Four qualifications of a seeker (Sadhana Chatushtaya)

As mentioned in the Samkhya philosophy and other ancient texts, we are always afflicted by one or more of the three types of suffering:

1. Adhibhoutika (caused by other beings or entities) – being hit by another being, mosquito bite, a stone falling on our head etc.
2. Adhyatmika (suffering within our own body and mind): sickness both physical and mental, anxiety, anger etc.
3. Adhidaivika (caused by divine intervention): tsunami, earthquake, wild fires, plagues etc.

According to the four noble truths of Buddhism, all life is suffering. Patanjali, in the yoga sutras, makes a similar statement:

“To one with discriminatory wisdom (viveka), all is misery on account of the pains resulting from change, anxiety and tendencies, as also on account of the conflicts between the functioning of the three Gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas), and the Vrttis (fluctuations of the mind).” – Sutra 2.15

One of our main objectives in life is to find ways to diminish and ultimately eliminate this suffering. The one who undertakes such a journey is usually referred to as a “sadhaka” (seeker). The main thrust of all the ancient scriptures is to discuss ways and means to end this suffering. The scriptures tell us that the cause of this suffering is “avidya” – our ignorance about our true nature. The means to eliminate this avidya is to recognize that in reality we are just pure consciousness (pure Self).

In the text known as “Tattva Bodha”, Shri Shankaracharya mentions four qualifications that a seeker must have in order to understand the ultimate reality of life. These are:

• Viveka (discriminatory wisdom)
• Vairagya (dispassion)
• Shamadi shat-sampatti (shama etc., the six-fold virtues)
• Mumukshatva (intense longing for liberation)

Viveka (discriminatory wisdom)

Viveka is the ability to discriminate between real and unreal, pleasurable (preyas) and desirable (shreyas), permanent and impermanent etc. In one of my blog articles, I talked about the four functions of the mind – manas (cognitive function), buddhi (intellect), ahamkara (ego) and chitta (memories and past impressions). Collectively, these four functions are called the “antahkarana (the inner instrument)”. Therein, I described how in our present situation, for the most part, we are driven by the ego and not by the intellect. For example, let us say you set the alarm for 6 AM so you could get up and do your yoga practice. However, when the alarm goes off, if the ego is strong it may decide that it is best to stay in bed and get an extra hour of sleep. This is where the concept of viveka comes in to play. The ego goes after a pleasure that is short-term only. If the intellect is sharp and strong, it would decide to go for the yoga practice which would bring about long term benefits. Viveka is this capacity of the intellect to discriminate between something that is short-lived vs. something that is of a permanent nature. The ultimate goal is to realize that the only entity that is truly eternal is the pure Self or pure consciousness.

Vairagya (dispassion)

Two other terms that are normally associated with vairagya are non-attachment and detachment. Detachment implies that you are already attached to something and would like to give up the attachment. For example, if you are attached to having a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, giving that up would be the vairagya in the form of detachment. Non-attachment, on the other hand, is to avoid getting attached to something in the first place. Our first level of attachment is to the objects that are attractive to the five senses – smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. We are all too familiar with attachment to certain foods, alcohol, smoking etc. Once addicted, we are unable to get rid of it even when we are fully aware of the extreme damage that it may be causing to our physical and mental health. Achieving a state of vairagya at this level is what Patanjali calls the lower form of vairagya (see sutra 1.15 below). The highest form of vairagya (see sutra 1.16 below) is when we can completely transcend any form of attachment to the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. That is the level of dispassion which will lead us to realize our true Self (self-realization).
Viveka and vairagya are closely linked together. Developing one helps the other. It is through viveka that we know the impermanence of all the objects that we desire. Knowing that will help us to not get attached to those objects. Similarly, dispassion helps cleanse the mind and lead us toward viveka.

The need for and importance of vairagya, along with abhyasa (constant practice) is expounded both in the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

“Lord Krishna said: O mighty-armed son of Kunti, what you say is correct; the mind is indeed very difficult to restrain. But by practice and detachment, it can be controlled.” (Bhagavad Gita 6.35)

“The consciousness of perfect mastery (of desires) in the case of one who has ceased to crave for objects, seen or unseen, is Vairagya – dispassion.” (Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 1.15)

“When there is non-thirst for even the gunas (constituents of nature) due to the realization of Parusha (true Self), that leads to the supreme form of vairagya.” (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1.16)

Shamadi shat-sampatti (shama etc., the six-fold virtues)

Shama (mind control)

The value of shama is similar to the definition of yoga in Patanjali’s yoga sutras, “yogash-chitta-vritti-nirodhah” (yoga is the ability to still the mind) (sutra 1.2). Mind has the natural tendency of bringing up a constant chain of connected and disconnected thoughts. This leads to instability of the mind and does not allow a person to stay focused on a single task. The virtue of shama helps develop a stable mind.

Dama (controlling the senses)

Dama is the ability to control the five senses – smell, taste, vision, touch and hearing. These five senses are constantly in contact with the outside world which is full of various objects that the senses are attracted to. Dama is the ability to keep the senses in control, and make them inward focused. In Patanjali’s yoga sutras, this is similar to the state of “pratyahara” (sense withdrawal) which is one of the eight limbs of yoga.

Uparati (desisting from sensual enjoyment)

As you can see, there is a fair amount of commonality among the values discussed so far, with only shades of differences. Uparati (also known as “uparama” in some texts) is more in terms of controlling your strong likes and dislikes (raga and dvesha). When we are not able to control our raga and dvesha, we can develop craving for certain sense enjoyments. Without this level of control, we are actually making our sense organs also week as they naturally go after their sense objects.

Titiksha (forbearance)

Titiksha is our ability to deal with all the pairs of opposites that we are confronted with all the time in our life – heat and cold (physical level), joy and sorrow (mental level), honor and dishonor (intellectual level) etc. Most of the time, when we have an experience that is not favorable, we tend to feel upset, angry, dejected etc. We also tend to blame others for all our sorrows. Developing the value of titiksha will help us accept each situation and experience in life with a sense of cheerfulness, without complaining.

Shraddha (faith)

Shraddha is to have faith in the words of a Guru and the ancient scriptures. As we know, our goal in life is to attain liberation. How to gain liberation is not easy to understand through intellectual deliberation. Our mind and intellect have limited capabilities. We have to take recourse to the wisdom imparted in the ancient scriptures. Even these scriptures are sometimes hard to understand; that is why we need the help of a guru to understand the depth of wisdom contained in the scriptures. Thus, we need to have full faith and trust in the wisdom given in the scriptures and imparted to us through a guru. Here also, we are not talking of blind faith. We need to constantly corroborate this faith through our life experiences.

Samadhana (single-pointedness of the mind)

Samadhana is in a sense the culmination of the five values listed above. When the mind and the senses are under control, and we are in a position to withstand the pairs of opposites, we can get into a state of single-pointed focus. This is akin to the stage of dharana listed as one of the eight limbs of yoga in the yoga sutras. Dharana is the preliminary stage of meditation wherein the mind is brought into a one-pointed focus so we transition to deeper states of meditation called dhyana and samadhi.

Mumukshatva (intense desire for liberation)

Desire for liberation is perhaps the most important of all the qualifications listed above for a seeker. The purpose of life is to recognize that all pleasure is short-lived. We go through this constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth, called ‘samsara’, only to go through the same suffering over and over. It is only through self-realization that we can end this cycle and attain final liberation (also known as moksha). To have a strong desire to attain moksha or liberation is known as “mumukshatva”.