According to Shankara, citta-vritti nirodha by itself cannot lead to knowledge of Brahman. Only someone who has received the instructions (mahâvakya) pointing directly to Atman, as found in the whispered lineage of the Upanishads, will be able to generate correct knowledge (samyag-jñana).
Although having received this knowledge, the strong pull of the senses away from Self-knowledge (atma-samvid) will lead most people astray because of their prarabdha-karma. To counter this Shankara upholds the practice of contemplation of the Self, which he calls steady (samtati) recollection (smriti) of Self-knowledge (âtma-vijñana). According to Shankara, citta-vritti-nirodha is the result of recollection/comtemplation of brahma-âtman (smriti-samtati) rather than acting as a means to realize it. Practiced b itself, citta-vritti-nirodha "only" purifies the person practicing it. . --- In [email protected], "richardwillytexwilliams" <willytex@...> wrote: > > > > > > Of course, all the teachers of the Upanishads were > > > transcendentalists. Why do you think they all made > > > reference to Brahman, the Transcendental Person? > > > > emptybill: > > Transcendentalism is based upon Kant and German > > Idealism. > > > Indian idealism came long before German Idealism. All > Indian philosophical systems that postulate Brahman, > are considered to be idealistic and in the Upanishad > system. > > The Brahman in Indian scriptures refers to the Absolute > that is beyond, or transcendental to, the senses of > the material world. The Brahman or the Purusha is the > Transcendental Person. > > > The Vedas and Upanishads are based upon Shruti - > > the self-revealing utterance of Vac. > > > Yoga is the cessation of the mental turnings of the > mind: > > "yoga citta vritti nirodha" (Y.S. I.1.2). > > When thought ceases, the Transcendental Absolute > stands by itself, refers to Itself, as a witness to > the world: > > "tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam" (Y.S. I.1.3). > > Translation by Swami Venkatesananda Saraswati: > http://www.swamivenkatesananda.com/ > > Read more: > > Subject: Raja Yoga > From: Willytex > Newsgroups: alt.meditation.transcendental, > alt.yoga, alt.meditation > Date: September 18, 2003 > http://tinyurl.com/2vpf58n >
