मैं वह हूं जो आप हैं

आदि शंकराचार्य शिष्यों के साथ नर्मदा नदी तट पर स्नान के लिए जा रहे थे। शिष्य उनके लिए मार्ग साफ करते चल रहे थे। इस दौरान एक पथिक वहां से गुजरा। शिष्यों ने उससे कहा-मार्ग छोड दें। स्वामी जी यहां से गुजरेंगे। शिष्यों के बार-बार आग्रह करने के बावजूद पथिक रास्ते से नहीं हटा। इतने में आदि शंकराचार्य भी वहां आ गए। उन्होंने उस पथिक से पूछा कि आप कौन हैं? पथिक ने अत्यंत धैर्य से उत्तर दिया-मैं वह हूं, जो आप हैं।

पथिक के इस कथन को सुनकर शंकराचार्य कुछ क्षण के लिए शांत खडे रहे और फिर झुक कर पथिक के चरणों को स्पर्श कर लिया। उन्होंने कहा-आज आपने मुझे जीवन का वास्तविक ज्ञान दे दिया। मैं आपको अपना गुरु स्वीकार करता हूं।

वह पथिक निम्न कुल का था। शंकराचार्य आजीवन उसे अपना गुरु मानते रहे। पथिक के कथन की उन्होंने दार्शनिक व्याख्या की, जिससे अद्वैत दर्शन का निर्माण हुआ। मानवतावादी चिंतन के लिए अद्वैत दर्शन एक आध्यात्मिक प्रेरणा है। सब एक हैं। कोई दूसरा नहीं है। इसका कारण है सर्वव्यापी ईश्वर और आत्म तत्व का ब्रह्म तत्व का अंश होना।

जब सृष्टि का नियामक एकमेव ब्रह्म है, तो फिर कोई किसी अन्य से पृथक क्यों? सब में वही आत्म तत्व है, जो सभी में है। उपनिषद में ऋषि कहते हैं कि अपने को जान, उसे जान, मुझे जान, और ईश्वर को जान। स्वयं से साक्षात्कार करने की स्थिति व्यक्ति को अमरत्व के दर्शन कराती है। जो आपमें है, उसमें है और हम में भी। छान्दोग्यउपनिषद में ऋषि कहते हैं कि सब कुछ ब्रह्म ही है। मनुष्य उसी से उत्पन्न हुआ है।

तैत्तिरीय उपनिषद में ऋषि ब्रह्म को आनंद का प्रतीक मानते हुए कहते हैं कि जिसने सृष्टि बनाई है, वह सबमेंहै और सब उसमें है। यह विचार भी अद्वैत दर्शन को पुष्ट करते हैं। साथ ही, ब्रह्म में आनंद की उपस्थिति उसके कल्याण रूप का प्रतीक है। ऋषि कहते हैं कि आनंद से ब्रह्म है, आनंद में ही ब्रह्म है, आनंद से ही ब्रह्म जीव पैदा होते हैं, आनंद से ही वे जीवित रहते हैं, आनंद में ही फिर समा जाते हैं।

भारतीय दर्शन में विभेद को मान्यता नहीं दी गई है। समरूपता,समरसता और एकाग्रता आत्मा के लक्षण हैं। उसे स्वीकार करते हुए कहा गया है कि एक ही ईश्वर सब प्राणियों के भीतर विराजमान है। वह सबको गति और ऊर्जा प्रदान करता है। सबके भीतर वही समाया है। वह सभी कर्मो का स्वामी है। वह साक्षी भी है, ज्ञाता भी है और न्यायाधीश भी। ईश्वर निर्गुण और अनंत है।

साधक की इच्छा होती है कि वह जीवन-जगत के रहस्यों को समझें। इसके लिए वह परमपिता परमेश्वर की निकटता चाहता है, क्योंकि उसकी निकटता का अनुभव मात्र ही अनेक रहस्यों को अनावृत्त कर देता है।

ईश्वर को जानने से सारे संशय दूर हो जाते हैं और जीव के मोह भाव नष्ट हो जाते हैं। कोई गैर नहीं होता, किसी से बैर नहीं होता। सब अपने होते हैं और व्यक्ति अद्वैत की स्थिति प्राप्त कर लेता है। स्वामी चक्रपाणि (साभार)
http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/dharm/?page=article/articleid=5512/category=12

वेदान्त दर्शन क्या है?

हमारे देश में किसी भी काल में जितने दार्शनिक सम्प्रदाय, मत मतान्तर हुए हैं, वे सभी वेदान्त दर्शन के अन्तर्गत आते हैं। न केवल हमारे देश में अपितु विश्व में कहीं भी जो दार्शनिक विचारधारा विकसित होती है, वह वेदांत दर्शन के बुनियादी आधारों पर ही विकसित हो सकती है। वेदांत स्वयं सभी प्रकार की मत भिन्नताओं को उनकी समग्रता में स्वीकार करता है। वह कोई धर्म या ऐसा संप्रदाय नहीं है जो किन्हीं निर्धारित धार्मिक सीमाओं में कार्य करता हो। अपितु वह तो एक दार्शनिक प्रणाली है, जो जीवन की लोकिक और पारलोकिक समझ को विकसित करके हमें अनुभूति जगत से जुड़ने की क्षमता से संपन्न करती है। स्वयं वेदांत की कई प्रकार की व्याख्याएँ होती रही हैं। वेदांत जैसे समग्र दर्शन को समझने-समझाने के लिए यह आवश्यक भी है।
आदि शंकराचार्य के बाद से वेदांत पर कई व्याख्याएँ देखने को मिलती हैं। उनसे पहले भी वेदांत को वैदिक और उपनिषद काल से अनेक प्रकार से व्याख्यायित किया गया है । ये सभी प्रगतिशील व्याख्याएँ रही हैं। ऐसा माना जाता है कि प्रारम्भ में व्याख्याएँ द्वैतवादी हुईं, अन्त में अद्वैतवादी। अद्वैत वेदांत को वेदांत दर्शन की पराकाष्ठा कहा जा सकता है।
वेदान्त का शाब्दिक अर्थ है ‘वेद का अन्त’। वेद हिन्दुओं के आदि धर्मग्रन्थ हैं। पाश्चात्य विद्वानों की अधिकांश व्याख्याओं के कारन ‘वेद’ को केवल रिचाओं और कर्मकांड तक ही सीमित समझा जाता है। किन्तु अब भारत में इस विचारधारा में निरंतर संशोधन होता गया है। अब भारत में वेद और वेदान्त को अलग नहीं समझा जाता है। वस्तुतः आप किसी चीज़ को उसके अंत से काट कर उसकी समग्रता में नहीं देख सकते। जीवन का भी 'अंत' किसी एक दिन में अचानक नहीं होता। किसी भी चीज़ के अंत तक पहुँचाना एक पूरी प्रक्रिया के तहत होता है।
यह सही है कि वेद दो भागों में बांटे जा सकते है-कर्मकाण्ड तथा ज्ञानकाण्ड। कर्मकाण्ड के अन्तर्गत ब्राह्मणों की संहिताओं के मन्त्र तथा अनुष्ठान आते है। इससे भिन्न जिन ग्रंथों में आध्यात्मिक विषयों पर विवेचनाएँ है, उन्हें उपनिषद् कहते हैं। उपनिषद् ज्ञानकाण्ड के अन्तर्गत हैं। कुछ उपनिषदों की रचना वेदों से पृथक भी हुई है, लेकिन सभी की नहीं । कुछ उपनिषद् तो ब्राहमण ग्रंथों के अन्तर्गत आते हैं। संहिताओं या ऋचाओं के ही अन्तर्गत कम से कम एक उपनिषद् तो पाया ही जाता है। इन सबके आलावा भगवान् कृष्ण की अमर वाणी गीता को भी उपनिषद् कहा जाता है- गितोपनिषद। वेदांत सूत्रों के रचयिता महर्षि व्यास के वेदांत ग्रन्थ को वेदांत का प्रमुख प्रस्थान मानते हुए भी उपनिषद् नहीं कहा जाता। किन्तु सामान्यतः उपनिषद् शब्द का प्रयोग वेदों में निहित दार्शनिक विवेचनाओं के लिए ही होता है। कुछ उपनिषदों को आरण्यक में भी पाया गया हैं। प्रायः उपनिषदों की संख्या 108 मानी जाती है। यह ठीक है कि इनका समय निर्धारण नहीं किया जा सकता, किन्तु निश्चित रूप से अधिकांश बौद्धमत से प्राचीन हैं। कुछ गौण उपनिषदों में ऐसे विवरण हैं, जिनसे उनके अपेक्षाकृत आधुनिक होने का संकेत मिलता है, किन्तु इससे यह सिद्ध नहीं हो जाता कि वे उपनिषद् अर्वाचीन हैं। षड़ दर्शनों में अन्तिम वेदांत दर्शन, जो व्यास कृत है, पूर्वप्रतिपादित दर्शनों की अपेक्षा वैदिक विचारों पर अधिक आधारित है। इसे सांख्य और न्य़ाय जैसे प्राचीन दर्शनों के बीच उत्तर मीमांसा या वेदान्त दर्शन के रूप में रखा गया है। इसलिए इसे विशेष रूप से वेदान्त दर्शन कहा जाता है। आधुनिक विचारधारा के अनुसार व्यास-सूत्र ही वेदान्त दर्शन का आधार माना जाता है। यही वेदान्त मत का प्रामाणिक ग्रन्थ उत्तर मीमांसा है। विभिन्न भाष्यकारों ने व्यास के सूत्रों की व्याख्या विभिन्न प्रकार से की है। सामान्यत: अभी भारत में तीन प्रकार की प्रचलित वेदान्तिक व्याख्याएँ हैं। इन व्याख्याओं से तीन दार्शनिक पद्धतियों का विकास हुआ है-द्वैत, विशिष्टाद्वैत तथा अद्वैत। अधिकांश भारतीय द्वैत एवं विशिष्टाद्वैत के अनुयायी हैं। अद्वैतवादियों की संख्या अपेक्षाकृत कम है। लेकिन सभी वेदान्ती तीन तथ्यों पर एकमत हैं। ये सभी ईश्वर को, वेदों के श्रुत रूप को तथा सृष्टि-चक्र को मानते हैं। वेदों के बारे में संक्षेप में ऊपर कहा जा चुका हैं। सक्षेप में सृष्टिसंबंधी मत इस प्रकार है। समस्त दृष्टि- गत जड़ पदार्थ आकाश नामक मूल जड़-सत्ता से उद्भूत हुआ है। जीवन की समस्त चेतन शक्तियाँ आदि-शक्ति प्राण से उद्भूत हुई हैं। आकाश पर प्राण का प्रभाव पड़ने से सृष्टि का विस्तारण होता है। तत्पश्चात वह निरंतर बढ़ता ही रहता है। जो बढ़ता रहता है- वही ब्रहम है।
इस प्रकार वेदान्त की अनेक व्याख्याएँ पाई जाती हैं। इसके विचारों की अन्तिम अभिव्यक्ति व्यास के दार्शनिक सूत्रों में हुई है। अति प्राचीन काल में ही वेदान्त के व्याख्याकार तीन प्रसिद्ध हिन्दू सम्प्रदायों में विभक्त हो गये थे -द्वैत, विशिष्टाद्वैत तथा अद्वैत । अति प्राचीन व्याख्याएँ तो अब लुप्त प्रायः हो गयी हैं, किन्तु मध्य युग में बौद्ध धर्म के ह्रास के बाद शंकर, रामानुज तथा मधवा ने उनका पुनरुद्धार किया है। शंकर ने अद्वैत को, रामानुज ने विशिष्टाद्वैत को तथा मध्व ने द्वैत को पुन: संस्थापित किया है इन सभी मतों में अनेक स्थूल भिन्नताएं होने के बावजूद उनका मूल दार्शनिक आधार एक ही है। सभी मतों में जीवन की सनातन जिज्ञासाएं शाश्वत मूल्यों के बीच ही परिष्कार पाती हैं।
वेदांत की इस बाह्य दार्शनिक संरचना के आलावा उसके आतंरिक मर्म को जानने के लिए उसकी अलग से विवेचनाएँ हैं । इस सम्बन्ध में अलग से कहा जाएगा।

