॥ साधन पञ्चकम् ॥ ( श्री आदि शंकराचार्य द्वारा विरचित )

॥ साधन पञ्चकम् ॥ ( श्री आदि शंकराचार्य द्वारा विरचित )

════════(Composed by Shri Adi Shankaracharya) ════════

वेदो नित्यमधीयतां तदुदितं कर्म स्वनुष्ठीयतां
तेनेशस्य विधीयतामपचितिः काम्ये मतिस्त्यज्यताम्‌।
पापौघः परिधूयतां भवसुखे दोषोऽनुसन्धीयतां
आत्मेच्छा व्यवसीयतां निजगृहात्तूर्णं विनिर्गम्यताम्‌॥१॥

" Study spir­i­tual texts (“Vedas”) reg­u­larly and put into prac­tice their teach­ings. Wor­ship the Divine in that man­ner and give up the thought of desires. Wash away the neg­a­tive habit-energy and exam­ine the defects of worldly excite­ment. Hold on to the aware­ness of the Atman and leave at once your own lim­ited identity. "

सङ्गः सत्सु विधीयतां भगवतो भक्तिर्दृढाऽऽधीयतां
शान्त्यादिः परिचीयतां दृढतरं कर्माशु सन्त्यज्यताम्‌।
सद्विद्वानुपसृप्यतां प्रतिदिनं तत्पादुका सेव्यतां
ब्रह्मैकाक्षरमर्थ्यतां श्रुतिशिरोवाक्यं समाकर्ण्यताम्‌॥२॥

" Remain in the com­pany of the holy (thoughts, words, deeds; books, music, art; peo­ple) and strengthen your devo­tion to God. Cul­ti­vate the qual­i­ties such as self-restraint and give up all work prompted by self­ish desire. Approach those who are wise and holy, and serve them. Seek only the Imper­ish­able Being (“God”) and hear the words of the scripture. "

वाक्यार्थश्च विचार्यतां श्रुतिशिरः पक्षः समाश्रीयतां
दुस्तर्कात्सुविरम्यतां श्रुतिमतस्तर्कोऽनुसन्धीयताम्‌।
ब्रह्मास्मीति विभाव्यतामहरहर्गर्वः परित्यज्यतां
देहेऽहंमतिरुझ्यतां बुधजनैर्वादः परित्यज्यताम्‌॥३॥

" Reflect over the mean­ing of the scrip­ture and take refuge in its per­spec­tive. Keep away from vain argu­ments and fol­low the rea­son­ing of the scrip­ture. Always be aware that you are Brah­man and com­pletely give up all ego­ism. Elim­i­nate the thought of “I” con­nected with the body and don’t argue with the wise ones. "

क्षुद्व्याधिश्च चिकित्स्यतां प्रतिदिनं भिक्षौषधं भुज्यतां
स्वाद्वन्नं न तु याच्यतां विधिवशात्प्राप्तेन सन्तुष्यताम्‌।
शीतोष्णादि विषह्यतां न तु वृथा वाक्यं समुच्चार्यतां
औदासीन्यमभीप्स्यतां जनकृपानैष्ठुर्यमुत्सृज्यताम्‌॥४॥

" Through the daily med­i­cine of alms, treat the dis­ease of hunger. Don’t han­ker after deli­cious food; be con­tented with what­ever comes of its own. For­bear the polar­i­ties such as cold and heat and do not utter use­less words. Do not expect kind­ness from oth­ers and aban­don all harsh­ness toward others. "

एकान्ते सुखमास्यतां परतरे चेतः समाधीयतां
पूर्णात्मा सुसमीक्ष्यतां जगदिदं तद्बाधितं दृश्यताम्‌।
प्राक्कर्म प्रविलाप्यतां चितिबलान्नाप्युत्तरैः श्लिष्यतां
प्रारब्धं त्विह भुज्यतामथ परब्रह्मात्मना स्थीयताम्‌॥५॥

" Live hap­pily in soli­tude and focus the mind on the God. See care­fully the infi­nite Self and notice how it elim­i­nates this fleet­ing exis­tence called the world. Through the power of con­scious­ness, dis­solve your past karma, remain unaf­fected by your later karma, and expe­ri­ence your present karma. In this way, remain estab­lished in the aware­ness of the Supreme Self. "

(Translated by Swami Tyagananda)

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Words of Swami Vasudevananda Sarswati Ji ( ' Tembe Swami ') :

In the morning of the day of his scheduled departure, after the daily discourse, Shri Maharaj addressed the assembly as follows:

" Today I wish to convey to you the essence of all that I have been preaching all my life through my discourses and writings. The primary objective of human life is to obtain liberation (from the recurring cycles of birth and death). To this end, one should carry out one’s religious obligations as ordained by the scriptures, consistent with his Varna and Ashram. This will lead to the steadiness of mind so essential for the next step viz. study (Shravan), contemplation (Manan) and meditation (Nididhyasan) of Vedanta (conclusion of Vedas). Emphasis should be on the study i.e. the listening to discourses by detached and realized persons. This will diminish the temptation of mind. (The resultant) righteous (Sattvic) tendency is alone conducive to the spiritual ascent of man."

" To cultivate Sattvic nature, diet has to be wholesome (Hit), measured (Mit) and pure (Medhya). The signs of Sattvic nature are:

- Firm faith in one’s Dharma,

- Meticulous observance of Dharmik conducts viz.

Snaan (bath)

Sandhya (prayer)

Dev Puja (worship)

Five major Yadnyas (sacrifices)

Atithti Satkar (honor to the guest)

Service to Gomata(Cow)

Sincere attendance of Katha, Keertan, Bhajans, Puran etc.

Soft and kind speech

Refraining from harming anyone in any way

Service and obedience to parents (for men), and to husband, in-laws (for women) and other elders. "

" One may pursue any means for livelihood viz. business, agriculture or service. However, one should never abandon the conduct ordained by Vedas and obedience to the Guru. Observance of one’s religious duties only purifies mind. Only purified mind gets established in Upasana (progress towards God), which in turn is the only source of peace of mind. Only a peaceful mind is capable of self-knowledge which is the sole means of liberation.”

Shri Maharaj further exemplified the seven grounds (levels) of knowledge and concluded that, "This is a brief summary. One who follows this advice will finally attain complete happiness."

" Om Shanti Shanti Shanti "