Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
As the 35th Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham established by Sri Adishankara Bhagavatpada, and as a matchless Tapasvin and Jivanmukta, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin shines resplendently as an exalted crest jewel among yogis.
As a young boy, He displayed deep devotion to God, fearlessness, universal compassion, same-sightedness in pleasure and pain and a strong desire to see God – the traits every spiritual seeker aspires and prays for.
“My Guru’s command is inviolable. As a disciple, it is my duty to carry it out” – this was the feeling His Holiness had when He received a difficult instruction from His Guru on the day He was initiated into sannyasa. He was not even 14 years of age at that time. His Holiness’s devotion and surrender to His Guru were natural, total and unconditional.
The outgoing mind and senses are indeed the cause of all the troubles. If the mind were inward-turned and the Atma was realised, then all of one's troubles would cease and the cycle of births and deaths would come to an end.
It is not that the object is desired for its own sake. In reality, it is for one's own sake that one desires objects. A man cares for his son not merely for the sake of the boy but because he feels that his happiness lies in his son's happiness. Even acts of self-sacrifice are motivated by the desire for happiness.
The source of bliss is not something external but is one's own true nature, the Atma. Not realising this, the man devoid of discrimination seeks happiness in the external objects. It is because of the mistaken feeling that happiness can be got from things external that the mind goes outwards.
A subtle meaning of Sankalpa is the feeling that there is an external object that will bring happiness. This is the seed of all desires. If this seed is destroyed by discrimination and dispassion, obviously one will become free from desires and will enjoy the Supreme bliss of one's own nature.
One method to develop dispassion is to repeatedly note the defects in sense objects. By doing this, the mind gets less and less attached. This approach is referred to as Pratipaksha Bhavana (opposite feeling).
Attachment is caused by viewing objects as pleasurable and hence by noting defects in them, the false feeling is destroyed. The aim is not to have hatred or dislike for sense-objects, for hatred or dislike is as bad as attachment, but to acquire a state of indifference.
