Viveka Sloka 3 to 4 Tel Eng

దుర్లభం త్రయమేవైతద్దేవానుగ్రహహేతుకమ్ ।
మనుష్యత్వం ముముక్షుత్వం మహాపురుషసంశ్రయః ॥ 3॥

durlabhaṃ trayamēvaitaddēvānugrahahētukam ।
manuṣyatvaṃ mumukṣutvaṃ mahāpuruṣasaṃśrayaḥ ॥ 3॥

మనుష్యత్వం-మనుష్యత్వము, ముముక్షుత్వం-మోక్షేచ్ఛకలుగుట, మహాపురుషసంశ్రయః --మహాపురుషుని ఆశ్రయము అనెడు ఏకత్-ఈ త్రయం = త్రయము, దుర్లభమ్ - కష్టముచే లభించునది. దైవానుగ్రహ హేతుకం ఏవ = దై వానుగ్రహమే హేతువుగా కలది (దైవానుగ్రహము చేతనే కలుగును).

Sankara reiterates what has been stated in Sloka 2. The desires for salvation by a man and tutelage under a capable guru are hard to achieve. It is only possible by the grace of the god which is already there, to some extent, as the man evolved with good karma from rocks, plants, animals to a human birth. Once attaining human birth, the man should seek inner evolution. That is the fulfillment of god's wish who loves all life forms and wants them to attain him.

Ramana Maharshi had advised his visitors to introspect on "Who am I?". Veda provides a ready answer as "aham brahmosmi" or "I am brahman". What is meant is, we are all capable to merge with brahman, the ultimate reality and without a second, by sadhana (spiritual effort). Otherise, the mahavakya is ambiguous. Without the desire for salvation, in what way are we similar to brahman who is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, birthless, without a second, free from karma? We are puny, caught in bondage, slave to vasanas (subconscious desires), stuck in karmic cycle. Most of us are encumbered with so many responsibilities contemplating on brahman at all times is a luxury that is best left for ascetics who are dispassionate and have renounced samsara.

Thus, not all of us can be sadhakas. Unlike sadhakas who aspire to put an end to rebirth or transmigration, most of us only wish for heaven and bliss. Attaining heaven is a lofty goal but it is only a sojourn with the eventual rebirth after all of the punya is exhausted in heavenly comforts. A sadhaka desires to transcend heaven. He is not just happy with the arrangements in marthya loka (earthly plane). Nor is he satisifed with the promise of a happy life in heaven to enjoy the company of Indra, apsarasas, devas.

Almost all religions have the concept of heaven. This has a salubrious effect by encouraging the devotees to stay away from committing sin. The warring class is enticed by the heavenly pleasures. So they say "We will seek revenge by wiping out the enemy or attain heaven thereby enjoying a happy life either way". The Kurukshetra war was waged with this promise from the Lord to Arjuna (Bhagavad Gita 2.20): "Arjuna fight you must. If you win, you will enjoy the royal life. If you lose, you will revel in the comforts of heaven".

A real sadhaka, on the other hand, is not satisfied with Lord's enticement. To illustrate, in the 11th skanda of Bhagavata there is a reference to Markandeya rishi who was disinterested even in moksha. When Lord Vishnu offered him a boon, he wanted to experience his maya rather than stay in his abode Vaikuntha. When Lord Siva, impressed by the sage's asceticism, offered his abode Kailasa to stay, the sage gave a long response whose gist is "No, thanks". A sadhaka is a Sage Markandeya in the making. However, he is still harboring a desire for moksha and strictly speaking, not dispassionate.

