Advaita Makaranda

By Sri Lakshmidhara Kavi

The Advaita Makaranda – The Nectar of Non-duality – of Sri Lakshmidhara Kavi is an overlooked diamond, hidden in the treasury of Vedanta literature. The text points to our present experience – the experience of the ordinary soul – and shows how the highest truth is revealed even there, if only we look. As Swami Vivekananda said, “Don’t seek God, just see Him.” The Advaita Makaranda teaches us to see the Truth, here and now. The translation and commentary are provided by Swami Atmarupananda, Minister of the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, USA, a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Order.

Published by Advaita Ashrama. a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Advaita Ashrama (Ramakrishna Math)
• Release date: Aug 25, 2021
• ISBN: 8175054735

Book preview

ADVAITA

MAKARANDA

(THE NECTAR OF NON-DUALITY)

of

Śrī Lakṣmīdhara Kavi

Translation and Commentary by

Swami Atmarupananda

(PUBLICATION HOUSE OF RAMAKRISHNA MATH)

5 DEHI ENTALLY ROAD • KOLKATA 700 014

Published by

Swami Shuddhidananda

Adhyaksha

Advaita Ashrama

P.O. Mayavati, Dt. Champawat

Uttarakhand -262524, India

from its Publication Department, Kolkata

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.advaitaashrama.org

© All Rights Reserved

First Print Edition, April 2018

First Ebook Edition, March, 2021

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

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

We are pleased to present to our readers, this small but beautiful Prakaraṇa-Grantha of Advaita Vedānta 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 Vedānta 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 Vedānta 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 aim—a vision and a search after the Unity of Being. On planes physical, ethical, and spiritual, an ever-broadening generalisation—leading up to a concept of Unity Eternal—is 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 had—the Advaita Vedānta.

Advaita Ashrama has been serving the English readers worldwide with authentic translations of the principal Vedāntic texts including the Upaniṣads, Bhagavad-Gītā, and Brahma-Sūtras along with the commentary of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, as well as the prakaraṇa granthas like Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, Vākya Vṛtti, Laghu Vākya Vṛtti, Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka, Pañcīkaraṇam, Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā, Avadhūta Gītā, and Vedānta-Sāra. The present text Advaita Makaranda (the Nectar of Non-Duality) by Śrī Lakṣmīdhara 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 Vedānta as mentioned above.

PUBLISHER

April 2018

Advaita Ashrama

Mayavati, Himalayas

KEY TO TRANSLITERATION

AND PRONUNCIATION

Sounds like

अ

a

o in son

आ

ā

a in master

इ

i

i in if

ई

ee

in feel

उ

u

u in full

ऊ

ū

oo in boot

ऋ

ṛ

somewhat between

r and ri

ए

e

a in evad

ऐ

ai

y in my

ओ

o

o in over

औ

au

ow in now

क

k

k

ख

kh

ckh in blockhead

ग

g

g (hard)

घ

gh

gh in log-hut

ङ

ṅ

ng

च

c

ch (not k)

छ

ch

chh in catch him

ज

j

j

झ

jh

dgeh in hedgehog

ञ

ñ

n (somewhat)

ट

ṭ

t

ठ

ṭh

th in ant-hill

ड

ḍ

d

ढ

ḍh

dh in godhood

ण

ṇ

n in under

त

t

French t

थ

th

th in thumb

द

d

d in them

ध

dh

theh in breathe here

न

n

n

प

p

p

फ

ph

ph in loop-hole

ब

b

b

भ

bh

bh in abhor

म

m

m

य

y

र

r

r

ल

l

l

व

v

v in avert

श

ś

sh

ष

ṣ

sh in show

स

s

s

ह

h

h

.

ṁ

m in hum

:

ḥ

half h in huh!

INTRODUCTION

The Advaita Makaranda by Lakṣmīdhara Kavi is an overlooked diamond, hidden in the treasury of Vedānta literature by the wealth of larger precious stones cut by more well-known Ācāryas 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 Gītā? Of the Upaniṣads? And yet there is room for countless more, even now. Though short, the Advaita Makaranda can’t possibly be exhausted by a single translation and commentary, however good; nor by two or three.

Various categories of texts are found in the Vedānta tradition, aside from the Upaniṣads and Bhagavad-Gītā. Some, like the Brahma-Sūtra with Śaṅkara’s commentary, are primarily concerned with bringing out the philosophical import of the Upaniṣads, 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 sādhaka as well, for clarifying the understanding and destroying the saṁśaya rākṣasa—the demon of doubt.

There are other texts, like the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi and the Pañcadaśī, which teach the principles of Vedānta for the purposes of the sādhaka, not primarily for polemical purposes nor to establish a philosophy. That is, such texts are primarily for the purpose of śravaṇa and manana—hearing and reflection. The two texts just mentioned, in particular, teach the principles of Vedānta in great detail so that the mind of the sādhaka can understand thoroughly the phenomenal self (jīvātman), the noumenal Self (Ātman), 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 prakaraṇa granthas which teach particular aspects of Vedānta, such as Vākya Vṛtti, Laghu Vākya Vṛtti, Dṛg-Dṛśya-Viveka, and Pañcīkaraṇam. And there are unique texts, extraordinarily beautiful, such as the Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā, the Avadhūta Gītā, and Ribhu Gītā, which are songs of enlightenment, and which speak directly to the highest Self. They aren’t 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 praṇāma mantra, saluting God and guru, and the last is arthavāda or eulogy; and so, effectively there are 26 verses setting forth the teaching. Its special feature is the approach: it doesn’t present a philosophy, there are no polemical arguments, it doesn’t teach the detailed principles about the jīva and jagat (individual self and the world) for strengthening the detailed understanding, nor does it set out spiritual practices (sādhana), and it isn’t a hymn of enlightenment like the Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā. Rather it points to our present experience—the experience of the ordinary soul—and shows how the highest truth is revealed even there, if only we look. As Swami Vivekananda said, "Don’t seek God, just see Him." The Advaita Makaranda teaches us to see the Truth, here and now.

Let’s look at a classical example given in the Vedānta literature: that of mistaking a rope for a snake. In half light, I see a rope on the ground and mistake it for a snake. It’s not a thought but a misperception: perhaps I even think I see a skin pattern and colour. Immediately I jump back and turn to run, my heart in my throat, my blood pressure high, and my breathing panicked. The rope has at no