SADHANA CHATHUSTAYA OF SHANKARACHARYA

Knowledge of Truth alone redeems man from all the shackles,
 limitations and problems of life. Basically man has no
 intrinsic problem. He is that divinity itself. There is no
problem in the world too. It is a perfect creation, extremely 
beautiful too. All problems are man-made and have to 
be solved by man himself, with the help of right knowledge.
 This is what the scriptures do, provide right knowledge.

The goals of life :

There are four goals of life. Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. After experiencing first three goals-Dharma, Artha, Kama a wise person finds he is not satisfied with the life he has led, due to absence of Satisfaction, Freedom and mental Peace.He also finds that this world is transitory, there is a Supreme Force which has created this world, which is SAT-CHIT-ANANDA, he wants to know 'WHO AM I ?', he sees lives of SAINTS & GURUS who in-spite of leading a simple life with dispassion ,acquired JNANA(knowledge) of ATHMA(self)/ PARAMATHMA & were able to find mental Peace,Freedom & SPIRITUAL BLISS. True happiness is not that is achieved by body/indriyas, money & materials of the world. He wants to put an end to this trans- migratory cycle of Birth & Death ie, MOKSHA-LIBERATION.

VEDANTHA & SAINTS like BHAGAVATHPADA SRI SHANKARACHARYA have shown how to achieve MOKSHA-LIBERATION,through jnana, by the path of SADHANA CHATHUSTAYA. (repeated practice through FOUR STEPS). This is part of Tattva Bodha literally means 'Knowledge of the Truth'.

What are the four-fold qualifications referred to by the word Sadhana Chatushtaya ?

1. Viveka : Discrimination between the real and unreal.

2. Vairagya : Dispassion to the enjoyments of the fruits
                                    of one's actions.                                   

3. Shatka Sampatthi(Six Valued Qualities) :

 3.1.Sama : Mind control
 3.2. Dama : Control of senses
 3.3. Uparama or Uparati : Perform your duties & renounce 
                                               other actions
 3.4. Titiksha : Forbearance-remain neutral in pros & cons 
                           of life
 3.5. Shraddha : conviction in shastras & Guru
 3.6. Samadhana : One pointedness of mind

4. Mumukshutwa:  Yearning for liberation.

1. Viveka :

Vedanta describes it as the ability to discriminate between the Real and unreal, the Self(Athma) and the non-self(Anathma). Viveka is sometimes likened to a sword that separates Truth from illusion, the Permanent from the transient. Adi Shankara, the foremost teacher of Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of Non-Dualism, described viveka as the firm conviction that Brahman (the Absolute Reality) is real and the world is unreal.

2. Vairagya :

Detachment or Renunciation. Human beings tend to perceive the world according to their personal likes and dislikes, attractions and aversions. The result is a highly subjective and misleading view of the world and oneself. Detachment means not to be influenced by selfish desires. When there is a strong spiritual awakening, vairagya can also express itself as an intense aversion towards worldly pleasures. According to Adi Shankara, vairagya is the refusal or inability to be satisfied by the limited and transitory.

3. Shatka Sampatthi(Six Valued Qualities): 
 3.1.Sama : 

Control or mastery over mind.
When one's mind doesn't pose a problem or when one has control over his emotions, that person has acquired SAMA. People should not get overwhelmed by mind.One should achieve complete control over mind such that there is no occasion leading to regrets & frustration.Mano 
Nigraha(mind control) is a very important first step in the sadhana. 

 3.2. Dama : 
Control of the senses. This consists in not letting the senses run out towards the sense objects. To the question, "Why do we need to control the senses when we can directly work on sama and control the mind itself - the mind being superior and more powerful than the senses?", the vedantins answer: If one were able to control the mind perfectly, dama would be unnecessary, otherwise it is a more powerful strategy to work on the mind apparatus from all sides. Response of the mind is eventually expressed by the senses & control of senses is called 'indriya njgraha'.


3.3. Uparama or Uparati : 

Uparama is defined as the strict observance of one's own Dharma.
A man has duty towards family,friends,Guru & society.However UPARAMA means renunciation of activities which are not duties. Following the last two practices, the mind is so peaceful and calm most desires have been eradicated and there is no more reason to perform the activities in which most worldly people indulge.


3.4.Titiksha :

Endurance, forbearance of the pairs of opposites. 
The mind must become strong enough not to waver in the face of the opposites: success and failure, hot and cold, pleasure and pain, sunshine and rain, etc. ONE who has a happy frame of mind and accepts things as they are, has achieved Titiksha. Accepting things or situations either with grudge or helplessness is not Titiksha.


 3.5. Shraddha : 

Faith in the words of GURU and in Scriptures is Shraddha.
Shraddha is a very important quality. It implies Faith in our Teacher and our Scriptures. There is an attitude in the mind that they are basically right. In the beginning we may not know today as to how a particular statement is being uttered but something tells me that they are right. It is with this 'faith' that we work hard to understand what the Guru & Scriptures are revealing. Unless we have such a positive & respectful attitude towards anything, we will never even consider that object to be 'worthy of enquiry'.Those blessed with Shraddha finally do attain direct knowledge.

 3.6. Samadhana : 

It is the ability to fix one's mind on some thing. 

Samadhana is concentration with a difference. Samadhana is something more than concentration. The difference is that in the latter it is just focussing the attention on one thing but the former is more dynamic. In Samadhana both our emotions and understanding are also involved and thus it results in bringing about greater joy & better understanding of the 'object' of our attention. The mind is quiet & at peace, yet fully awake & dynamic  A person with this quality not only can understand what the teacher is talking about but also directly 'see' the thing. It indicates an integrated mind.   Whether it is worldly activities or realisation of the truth within we should have the ability to turn our entire attention wholeheartedly on one thing and keep at it till we understand & feel that thing properly. A person with Samadhana has this ability. 

4. Mumukshutwa: 
 'Let me attain MOKSHA(LIBERATION)'. This intense yearning is MUMUKSHUTHWA.

The person yearning is called MUMUKSHU.

So in short this final quality indicates to a 'state of mind' which is charged with the single pointed & intense desire for liberation. The brevity of teachers answer indicates the required single-pointedness & intensity of this desire of freedom in the mind of student. The definition doesn’t say that 'May I also be liberated'. Such a person doesn’t have any other desire in his or her mind. When such single-pointedness & intensity comes about then that person possesses this great quality specifically required for the subjective awakening within. 

To be a Mumukshu means to diagnose our fundamental problem, and thereafter with single-pointed aplication direct all our energies to handle or solve it. Mumukshu thus has a very clear goal. Know the truth of his Self. As Vedanta is the compendium of knowledge which reveals the truth of our Self, he dedicates fully & thoroughly to the study of Vedanta. This alone is his goal, rest is all secondary. He thinks of this, plans about it, reads about it, discusses about it, and works for this. In the beginning the sadhaka may not be very clear of the nature of problem, but as the problem becomes clearer & clearer, so also the intensity of desire becomes clearer. Thereafter he has no other goal. The Mumukshu wants knowledge of Vedanta, and nothing else. 

Thus a person who possesses these four-fold qualities of Viveka, Vairagya, Shatka Sampatthi & Mumukshutva is a person who is ready for the subjective awakening through the knowledge of Vedanta. He alone is the fit person for receiving this divine knowledge.