Comments on: The Life and Teachings of Adi Shankaracharya, by Mahendra Mathur

By: Manjunatha H S

Manjunatha H S — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:50:45 +0000

Respected Sir,

I would like to know the teachings of Adishankara. Let me know if there is any book which is very simple to understand the same.

Also, would like to know the difference between Advaita siddanta and Dwaita siddanta.

Warm Regards,
Manjunatha

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 22:21:15 +0000

According to the Hindu Philosophy as revealed in the Gita and exposed byAdi Shankara and Ramana Maharishi the soul (jivatma) is not created but has always been present and is beginningless. And there is no difference between God (parmatma) and the soul. Through self-realization each of us can become conscious of this spiritual truth. Perhaps you may find my explanation inadequate. But the paths of Works, Knowledgem and Devotion as enunciated in the Gita can lead you to that realization. May Lord Shiva’s blessings be on you in your endeavour

By: jeyaramam

jeyaramam — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:18:59 +0000

Dear Sir
I’m unclear as to how the soul of an individual is not considered a creation of God but as God itself. How does the created become the Source of creation itself? Thanks.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:08:04 +0000

You and your son are both very lucky in naming your son Advait. As Adi Shankara described it, advaita is a complete essential identity between Brahman and Atman.Our goal is in realizing that the Self in us is the same Self in everything and being. This realization of the divine nature of man, individually experienced, each for himself, is the only method by which we can be liberated from the bondages of intellectual restlessness, mental agitations and physical cravings. Every time you utter his name and he hears his name you will be reminded of your lofty goal.
Advaita, the teaching of nonduality, has now become best known through the nondual spiritual teachings of Ramana Maharshi. He taught that self-realization, or the realization of the oneness of who we are, is not some distant goal that only a few can attain. The Self is that which is always and already present, that which doesn’t come and go. The love, peace, and happiness we have all been seeking is already here and is, in fact, who we are. Through simple self-inquiry, we can awaken from the dream of a separate self to the reality of Oneness, to the spiritual truth of who we are as nondual consciousness.
May Lord Shiva’s blessings be on you in your spiritual journey.

By: MKSIYER

MKSIYER — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:11:25 +0000

After 9 years of my married life I am bless with a boy baby and on 30th april and named him as ‘ADVAIT’ as liked the name. After that I started findling out what it means and its legacy. Thanks to the technology I could get into lot of blogs which literally confused me with very little understanding on ADVAITA. Infact there were blogs where people have gone to the extent of saying you believing in you as god is as good as the principles of an athist. After that for a while I stopped looking into these details and also was little buzy in my job routines.

After going through your earlier responses, I gained some confidence that you could give me explanation on What is Advaitam, How it helps in one attain a stage where he comes out his ego and evils, and in simple terms How it can give a peace of mind in this Politcally, technologically socially spoiled environment.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:19:59 +0000

Your and my thanks should really go to the Gita which teaches that the body is to be used for selfless service (karma yoga); the heart is to be used for devotion (bhakti yoga); and the mind is to be used for discernment (jnana yoga). May we all get strength to remain on this path.

By: Hima

Hima — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:00:12 +0000

thanks for your imputs- really cherish it and will try to follow it to the best! thanks again!

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:47:56 +0000

Do works - whatever your duty - without clinging with the mind to the objects of sense and the fruit of works. Accepting results of your actions as prasad from God is the first step towards perfection. When your mind thus becomes free, medtation will become easier. Persevere on this path, trust the teachings of the Gita and Shankara, and you will succeed

By: Hima

Hima — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:29:54 +0000

How does one get in the path of works? In these days with the responsibilities of the hectic life we have, taking care of my little ones, my home, my family takes up most of my time….am just trying to do all this consciously…trying to be aware most of time, rather than try to do seva outside and get stressed out with the lack of time for my duty….i dont know..i dont think am there yet, i still have to try to learn how to meditate…i tried couple times, but its not like anything i read about it.
Please let me know ur inputs.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:22:08 +0000

Dear Hima,
It is wonderful to read your great comment. The path of philosophy and devotion that you have chosen hasalready taken you to Self- realization. Might I add that at this stage it would be fantastic if you can also get into the path of works, if you are not already there. With ego subdued and results dedicated to God you will truly be working for the good of the world. I always regret that Sri Aurobindo declined to return to active politics in 1927 because he had gone too far into spirituality and seclusion by then. It would have made all the difference to an India marching towards freedom which then was lead by a person who himself wrote “I am Hindu by birth, Muslim by culture and Englishman by education”! The renunciation of works by spiritual yogis is regrettable while renouncing results of the works is a completely different matter and is to be done.

