Durvasana Pratikara Dashakam of Vidyaranya Swami

By Swami Paramarthananda.

• As long as durvasanas are there, jnyanam will not become jnyana-nishta.
• The only prescription: nidhidhyasanam.
• Offer your life to prarabdham and whatever prarabdham does let it do.
• Spend as much time as possible in learning and thinking the scriptures. Instead of watching a TV serial or other distractions...
• Read different text books as intellect cannot be confined to the same text all the time.
• Give up the notion that "I am the body" by constantly remembering that I am Brahmatma.
• Sankalpas mean fanciful thoughts regarding future. Give up all of them. All we are experiencing is mithya - perishable in nature.
• Whenever anger comes, the antidote is an injection of kshama - patience.
• When lobha is the problem, you have to remove it by santoshaha. Don't compare with neighbours or your brothers.
• Give up the pleasure of eating and sexual pleasures, by constantly remembering the consequences, the sorrows, the pains etc.
• Never use harsh words even in worst cases. If you see that others are speaking in such a way, let them come down to lower level.
• What if I speak softly and they don't listen? Let them not listen!
• Observe maunam. Avoid noise pollution.
• Have minimally one friend with whom you speak only about spiritual topics. You should become close him, but you should never talk about your family affairs. If you have no friend available, I am available. But one condition is that we speak only vedanta. I am free all the time!
• Destruction of arrogance.
• Never bother about anybody's criticism. Even devas, munis are criticised by the world. When a valuable criticism comes from a person who is sane and who uses his words properly, such people's criticism alone you have to listen. Having listened, change your habits and then forget the criticism.
• Be awake and alert. Don't dream and build castles in the sky.
• Don't repeatedly think of the past. Learn the lesson, then give up the past.
• Let the problems of the body be taken as the problems of the body. Don't neglect the body, it is required to gain Self-Knowledge.
• Never say Moksah will not come in grihasta-ashrama! All the Gods are telling: you take my help, you can achieve everything.
• Never be a weakling. Don't bleat like a goat, road like a lion.
• Don't collect too much wealth. Stop all unnecessary accumulations.
• Fascination for the opposite sex. Dosha-darshanam - see the defect which is the perishable nature.
• Remember all relationships are temporary. Even wife, children, parents etc.
• Hammer (mudgaraha) to destroy moha is viveka.
• Never treat other people cruelly, harshly. Same with animals and plants.
• Whenever you are doing a job, do it completely, but at any moment, be ready to quit (don't be attached / too much involved in anything). This is also going to end!
• Once a while take holiday without doing anything else (nature, monastery). Be free from all these addictions (internet, cellphone).
• Give up dullness, laziness by doing things quickly.
• Let there be calmness.
• Never talk about the durvasana of the other person! Give up anger by seeing atma-samyam.
• Talk only good things to others. Talk what is good for the other person.
• Don't be afraid. Aham Iswara. For non-vedantic students: Lord is with me.
• Prarabdha can completely upset our plans. Therefore do the best and leave the rest.
• Spend your life in vedanta-smaranam (recollection)
• When dvesha (hatred) comes, replace dvesha by snehaha (neha). When sneha becomes too much, replace it with vairagyam.
• Give up all your sufferings from your own body, surroundings, natural sources. Their nature is to change. Accept the fact.
• When people commit mistakes, always forgive them because they are immature.
• Don't be bothered about planets. Don't look up your horoscope at all. Whatever is my jatakam, it is acceptable to me.
• When we grow old, pragnya (buddhi-shakti) also goes. We always think that we will think about spirituality after retirement.
• Don't depend upon the body, depend upon atma.
• Muktishriyam: salvation + prosperity. Eternal Lakshmi Devi.
• Study vedanta, assimilate vedanta and remove all the obstacles in the form of durvasana.