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Stepping Stones to Gain Spiritual Wisdom

Adi Shankara gave road map for the success on the spiritual path. He prescribed four qualifications to gain spiritual wisdom. Once practices with sincerity and surrender, success is ascertained.

 

1. Viveka (Discrimination): First qualification to walk on the spiritual path is to have viveka (power of discrimination): Discrimination between what is real and what is unreal. Whatever that changes is unreal and whatever doesn't change is real.

2. Vairagya (Dispassion): The second qualification to gain spiritual wisdom is to have vairagya (dispassion), once the first qualification (ability to discrimination between real and unreal) is gained, dispassion automatically follows it. Dispassions is not droping things in life it is just droping the feverishness to gain or get rid of something. It is simply going beyond craving and aversion.

3. shat Sampatti (Six Wealth): The third qualification to gain spiritual wisdom is to have what is called shat Sampatti (six wealth). Now this might look like the end result of spiritual practices, but scriptures say to have these qualities is a qualification to gain spiritual wisdom as it prepares the mind to gain the spiritual wisdom. Here are six wealth:
i. Sama (calmness of mind)
ii. Dama (self control; restraining the organ of both perception and action)
iii. Uprati (self settledness; a ability of mind to hold the sense organs which are calmed by sama & dama from drifting back to sense objects)
iv titiksha (forbearance; the quality to bear favorable and unfavorable)
v. Samadhana (complete concentration on Brahman or a sense of solution by vision of big universal consciousness)
vi. Shraddha (faith; ability of mind to go beyond the realm of reason transcending all doubts and negativity) 
Equipped with these qualification seeker is one step closer to gain spiritual wisdom.

4.  Mumkshutwam (Intense desire to be Free): Fourth qualification to gain spiritual wisdom is to have mumkshutwam (having a intense desire that may I be liberated). Desire is a fuel of all activities. It is a must as long as there is some thing to be achieved or even realised. The clarity & intensity of desire alone helps bring about the concerted & dynamic action. Therefore intense desire to be liberated makes the final qualification and make one ready for subjective awakening by realization of knowledge.

For More details please read Atma Bodh by Adi Shankara.
All Glory to Gurudev!
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