नाति / tena puruṣaṃ badhnāti

तेन / tena --With the same attachment the mind binds a person. Binds an individual to Samsara.  Ties an individual down to Samsara. The author gives an example.

 

पशुवद्गुणेन / paśuvadguṇena --Like Animals are bound with the help of rope here the word guna गुण means rope. The word guna गुण has several meanings in Samskrita and  we have to understand the meaning as per the context.

Like an animal is tied down to a rope  पशुवद्गुणेन / paśuvadguṇena

The human beings are tied down to Samsara  WITH THE ROPE OF ATTACHMENT.

My body ! My property My son ! So many ropes of attachments It is not easy to get out of them. It needs lot of Sadhana. Lot of Satsang, Vichara otherwise a person cannot make himself free from the ropes of attachment. They are very, very strong. Even among the spiritual seekers, even among the students of Vedanta we can see attachment because it is not so easy to get rid of them. One has to work them out!

When the mind becomes free from the ropes of attachment it facilitates Mokhsa because Jnana can take place in the mind which is

वैरस्यमत्र  / vairasyamatra ==free from attachments.

Referring to  various sense objects वैरस्यमत्र  / vairasyamatra

वैरस्य सुवुधाय vairasya suvudhāya ---Creating Vairagya .Vairasya means—Vairagya. The mind has to be filled with Vairagya.

Vairagya means freedom from attachments.
  पश्चाद् /  paścād—then.

 एनं विमोचयति तन्मन एव बन्धात् ॥ enaṃ vimocayati

The same Manas,  the same mind, makes this person free from Samasara by facilitating Jnana.

Shloka 174.

तस्मान्मनः कारणमस्य जन्तोः
बन्धस्य मोक्षस्य च वा विधाने ।
बन्धस्य हेतुर्मलिनं रजोगुणैः
मोक्षस्य शुद्धं विरजस्तमस्कम् ॥ १७४ ॥

tasmānmanaḥ kāraṇamasya jantoḥ
bandhasya mokṣasya ca vā vidhāne |
bandhasya heturmalinaṃ rajoguṇaiḥ
mokṣasya śuddhaṃ virajastamaskam || 174 ||

 

Again , the author explains what kind of Manas is conducive for Moksha and what causes Samsara

Tasmad- तस्माद् —therefore, since the Manas with the desires, with the attachments causes Samsara and a mind free from attachments is favourable to Moksha the Manas is responsible for bandha and Moksha.

बन्धस्य मोक्षस्य च वा विधाने ।
bandhasya mokṣasya ca vā vidhāne |

 In causing both Bandha and Moksha.
asya jantoḥ/ अस्य जन्तोः
मनः कारणम /manaḥ kāraṇamasya
--for this individual-Manas is the cause.

बन्धस्य हेतुर्मलिनं रजोगुणैः
bandhasya heturmalinaṃ rajoguṇaiḥ

The Mind which is impure with Rajo Guna. The impurity is caused by Tamo Guna as well as Rajo Guna. The author mentions Rajo Guna and we can include Tamo Guna. The Rajo Guna gives rise to raga- attachment, hatred etc and binds.

Likewise, Tamo guna also binds. Delusion laziness etc BUT the same mind when it becomes Sattvika when the Sattva because predominant in the mind then the same mind is conducive for Moksha.

Mokshasya hetusu /  मोक्षस्य  हेतुसु

Virajaasya – means free from Rajas and Tamas . That means Sattva Guna is predominant and Rajas and Tamas are not disturbing. That Kind of Manas facilitates  Moksha because then it shuddha .  It is pure when it is free from the effects of Rajas and Tamas.

 

Shoka 175.

विवेकवैराग्यगुणातिरेकाच्
छुद्धत्वमासाद्य मनो विमुक्त्यै ।
भवत्यतो बुद्धिमतो मुमुक्षोस्
ताभ्यां दृढाभ्यां भवितव्यमग्रे ॥ १७५ ॥

vivekavairāgyaguṇātirekāc
chuddhatvamāsādya mano vimuktyai |
bhavatyato buddhimato mumukṣos
tābhyāṃ dṛḍhābhyāṃ bhavitavyamagre || 175 ||

Now the author explains the indications of a pure mind.

 When can you say that the mind is pure?

The author gives two indications:--Viveka and Vairagya.

When Vivek and Vairagya are considerably strong. reasonably strong then you can say that the mind is pure ! Therefore, a Mumukshu should make effort to strengthen his Viveka and Vairagya .