courtesy: http://vedantmandalam.blogspot.com/ -shri vijan

पुण्य स्मरण : आदि शंकराचार्य

वेद-वेदांत की ध्वजा विश्व में फहराई थी

आदि शंकराचार्य ने - श्री विजन

भारतीय दर्शन के अद्वैत सिद्धांत में आत्मा एवं ब्रह्मके संबंध को व्यावहारिक एवं बौद्धिक आधार प्रदान करके जगदगुरु आदि शंकराचार्य ने न केवल हिंदू धर्म को पुनर्प्रतिष्ठित करने में अहम भूमिका निभाई अपितु देश भर की लम्बी यात्राओं के माध्यम से चार मठों की स्थापना कर वेदों तथा वेदांत की प्रतिष्ठा फिर पूरे विश्व में कायम की।

केरल के कलाडीमें वैशाख शुक्ल पंचमी को उनका जन्म हुआ था। बालक शंकर के बाल काल में ही उनके पिता का निधन हो गया। माता की देखरेख में उनका पालन पोषण हुआ। सिर्फ आठ साल की उम्र में ही वे वेदों के ज्ञाता हो गए थे। ८ वर्ष की आयु में ही उन्होंने अपनी कुशाग्र बुद्धि से लोगों का चकित कर दिया था, तथा अपनी माता से हठ करके संन्यास ग्रहण कर लिया था।
उस काल में भारतीय जनमानस में बौद्ध एवं जैन धर्म का विशेष प्रभाव था। दूसरी ओर हिंदू धर्म अनेक छोटे-छोटे मतों ओर संप्रदायों में विभाजित हो रहा था। समाज को दिशा देने वाले किसी ऐसे जीवन-दर्शन का आभाव था, जो समाज को एक सूत्र में बाँध सके। समाज में अनीश्वर-वादी दर्शन तथा चार्वाक-वादी दर्शनों के प्रभाव से लोग धर्म-विमुख ओर स्वछन्द हो रहे थे । ऐसे समय में जगदगुरु शंकराचार्य ने सभी पंथों, मठों और संप्रदायों तथा सभी दार्शनिक सिद्धांतों को एक ध्वजा के नीचे लाने का विलक्षण प्रयास किया। अपने प्रयासों में उन्हें अद्भुत सफलता भी मिली। उन्होंने हिंदू धर्म को विश्व मंच पर पुनः प्रतिष्ठित किया। वेदों के माध्यम से हिंदू धर्म की पुनः स्थापना के बाद उन्होंने विश्व को अद्वैत वेदांत के मर्म से परिचित कराया। उनके द्वारा आरम्भ की गई वेदांत की अध्यात्म यात्रा वर्तमान में भी विश्व मानस को आलोकित कर रही है। देश भर में घूम घूम कर उन्होंने वेद-वेदांत के प्रति लोक में रूचि जागृत की तथा लोगो को धर्म मार्ग पर प्रवृत होने का न केवल संदेश ही दिया, अपितु अद्भुत प्रेरणा भी दी।
शंकराचार्य के समय में वैदिक धर्म की स्थिति अच्छी नहीं थी। समाज में वेद-निंदक समुदाय वेदों की निरंतर निंदा में लगे थे। आदि शंकराचार्य ने इस स्थिति में आमूलचूल बदलाव के लिए शास्त्रार्थ के माध्यम से बौधिक वेद-निंदक समुदायों को चुनोती दी थी। अपनी विलक्षण मेधा से उन्होंने अनेक वेदनिन्दक और दूसरे धर्म विरोधी विद्वानों को ललकार कर परास्त किया था। वैदिक धर्म की पुर्नस्थापनाके लिए उन्होंने विभिन्न पीठों और अखाडों की स्थापना की तथा अपने शिष्यों को धर्म विजय के लिए प्रशिक्षित किया। आदि शंकराचार्य ने सिर्फ 32 साल की छोटी सी आयु में ही वैदिक धर्म का पुनुरुद्धार किया और वेदों की प्रतिष्ठा स्थापित की । आत्मा एवं ब्रह्मके संबंध में उनका अद्वैत वेदांत का सिद्धांत अद्भुत और अद्वितीय है। इसके साथ ही उन्होंने अनेक लोक प्रिय काव्य और धर्म ग्रंथों का सम्पादन भी किया। उन्होंने भगवद्गीता और ब्रह्मसूत्रों के साथ साथ उपनिषदों पर भी अद्वितीय भाष्य लिखे।

केवल 32वर्ष की उम्र में शंकराचार्य ने उन बौद्धिक ऊंचाइयों को छुआ, जिन पर आज भी भारतीय धर्म मानस गर्व करता है। उनकी जयंती के अवसर पर उन्हें शत-शत नमन।

