The First Class of Aparokshanubhuti

Today is the auspicious occasion of the Buddha Purnima, the day when Lord Buddha was born. Incidentally, it’s my birthday too, and today I bid goodbye to my sweet 20s and step into my 30s, meaning added responsibilities, getting older and the like. 

But quite strangely I don’t feel like any of that, instead, I feel damn light-hearted and jovial. Perhaps being spiritual has something to do with it, and also for the fact that I got to spend my birthday with my mom, and have little celebrations just amongst the two of us, involving others too, where mom suggested we distribute some sweets and chips to the poor and needy. 

I wouldn’t know if they needed it, but I saw all of them smiling, and in fact, that made me feel good. The spiritual teachers often say that whenever you feel depressed or sad, try doing something for others, without asking for anything in return, and that’d give you an unending amount of joy. Indeed it did today. 

Okay, now focusing on our text for the day - the Aporakshanubhuti. Swamiji began the lecture by mentioning the text, its background. He stated that this text is much more profound and stronger than the Drg Drsya Viveka, written by Adi Sankara, it lays down 15 such practices that one needs to adopt to lead a path towards spiritual awakening. 

As per Swamiji, the language of Adi Sankara is very simple, majorly because he was just a 16-year old boy composing such texts, so his language had to be simple, yet one that’s profound. In simple language, one that’s Prasanna Gambhira, meaning jovially profound and intense. In today’s class, we learnt about three experiences, the pratyaksha, the paroksha and the aparoksha. 

Pratyaksha means one that’s of direct understanding, like one with the sense organs, paroksha means a deeper understanding, and aparoksha means one that’s beyond all calculations and rationality - one where you can just feel and let be…

The literal meaning of the word ‘Aporakshanubhuti’ is direct experience. To put in simple words, it means the text is an attempt to experience God directly… During the question/answer session, someone asked whether one is qualified to study Vedanta. Swamiji referred to some qualifications needed for this path. 

• Viveka - having the power to distinguish between real and unreal

• Vairagya - dispassion

• Shama - tranquillity

• Dama - control of the sense organs

• Uparati - withdrawal from the external world

• Titiksha - patience

• Shraddha - respect towards the process

• Samadhana - focus on the subject

• Mumukshu Tam - an intense desire for liberation

Adi Sankara also mentioned that merely memorising the text and reading it once isn’t enough, one must be thoroughly dedicated, and focus on it, forgetting everything else around. For monks, he mentioned they must also forget showering and begging for their food.

Amid all this, I am striving to walk into this path, realise the process and slowly move towards that oneness. As Rumi said, “I searched for God and found only myself, I searched for myself and found only God."

Meanwhile, today being Buddha Purnima, I must focus on the chantings of the Buddha, and just attune myself to “Buddham sharanam gachchami…”

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