The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
17. samayāchāra tatparā 18. sampradāyēśvarī
She who is attached to the samaya form of worship.
She who is the guardian of traditions.
This nāma describes the nature of sadācāra, the virtuous path that is also known as samayācāra. sadācāra unites the individual consciousness (jīvātma) with the Supreme Consciousness (paramātmā). Hence it is considered as a virtuous path.
Devī is the essence of sadācāra traditions and not of the opposite path called vāmācāra. There are different traditions and practices for seekers in the world. vāmācāra, kaulācāra, and dakṣinācāra are the three most popular ones. vāmācāra is the most intense of the three because it involves extreme practices. kaulācāra involves rituals and symbolic worship, while dakṣinācāra focuses on Truth. Hence, wise men prefer dakṣinācāra. If they follow this path, they are bound to attain liberation. Liberation is Pure Knowledge. The other practices, vāmācāra and kaulācāra, do not help seekers attain the ultimate goal, which is the direct experience of the Self. Only when seekers on these other paths slowly let go of practices that perpetuate differences (multiplicity) and turn instead towards dakṣinācāra, they will attain liberation. Therefore, all traditions eventually must culminate in dakṣinācāra, the path that reveals the Truth.
The sages of the Upanishads unanimously declare sadācāra as the only practice that leads to Pure Knowledge. They established sadācāra as the sampradāya to be followed by everyone in the world. sampradāya is the tradition by which an enlightened teacher passes on his or her experiential Knowledge to a disciple. It is this teacher-disciple tradition that is popular in the world. Those who have purified their mind by cultivating the six virtues (sama, dama, etc.) and have developed one-pointed concentration on the truth are qualified for sadācāra. They are sure to reap the rewards of their practice. Those who do not qualify for sadācāra are in capable of grasping the Knowledge, so there is no danger of such people contaminating the teaching.
Several questions may arise at this point. Is śāstra (scripture) the only means of attaining this Knowledge? Can’t we attain this Knowledge by observing the world? Our intellect is ever present, so we should be able to grasp anything with our intellect and experience it. Why then are we instructed to learn from a teacher? A teacher might be very knowledgeable and, based on his knowledge, he/she might show us a path. But why should we consider the path they show as the only path? Can’t we investigate and find another path using our own intellect? Won’t our intellect expand and sharpen if we exercise it in this manner?
Such questions arise due to lack of proper enquiry. Seekers around the world are not all equally competent. They may be grouped into different types based on their competency, such as the brilliant (uttamottama), good (uttama), mediocre (madhyma), and beginner (adhama) types. The brilliant ones are those who do not need the scripture or the teacher. Due to the merit they accrued from the sādhana (practice) they did in previous births, they are born highly intelligent in this life. Their own intelligence and wisdom become their Guru. They live in the knowledge of the Self, and constant contemplation that “I am brahman and the world I see is an appearance of brahman.” The second type of seekers are those who have acquired some knowledge and are committed to the teaching. They do not depend as much on a Guru. They consider the scripture itself a teacher. Based on their faith in the scripture, they study and contemplate on the teaching and attain Self-Knowledge. The third type of seekers do not have such a sharp intelligence. They are not capable of reading the scripture and grasping the truth on their own. They need the help of a teacher to read and understand the scripture. With the help of a teacher they quickly attain Self-Knowledge. The fourth type of seekers are dull and incapable of grasping anything on their own. They certainly need a teacher. By serving a teacher and listening to the teaching constantly, their minds get gradually purified, and in time, will turn towards Self-Knowledge.
In this manner, the first two types of seekers may not require a teacher, but the last two types certainly need one. Even though it might appear as though the first type of seekers, the highly qualified ones, do not require a teacher in this life time, they certainly must have had served an eminent teacher in their previous lives because their highly refined minds are capable of quickly grasping the highest knowledge in this current lifetime. There is no effect without a cause. Therefore, we should not carelessly dismiss the need for a teacher. If we try to learn on our own without the guidance of a teacher, we might end up on a wrong path in our confusion.
We need not be surprised that a Guru is necessary. A Guru is one who has attained complete Knowledge of the Self, the same complete knowledge that the scripture offers. This knowledge is none other than Advaita, the knowledge of the Non-Dual Self. Such knowledge can be acquired only through an accomplished Advaita teacher and teaching, and not through a dualistic teacher and teaching. We need not worry that our intelligence will be compromised if we seek the help of an accomplished teacher. Since the teaching is on the essence of Advaita, the seeker can be rest assured that he or she will only benefit from the teaching. Since the teacher has direct experience of the Self, he is śiva-svarūpa, Supreme Consciousness Itself.