Lakshmidhara Kavi - Advaita Makaranda

ADVAITA
MAKARANDA

(THE NECTAR OF NON-DUALITY)

of

r Lakmdhara Kavi

Translation and Commentary by

Swami Atmarupananda

(P UBLICATION H OUSE OF R AMAKRISHNA M ATH )

5 D EHI E NTALLY R OAD K OLKATA 700 014

Published by

Swami Shuddhidananda

Adhyaksha

Advaita Ashrama

P.O. Mayavati, Dt. Champawat

Uttarakhand -262524, India

from its Publication Department, Kolkata

Email: mail@advaitaashrama.org

Website: www.advaitaashrama.org

All Rights Reserved

First Print Edition, April 2018

First Ebook Edition, March, 2021

ISBN 978-81-7505-473-8 (Paperback)

PUBLISHERS NOTE

We are pleased to present to our readers, this small but beautiful Prakaraa-Grantha of Advaita Vednta along with translation and commentary by Swami Atmarupananda, Minister-In-charge of the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Order in USA. With his vast experience in the field of Vednta spanning around five decades, the Swami has presented the essence of Non-Duality Advaita in a lucid language giving simple examples from day-to-day life.

Swami Vivekananda considered Advaita Vednta to be the religious philosophy for the modern world. In a letter written to E. T. Sturdy from New York in Aug. 1895, the Swami says, That religious ferment which at present is every day gaining a greater hold over thinking men, has this characteristic that all the little thought-whirlpools into which it has broken itself declare one single aima vision and a search after the Unity of Being. On planes physical, ethical, and spiritual, an ever-broadening generalisationleading up to a concept of Unity Eternalis in the air; and this being so, all the movements of the time may be taken to represent, knowingly or unknowingly, the noblest philosophy of the unity man ever hadthe Advaita Vednta.

Advaita Ashrama has been serving the English readers worldwide with authentic translations of the principal Vedntic texts including the Upaniads , Bhagavad-Gt , and Brahma-Stras along with the commentary of r akarcrya, as well as the prakaraa granthas like Vivekacmai, Vkya Vtti , Laghu Vkya Vtti , Dg-Dya-Viveka , Packaraam, Avakra Sahit , Avadhta Gt, and Vednta-Sra. The present text Advaita Makaranda (the Nectar of Non-Duality) by r Lakmdhara Kavi is definitely a very valuable addition to this collection.

We sincerely hope that our readers will be greatly benefited by this small treatise and will be inspired to take up the higher studies of Vednta as mentioned above.

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INTRODUCTION

The Advaita Makaranda by Lakmdhara Kavi is an overlooked diamond, hidden in the treasury of Vednta literature by the wealth of larger precious stones cut by more well-known cryas of the tradition. Small but pure and finely cut, it has a unique appeal and deserves wider recognition. Swami Tejomayanandaji of the Chinmaya Mission brought this jewel to the notice of the English-reading public over thirty years ago through a translation and commentary on the work, which is still in print and much recommended.

Why, then, this translation and commentary? For the simple reason that, as the present translator-commentator read the text, he saw so much meaning embedded in the text that he began translating and commenting in his head, and decided that he might as well put it down in digital ink. How many fine translations are there of the Gt ? Of the Upaniads? And yet there is room for countless more, even now. Though short, the Advaita Makaranda cant possibly be exhausted by a single translation and commentary, however good; nor by two or three.

Various categories of texts are found in the Vednta tradition, aside from the Upaniads and Bhagavad-Gt . Some, like the Brahma-Stra with akaras commentary, are primarily concerned with bringing out the philosophical import of the Upaniads, while also arguing against opposing schools of thought. This had a critical importance: without such texts, the grand Advaita tradition might not have withstood the storms raised by opposing schools of thought on the sea of Indian philosophical life, nor the storms that blew in from foreign oceans of thought. And such texts are essential for the sdhaka as well, for clarifying the understanding and destroying the saaya rkasa the demon of doubt.

There are other texts, like the Vivekacmai and the Pacada , which teach the principles of Vednta for the purposes of the sdhaka , not primarily for polemical purposes nor to establish a philosophy. That is, such texts are primarily for the purpose of ravaa and manana hearing and reflection. The two texts just mentioned, in particular, teach the principles of Vednta in great detail so that the mind of the sdhaka can understand thoroughly the phenomenal self ( jvtman ), the noumenal Self (tman), the universe of experience ( jagat ), and their interrelationships, in order to bring both deep conviction and a fundamental change to the interpretation of experience, which in time leads to a change of perception, and thence to higher experience.

There are small, specialized prakaraa granthas which teach particular aspects of Vednta, such as Vkya Vtti , Laghu Vkya Vtti , Dg-Dya-Viveka , and Packaraam . And there are unique texts, extraordinarily beautiful, such as the Avakra Sahit , the Avadhta Gt , and Ribhu Gt , which are songs of enlightenment, and which speak directly to the highest Self. They arent concerned with the details of psychology or epistemology or cosmology; nor are they polemical; they speak the highest truth directly to the Self of the reader.

And then there is the rare text like Advaita Makaranda . Extremely short, too short for dividing into chapters, it has only 28 verses. Of those, the first is a prama mantra, saluting God and guru, and the last is arthavda or eulogy; and so, effectively there are 26 verses setting forth the teaching. Its special feature is the approach: it doesnt present a philosophy, there are no polemical arguments, it doesnt teach the detailed principles about the jva and jagat (individual self and the world) for strengthening the detailed understanding, nor does it set out spiritual practices ( sdhana ), and it isnt a hymn of enlightenment like the Avakra Sahit . Rather it points to our present experiencethe experience of the ordinary souland shows how the highest truth is revealed even there, if only we look. As Swami Vivekananda said, Dont seek God, just see Him. The Advaita Makaranda teaches us to see the Truth, here and now.