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Kasaya is attachment to worldly objects and is an obstacle in the path leading to Nirvikalpa Samadhi: it is overcome through viveka, discrimination.
| Part of a series on | |
| Hindu philosophy | |
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| Orthodox | |
| Heterodox | |
Kasaya is attachment to worldly objects and is an obstacle in the path leading to Nirvikalpa Samadhi: it is overcome through viveka, discrimination.
Kasaya or Kashāya (Sanskrit: कषाय) means, 'astringent', 'decay', 'smearing', 'juice', 'degeneracy', 'anointing', 'gum', 'resin', 'red-brown', 'stupidity', 'defect', 'fragrant'. [1] It also means 'attachment to worldly objects' or to 'the yellowish-red garments worn by monks'. [2]
Sadananda defines Kasaya as attachment to worldly objects, the failure of the mental state to rest on the Absolute, owing to the numbness brought on by impressions due to attachment even when there is no torpidity or distraction (Vedantasara) (Sl.212). [3] In Vedanta, the word Kasaya denotes metaphorically a rigid state of mind hardened by one's own inclinations and passions. [4]
Rishi Gautama Nodha (Rig Veda I.58.3) describes the Jiva in the following words:-
And, Rishi Kumaro Yamayana (Rig Veda X.135.6) in the following mantra explains
that the Paramatman "universal Soul" is the primordial existence, remaining throughout creation, omnipresent, even as the Jivatman "individual Soul" dons a body and experiences bondage to "material objectives" and duality or (unknowing) of that omnipresence [5]
It is the Jiva, who by its actions, attracts to itself the pudgalas (the tendencies that keep an individual re-incarnating), which results in its bondage; all that one enjoys or suffers from are the products of karmas, good or bad. [6]
Gaudapada (Gaudapada Karika III.44-45) warns that the seeker after truth should not linger on the bliss of Savikalpa Samadhi because that enjoyment (rasavada), after Laya, Vikshepa and Kasaya, is the fourth kind of obstacle in the path to Nirvikalpa Samadhi; one should be unattached through "viveka", discrimination. Attachment is a weakness of the mind as it is not easily disciplined to withdraw from the enjoyment and related effects arising out of desire. He explains: as in dreams where the mind vibrates with dual aspects, so too in the waking state these aspects seem to be all that there is but when the state of"nirati", dissolution of the mind is achieved, duality is no longer perceived. The conduct of the mind in deep sleep (when it loses itself) is not like its conduct in the controlled state (when it does not lose itself), and
Torpidity or Laya (लय) is overwhelm of the senses and the mental state, falling asleep unable to maintain awareness of the Absolute; and distraction or Vikshepa (विक्षेप) is through failing to be able to rest the mental state on the Absolute, resting it on other things. [7]
Patanjali (Yoga Sutras II.2) – समाधि – भवनार्थः क्लेश – तनूकरनार्थश्च – assures that by cultivating the power of concentration the obstacles - which cause all suffering - in the way of enlightenment - can be removed. The obstacles he refers to are the negative effects of ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and the desire to cling to life. [8] And, as regards the enjoyment of bliss attained coinciding the gain of non-conceptual knowledge Sankara advocating the understanding of the depth-meaning (lakshyatha) of the Mahavakya Tat Twam Asi, states
– which statement means that owing to the conditioning (vikshepa) in the Jiva, the individual can experience only the "awareness" and not the "bliss" aspect of Brahman. [9]
Samadhi, in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of dhyāna. In the oldest Buddhist suttas, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of a luminous mind which is equanimous and mindful.
Advaita Vedānta is a school of Hindu philosophy and "spiritual experience." The term Advaita refers to the idea that Brahman alone, pure consciousness, is ultimately real, while the transient phenomenal world is an illusory appearance (maya) of Brahman, and the true self, atman, which is self-luminous pure awareness, is identical with Brahman. In this view, jivanatman or individual self is a mere reflection of singular Atman in a multitude of apparent individual bodies.
In Hindu philosophy, turiya or chaturiya, chaturtha, is pure consciousness. Turiya is the background that underlies and pervades the three common states of consciousness. The three common states of consciousness are: waking state, dreaming state, and dreamless deep sleep.
Ajātivāda (अजातिवाद) is the fundamental philosophical doctrine of the Advaita Vedanta philosopher Gaudapada. According to Gaudapada, the Absolute is not subject to birth, change and death. The Absolute is aja, the unborn eternal. The empirical world of appearances is considered unreal, and not absolutely existent.