By: Hima

Hima — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:30:03 +0000

I read a bit of your notes above, very interesting…i too believe in God, both through rituals and philosophy, amazed by Adi Shankaracharya’s teachings that we are all pure consciousness, eternak knowing and bliss…i dont think he ever meant to differentiate between people, atleast i have not read that part…from the modern days i read a lot of Eckhart Tolle, in fact his “A new earth” that I must have read multiple times, is almost my daily reading and every time i read some passages, I learn more, wonder more! I also follow the teachings of a) Brahmakumari, sp the show with Sister Shivani has opened up new doors for me, helped me deal with day to day issues that life brings forth and be soul conscious rather than body conscious, b) Sr Sri Ravishankar’s teachings c) Swami Yogananda’s life and thoughts d) Khalil Gibraan’s observations and teachings, e) several more from the south east……all of them say the same things….we are soul/atman not the body… that to live life with the form/body with this understanding is pure joy and bliss. Even when we take the route of Bhakti…complete surrender to the supreme, or soul is the same thing……i think we need to choose the path that suits us the most. A mixture of Philosophy and devotion is helping me a lot. I believe in God, in Vishnu/Ram/Balaji and Shiva, the Devis- reading the teachings of evolved ones has helped me connect better with my God during the rituals, to concentrate, to try to meditate for a few seconds in total devotion/ complete surrender, as also helped me go through this life with the knowledge that the form as know ourselves is fleeting, what is mine/what is yours does not matter, attachment/possessions do not matter, we are the soul, the atman that lives forever!
Please review and let me know your thoughts…

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:35:19 +0000

Dear Sister Parvati,
You have done it all if you have done diety worship.Many have found salvation by just this method.Goswami Tulsidas emphasized this path and he spent many years living blissfully as a wandering saint, still immersed in thoghts of Lord Ram, till he died at the age of 91.
Mahava helps you to a new ’spiritual life’ that allows you to live life from your passion and rekindled excitement in order to accomplish new and great things. On the ther hand Swami Vivekanand preached renunciation and service to others. But Adi Shankaracharya taught that highest good of man is Self-realization which is total liberation of the mortal individuality from all its physical mental and intellectual entanglements.
An idol is just a symbol, a form with which mind can ne connected and concentrated upon. If there is suffiecient devotion in the heart of a devotee, God responds.It is a very simple way of uninhibited declaration of man’s faith in God. Ultimately devotion, wisdom and right actions, all lead towards the goal of self-realization.

By: parvati

parvati — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:55:29 +0000

Dear brother
I am novice to hinduism in the sense i have done nothing but diety worship and have no knowledge of scriptures.i read one of swami Vivekanandas books and got interested. Would you have any knowledge on the difference in theory by shankar, mahava and swami vivekanand. How are they diffrent. Sorry to bother you all with such simple questions
Also i want to know that if our books are very clear about Bhraman, why do we do idol worship?

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Dear Sudhakarji,
One answer could be that outsiders were considered Shudras at that time. Sruti (Upanisads and Vedas) were mainly in Sanskrit at the time of Sankara. So getting the knowledge of Srutis also needed getting training in the Sanskrit language. It was a doubly difficult job (learning Sanskrit and the Srutis) to be able to learn Upanisads — not easy for any outsider, suddenly dropping in to learn the Vedas immediately. It would need decades of work and commitment. Even though many people (e.g. the outsiders) might get involved in such venture initially, but only half-heartedly and not fully-prepared to complete the job. These days it is much easier for Shudras like me to attempt to study Upanishads. So I disregard Shankara’s words on Shudras, rejoice in his teachings and consider myself a staunch Hindu and follower of Shankaracharya.

By: Sudhakar Sardar

Sudhakar Sardar — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:29:22 +0000

Dear Mathurji,
The greatest blot on Hinduism is casteism which was strongly supported by Sankaracharya. Like Manu, the most notorious defiler of Hinduism, Sankaracharya also recognized the slavery of the Shudras and proscribed reading or learning or even listening to it by the Shudras. Similar prescription was meant for the women. The self-contradictory nature of his teaching is that he admits the presence of the Brahaman in every being while denying so in the Shudras. Intellectually he may be clever in providing one counter-philosophy against Buddhism and tame its spread in India. But it is not quite encouraging for the Shudras to consider themselves as Hindu or as the followers of Sankaracharya.

