[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 9

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

51| ākarṇya śaṅkaramunervacanaṁ taditthamadvaitadarśanasamutthamupāttaharṣaḥ |
sa prāha śaṅkara sa śaṅkara eva sākṣājjātastvamittyahamavaimi samādhidṛṣṭyā ||100||

51. Having heard the words of Śaṅkara Muni which fully explained Advaita 
philosophy, he [i.e. Govinda] became overjoyed and said, “Śaṅkara is truly 
Śaṅkara [i.e. Śiva]. I know you have taken this form for the relief of the 
world from my yogic insight.”(100)

52| tasyopadarśitavataścaraṇau guhāyā dvāre nyapūjayadupetya sa śaṅkarāryaḥ |
ācāra ityupadideśa sa tatra tasmai govindapādaguruve sa gururmunīnām ||101||

52. He extended his foot from the cave and it was worshipped by the noble 
Śaṅkara. By his conduct he demonstrated “You Govindapāda are my guru.”(101)

53| śaṅkaraḥ savinayairupacāraiḥ abhyatoṣayadasau gurumenam |
brahma tadviditamapyupalipsuḥ sampradāyaparipālanabuddhyā ||102||

53. Then Śaṅkara with reverence told his guru that he wished to know 
Brahman and requested that he teach him with the aim of protecting the 
sampradāya.(102)

(If Śaṅkara is the incarnation of Śiva Bhagavān, and already celebrated by the 
greatest scholars as one who knows all śāstras, why did he even need a guru? 
All over puṇya Bhārata and throughout her history, there have been jñānis but 
most of them never recollect their experiences or tell them to anyone in a 
formal way so remain unknown beyond perhaps a few neighbouring villages if 
even that and eventually they fade from memory altogether.  But the jagadguru 
considering all beings as his own self does all he does is not only for his 
own self-interest but for the welfare of all.  So he teaches the experience of 
Brahman systematically to disciple so who teach their own disciples and so on 
so that the path to mukti will be clear, accurate and accessible to all beings 
for all time.  This is the sampradāya.  Govindācharya learned brahmavidyā from 
Gauḍapādācharya and he through Śhukadevaji through Veda Vyāsa through Parāśara 
through Śakti through Vasiśṭha through Brahmā all the way to Śri Nārāyaṇa 
Himself.  That Govindācharya taught Śaṅkarācharya who placed four disciples, 
Padmapadācharya, Hastamālakācharya, Toṭakācharya and Sureśvarācharya at the 
head of four maṭhas in the four corners of the land.  From this holy 
sampradāya have issued a constant stream of teachers until today. Even writing 
this now I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this priceless gift I have been 
given.  Let us in term take up with enthusiasm this sampradāya and pass it on 
to our descendents for many generations to come.)

54| bhaktipūrvakṛtatatparicaryātoṣitoadhikataraṁ yativaryaḥ |
brahmatāmupadideśa caturbhiḥ vedaśekharavacobhiramuṣmai ||103||

54. Extremely pleased by the faith-filled service offered by his disciple, 
the revered monk taught him Brahman by explaining the four pinnacles of 
the Vedas to him.(103)

(The highest teaching of the Vedas are the four mahāvākyas: prajñānaṁ brahma 
"Brahman is pure consciousness", ahaṁ brahmāsmi "I am Brahman", tattvamasi 
"You are That", and ayamātma brahma "This self is Brahman" from the ṛk, yajuḥ, 
sāma, and atharva vedas respectively.)

55| sāmpradāyikaparāśaraputraproktasūtramatagatyanurodhāt |
śāstraguḍhahṛdayaṁ hi dayāloḥ kṛtsnamapyayamabuddha subuddhiḥ ||104||

55. In the sāmpradāyika manner, the merciful one [i.e. Govinda] taught as 
requested the meaning of the sūtras written by the son of Parāśara [i.e. 
Veda Vyāsa] along with the subtle heart of the śāstra to the wisest of the 
wise [i.e. Śaṅkara.](104)

(The proper guru is both śrotrīya -- learned in the texts and philosophy of 
the śāstras and also brahmaniśṭha -- established in Brahman and capable of 
describing its subtleties through his own experience.)

56| so'dhigamya caramāśramāryaḥ pūrvapuṇyanicayairadhigamyam |
sthānamarcyamapi haṁsapurogaiḥ unnataṁ dhruva ivaitya cakāśe ||107||

56. Thus the noble one [i.e.  Śaṅkara] entered the final āśrama which is 
only attainable by great puṇya in former lives. In this state he, to great 
acclaim, led all the [parama]haṁsa’s as if he were Dhruva shining.(107)

(Śaṅkarācharya had already mentally and then physically renounced the world 
and its phenomena.  He had already left the attachments of home and family. 
He had already adopted the symbols such as staff and robes.  But it is only 
after receiving the mahāvākya upadeśa from his guru could he well and truly 
said to be a member of the fourth āśrama i.e. a saṁnyāsi.  Dhruva is the pole 
star.  All the other stars in the sky appear to revolve around it.  So too, 
all the great ascetics have chosen Śaṅkarācharya as their guide.  Of the many 
varieties of saṁnyāsis, the paramahaṁsa is the strictest and only the 
paramahaṁsa is capable of jivanmukti or liberation in this lifetime.)


-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>