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Sankara by Swami Sivananda

BHAGAVAN SHANKARACHARYAThe Founder of the School of Monistic philosophy,Who is regarded as the Avatara of Lord Shiva.
Introduction
Chaos pervaded all through India in the matter of religion and philosophy. Sect after sect, such as Charvakas, Lokayathikas, Kapalikas, Shaktas, Sankhyas, Buddhas and Madhyamikas sprang up. The number of religions rose as high as seventy-two. There was fight amongst sects. There was no peace anywhere. Chaos and confusion reigned supreme. There was superstition and bigotry. Darkness prevailed over the once happy land of Rishis, sages and Yogins. The once glorious land of the Aryans was in a miserable state. Such was the state of the country at the time which just preceded the Avatara (incarnation) of Sankaracharya.
The existence of Vedic Dharma in India today is due to Sankara. The forces opposed to Vedic religion were more numerous and powerful at the time of Sankara than they are today. Still, single-handed, within a very short time, Sankara overpowered them all and restored the Vedic Dharrna and Advaita Vedanta to its pristine purity in the land. The weapon he used was pure knowledge and spirituality. The previous Avataras, like Rama and Krishna, used physical forces because the obstacles to Dharma in those days arose from the physical obstructions and molestations of the Asuras (demons). The menace to Dharma in the Kali age (age of destruction) arose from obstacles that were more internal than external, more mental than physical. The seeds of Adharma (unrighteousness) were then working in the minds of almost everyone. Hence the evil had to be combated purely by the weapon of knowledge and self-purification. It was in order to forge this weapon and wield it with efficacy that Sankara took birth in the Brahmin Varna (caste) and entered the Sannyasa (renunciate) order early in life. The previous Avataras like Rama and Krishna took birth in the Kshatriya Varna (warrior caste), because in their days they had to wield military weapons in the restoration of Dharma.
All are no doubt aware of the very important position assigned to Sankaracharya in the history of Indian philosophy. It can be affirmed, without any fear of contradiction, that Bharata Varsha would have ceased to be Bharata Varsha several centuries ago and would never have survived the murderous sword, the devastating fire and the religious intolerance of the successive invaders, if Sankara had not lived the life he lived and taught the lessons he taught. And those lessons are still pulsating in every cell and in every protoplasm of the true aspirant and the true Hindu.
Birth
Sankara was born in a very poor family in the year 788 A.D. in a village named Kaladi, six miles to the east of Alwaye, Kerala. Kaladi is a railway station, on the Kochi-Shoranur rail link. Sankara was a Nambudiri Brahmin. Rajasekhara, a Zamindar (a rich landlord), built a Siva temple in Kaladi and formed an Agrahara for Brahmins who were in the service of the temple. Vidyadhiraja was doing Puja (worship) in the temple. He had only a son named Sivaguru. Sivaguru studied the Shastras and married at the proper age. He had no child. He and his wife Aryamba prayed to Lord Siva to bless them with a son. A son was born to them in the Vasanta Ritu or the spring season at noon, in the auspicious Abhijit Muhurta and under the constellation Ardhra. This son was Sankara.
Sivaguru died when Sankara was seven years old. Sankara had none to look after his education. His mother was an extraordinary woman. She took special care to educate her son in all the Shastras. Sankara's Upanayana or thread ceremony was performed in his seventh year, after the death of his father. Sankara exhibited extraordinary intelligence in his boyhood. When he was only sixteen, he became a master of all the philosophies and theologies. He began to write commentaries on the Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras when he was only sixteen years old. What a great marvel!
Sankara's mother was consulting astrologers about horoscopes of suitable girls for her son's marriage. But Sankara had a firm resolve to renounce the world and become a Sannyasin. Sankara's mother was very much grieved that there would be no one to perform her funeral rites after her death. Sankara gave full assurance to his mother that he would always be ready to serve her at the death-bed and perform the usual funeral rites. Even then his mother was not satisfied.
One day, Sankara and his mother went to take bath in the river. Sankara plunged into the water and felt that a crocodile was dragging him by the foot. He shouted out to his mother at the top of his voice: "O dear mother! A crocodile is dragging me down. I am lost. Let me die peacefully as a Sannyasin. Let me have the satisfaction of dying as a Sannyasin. Give me your permission now. Let me take Apath-sannyasa”.
The mother immediately allowed him to take Sannyasa. Sankara took Apath-sannyasa (the adoption of Sannyasa when death is near) at once. The crocodile let him go unharmed. Sankara came out of the water as a nominal Sannyasin. He again repeated his promise to his mother. He left her under the care of his relatives and gave away his little property to them. He then proceeded to find out a Guru with a view to get himself formally initiated into the sacred order of Sannyasa.
In Search of a Guru
Sankara met Swami Govindapada Acharya in a hermitage in Badrikashram (Badrinath) in the Himalayas and he prostrated at the teacher's feet. Govinda asked Sankara who he was. Sankara replied: "O revered Guru! I am neither fire nor air nor earth nor water-none of these, but the Immortal Atma (Self) that is hidden in all names and forms". He also said in the end: "I am the son of Sivaguru, a Brahmin of Kerala. My father died in my childhood. I was brought up by my mother. I have studied the Vedas and the Shastras under a teacher. I took Apath-sannyasa when a crocodile caught my foot while I was taking bath in the river. Kindly initiate me formally into the holy order of Sannyasa".
Swami Govinda was very much pleased with the truthful narration given by Sankara. Having initiated him and invested him with the robe of a Sannyasin, Swami Govinda taught him the philosophy of Advaita which he himself had learnt from his Guru-Gaudapada Acharya. Sankara learnt all the philosophical tenets from his Guru Govindapada. Govinda asked Sankara to go to Kashi. Sankara proceeded to Kashi where he wrote all his famous commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Gita and successfully met all the criticisms levelled against them. He then began to propagate his philosophy. Sankara had the greatest esteem for his Guru Govindapada and his Parama Guru or the teacher's teacher, Gaudapada.
Sankara's Digvijaya
Sankara's philosophical conquests are unique in the world. He had his triumphant tour all over India. He met the leaders of different schools of thought. He convinced them by arguments and established the supremacy and truth of the religion that he expounded in his commentaries. He went to all the celebrated seats of learning. He challenged the learned men to discussion, argued with them and converted them to his opinions and views. He defeated Bhatta Bhaskara and condemned his Bhashya (commentary) on the Vedanta Sutras. He then met Dandi and Mayura and taught them his philosophy. He then defeated in argument Harsha, author of Khandana Khanda Kadya, Abhinavagupta, Murari Misra, Udayanacharya, Dharmagupta, Kumarila and Prabhakara.
Sankara then proceeded to Mahishmati. Mandana Misra was the chief Pundit of the court of Mahishmati. Mandana was brought up in the Karma Mimamsa faith and so he had intense hatred for the Sannyasins. He was performing a Sraaddha ceremony when Sankara somehow dropped down there. Immediately Mandana Misra became very furious. An ugly conversation was started when the Brahmins, who were present there for dinner, interposed and pacified Mandana Misra. Then Sankara challenged Mandana to a religious controversy. Mandana agreed. Bharati who was the wife of Mandana Misra and who possessed scholarly erudition was appointed as the umpire. It was agreed beforehand that Sankara, if defeated, would become a householder and marry; and that Mandana, if defeated, would become a Sannyasin and receive the robe of a Sannyasin from the hands of his own wife. The controversy began in right earnest and continued for days without any interruption. Bharati did not sit and listen to their controversy. She threw two garlands, one each over the shoulders of each of the disputants, and said: "He whose garland begins to fade first should consider himself defeated". She left the place and began attending to her household duties. The controversy went on for seventeen days. The garland of Mandana Misra began to fade first. Mandana Misra accepted his defeat and offered to become a Sannyasin and follow Sankara.
Bharati was an Avatara of Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning. Once the sage Durvasa chanted the Vedas before Brahma and his wife in a big assembly. Durvasa committed a small mistake. Sarasvati laughed at it. Durvasa became enraged and gave a curse that she would take birth in the world. Hence Sarasvati had to take birth as Bharati.
Bharati now interposed and said to Sankara: "I am the other half of Mandana. You have defeated only one half of Mandana. Let us have a controversy". Sankara objected to have controversy with a woman. Bharati quoted instances wherein there had been controversies with women. Sankara then agreed and this controversy also went on uninterruptedly for seventeen days. Bharati passed from one Shastra to another. At last she found out that she could not defeat Sankara. She decided to defeat him by means of the science of Kama Shastra.
Sankara asked Bharati to give him an interval of one month for his preparation to hold controversy with her in the science of Kama Shastra. She agreed. Sankara went to Kashi. He separated his astral body from his physical body by means of his Yogic powers and left his physical body in the hole of a big tree and asked his disciples to take care of that physical body. He then entered into the dead body of Raja Amaruka which was about to be cremated. The Raja rose up and all the people rejoiced at the astounding incident.
The ministers and queens soon found out that the revived Raja was a different person, with different qualities and thought. They realised that the soul of a great Mahatma had entered the body of their Raja. Therefore, messengers were sent out to search for a human body hidden somewhere in lonely forests and caves and to burn it when found. They thought that if they did so, the new Raja might remain with them for a long time.
Sankara was acquiring all the experience of love with his queens. Maya is very powerful. In the midst, of those queens, Sankara entirely forgot all about his promises to his disciples about his going back to them. The disciples began to search for him. They heard about the miraculous resurrection of Raja Amaruka. They immediately proceeded to the city and had an interview with the Raja. They sang a few philosophical songs which at once revived the memory of Sankara. The disciples immediately repaired to the place where the physical body of Sankara was kept hidden. By that time the messengers of the queen had found out the physical body and had just begun to set fire to it. The soul of Sankara just then entered his own body. Sankara prayed to Lord Hari to help him. There was a shower of rain immediately and that extinguished the flames.
Then Sankara returned to the residence of Mandana Misra. He resumed the old controversy and answered all the questions raised by Bharati satisfactorily. Mandana Misra gave all his property as a gift to Sri Sankara and Mandana was made to distribute it to the poor and the deserving. He then became a disciple of Sankara. Sankara initiated him into the holy order of Sannyasa and gave him the name of 'Sureswara Acharya'. Sureswara Acharya was the first Sannyasin who took charge of the Sringeri Mutt. Bharati also accompanied Sankara to Sringeri and there she is worshipped even today.
Sankara ascended the seat of omniscience after inviting Vedic scholars from all parts of India and answering their numerous questions. Sankara, by vanquishing all the religious opponents of his day-and they belonged to no less than seventy-two different schools-and establishing the superiority of the Vedic Dharma, had become the Jagadguru of all.
