The Anubhavanandalahari of Kesavananda Yati, which is being critically edited here, from its only available manuscript, is a short introduction to the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. In 54 well-knit verses, couched in the form a dialogue between a Disciple and his Teacher, the author has set forth, in a succinct manner, the principal tenets of Advaita as expounded by Sankaracarya and the long line of teachers who followed him.
Kegavananda and his works
Kesavananda Yati (-Svami or -Pandita, as he is designated in some of his works) (c. 1800) was a highly revered sannyasin with whom the appellations Udasina and Paramahamsa were used. He was the disciple of Pandita Paramahamsa Gauradasa, whom he mentions with respect in his works. The teacher-disciple line of Kesavananda was continued by his pupil Prakasananda and his grandpupil Sankarananda, the latter of whom produced free renderings in Hindi of some of Kesavananda's writings.
Kesavananda is the author of several erudite works, both on the traditional Advaita Vedanta and on the exposition of the advaitic basis of the teachings of Guru Nanak. His super-commentary on Govinda-nanda's gloss (Ratnaprabha) on the Sankarabhasya on the Brahmasutras is available in print. So also is his commentary, entitled Prabha, on the Vivekacudamani of Sankaracarya. His Bhasya on the Pinda-brahmandopanisad has been rendered into Hindi by his grand-pupil Sankarananda. The Nanaka-Gita or Adbhuta-Gira, in eight chapters and the Nirakaramimamsa-darsana, in the form of sutras, both ascribed to Guru Nanak have also been commented upon by our author. His Gurudasaka-stoira and Pratahsmarana-stotra are also expository of the advaitic standpoint of Guru Nanak. Anubhavanandalahari, the work edited here, expounds the essential preliminaries for an aspirant in the discipline of Vedanta, the nature of the Ultimate Reality, the experience of one who has attained realisation and the way of the Liberated Man (Jivanmukta).
The Essential requirements of the aspirant
The prime requirement for a successful search after the Ultimate Truth is calm and deep concentration, on the part of the inquirer, over the how and why of things. Serious contemplation of this nature is possible only when one can control his mind and, thus, keep his thoughts away completely from the multitude of mundane thoughts which ever tend to fleet across one's mind. This mental control is to be achieved by the cultivation of four things, designated in Vedanta terminology by the term Sadhana-catustaya, viz., Viveka (discrimination), Vairagya (dispassion), Sama etc. (mental tranquility etc.) and Mumuksa (intense desire for emancipation) (2-3)."
Viveka is the discriminatory knowledge that the Paramatman (Supreme Being) is the Only Reality and that all else is but of a limited nature and is, ultimately, unreal (4-6). Vairagya is constituted of an entirely dispassionate and detached view about everything around. The manifold allurements that confront one at the various stages of one's life do not have any effect on one who is really detached (7-13). Sama etc. are the six positive qualities which enable one to attain mental equanimity. Sama is the tranquility achieved by restraining the fickleness of the mind. By Dama is meant the effective control over the senses. Sraddha is absolute faith in the Vedantic tenets as expounded by the Teachers (14). Uparati, which is complete inner self-control, is achieved by continued yogic practices (15). Samadhana is the attainment of mental balance effected by means of crying halt to the fleeting thoughts of the fickle mind and engaging the latter in the study of the scriptures. Titiksa is the capacity for enduring physical strain and external imbalances (16). The fourth and the most important requisite of the inquirer after Truth is Mumuksa which is the intense and single-hearted yearning for Moksa (Emancipation) (17).
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