By: SATYA BRATA RATH

SATYA BRATA RATH — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:18:32 +0000

Liberating the human being from the clutches of ignorance.

By: N. VELMURUGAN

N. VELMURUGAN — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:50:08 +0000

good work

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:34:17 +0000

Soul does not pay for karmas - the ego does. Man possesses a double nature, a phenomenal ego and an eternal Self, which is the inner man, the spirit, the spark of divinity within the soul. It is possible for a man, if he so desires, to identify himself with the spirit. The ego does the good and bad karmas and experiences their results.

By: geeta

geeta — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:46:04 +0000

If the soul is only the other bird watching but not tasting the fruits then why does the soul have to pay for the karmas of the body,mind and intellect, over whose action it has no control? If there are no good or bad souls why are there good and bad karmas and good or bad effects of karmas.

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:15:46 +0000

Namaste Dinesh,
I can hardly qualify to be a Guru. In fact you are more of a guru to me in the sense that your questions make me think on the points raised by you and clarify my own convictions.
In answer to your first two questions I understand that Maya denotes divine veil and it has no absolute existence.
Next three questions may be answered thus: This finite, mortal, ever-changing world that we see around us is born out of Maya alone. Due to non-apprehension of Reality man recognizes the world of objects, emotions and thoughts. Through the body, mind and intellect (one might call it ego) man gains for himself the sense of a separate individuality. This avidya of all individuals put together is called Maya. God is cause of it and the world the effect. Maya is also called a delusion. By realization of the pure non-dual Brahma, Maya can be destroyed. Yes, I do believe that the process is unbroken by death and birth.
Your next question is exactly right. Body/mind/intellect complex create more and more vasanas which lead to avidya and then on to suffering. When I think rightly - and I have to constantly remind myself of the Self - all misery ends.
Certainly selfishness, jealousy, envy and greed are embedded only in body, mind and intellect and can be removed by right knowledge and endeavour - I can vouch for it. The soul is like the other bird watching but not tasting the fruits.
No, there are no good or bad souls. Soul - atma - is same as Brahma. In fact, I remember reading words of Adi Shankaracharya somewhwre that any soul can become self-realized by knowledge and wisdom alone!
I am aware that this note may raise more questions than give answers. What I have written is what I believe and it may be in variance with established theories. But it works for me. You are free to decide what works for you and reject what you think to be bunkum.

By: c.dinesh kumar

c.dinesh kumar — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 03:42:59 +0000

namaste guruji,
i am seeking knowledge and hence love to address you as a teacher.

Is not looking at maya seprate from myself, trying to create a dualstic approach, a conflict?

While maya is a creation of the creator himself.Is it not neccesary to accept maya as a reason for my material existance and use it to realise the greater myself?

If the mind and body works out of habits, from your quote, i realise that the same mind and body can be used to possitive effect by creating habits that can produce more love and lead me away from my ego center.

Is the ego my intellect? a part of my body acquired from genetic continuation or is it some spiritual continuation? Is my ego on some kind of a spiritual journey from restlessness to rest spiritually.

Or is it subject to the nueral scheme i recieve in each birth?

Do i have to defeat the choices of my body /mind complex to realise my self?

Where are the seeds of selfishness, jealosy,envy,greed embedded? are they in the body or in the soul?

Is there something as good souls and bad souls?

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:44:41 +0000

Namaste Dinesh,
Th e answer is in your own comment. It is only by the habits created by your mind and body that you remain immersed in Maya. You can yourself change your habits by constantly reminding yourself that the Maya is separate from your Self. The Self only witnesses what your ego experiences. By regular meditation and constant reflection on your real Self, and by Lord Shiva’ blessings you will succeed in your endeavours.

By: c.dinesh kumar

c.dinesh kumar — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:38:41 +0000

thanks sir,
it is considerably clear.
Please help me get an answer to one of my confusions.
I sincerely believe in the lila concept, and also believe i am god myself playing lila, is not the manifestation of maya important for the original concept of lila itself. Is it not right to engage in maya without being attached to it, just for the sake of engagement, as may be what god intended it to be like. The lila.
I begin to realise that my mind a part of my body is trained to work out of habits, while engaging in maya there is a tendency from the mind to re-engage , is that some kind of a trap set by the creator, to keep the maya alive?