Sankara's success over the other religious sects was so complete that none of them have since been able to raise their head in the land. Most of them have disappeared altogether. After Sankara's time, although a few Acharyas have appeared, none of them have been able to vanquish those who differed from them as Sankara did and establish unquestioned supremacy.
Mother’s Funeral Rites
Sankara received news that his mother was seriously ailing. He left his disciples and proceeded to Kaladi alone. His mother was then bedridden. Sankara touched her feet in reverence. He praised Lord Hari. Hari’s messengers came. Sankara's mother gave up her physical body and went along with those messengers to the abode of Hari.
Sankara encountered serious difficulties in performing the funeral rites of his mother. Usually, Sannyasins do not perform any of the rites or ceremonies which are enjoined on the householders. The Nambudiri Brahmins were all against Sankara. Sankara's relatives also did not help him. They did not come forward to assist him even in carrying the dead body to the place of cremation and refused to give fire for igniting the funeral pyre. At last Sankara determined to perform the funeral rites all alone. As he could not carry the entire dead body, he cut it into pieces and removed the pieces one by one to the backyard of the house. He then made a pyre there of stems of plantain trees and set fire to it by his Yogic power. Sankara wanted to teach the Nambudiris a lesson. He then made the local chief issue an edict that a corner should be set apart in each Illam or house of the Nambudiri Brahmins to burn the dead of the family and that they should cut the dead body into parts and then burn the same. This practice continues even today amongst Nambudiri Brahmins.
Sankara then returned to Sringeri. From there he went out on a tour through the eastern coast with a large number of followers. He preached his Advaita philosphy wherever he went. He established the Govardhana Mutt at Puri. He went to Kancheepuram and attacked the Shaktas. He purified the temples. He won over to his side the rulers of the Chola and the Pandya kingdoms. He went to Ujjain and put down the atrocities of the Bhairavas who were shedding human blood. He then proceeded to Dwaraka and established a Mutt there. He then travelled along the course of the Ganges and held religious controversies with great personages.
Sankara's End
Sankara proceeded to Kamarup-the present Guwahati-in Assam and held a controversy with Abhinava Gupta, the Shakta commentator, and won victory over him. Abhinava felt his defeat very keenly. He made Sankara suffer from a severe form of piles through black magic. Padmapada removed the evil effects of the black magic. Sankara became quite alright. He went to the Himalayas, built a Mutt at Joshi and a temple at Badri. He then proceeded to Kedarnath higher up in the Himalayas. He became one with the Linga in 820 A.D. in his thirty-second year.
Sringeri Mutt
In the north-west of the State of Mysore, nestling in the beautiful foot-hills of the Western Ghats, surrounded by virgin forests, lies the village of Sringeri and here Sankara established his first Mutt. The river Tunga-a branch of the river Tungabhadra-runs through the valley closely touching the walls of the temple; and its pure and limpid waters are as famous for drinking purposes as the waters of the Ganges are for bath (Ganga Snanam, Tunga Panam). Sringeri is a place of great sanctity and its beauty has to be seen to be appreciated. The Mutt is 'still going strong' as the phrase goes. The homage paid to the Mutt by countless aspirants and devotees is as much due to the greatness of illustrious men like Vidyaranya who have been at its head ever since its foundation as to the renown of the founder himself.
It may not be out of place to mention here that it took thirty years for the well-known Sanskrit professor Max Muller to translate the commentary on the Rig Veda, written by Vidyaranya, also known as Sayana. The learned professor, in his preface, says that not a single day passed in the thirty years without his devoting at least ten minutes on the translation. There is also a little interesting incident that when the manuscript was found to be illegible in some places, he got an authorised transcription from the first original still preserved in the Sringeri Mutt, through the influence of the then Maharaja of Mysore.
The famous holy shrine of Sri Sarada is an equal source of attraction to the devotees. Many are the Mutts and monasteries in India where holy men or their successors sit, and where Hindus from all parts of India gather, but none so great or so famous as Sringeri, the original seat of Adi Sankaracharya. The Sringeri Peetha is one of the oldest monasteries of the world flourishing for over twelve centuries now. It is the first of the four seats of learning established by Sankaracharya, the other three being Puri, Dwaraka and Joshi Mutt, each one of them representing one of the four Vedas of the Hindus.
Sankara placed his four eminent disciples (Sureswara Acharya, Padmapada, Hastamalaka and Trotakacharya) in charge of the Sringeri Mutt, Jagannath Mutt, Dwaraka Mutt and Joshi Mutt respectively. The most famous Sannyasin in the succession of Gurus of the Sringeri Mutt was, of course, Vidyaranya, the great commentator on the Vedas and the father of the dynasty of Vijayanagar. He was the Dewan of Vijayanagaram. He became a Sannyasin about 1331 A.D. The eleven Sannyasins before Vidyaranya were Sankaracharya, Viswarupa, Nityabodhaghana, Jnanaghana, Jnanottama, Jnana Giri, Simha Girisvara, Isvara Tirtha, Narasimha Tirtha, Vidya Sankara Tirtha and Bharati Krishna Tirtha.
The historic and sacred pontifical throne of the Sringeri Mutt is known as Vyakhyana Simhasana or seat of learning. Tradition has it that this seat was given to the great Sankara by Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning, in appreciation of the philosopher's vast scholarly erudition. Thirty-five Acharyas had sat on the pontifical throne before his present holiness in regular and uninterrupted succession.
Dasanami Sannyasins
Sankara organized ten definite orders of Sannyasins under the name 'Dasanamis' who add, at the end of their names, any one of the following ten suffixes: Sarasvati, Bharati, Puri (Sringeri Mutt); Tirtha, Asrama (Dwaraka Mutt); Giri, Parvata and Sagar (Joshi Mutt); Vana and Aranya (Govardhana Mutt).
The Paramahamsa represents the highest of these grades. It is possible to become a Paramahamsa by a long course of Vedantic study, meditation and Self- realisation. The Ativarnashramis are beyond caste and order of life. They dine with all classes of people. Sankara's Sannyasins are to be found all over India.
Some Anecdotes
Sankara was going along the street one day with his pupils to take bath in the Ganges when he met a Chandala who was also passing along the street with his dogs by his side. The disciples of Sankara shouted and asked the Chandala to clear off the road. The Chandala asked Sankara: "O, venerable Guru! You are a preacher of Advaita Vedanta and yet you make a great difference between man and man. How can this be consistent with your teaching of Advaitism? Is Advaita only a theory?". Sankara was very much struck by the intelligent query of the Chandala. He thought within himself, "Lord Siva has assumed this form just to teach me a lesson". He composed then and there five Slokas called the ‘Manisha Panchaka’. Every Sloka ends thus: “He who learnt to look on the phenomena in the light of Advaita is my true Guru, be he a Chandala or be he a Brahmin”.
In Kashi, a student was cramming the Sutras in Sanskrit grammar. He was repeating again and again "Dukrin karane, Dukrin karane....". Sankara heard it and was struck by the perseverance of the boy. He immediately sang a small poem, the famous Bhaja Govindam song, in order to teach the uselessness of such studies in the matter of the liberation of the soul. The meaning of the song is: "Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O fool! When you are about to die, the repetition of these Sanskrit Sutras will not save you".
Once some mischief-mongers offered meat and liquor to Sankara. Sankara touched those items with his right hand. The meat turned into apples and the liquor into milk.
A Kapalika came to Sankara and begged for his head as a gift. Sankara consented and asked the Kapalika to take his head when he was alone and absorbed in meditation. The Kapalika was just aiming with a big sword to sever the head of Sankara. Padmapada, the devoted disciple of Sankara came, caught hold of the arm of the Kapalika and killed him with his knife. Padmapada was a worshipper of Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha entered the body of Padmapada and killed the Kapalika.
Sankara's Philosophy
Sankara wrote Bhashyas or commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Gita. The Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras is called Sareerik Bhasya. Sankara wrote commentaries on Sanat Sujatiya and Sahasranama Adhyaya. It is usually said, “For learning logic and metaphysics, go to Sankara's commentaries; for gaining practical knowledge, which unfolds and strengthens devotion, go to his works such as Viveka Chudamani, Atma Bodha, Aparoksha Anubhuti, Ananda Lahari, Atma-Anatma Viveka, Drik-Drishya Viveka and Upadesa Sahasri”. Sankara wrote innumerable original works in verses which are matchless in sweetness, melody and thought.
Sankara’s supreme Brahman is Nirguna (without the Gunas), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without attributes) and Akarta (non-agent). He is above all needs and desires. Sankara says, "This Atman is self-evident. This Atman or Self is not established by proofs of the existence of the Self. It is not possible to deny this Atman, for it is the very essence of he who denies it. The Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge. The Self is within, the Self is without, the Self is before and the Self is behind. The Self is on the right hand, the Self is on the left, the Self is above and the Self is below".
Satyam-Jnanam-Anantam-Anandam are not separate attributes. They form the very essence of Brahman. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than He.
The objective world-the world of names and forms-has no independent existence. The Atman alone has real existence. The world is only Vyavaharika or phenomenal.
Sankara was the exponent of the Kevala Advaita philosophy. His teachings can be summed up in the following words:
Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya,Jeevo Brahmaiva Na Aparah
Brahman alone is real, this world is unreal; the Jiva is identical with Brahman.
Sankara preached Vivarta Vada. Just as the snake is superimposed on the rope, this world and this body are superimposed on Brahman or the Supreme Self. If you get a knowledge of the rope, the illusion of the snake will vanish. Even so, if you get a knowledge of Brahman, the illusion of the body and the world will vanish.
Sankara is the foremost among the master-minds and the giant souls which Mother India has produced. He was the expounder of the Advaita philosophy. Sankara was a giant metaphysician, a practical philosopher, an infallible logician, a dynamic personality and a stupendous moral and spiritual force. His grasping and elucidating powers knew no bounds. He was a fully developed Yogi, Jnani and Bhakta. He was a Karma Yogin of no mean order. He was a powerful magnet.
There is not one branch of knowledge which Sankara has left unexplored and which has not received the touch, polish and finish of his superhuman intellect. For Sankara and his works, we have a very high reverence. The loftiness, calmness and firmness of his mind, the impartiality with which he deals with various questions, his clearness of expression-all these make us revere the philosopher more and more. His teachings will continue to live as long as the sun shines.
Sankara's scholarly erudition and his masterly way of exposition of intricate philosophical problems have won the admiration of all the philosophical schools of the world at the present moment. Sankara was an intellectual genius, a profound philosopher, an able propagandist, a matchless preacher, a gifted poet and a great religious reformer. Perhaps, never in the history of any literature, a stupendous writer like him has been found. Even the Western scholars of the present day pay their homage and respects to him. Of all the ancient systems, that of Sankaracharya will be found to be the most congenial and the most easy of acceptance to the modern mind.
Biography of Sri AdiSankaracharya by Swami Sivananda (Sankara Jayanti April 28, 2009) Courtesy : http://www.divyajivan.org/Adishankaracharya/index.htm