లబ్ధ్వా కథంచిన్నరజన్మ దుర్లభం (పాఠభేదః - కథంచిన్)
తత్రాపి పుంస్త్వం శ్రుతిపారదర్శనమ్ ।
యస్త్వాత్మముక్తౌ న యతేత మూఢధీః
స హ్యాత్మహా స్వం వినిహంత్యసద్గ్రహాత్ ॥ 4॥ (పాఠభేదః - ఆత్మహా స్వం)

labdhvā kathañchinnarajanma durlabhaṃ (pāṭhabhēdaḥ - kathañchin)
tatrāpi puṃstvaṃ śrutipāradarśanam ।
yastvātmamuktau na yatēta mūḍhadhīḥ
sa hyātmahā svaṃ vinihantyasadgrahāt ॥ 4॥ (pāṭhabhēdaḥ - ātmahā svaṃ)

దుర్లభం - దుర్లభమైన, నరజన్మ- మనుష్య జన్మను, కథంచిత్ -ఎటులనో, లబ్ధ్వి - పొంది, తత్రాపి - అందును, పుంస్త్వం - పురుషత్వమును, శ్రుతిపారదర్శనం - శాస్త్రాంత జ్ఞానమును, (పొంది). యః = ఏ, మూఢధీః == మూఢబుద్ధికలవాడు, స్త్వాత్మముక్త్యే - తన యొక్క మోక్షము కొరకు, న యతేత - ప్రయత్నించడో, సః - అతడు. ఆత్మహా = ఆత్మఘాతుకుడు, అసర్గ్రహాత్ - చెడ్డపట్టుదలవలన, స్వం= తనను, వినిహన్తి — చంపుచున్నాడు (నశింపచేసికొనుచున్నాడు).

Here the downside of one who doesn't try for self-realization has been stated. After millions of births, a human birth is attained. That to a masculine one. After having been exposed to the scripture, for him not to seek self-realization is a travesty. Indeed Sankara states it is self-annihilation in a metaphorical way because atma cannot be destroyed by hara-kiri.

Men who are caught in samsara shirk at the thought of severing all familial bonds and turning into sannyasis to contemplate on brahman. They would rather run after fleeting objects and submit themselves to their senses. They don't realize their real nature which is all pervading consciousness that extends from the brahman to a tiny bacterium. They surround themselves with layers of psychological and physical barriers for enlightenment, go after a variegated world of pleasures seen through the lens of body, mind, intellect and not realize the self that provides lasting comfort and liberation. They mistake happiness for bliss and the maya as real thus completely lacking the correct discernment and discrimination.

In the earlier yugas, the kings, after bequeathing their kingdoms to progeny, pursued vanaprastha and sannyasa asramas which are the means for self-realization. How did they leave behind royal comforts? Where did they get the courage to stay in forests without a retinue to defend them amidst wild animals?

In Brihadaranyaka upanishad, Sage Yagyavalkya carries out a conversation with his wife Maitreyi about his desire to leave her behind to embrace vanaprasta asrama. The vedas implicitly state that one should ideally enter vanaprasta and sannyasa asramas after leading a householder life. So the samsara is prescribed as a stepping stone to inculcate vairagya (renunciation).

Goutama Budha left behind his family and royalty to seek enlightenment. How could he do that? What if he failed in his mission? At one point, when he was preaching in Kosala kingdom, his father welcomed him to the palace and continue his pursuits from there. Even that Budha didn't entertain for a moment.

Sankara himself tricked his mother to become a sannyasi. He pretended that he was caught by a crocodile while taking bath in a river and sought his mother's approval to seek sannyasa as a last wish. Needless to say his mother granted him the wish and he went on to become the greatest expounder of advaita (non-duality)--a jagat guru. He trekked from south to north of India several times and convinced many to follow him.

Many of us are inspired by Budha, Sankara et al. and would like to learn from them the metaphysics of life and death. While we are desirous of self-realization, we are not willing to do due diligence. The life of an ascetic is not for everyone. In the coming slokas, we learn that an ascetic has to live on biksha (alms) and not hoard anything including food. If he can't obtain biksha he has to sleep with hunger. Also a sannyasi can't depend on a single household for biksha as that will create bondage. He has to move from place to place frequently and not stay rooted to one place. He must dwell in caves or in the outskirts of civilian places.

Although most of us are not ready for the life of an ascetic, why are we fascinated by them? It is the offshoot of scripture. We are curious to know what vedas profess. It can be idle curiousity nevertheless. Besides we need something to worship and fulfill our desires-- sort of an anchor in the rough seas of life. Lord Sri Krishna said (Bhagavata 10th skanda) ascetics are superior to gods in granting wishes and the dust on their feet is holy.