Viveka refers to Nitya-Anitya vastu vikeka . A clear understanding of the distinction between the permanent and impermanent. The world is impermanent. The body is impermanent. The relatives are impermanent, and any accomplishment in this world is impermanent! ANITYA-- then what is permanent?

There is only one permanent and that is BRAHMAN /ATMA.  This clarity is called Viveka.

Then he understands that it is not worth spending one’s lifetime for accomplishing the impermanent and instead if I have to make my life meaningful, I should accomplish the permanent. When he understands this, he loses attraction towards the material objects.

He loses aversion to material enjoyment and material possession This is called Vairagya. A lack of attraction towards material objects. Lack of attachment to the material  objects is Vairagya

Viveka nad Vairagya ! People may have little Viveka and little  Vaiaraygay Some people get vairagya some time and that is not enough.

 Vairagya has to be teevra तीव्र/ There are people with a little bit of Vairagya –mand /मंद Vairagya मंद वैराज्ञ  and that is not enough.

Even if there is mand vairagya मंद वैराज्ञ  it should be enhanced, amplified and it should become  very strong. very intense.

How to enhance Vairagya? One has to keep being awake to the limitations of  the material objects Be awake to the limitations of any given material object then the Vairagya increases.

THUS accomplish excellence in Vikeka and Vairagya.
विवेकवैराग्यगुणातिरेकाच / vivekavairāgyaguṇātirekā
With excellence in Viveka and Vairagya the mind becomes Shuddha.

छद्धत्वमासाद्य  / Shuddtvam asadya== The mind become Shuddha . The Manas becomes Shuddha

Mansasya mukti eva bhavati

Then the Manas favours Moksha.

Ataha ==therefore a wise man should make effort to increase his  Viveka and Vairagaya.

Buddhimato ho बुद्धिमतो  buddhimato

A BUDDHIMAAN बुद्धिमान्  a WISE MAN WHO IS A MUMKSHU . Who has chosen moksha as the goal of his life !

Agre-- in the beginning, before he tried to do anything else in spiritual pursuits --

ताभ्यां दृढाभ्यां भवितव्यमग्रे ॥
tābhyāṃ dṛḍhābhyāṃ bhavitavyamagre ---Tabahayam-- Vivek and Vaiaragya--These two should become Strong!

tābhyāṃ dṛḍhābhyāṃ

 

Freedom through Wisdom

 

Need for Quest

It is natural for human beings to seek happiness form the external world. On proper enquiry, one can understand that material pursuit does not lead to permanent happiness and freedom from sorrow. In spite of all forms of material success, human beings are not happy. They are not free from the basic psychological problems like loneliness, insecurity, depression and so on.

Yajnavalkya offers a substantial portion of his wealth to Maitreyi, his wife. Then Maitreyi asks her husband whether the riches would give her permanent happiness. Yajnavalkya answered in negative. Any amount of material gain in terms of wealth, social status or relations do not give permanent happiness. They do not put an end to the fundamental problems of a human being like sense of incompleteness, loneliness, sorrow, insecurity, dissatisfaction and so on.

Maitreyi asks Yajnavalkya to reveal him the means for permanent happiness, permanent freedom for sorrow. Yajnavalkya reveals the need for enquiring into the Atman, the true nature of the self, as the one and only means for freedom.

The Atman, the true nature of and individual, is pure, changeless and limitless. Therefore, it is free from all problems. It is free from incompleteness, sorrow, insecurity and so on. Therefore, discovering freedom is discovering Atman, our true nature.

 

The Nature of Freedom

The Sanskrit word Moksha means freedom. We human beings identify with body and mind. Therefore, we look upon the properties of body and mind as our own attributes. Since the body is limited, we identify ourselves as limited. Since the mind is full of emotional problems, we identify ourselves as subject to emotional ups and downs and so on.

When we wear an undersized shirt, it causes discomfort. Similarly, when the limited is seen to be limited, there is discomfort. Our true nature is limitlessness. Therefore, seeing ourselves as limited causes problems.

When a straight bamboo stick is bent by force, it struggles to regain its true nature. Because, its original nature is straightness. Similarly, we have a natural tendency to be limitless, to regain our true nature of completeness.

The sense of limitation gives rise to a feeling of incompleteness. Then comes the desire to be complete and a constant struggle to accomplish completeness.

Unfortunately, our mind and senses are extraverts by nature. Therefore, we end up seeking completeness in the external world. Since every object in the external world is limited in nature, it can never make us free from incompleteness. Therefore, human beings end up in a never-ending struggle for completeness.