वेदान्तिक जीवन दर्शन : श्री विजय विजन

आत्मानुसंधान
मनुष्य का अस्तित्व कई परतों से बना होता है। अधिकांश मनुष्य अपने को शरीर के आलावा कुछ नहीं समझते। वे दूसरे को भी शरीर ही समझते हैं। एक शरीर और एक उसका नाम, बस। उन्हीं से सम्बन्ध बनते हैं, और वहीं आनंद ढूँढ़ते रहते हैं। कुछ लोग भावना के स्तर पर मन, बुद्धि , विवेक की बातें करते हैं। यह उनके व्यक्तित्व का एक हिस्सा नजर आता है। आप कहते हैं कि फलां व्यक्ति का मन निर्मल है। फलां व्यक्ति बुद्धिमान है, अथवा फलां व्यक्ति विवेकवान है। ऐसे में आप दूसरे के मन बुद्धि विवेक को समझाने का प्रयास करते हैं। उसका सम्मान भी करते हैं।
लेकिन हम सभी में आत्मतत्व या आत्मा के प्रति एक गहरा विश्वास होने के बावजूद भी हम उसे गहराई के साथ अनुभव नहीं कर पाते । कोई शब्दों में उसका विश्लेषण करे भी तप उसे 'आत्मसात' करना इतना आसान नहीं होता । अस्तित्व की इस आत्म रूपी ग्रंथि को खोलना सभी के लिए आसान नहीं होता। क्यों लगता है कि सिद्धांत से तो ठीक है, लेकिन व्यवहार में कुछ हमारी पहुँच के बाहर है।
मन विचिलित होता है। बुद्धि में विकार उत्पन्न होते हैं। विवेक सदैव स्थिर नहीं पाता, और ये सब हमारे व्यक्तित्व में झलक आता है। हम खुश होते हें, अथवा दुखी। हम किसी कार्य में सफल होते हैं अथवा असफल। हम किसी का मार्गदर्शन करते हैं अथवा किसी का मार्गदर्शन चाहते हैं। लेकिन आत्मा का स्वरुप हमारे अनुभव की पकड़ में इतने सीधे नहीं आता। जिन लोगों के व्यकतित्व में वह झलकता है, वे खुश या नाखुश नज़र शायद न आयें। वे सफलता और असफलता से प्रभावित भी न होते हों। वे कर्म का स्वाद भी नहीं लेते बैठते। कर्म अवश्य करते हैं, और कर्मों से ही उनका जीवन प्रकाशित होता है।
तो क्या यह आत्मतत्त्व सभी के द्वारा साधने की चीज़ नहीं? कहा तो यही जाता है कि कोई बिरला ही ही इसे जन पाता है। लेकिन कहा यह भी गया है कि सभी का अन्तिम लक्ष यही है। और इसका संधान भी हमें स्वयं ही करना होगा। आदि शंकराचार्य ने विवेक चूडामणि में कहा है-
अविद्या काम कर्म आदि पाश बन्धं विमोचितुम।
क:श्क्नुयाद्वीनात्मानं कल्प कोटिशतैरपि॥
अर्थ : हमारे अविद्या, कमाना और कर्म आदि के बन्धनों को सौ करोड़ कल्पों में भी कोई नहीं खोल सकता। यह पाश हमें स्वयं ही खोलना होगा।
कई बार हम मानवीय विकास की प्रक्रिया का विश्लेषण करते हुए पाते हें कि वर्तमान युग तक आते आते मनुष्य जाती ने अन्तर - बाहर के विभिन्न तलों पर भरपूर विकास किया है। मनुष्य की शारीरिक, मानसिक और बौद्धिक क्षमताओं का जबरदस्त विकास हुआ है। वह पहले से अधिक विवेकवान होता गया है। लेकिन क्या वह किसी रूप में पहले से अधिक आत्मवान भी हो पाया है? शायद नहीं। पर इससे पहले हम यह सोचें कि क्या ऐसा सम्भव भी है? मनुष्य आत्मवान कैसे हो सकता है? कैसे हम किसी व्यक्ति को देख कर जन सकते हैं कि वह कितना आत्मवान है? साथ ही यह भी विचारणीय हो जाता है कि क्या यह भौतिक विकास की किसी इससे भी आगे की अवस्था में सम्भव होगा, या उससे पूर्व भी इसकी उपलब्धि का कोई उपाय है?
वास्तव में आत्म दर्शन का अर्थ है स्वयं को देखना। स्वयं को हम कहाँ देख सकते हैं? दर्पण में या अपनी कल्पना में । या फिर हम दूसरे की आंखों में स्वयं को देखना चाहते हैं। यह आत्मदर्शन नही है। आत्मदर्शन दूसरे की आंखों में नही, दूसरे में स्वयं को देखना है। और किसी एक व्यक्ति या जाती में नहीं, सभी में स्वयं को देखना। जब दूसरा भी मेरा आत्म बन कर मेरे सामने होगा तसब वह हमें उतना ही प्रिय होगा जितने हम स्वयं को। और वास्तव में तब तो कोई दूसरा होगा ही नहीं। और जब एक ही बचा तो फिर बचा कौन? यही परम ज्ञान है, श्रेष्ठ ज्ञान है। मन बुद्धि, विवेक की परम अवस्था। जहाँ ये सब साधन स्वयं उस आत्मतत्व में विलीन हो जाते हैं। याज्ञवल्क्य कहते हैं-
ईज्याचारदमाहिंसा दान्स्वाध्याय कर्मणाम ।
अयमतुपर्मो धर्मोयद योगेन आत्म दर्शनम॥
अर्थ : यज्ञ, सदाचार, इन्द्रिय संयम, अहिंसा, दान और स्वाध्याय, ये सब तो धर्म हेतु हैं ही, किंतु सभी में आत्म भावः रखना परम धर्म अर्थात उत्तम योग है।
अब, यह बात इस रूप में तो सबके द्वारा कई बार कही-सुनी जाती है, तो भी इसका संधान सम्भव क्यों नही हो पाता ? और जब तक दावा स्वयम न पी ली जाए, रोग से मुक्ति कैसे हो सकती है? शब्दों की बाजीगरी से तो स्वास्थय लाभ होने से रहा।
न गच्छति विना पानं व्यधिरोषध शब्दतः ।
विना परोक्षनुभावं ब्रह्म शब्देर्ण मुच्यते ॥
अर्थ : "औषधि " शब्द के उच्चारण से रोग मुक्ति नहीं और " ब्रह्म " शब्द के उच्चारण से जीवन मुक्ति नहीं।
यही आत्मभाव का आदर्श वेदांत (उपनिषदों) में सर्वथा निराले रूप में दृष्टिगोचर होता है। जीव अपने कर्मों के स्वादिष्ट फलों से जब अघा जाता है, तब वश भीतर की ओर देखता है। जहाँ उसका आत्म स्वरुप निश्छल शांत है। और तब वह उसकी और खिंचा चला जाता है। उसके लिए आत्मानुसंधान अवश्यम्भावी हो जाता है। वह जान जाता है कि वह स्वयं आत्मतत्व है। अपने जीवन को हम भी आत्मानुसंधान से खोज कर देखें।

