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VIVEKACŪDAMANI
The qualification of the desire to know Brahman accrues only to a man of discrimination and detachment, who is endowed with the virtues of sama etc., and who yearns for liberation.
Summarising the said qualities for their clear understanding, Śri Bhagavatpāda says in this sloka vivekino viraktasya etc. In śloka 15 it was said: ato vicāraḥ kartavyaḥ jijñāsorātmavastunah. It is only the jijñāsu, he who intensely desires to know and who is endowed with the virtues of being a medhāvi etc., that can obtain the fruit of atmavidyā. The question arises as to who is qualified to be a jijñāsu. The answer is: he who possesses the sādhana-catustaya the four-fold qualifications as indicated by the words of the eighth śloka: vidvān, samnyastabāhyārtha-sukhaspṛhassan, upadiştartha-samāhitātmā and the word dhiraih in the tenth śloka.
vivekinah: the nature of viveka etc. will be explained in the later ślokas of the text.
jijñāsā means jñātumicchā, the desire to know, brahmano jijñāsā, the desire to know Brahman is brahmajijñāsā. What is intended to be brought about by such icchā (desire), is jñāna terminating only with complete comprehension (of Brahman). The fruit of the inquiry indicated by jijñāsā is the expansive or unlimited consciousness reflected (akhandākāravstti) in the manas, because, even before inquiry one has a general (vague) idea of Brahman. If sạch a desired objective is to be secured, in accordance with the injunction: dadyannāvasaram kiñcit kāmādīnām manāgapi 1. a supterā mộteh kālam nayet vedāntacinatyā 11: "One should not yield, all through one's waking moments, even a little to the impulses of kāma, etc. Till sleep or death overpowers, one should spend one's time in Vedāntic thought", i.e., one should practise Vedāntavicāra at all times. It is said: dehātmajñānavajjñānam dehātmajnana. bādhakam 1 ātmanyeva bhavedyasya sa necchannapi mucyate 11 (Śänkara Bhasya): "He who attains in himself the knowledge which will annihilate the delusion that his body is his ātman and endows it with the same conviction as that which in ordinary life governs his identification of his ātman with the body, such a person is released from bondage even though he does not wish for it.” It is only a person who thus engages in Vedāntavicāra as detailed above who is competent to be a jijñāsu and produce (arrive at) that knowledge.
yogyatā: being qualified. This refers to the desire that stimulates this kind of inquiry.