Human beings seek fulfilment in the external objects like wealth, relations, honour and so on. On an occasional success, one may feel as passing sense of completeness. In a short while, the same old sense of lacking is back. Therefore, this struggle is essentially characterized by sorrow.

In our experience, there are temporary periods in life when we feel everything is as it should be. There are times when the situation in life is favourable. We are successful in career, relations etc. That is when we feel a sense of fulfilment, a sense of elation. This period of elation, though sometimes it might last long, is invariably followed by a period of dejection.

Moksha involves freedom form the struggle to find completeness through discovery of one’s own limitlessness, freedom from elation and dejection. It means freedom from dependence on the external world for our happiness by finding happiness within ourselves.

 

Self in Everything

In our understanding, the universe is divided into three parts. The first part is myself. It is the part of the universe that I identify with, which includes my body, mind, senses etc. It is called first person. The second is yourself – the part of the universe that I am dealing with at present, I am relating to as ‘you’. It is known as the second person. The third is itself, himself, herself etc., which is known as the third person. If we analyse, the ‘self’ is uniformly present in all these three parts. Also, the my, your, it, him, her etc. can’t exist without the ‘self’. Therefore, the ‘self’ is the all-pervasive substratum of the whole universe. This all-pervasive self is called Atman.

Svarupa – The True Nature

The Atman has two natures – Sopadhika Rupa and Nirupadhika Rupa. Rupa means nature. Upadhi means an external factor whose attributes are superimposed on the Atman. For example, the limitation of a pot is superimposed on the space in the pot. Then the space in the pot is conceived as ‘pot space’. In reality the space is never limited by the pot. The space is never affected by the pot. Then the pot is upadhi (conditioning factor) and space is upahita (conditioned).

Similarly, the limitless and all-pervasive Atman is conditioned by the body, mind, senses etc. The Atman and mind are mixed up and seen to be one. Then the attributes of the body seem to be the attributes of Atman. Then the Atman is subject to limitations like height, age, gender and so on. This nature of Atman is called Sopadhika Rupa. ‘Sopadhika’ means ‘with Upadhi’.

On enquiry, one finds the true nature of Atman which is free from the Upadhi and its attributes. It is free from the limitations of the body. It is free from age, gender and so on. It is free from mind and senses and hence free from emotional issues. It is called Nirupadhika-Rupa, the nature of Atman without Upadhi.

The Nirupadhika Rupa is the intrinsic nature of Atman. It is not brought about by any external factor. Therefore, it is called Svarupa. Sva means one’s own. Svarupa means ‘one’s own nature’.

As long as one identifies with his Sopadhika Rupa, he is never free from problem of Samsara. Discovering the Svarupa and shifting one’s identity to the Svarupa is the only way to Freedom.

 

 

Pravrtti and Nivrtti

Karma-kanda of the Vedas contain both pravrtti and nivrtti. Pravrtti means a positive action with a new accomplishment in view. Nivrtti means restraint from action.

When the Veda says, “Perform a ritual called Agnihotra”, it is enjoining a pravrtti. When the same Veda says, “do not drink alcohol”, it is enjoining a nivrtti.

Pravrtti produces punya, which leads to pleasure in this life and hereafter. On the other hand, nivrtti is meant for avoiding papa, the cause of pains.

Unlike Karma-kanda, the Jnana-kanda does not enjoin any Pravrtti. The objective of Jnana-kanda is to make the individual free from both punya and papa and hence it does not reveal a means to accumulate more punya.

There are statements in Jnana-kanda which sound like injunctions of pravrtti. Brhadaranyakopanishad says “Atma should be seen, heard …”. Therefore, one may doubt whether Jnana-kanda (Vedanta) also involves pravrtti.

The great Acharyas like Sri Shankaracharya and Sri Sarvajnatmamuni have cleared this doubt. In his commentary on Brahmasutras, Shankaracharya says “All injuctions of pravrtti (vidhi) become blunt in front of the Atman, just like a sharp razor against a rock.” Therefore, he refers to the statements “Atma alone should be seen …” as apparently vidhi (vidhi-chaya).

Sri Sarvajnatmamuni, in his treatise named Sankeshepasharirakam, clarifies this point further. Such injunctions in Vedanta should be understood as injunctions of nivrtti and not of pravrtti.

