Viveka Sloka 5 Tel Eng

ఇతః కో న్వస్తి మూఢాత్మా యస్తు స్వార్థే ప్రమాద్యతి ।
దుర్లభం మానుషం దేహం ప్రాప్య తత్రాపి పౌరుషమ్ ॥ 5॥

యః- ఎవడు, దుర్లభం - పొందుటకు కష్టమైన, మానుషం దేహం = మనుష్యదేహమును, తత్రాపి - అందులోను, పౌరుషం = పురుషదేహమును, ప్రాప్య - పొంది, స్వార్థే- స్వభావవిషయమున, ప్రమాద్యతీ = శ్రద్ధార హితుడై ప్రమాదమును చెందునో, ఇతః- ఇట్టి వానికంటే, మూఢాత్మా - మూడబుద్ధి గలవాడు, కోనం - ఎవడు, అస్తి- ఉన్నారు.

itaḥ kō nvasti mūḍhātmā yastu svārthē pramādyati ।
durlabhaṃ mānuṣaṃ dēhaṃ prāpya tatrāpi pauruṣam ॥ 5॥

All men are blessed to attain the most perfect form the evolution can grant with the mind and intellect to match. A rock or tree has to wait for millenia before they can be human. A rock has to wither into soil from which a tree can grow. A man has to eat the fruit of the tree. His sperm has to then successfully mate with a female's egg before a human child can be born. The odds stacked against the rock turning into a human are indeed very high.

Based on the scientifically accepted Darwin's theory of evolution, humans have evolved from animals. One can imagine the various stages of life given the diversity of the animal kingdom. The universe is 13 billions of years old, as per science, so evolution took place for billions of years before the arrival of man.

But, for most men, the intellect hasn't marched foward. They are slaves to their senses and have no aptitude for self redemption and spiritual enlightenment. Many intelligent and educated men question the verasity of vedas and scripture. While some are inspired by the wonderful stories in the scripture, they don't want anything to do with religion. Chanting thousands of archaic sanskrit names of gods and goddesses is considered a waste of time. They would rather watch TV or play video games on the phone.

Scripture is a true account of god's manifestation as avataras to redeem the men at various points in time. What's gained by remembering the moral intricacies taught in treta yuga? Where is the need to read about the rules of warfare adopted in dwapara yuga? Is it humanly possible to recite the four hundred thousand slokas that constitute the scripture in one life time let alone remembering them by heart?

The adage "those forgetting history are condemned to repeat it" is apt here. When we read the scripture, we observe that in each avatara god protected dharma. Is dharma absolute or relative? Does dharma change from time to time? Is there a kali yuga dharma that is radically different from that of treta or dwapara yuga? Where is the need for Lord Krishna to perform surya namaskara, when the entire universe was created by him? Seeking answers to such questions, by reading the scripture, promotes a healthier approach to living and experiencing the world.

If we did nothing with our karma indriyas (hands, legs and private organs), we still would be performing karma as the Gitacharya stated. There is no time when we are not doing karma. Even when sleeping the body breathes and repairs itself. An idle man is an oxymoron in that sense.

Sankara is saying a man frittering away this enormous opportunity to transform from an average man to a god-man is a travesty. A man of able mind may not have attained a perfect physical form, but he has the opportunity to evolve mentally and intellectually and become a giant among the men for the evolution of mind and intellect are not nudged by the nature. It happens within as a man thinks and reflects on the experience he has gained. That means meditating, doing pooja, performing vedic rituals or serving a guru.

Vedanta classifies knowledge under two labels: vidya and avidya. Vidya is the knowledge in vedas and scripture. The rest is avidya. If one wonders why is modern technology avidya, it is constantly changing and evolving. The vedas and scripture remain immutable even though their interpretation may change. Even in Sankara's time there were occupations like goldsmith, farmer, actor and so on. They may not be as sophisticated as their modern counterparts, nevertheless they were skilled in avidya. Sankara is implicitly saying an able man is a fool to go after avidya ignoring knowledge about Self. Also hidden in the meaning whatever Sankara henceforth pronounces is vidya.

A householder, to eke out a living, has to acquire knowledge that is called avidya. Whereas, a sannyasi or an ascetic who takes biskha from others is only interested in vidya. A householder can transform into a sannyasi at an advanced age by evincing interest in vidya. Sankara is not ruling out avidya as unnecessary. Only for a sannyasi it is to be avoided.

On the other hand, Sankara composed many hymns and stotras which don't fit the strict definition of vidya. It shows that a mumukshu has to try all means, most importantly have a desire, to attain mukshu.