The Real Self : By Swami Ramtirth

Lecture delivered on January 7, 1903, at Golden Gate Hall, San Francisco, U.S.A.
The All-Powerful God in the form of ladies and gentlemen,
In a German folk-lore we hear about a man who lost his shadow. That is a very strange thing. A man lost his shadow and that man had to suffer for it. All his friends deserted him, all prosperity left him, and he was in a very sorry plight for it. What will you think of a man who instead of losing his shadow loses the substance? There may be hope for a man who loses only the shadow, but what hope can there be for a man who loses the substance, the body?
Such is the case of the majority of people in this world. Most men have lost not their shadow but their substance, the reality. Wonder of wonders! The body is simply the shadow, and the real Self, the real Atman, is the reality. Everybody will tell us about his shadow, everybody will tell us anything and everything about his body, but how few are there who will tell us anything and everything about their real Self, the real Soul, the real Atman. What are you? What is the use of gaining the whole world and losing your own soul? People are trying to gain the whole world but they miss the Soul, they miss the Atman. Lost, lost, lost. What is lost? The horse or the rider? The horseman is lost. The body is like the horse, and the Atman, the true Self, the Soul is like the rider. The rider is lost, the horse is there. Everybody will tell us anything and everything about the horse, but we want to know something about the rider, the horseman, the owner of the horse. Tonight we propose to know what the horseman or the rider, the true Self, the Atman is. That is a deep subject; that is a subject upon which the philosophers of the world have been racking their brains, upon which each and all have been trying their best. It is a deep subject, and it is hard to do justice to this subject within this short space of one hour or so. Still we shall try to make it as easy as possible by means of an illustration or story.
This subject was explained once to a young boy of the age of about 15 or 16, and he understood it thoroughly in a short time. If that boy of the age of 15 or 16 could understand it, each and all of you will be able to understand the subject thoroughly, provided you pay close, undivided attention. The method of exposition will be the same as was adopted in the case of that small boy.
Once upon a time, the son of an Indian king came to Rama in the mountains, and put this question, "Swami, Swami, What is God?" This is a deep question, a very difficult problem. This is the one subject which all the theologies and all the religions propose to investigate, and you want to know all about "it in a short time". He said, "Yes, sir yes, Swami. Where shall I go to have it explained? Explain it to me." The boy was asked, "Dear prince, you want to know what God is, you want to make acquaintance with God, but do you not know that the rule is, when a man wants to see a great personage, he will have to send his own card first, he will have to send to the chief his own address and name? Now you want to see God. You had better send to God your card; you had better let God know what you are. Give Him your card. Rama will place it in the hands of God directly and God will come to you, and you will see what God is." "Well", the boy said, "It is all right, it is reasonable. I will directly let you know what I am. I am the son of king so and so, living on the Himalayas in Northern India. This is my name." He wrote it out on a piece of paper. It was taken up by Rama and read. It was not put into the hands of God directly, but was given back to that prince and the prince was told, "O prince, you do not know what you are. You are like the illiterate, ignorant person who wants to see your father, the king and cannot write his own name. Will your father, the king receive him? Prince, you cannot write your name. How will God receive you? First tell us correctly what you are, and then will God come to you and receive you with open arms."
The boy reflected. He began to think and think over the subject. He said, "Swami, Swami, now I see, now I see. I made a mistake in writing my own name. I have given you the address of the body only, and I have not put upon the paper what I am."
There was an attendant of that prince standing by. The attendant could not understand it. Now the prince was asked to make his meaning clear to this attendant, and so the prince asked the attendant this question, "Mr. so and so, to whom does this card belong?" The man said, "To me." and taking up a stick from the hands of the attendant the prince asked him, "Mr. so and so, to whom does this stick belong?" The man said "To me." "Well, to whom does this turban of yours belong?" The man said, "To me." The prince said, "All right. If the turban belongs to you, there is a relation between the turban and you; the turban is your property, and you are the owner. Then you are not the turban, the turban is yours." He said, "Indeed, that is so plain." "Well, the pencil belongs to you, the pencil is yours, and you are not the pencil." He said, "I am not the pencil because the pencil is mine; that is my property, I am the owner." All right. Then the prince asked that attendant, taking hold of the ears of that attendant, "Whom do these ears belong to?" The attendant said, "To me." The prince said, "All right, the ears belong to you, the ears are yours. As such you are not the ears. Similarly the nose belongs to you. As the nose is yours, you are not the nose. Then, whose body is that?" (Just beckoning to the body of the attendant.) The attendant said, "The body is mine; this body is mine." "If the body is yours, Mr. attendant, then you are not the body; you cannot be the body because you say that the body is yours; you cannot be the body. The very statement—my body, my ears, my head, my hand proves that you are something else and the body together with the ears and hands and eyes, etc., is something else. This is your property, you are the owner, the master; the body is like your garment and you are the owner. The body is like your horse and you are the owner. Now, what are you?" The attendant understood it so far, and also concurred with the prince in saying that when the prince had put down on paper the address of the body and had meant that this address stood for himself, the prince had made a mistake. "You are not the body, not the ears, not the nose, not the eyes, nothing of the kind. What are you then?" Now the prince began to reflect, and said, "Well, well, I am the mind, I am the mind, I must be the mind."
"Is that so indeed?" The question was put to that prince. "Now, can you tell me how many bones you have got in your body? Can you tell where the food lies in your body that you took this morning?" The prince could make no answer, and these words escaped his lips, "Well, my intellect does not reach that. I have not read that. I have not yet read anything of physiology or anatomy. My brain does not catch it, my mind cannot comprehend it."
Now the prince was asked, "Dear prince, O good boy, you say your mind cannot comprehend it, your intellect cannot reach up to that, your brain cannot understand this. By making these remarks you confess and admit that the brain is yours, the mind is yours, the intellect is yours. Well, if the intellect is yours, you are not the intellect. If the mind is yours, you are not the mind. If the brain is yours, you are not the brain. These very words of yours show that you are the master of the intellect, the owner of the brain and the ruler of the mind. You are not the mind, the intellect or the brain. What are you? Think, think, please. Be more careful and let us know correctly what you are. Then will God be just brought to you, and you will see God, you will be introduced directly into the presence of God. Please tell us what you are."
The boy began to think, and thought and thought but could not go further. The body said, "My intellect, my mind cannot, reach further."
Oh, how true are these words! Indeed the mind or the intellect cannot reach the true Divinity or God within.
The real Atman, the true God is beyond the reach of words and minds.
The boy was asked to sit down for a while and meditate upon what his intellect had reached so far. "I am not the body; I am not the mind." If so, feel it, put it into practice, repeat it in the language of feeling, in the language of action; realize that you are not the body. If you live this thought only, if you work into practice even so much of the truth, if you are above the body and the mind, you become free from all anxiety, all fear. Fear leaves you when you raise yourself above the level of the body or the mind. All anxiety ceases, all sorrow is gone, when you realize even so much of the Truth that you are something beyond the body, beyond the mind.
After that, the boy was helped on a little to realize what he himself is, and he was asked, "Brother, prince, what have you done today? Will you please let us know the works or deeds that you have performed this morning?"
He began to relate, "I woke up early in the morning, took bath, and did this thing and that thing, took my breakfast, read a great deal, wrote some letters, visited some friends, received some friends, and came here to pay my respects to the Swami."
Now the prince was asked, "Is that all? Have you not done a great deal more? Is that all? Just see." He thought and thought; and then mentioned a few other things of the same sort. "That is not all; you have done thousands of things more; you have done hundreds, thousands, nay, millions of things more. Innumerable deeds you have done, and you refuse to make mention of them. This is not becoming. Please let us know what you have done. Tell us everything that you have done this morning."
The prince, hearing such strange words that he had done thousands of things besides the few that he had named, was startled. "I have not done anything more than what I have told you, sir, I have not done anything." "No, you have done millions, trillions, quadrillions of things more." How is that?
The boy was asked, "Who is looking at the Swami at this time?" He said, "I". "Are you seeing this face, this river Ganga that flows beside us?" He said, "Yes, indeed." "Well, you see the river and you see the face of the Swami, but who makes the six muscles in the eyes move? You know the six muscles in the eyes move, but who makes the muscles move? It cannot be anybody else; it cannot be anything extra. It must be your own Self that makes the muscles in the eyes move in the act of seeing."
The boy said, "Oh, indeed, it must be I; it cannot be anything else."
"Well, who is seeing just now, who is attending to this discourse?" The boy said, "I, it is I." "Well, if you are seeing, if you are attending to this discourse, who is making the oratory nerves vibrate? It must be you, it must be you. Nobody else. Who took the meals this morning." The boy said, "I, I." "Well, if you took the meals this morning and it is you that will go to the toilet and vacate, who is it that assimilates and digests the food? Who is it, please? Tell us if you eat and you throw it out, it must be you who digests, it must be yourself that assimilates, it cannot be anybody else. Those days are gone when outside causes were sought after to explain the phenomena in nature. If a man fell down, the cause of his fall was said to be some outside ghost. Science does not admit such solutions of the problem. Science and philosophy require you to seek the cause of a phenomenon in the phenomenon itself."