The statements like “Atma alone should be seen” should be understood as a counsel to restrain from anatma (non-self).  As long as one is engaged in non-self, i.e., identifies with non-self or seeks happiness from it, he is not free from the problem of samsara. Therefore, the Vedanta asks a mumukshu (seeker of moksha) to stop attributing reality to the non-self.

If one has to stop attributing reality to the anatma, he has to understand the true nature of atman, Therefore, he needs to engage himself in the pursuit of Atma-jnana like sravana etc. It is understood through implication, though not directly stated.

For example, the Vedic statement “Do not eat meat”, reveals the undesirable consequence of eating meat in the form of papa. Therefore, it is in one’s best interest to avoid eating meat. Therefore, one has to make effort to overcome one’s natural urge to eat meat. It may involve constantly reminding oneself of the violence and other evils associated with meat. In this example, all efforts are directed towards avoiding an undesirable result and not to accomplish anything new.

Atma is siddha-vastu, i.e, it is already present. Therefore, in Vedanta, there cannot be any effort in the direction of accomplishing Atma. Effort is needed to be free from samsara by getting rid of avidya, kama, karma and so on.

Some other Acharyas hold a slightly different view. The pursuit of moksha consists of both pravrtti and nivrtti. There is nivrtti in terms of giving up pursuing the anatma. In the meantime, a mumukshu needs to work for self-knowledge. He should perform karma-yoga, approach a Guru, engage himself in shravana and so on. All these are pravrtti.

The shastras prescribe two-fold mandatory disciplines for a mumukshu, namely, yama and niyama. Yama is nivrtti. It stands for ahimsa - restraint from violence, satya - restraint from untruth, asteya - restraint from stealth and deceit, brahmacharya - restraint from copulation and aparigraha - restraint from possession. Niyama is pravrtti, a positive action. The Yogasutras of Patanjali lists five disciplines of niyama. They are cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of scriptures and focusing mind on Isvara. According to the Acharyas, shravana etc. are also included in niyama.

 

Yardsticks of Spiritual Growth

All the sadhanas (spiritual disciplines) are meant for spiritual growth. Like physical growth, intellectual growth and so on, we need spiritual growth also. A lady asked me once, “Is it necessary for everyone to do sadhana?” It is like asking “Is it necessary for every child to go to school”? Just like going to school is necessary for the intellectual growth of a child, sadhana is necessary for the spiritual growth of an individual.

A sincere spiritual aspirant may often ask the question “Am I growing spiritually?”. This question is very important to ascertain whether one is in the right path or not. The shastras have clearly stated certain yardsticks of spiritual growth which helps an individual in this regard.

There are some misconceptions in this field. Some people take mystical experiences as a measure of spirituality. Experience of an extraordinary light, sound, or fragrance during meditation has nothing to do with spiritual growth. Possession of supernatural powers like clairvoyance, prophecy, healing and so on are not indications of spiritual growth. Since mystic powers are hurdles in the spiritual pursuit, they are discouraged in the shastras.

Spiritual growth culminates in Brahma-jnana. One who has Brahma-jnana is called a jnani. A jnani is a repository of all the qualities which constitute growth in terms of spirituality. All such qualities are beautifully stated while describing a jnani in texts like Srimad-Bhagavadgita, Bhagavatam etc. All these qualities are should be cultivated with effort. Therefore, they are also sadhanas to spiritual growth.

The purpose of understanding these qualities is not to judge others. One cannot and need not judge others in spiritual pursuit. Also, they are not meant for judging oneself. One may feel he is poor in spiritual qualities and then label oneself as ‘not good’ or ‘bad’. It is a definite way to block one’s spiritual progress. There is also a chance of overestimating oneself and developing pride, thereby endangering one’s further growth.

A spiritual aspirant should lead an introspective life. He should know whether he is in the right path or not. If he is developing these qualities, he is in the right path. Also, he should make effort to constantly improve on these qualities.

Some of the most prominent signs of spiritual growth are as follows:

 

1.  Vairagya is the best indication of spiritual growth. Growth involves growing OUT of something. For example, the growth of a child involves growing out of its attachment to balloon and so on. Similarly, spiritual maturity involves growing out of attachment to material objects.

2.   Contentment (santosha) is another quality of a jnani. Contentment means being happy by oneself. People seek happiness from outside objects like relation etc. due to a nagging sense of incompleteness. A jnani has discovered happiness in the Atma – the self. Therefore, he is free from sense of incompleteness.

3.  Ability to withstand shocks in life.

The spiritual wisdom acts as a shock absorber in the journey of life.