Sage Vashishta's Instructions

    Before continuing with Ashtavakra sayings further, let us check up with the sayings of Sages Vashishtha and Avadhuta, an attained soul, an incarnate of Dattatreya, regarding the ultimate realization for a clear idea about these secrets of spiritual scriptures.

Sage Vashishtha tells his disciple Raghava, Sri Rama:

     A person who thinks “I am in worldly bondage (Samsara bandhana), yet I am determined to be free,” and at the same time, though not a knower of Brahman, is not totally ignorant either is worthy of studying this scripture. This serves as the minimum qualification for a spiritual seeker according the Sage Vashishtha. This eagerness, zeal, desire is not forthcoming in ordinary mortals who are busy enjoying life. The learned Sage says, “Until one has God’s grace it is not for one to get the help of a proper teacher (sadguru) or to have the correct understanding of the right scripture (Vedanta).”

   "O Rama", he continues, "just as one gets a seaworthy vessel only from a seasoned soldier, so also the means of crossing the ocean of sansar can be known from an illumined teacher, an attained soul.

  The learned Sage goes on to instruct the prince of Ayodhya about the ‘Knowledge of the Self’. He instructs about the  reality of this nature, svabhava, of the prakruti, rather the phenomenal objective world and the nature of the true self, 'the Atman'.

  Anyway, the desire to move in this direction, sat nyasa (path of truth), requires jnyana (study of scriptures (svadhyaya), association of learned/good/satvik people (satsang), and contemplation (nidhidhyasana). Jnyana / Knowledge should be culled into wisdom (viveka), and this should lead to renunciation (vairagya). Thus, a wise-person (viveki) will have a high degree of discrimination and will not hanker after worldly life and only such persons come to spiritual path. He/she realizes the truth and discards all that is not helpful for emancipation, release of the embodied soul. These great sages are talking of higher self (para vidya) and, not othe lower one (material world). Hence, we, the mortals dabbling in sensuous worldly life cannot understand their sayings.

   The essential requirements for liberation is, thus, viveka and sadhana (yoga).  All the Upanishads deal with this aspect. However, we, the so-called intellectuals do not understand the purpose of the sayings. We learn the Upanishads and write a book or two and go to preach others, not knowing that it is meant for self-realization (not for preaching others). A guru will not even look at us unless we go with folded hands and fall at his feet and wait for his glance at us! In fact, we return saying that he is a man of pride and not fit for teaching if he does not entertain us. It is to submit ourselves and burn our ego that we go to a guru, and our ego will not permit such submission. Only a humble soul will ever attain to the highest and souls are rare.