"Here you take the food, go into the toilet and throw it off. When it is digested, it must be digested by yourself, no outside power comes and digests it; it must be your own Self. The cause of digestion also must be sought within you and not without you."
Well, the boy admitted so far. Now he was asked, "Dear Prince, just reflect, just think for a while. The process of digestion implies hundreds of kinds of movements. In the process of digestion, in mastication, saliva is emitted from the glands in the mouth. Here is again the next process of oxidation going on. Here is blood being formed. There is the blood coursing through the veins, there is the same food being converted into carnatic muscles, bones, and hair; here is the process of growth going on in the body. Here are a great many processes going on, and all these processes in the body are connected with the process of assimilation and digestion."
"If you take the food, it is you yourself who are the cause of respiration; you yourself make the blood course through your veins; you yourself make the hair grow; you yourself make the body develop, and here mark how many processes there are; how many acts, how many deeds there are that you are performing every moment."
The boy began to think and said, "Indeed, indeed, sir, in my body, in this body, there are thousands of processes that the intellect does not know, about which the mind is unconscious, and still they are being performed, and it must be I that am the cause of all that, it must be I that am performing all that; and indeed it was a mistake I made when I said that I had done a few things, a few things only, and nothing more, a few things that were done through the agency of the intellect or mind."
It must be made further clear. In this body of yours there are two kinds of functions being discharged; there are two kinds of work being done, involuntary and voluntary. Voluntary acts are those that are performed through the agency of the intellect or mind; for instance, reading, writing, walking, talking and drinking. These are acts done through the agency of the intellect or mind. Besides these, there are thousands of acts or processes being performed directly, so to say, without the agency, or without the medium of mind or intellect, for instance, respiration, the coursing of blood through the veins, the growth of hair, etc.
People make this mistake, this glaring blunder that they admit only those acts to be performed by them which are performed through the agency of mind or intellect. All the other deeds, all the other acts which are being performed directly without the agency of intellect or mind, are disclaimed entirely. They are entirely cast aside, they are entirely neglected, and by this neglect and by this mistake, by this imprisoning the real Self in the little mind, identifying the Infinity with the small brain, people are making themselves miserable and wretched. People say, "Oh, God is within me." All right, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, God is within you, but that kernel which is within you, that kernel is yourself and not the shell. Please think over it seriously. Reflect whether you are the kernel or the shell, whether you are He that is within you, or you are the shell that is without.
Some people say, "O sir, I eat and nature digests; O sir, I see but nature makes the muscles move; O sir, I hear but it is nature that makes the nerves vibrate." Mark, in the name of justice, in the name of truth, in the name of freedom, just mark, whether you are that nature or whether you are the mere body. Mark, you are that nature. You are the infinite God. If throwing aside all prejudice, waiving all preconceptions and casting off all superstitions, you reflect over the matter, discuss it, sift it, investigate it, examine it, you will become of the same mind as what you call Rama standing for. You will see that you are the kernel, the nature, the whole nature you are.
Most of you may have understood the drift of the argument; but that boy, that Indian prince, did not understand it thoroughly. "Well," he said, "Indeed, I have understood it so far that I am something beyond the intellect." At this time the attendant of the prince asked, "Sir, make it more clear to me, I have not quite comprehended it yet." Well, that attendant was asked, "Mr. so and so, when you go to bed, do you die or live?" The attendant said, "I live; I do not die." "And what about the intellect?" He said, "I go on dreaming, the intellect is still there." "And when you are in the deep sleep state (you know there is a state called the deep sleep state, in that state even no dreams are seen), where is the intellect, where is the mind?"
He began to think. "Well, it passes into nothingness; it is no longer there, the intellect is not there, the mind is not there." "But are you there or not?" He said, "Oh, indeed I must be there; I cannot die, I remain there." Well, mark here, even in the deep sleep state, where the intellect ceases, where the intellect is, as it were, like a garment hoisted on a peg, hoisted on a post, like an overcoat, the intellect is taken off and placed upon the post, you are still there, you do not die out. The boy said, "The intellect is not there, and I do not die out. This I do not quite comprehend."
Well, the boy was asked, "When you wake up after enjoying this deep sleep, when you wake up, do you not make such statements, ‘I enjoyed profound sleep tonight, I had no dreams tonight.’ Do you not make remarks of that kind?" He said, "Yes." Well. This point is very subtle. All of you will have to listen closely. When after waking up from the deep sleep state, this remark is made, "I slept so soundly that I saw no dreams, I saw no rivers, no mountains, in that state there was no father, no mother, no house, no family, nothing of the kind; all was dead and gone; there was nothing, nothing, nothing there. I slept and there was nothing there." This statement is like the statement made by the man who bore witness to the desolation of a place, and said, "At the dead of night, at such and such a place, there was not a single human being present." That man was asked to write out this statement. He put it on paper. The magistrate asked him, "Well, is this statement true?" He said, "Yes, sir." "Well, is this statement made on hearsay or founded upon your own evidence, are you an eyewitness?" He said, "Yes, sir, I am an eyewitness. This is not based on hearsay." "You are an eyewitness that at the time mentioned on the paper and at the place mentioned on the paper, there was not a single human being present?" He said, "Yes." "What are you? Are you a human being or not?" He said, "Yes, I am a human being." "Well, then, if this statement is true according to you, it must be wrong according to us, because, as you were present and you are a human being, the statement that there was not a single human being present is not literally true. You were present there. In order that this statement may be true according to you, it must be false according to us, because in order that there might be nobody, there must be somebody, must be some body, must be at least yourself, present at the time."
So when you wake up after enjoying the deep sleep state and make this remark, "I did not see anything in the dream;" well, we may say that you must have been present; there was no father, no mother, no husband, no wife, no house, no river, no family present in that state, but you must have been present; the very evidence that you give, the very witness that you bear proves that you did not sleep, that you did not go to sleep, for had you been asleep, who would have told us about the nothingness of that? You are something beyond the intellect; the intellect was asleep, the brain was at rest in a way, but you were not asleep. If you had been asleep, who would have made the blood run through the blood-vessels, who would have continued the process of digestion in the stomach? Who would have continued the process of the growth of your body, if you had really fallen into the deep sleep state? So you are something which is never asleep. The intellect sleeps, but not you. "I am something beyond the intellect, mind and body."
Now the boy said, "Sir, sir, I have understood it so far, and have come to know that I am a power Divine, that I am the Infinite power which never sleeps, never changes. In my youth, the body is different, in my childhood the mind was not the same as I have now, the body was not the same as I have now. In my childhood, my intellect, brain, body and mind were entirely different from what they are now." Doctors tell us that after seven years, the whole system undergoes a thorough change; every moment the body is changing, and every second the mind is changing, and the mental thoughts, the mental ideas which you entertained in your childhood, where are they now? In the days of childhood you looked upon the Sun as a beautiful cake which was eaten by the angels, the Moon was a beautiful piece of silver; the stars were as big as diamonds. Where are these ideas gone? The mind of yours, the intellect of yours has undergone a thorough, a whole-sale change. But you still say, "When I was a child, when I was a boy, when I shall grow up to the age of seventy." You still make such remark which show that you are something which was the same in childhood, which was the same in boyhood, which will be the same at the age of seventy. When you say, "I went to sleep, I went into the deep sleep state, etc,"; when you make remarks of that kind, it shows that there is the true ‘I’ in you, the real Self in you, which remains the same in the dreamland, which remains the same in the deep sleep state, which remains the same in the wakeful state. There is something within you which remains the same when you are in a swoon, which remains the same when you are bathing, when you are writing. Just think, reflect, just mark, please. Are you not something which remains the same under all circumstances, unchanging in its being, the same yesterday, today and for ever? If so, just reflect a little more, think a little more and you will be immediately brought face to face with God. You know the promise was, know your-self, put down your right address on paper, and God will be introduced to you immediately.
Now the boy, the prince, expected that as he knew about himself, he had come to know that he was something unchanging, something constant, something which was never asleep; so he wanted to know what God is. The prince was asked; "Brother, mark, here are these trees growing. Is the power that makes this tree grow different from the power that makes that tree grow?" He said, "No, no, it must be the same power certainly." "Now, is the power which makes all these trees grow different from the power that makes the bodies of animals grow?" He said, "No, No, it cannot be different, it must be the same." Now is the power, the force which makes the stars move, different from the power which makes these rivers flow? He said, "It cannot be different, it must be the same."
