Talk On Vivek Chudamani

Author(s): Chinmayanand Swami
Publisher: Chinmay Publications Trust

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the master's lips and as such no amount of self-study in the scriptures can make him a true 'Vidwān.' It is meant here only that the student must have a fairly good amount of general knowledge of the world outside and also an amount of insight into his own psychological and intellectual composition. The more general knowledge an aspirant has, the easier it will be for the master to make him understand the subtle truth through a variety of knowledge, examples, parallels and metaphors.
In the list of the enumerated qualities necessary for the individual an "argumentative spirit of enquriy and understanding” is absolutely necessary for walking the Path of Knowledge. In the other Paths of Self-discovery, this spirit of independent enquiry is not so much emphasized because the seekers walking them do not demand an explanation for personal conviction. But those who want to walk the Path of Knowledge, neither a blind faith in the Scriptures nor in the master, can supply a sufficient motive force. He needs a conviction that rises from himself born out of his own intelligent thinking and also his own intellectual absorption of the ideas.
In short, a student of Vedanta must be a man of receptive intellect, always agile in his subtle body, ready to hop up to catch every idea that the master gives and through a
process of intellectual'assimilation get at its true and vivid · significances. If this agility of head and heart is lacking in
an individual, he cannot hope to have a steady and unobstructed progress in meditation. Later on, in the following stanzas Sankara is giving more and more details of the qualities which are generally met with in all successful students of Vedanta.
विवेकिनो विरक्तस्य शमादिगुणशालिनः।
मुमुक्षोरेव हि ब्रह्मजिज्ञासायोग्यता मता ॥१७॥ vivekino viraktasya samadigunaśālinah mumuksoreva hi brahma jignāsāyogyatā matā 17.
raarna: - a man of discrimination, faktiRT - of detachment, etc., शमादिगुणशालिनः - endowed with qualities like calmness, etc., मुमुक्षोः -