Gauḍapāda, also referred as Gauḍapādācārya, was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru.
The Vivekachudamani is an introductory treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara of the eighth century. It is in the form of a poem in the Shardula Vikridita metre, and for many centuries has been celebrated as a prakaraṇa grantha of Advaita.
The Samkhyakarika is the earliest surviving text of the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy. The text's original composition date is unknown, but its terminus ad quem date has been established through its Chinese translation that became available by 569 CE. It is attributed to Ishvara Krishna.
Ānanda literally means bliss or happiness. In the Hindu Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad gita, ānanda signifies eternal bliss which accompanies the ending of the rebirth cycle. Those who renounce the fruits of their actions and submit themselves completely to the divine will, arrive at the final termination of the cyclical life process (saṃsāra) to enjoy eternal bliss (ānanda) in perfect union with the godhead. The tradition of seeking union with God through loving commitment is referred to as bhakti, or devotion.
Vedantasara, Essence of Vedanta, is a 15th-century Advaita vedanta text written by Sadananda Yogendra Saraswati.
Panchadasi or Panchadashi is a simple yet comprehensive manual of Advaita Vedanta written in the fourteenth century A.D (1386-1391) by Vidyaranya (विद्यारण्य), previously known as Madhavacharya (माधवाचार्य).
Paramananda is a compound Sanskrit word composed of two words, Parama and Ānanda. Parma is usually taken to mean the Highest, the utmost or the most excellent, but actually means - "beyond". And Ānanda, which means, happiness and bliss and most often used to refer to joy though it does not exactly mean these because the original meaning implies permanence rather than just a momentary surge of delight or happiness; it also suggests a deep-seated spiritual emotion that is solidly entrenched. The Upanishadic Seers have used the word, Ānanda, to denote Brahman, the limitless, formless, infinite, indestructible, sole eternal Supreme Being or Sole Reality, to mean, Brahmanmayah, i.e. full of Brahman.
Anutpāda is a Buddhist concept for the absence of an origin.
Asatkalpa, this Sanskrit term is derived from the word, asat, meaning 'unreal' combined with the word, kalpa, here in the context of Advaita Vedanta philosophy meaning 'a little less than complete', and is another word for mithya meaning 'the almost unreal world' or 'unreal conceptuality'. In the context of Yogacara school of Buddhism it is one of the three transformed modes of the mind which three are – parikalpa, 'the act of imagination', abh utaparikalpa, 'the act of imagining the unreal forms', and asatkalpa, 'the act of imagining the non-existent'.
Prajña or Pragya as प्रज्ञा, प्राज्ञ and प्राज्ञा is used to refer to the highest and purest form of wisdom, intelligence and understanding. Pragya is the state of wisdom which is higher than the knowledge obtained by reasoning and inference.
The Upanishadic philosophy of experience expounded by Gaudapada is based on the cryptic references made by the sage of the Mandukya Upanishad to the experience of the individual self of its own apparent manifestations in the three fundamental states of consciousness, and to the Fourth known as Turiya. Turiya is identified with “that goal which all the Vedas declare” - सर्वे वेदा यत् पदमानन्ति, and whose characteristics are not dissimilar to those of the non-dual Brahman.
Chinta in Hindu philosophy refers to mentation i.e. mental activity, especially thinking.
Rasāsvāda means – appreciation, sipping of juice, perception of pleasure; in Indian philosophy, it refers to the taste of bliss in the absence of all thought which is an obstacle in the path leading to Nirvikalpa Samādhi ; it is aesthetic consciousness. Rasasvada means one gets a power of healing or a power of knowing the mind which gives enjoyment but this enjoyment is superficial enjoyment or happiness which should not be sought while seeking Truth.
Anubandha chatushtaya literally means four connections, and therefore, it is four-fold in nature and content viz, – a) adhikāri who has developed ekāgrata, chitta shuddhi and vikshepa or adhikāra (aptitude); b) vishaya pertaining to the Jiva-Brahman identity; c) prayojana or phalasruti which is atyantika-dukha-nivritti and paramānanda-prāpti, and d) sambandha between adhikāra, vishaya and prayojana.
The Maitreya Upanishad is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit, it is one of the 16 Upanishads that belongs to the Samaveda, is classified as one of the 20 Sannyasa (Renunciation) Upanishads, and is one of the Vedanta Upanishads. The text is listed at 29 in the serial order in the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads.
Chapter 1 of main article Panchadasi (पंचदशी)