Tag Archives: attainment

Śaṅkara – on ‘enlightenment’ versus ‘liberation’

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Here is what Śaṅkara says on this topic in his bhāṣya on Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.7. Following this, I have added some observations on what he says (Swami Madhavananda translation).

Objection: The topic was knowledge – when the Self is known, everything else is known. So why is a different topic, viz. attainment, introduced here?

Reply: Not so, for the shruti uses the words ‘knowledge’ and ‘attainment’ as synonymous. The non-attainment of the Self is but the ignorance of it. Hence the knowledge of the Self is Its attainment.

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Prāptiḥ – Attainments – 2 types

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Whether I seek artha – security, in the form of food, clothes or shelter, or kāma – pleasures, it is really happiness that I seek all the time; only that I think happiness comes from these external objects and hence my extroverted nature. Even when pursuing dharma, it is happiness in the other worlds that I seek. mokṣa is really being happy here and now, and hereinafter.

prāptiḥ the word means to gain, to attain. Let us analyze this extroverted pursuit for happiness. Everyone agrees that money is essential for a happy life. We see those who don’t have money suffer, and those who have money to be happy; hence we conclude that “money gives happiness”. Based on this conclusion, we orient our lives and that of our dependents, towards earning as much money as one possibly can, so that we can remain happy everafter!!! Continue reading →