Well, now the power that makes these trees grow cannot be different from the power which makes your body grow, it cannot be different from the power which makes your hair grow. The same universal power of nature, the same universal Divinity or the Unknowable, which makes the stars shine, makes your eyes twinkle, the same power which is the cause of the growth of that body’s hair which you call mine, the same power makes the blood course through the veins of each and all. Indeed, and then what are you? Are you not that power which makes your hair grow, which makes your blood flow through your veins, which makes your food get digested? Are you not that power? That power which is beyond the intellect, the mind, indeed you are. If so, you are the same power which is governing the force of the whole Universe, you are the same Divinity, you are the same God, the same Unknowable, the same energy, force, substance anything you may call it, the same Divinity, the All which is present everywhere. The same, the same you are.
The boy was astonished and he said, "Really, really, I wanted to know God. I put the question what God is, and I find my own Self, my true Atman is God. What was I asking, what did I ask, what a silly question did I put! I had to know myself. I had to know what I am, and God was known." Thus was God known.
The only difficulty in the way of realizing this truth is that people play the part of children. You know, children sometimes take a fancy to a particular kind of plate and do not want to eat anything except when it is served to them in the plates which have their fancy. They will say, "I will eat in my plate, I will eat in my dish, I won’t have anything in any other plate." O children! see, it is not this particular plate alone which is yours; all the plates in the house are yours; all the golden dishes are yours. This is a mistake. If the people in this world know themselves, they will find the true Self to be God Almighty, to be the Infinite Power, but they have taken a fancy for this particular plate, this head, this brain. "What is done through this brain only, that is done by me. What is done through this mind or intellect, that is mine, and all else I won’t have; all else I disclaim. I will have only that which is served to me in this particular plate." Herein comes selfishness. They want to get everything done through this plate and to take credit for this plate, they want to have everything accumulated around this little plate, which they call particularly theirs, that with which they have identified themselves. This is the cause of all selfishness, all anxiety and misery. Get rid of this false notion; realize your true Self to be the All; rise above this selfish egoism, you are happy this moment, one with the whole universe you are. This is a mistake of the same character as that which the prince made. The prince was put a catch question. "Where is your place?" And he named the metropolis of the state. "That is my place." O boy, that metropolis of the state is not the only place you have got. The whole state, the whole country is yours. You live in that metropolis, that capital of the state, while that capital is not the only place that is yours, the whole state is yours, this magnificent landscape, these fairy scenes, this grand Himalayan scenery, all this belongs to you, and not only that particular small town.
This is the mistake made by the people. This intellect or brain may be called the metropolis or the capital of your real Self, the Atman. You have no right to claim this to yourself and deny everything else; this little metropolis of the brain, this metropolis of the mind or intellect is not the only place you have got. The wide world, the moons, the earths the planets, the milkyways, all these are yours. Realize that. Just regain your birthright; and all anxiety, all misery ceases.
People talk about freedom; people talk about salvation. What is it that has bound you first? If you want to be free, if you want to get salvation, you ought to know what is the cause of your bondage. It is just like a monkey in the fable. A monkey is caught in India in a very queer manner. A narrow-necked basin is fixed in the ground, and in that basin are put some nuts and other eatables which the monkeys like. The monkeys come up and thrust their hands into the narrow-necked basin and fill their hands with the nuts. The fist becomes thick, and it cannot be taken out. There the monkey is caught; he cannot come out. Queerly, strangely he is caught.
We ask what it is that binds you first. You yourself have brought you under thraldom and bondage. Here is the whole wide world, a grand magnificent forest; and in this grand magnificent wood of the whole universe, there is a narrow-necked vessel found. What is that narrow-necked vessel? It is your brain; this little brain, narrow-necked. Herein are some nuts and people have got hold of these nuts and all what is done through the agency of this brain or through the medium of this intellect, is owned as one’s own. "I am the mind," is what everybody says; everybody has practically identified himself with the mind, "I am the mind," "I am the intellect," and he takes a strong grip of these nuts of this narrow-necked vessel. That is what makes you slave, that is what makes you slave to anxiety, slave to fear, slave to temptations, slave to all sorts of troubles. That is what binds you; that is the cause of all the sufferings in this world. If you want salvation, if you want freedom only let go the hold, free your hand. The whole forest is yours, you can jump from tree to tree and eat all the nuts and eat all the walnuts and all the fruits in the wood, all being yours. The whole world is yours; just get rid of this selfish ignorance and you are free, you are your own saviour.
Making a famine where abundance lies,(is it fair? No, it is not fair, it is not becoming.)Making a famine where abundance lies,This thy foe, to thy sweet self so cruel,Should not be so, should not do this,Within thine own but buriest thou content,Thou makest waste and niggarding.Be not niggardly, be not miserly.
It is niggardliness to give away all this property and confine thyself unto the few things in this little brain only.
You will see that this brain of yours will become of infinite power if you realize your oneness with the All. That is what puts you in perfect harmony with the whole world.
Oh, we can wait no longer,We too take ship, O soul, (Here the word ‘soul’ means intellect)Joyous we too launch out on trackless seasFearless for unknown shores on waves of ecstasy to sail.Amid the wafting winds, (thou pressing me to thee, I thee to me, O Soul).Carolling free, singing our song of God,Chanting our chant of pleasant explorationWith laugh and many a kiss,(Let others deprecate, let others weep for sin, remorse, humiliation)O soul, thou pleasest me, I thee.Ah, more than any priest, O soul, we too believe in God,But with the mystery of God we dare not dally.O soul, thou pleasest me, I thee.Sailing these seas or on the hills, or waking in the night,Thoughts, silent thoughts of Time and Space and Death, like waters flowing,Bear me indeed as through the regions infinite,Whose air I breathe, whose ripples hear, leave me all over,Bathe me, O God, in thee, mounting to theeI and my soul to range in range of theeO thou transcendent,Nameless, the fibre and the breath.Light of the lights, shedding forth universes, thou centre of them,Thou mightier centre of the true, the good, the lovingThou moral, spiritual fountain-affection’s source thou reservoir,(O pensive soul of me—O thirst unsatisfied-waitest not there?Waitest not happy for us somewhere there the Comrade perfect?)Thou pulse—thou motive of the stars, suns, systems,That, circling, move in order, safe, harmonious,Athwart the shapeless vastnesses of space,How should I think, how breathe a single breath, how speak, if, out of myself,I could not launch to those superior universes?Swiftly I shrivel at the thought of God,At Nature and its wonders, Time and Space and DeathBut that I, turning, call to thee, O soul, thou actual me,And lo, thou gently masterest the orbs,Thou matest Time, smilest content at Death,And fillest, swellest full the vastnesses of Space.Greater than stars or sunsBounding, O soul, thou journeyest forth;What love other than thine and ours could wider amplify?What aspirations, wishes, outvie thine and ours, O soul?What dreams of the ideal? What plans of purity, perfection, strength?What cheerful willingness for others’ sake to give up all?For others’ sake to suffer all?Reckoning ahead, O soul, when thou, the time achiev’dThe seas all cross’d, weather’d the capes, the voyage done,Surrounded, copest, frontest God, yieldest the aim attain’d,As fill’d with friendship, love complete, the Elder Brother found,The Younger melts in fondness in his arms.
Sail on, march on to the real Self; get rid of all this superstition, this superstition of the body. Get rid of this hypnotism of this little body; you have hypnotized your-self into this brain or body. Get rid of that, sail on, march on to the eternity, the reality, the true Self; passage to more than India.
Passage to more than India!Are thy wings plumed indeed for such far flights?O soul, voyagest thou indeed on voyages like those?Disportest thou on waters such as those?Soundest below the Sanskrit and the Vedas?Then have thy bent unleas’d.Passage to you, you shores, ye aged fierce enigmas!Passage to you, to mastership of you, ye strangling problemsYou, strew’d with the wrecks of skeletons, that, living, never reached you.Passage to more than India!O Secret of the earth and sky!Of you, O waters of the sea! O winding creeks and rivers!Of you, O woods and fields! of you strong mountains of my land!Of you, O Prairies! of you, gray rocks!O morning red! O clouds! O rain, snows!O day and night, passage to you!
Rise above the body, and you become all these, you get a passage unto all these. All these you realize yourself to be.
O Sun and Moon and all stars! Sirius and Jupiter!Passage to you!Passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins!Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!Cut the hawsers-haul out-shake out every sail!Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?Have we not grovel’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?Sail forth-steer for the deep waters only,Reckless O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me,For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to goAnd we will risk the ship, ourselves and allO my brave soul!O farther, farther sail!O daring joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God?O farther, father sail!
Om! Om!! Om!!! Courtesy: http://www.ramatirtha.org/vol1/realself.htm

Our Real Nature : by Swami Vivekananda

This lecture on Jnana Yoga was delivered by Swami Vivekananda in London on June 21, 1896

The Search for Reality and Happiness
Great is the tenacity with which people cling to the senses. Yet, however substantial they may think the external world in which they live and move, there comes a time in the lives of individuals and of races when, involuntarily, they ask, "Is this real?" To those who never find a moment to question the credentials of their senses, whose every moment is occupied with some sort of sense-enjoyment--even to them death comes, and they also are compelled to ask, "Is this real?" Religion begins with this question and ends with its answer. Even in the remote past, where recorded history cannot help us, in the mysterious light of mythology, back in the dim twilight of civilization, we find the same question was asked, "What becomes of this? What is real?" (Courtesy) Read more : http://www.vivekananda.org/