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:57:03 +0000

You may like to read the article ‘The Bhagavad Gita Part 2: The Seeker and the Sought, by Mahendra Mathur’ published in Tattva magzine on line on thursday, November 1st, 2007. Should you have difficulty in accessing it please do not hesitate to contact me directly at mmathur@tstt.net.tt
I shall be very happy to send you this - and other articles on the Gita and Great Gurus. Wishing you all the best in your spiritual journey.

By: Asha Prasanna

Asha Prasanna — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:24:09 +0000

Dear sir,
You explanation is very much good please send me any of your articles which is in simple English to understand better. (I am Civil engineer by profession not able to understand depth of English)

thanks
asha

By: Mahendra

Mahendra — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:46:17 +0000

The whole Hindudom is yearning for reincarnation of Sankara, till such time that happens we should endeavour to take the messages of Swamis like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Chidanand Saraswati to the masses.

By: trss

trss — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:42:30 +0000

I completely go with Vishwanath’s view. Especially after reading blogs like http://aimlessandabstract.blogspot.com/ by my intelligent friend! Many girls today think this way I guess. It probably really became a very male dominated society and stuff but I don’t see abandoning our religion as a solution. I really pray for divine guidance for the world including me. Yearning to see the wonderful society and culture that was in place before all this so called ‘advancement’.

By: Vishwanath

Vishwanath — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:15:24 +0000

I always feel that an Atman like Adi Sankara should be reborn again in today’s times to revive the Dharma which is again showing signs of a decline and to also be a guiding light to help us resolve all the conflicts we have in our minds regarding the problems we have in our daily life.

By: Thiyagu

Thiyagu — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:36:34 +0000

A person like a man not ever seen in the world.

By: p.thambidurai

p.thambidurai — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:32:05 +0000

He is great man.

By: Mahendra Mathur

Mahendra Mathur — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:11:23 +0000

Swami Shivananda used the terms mentioned by Ju, while explaining Shankara’s philosophy as follows:
The world is relatively real (Vyavaharika Satta), while Brahman is absolutely real (Paramarthika Satta).

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By: Ju

Ju — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:16:04 +0000

Does Shankara himself use the terms ‘Vyavaharika Satta’ and ‘Paramarthika Satta’? - if so, can someone please tell me somewhere in his writings I can find these terms. Thank you.

By: Mahendra Mathur

Mahendra Mathur — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:08:24 +0000

Thank you for the great query about the exact methodology suggested by Shankara for self-realization.
For the follower of Shankara the highest good of man’s existence is nothing more or less than the realization of identity with Brahman. Only the sense of “I”-ness identified with the body, and ‘mine’-ness identified with its surroundings, stand between man and the happinesss of that realization.
Brahman can be realized only through perfect knowledge or wisdom. Shankara did not lay down a methodology for attaining self-realization. But, amazingly, it (self-realization) sounds easy, simple and doable once you imbibe his philosophy which has been condensed in the passages that follow.
This finite, mortal, ever-changing world that we see around us, is born out of Maya alone. Due to the non-apprehension of Reality, Man recognizes the world of objects, emotions and thoughts. Through the body, mind and intellect he contacts the world and creates more and more vasanas. These vasanas make one act more and more, and in the end, man becomes co-cooned in them and gets permanently for himself the sense of a separate individuality. All these are created by non-apprehension of Reality. The supreme Reality functioning through Maya is called Ishwar or God.
The wise man should discriminate between the Self and the not-Self in order to remove the bondage and dock himself in everlasting happiness. Thereafter there is no strife, no stress and no strain for him.
Very few in the world know what joy is. All that we know is either sorrow or a slight absence of it; either pain or absence of it. Real joy is nothing but the experience of Brahman. Real homogenous Bliss is the nature of Brahman. We do not experience that. At best we experience only a relative absence of agitations.
It is not the Self, the pure Consciousness, which functions as I, but it is the reflection, otherwise called ego which functions as ‘I-I-I’ at all moments of the waking and dreaming states of our expression. By fully realizing the Self, which is Knowledge Absolute, which is the cause of everything; which is distinct from the gross and subtle, which is Eternal and Omnipresent, All-pervading and supremely subtle, which is without exterior or interior, which is the one Self; one becomes free from sin, blemish, death and grief and becomes ocean of Bliss.
He who gets away from the bonds of vasanas is the liberated one. ‘I am not this assemblage of equipments. I am That, the consciousness, the Witness of equipments and their function’. This idea should be kept alive during the entire period of our waking state.
Through continuous involvement in the contemplation of Brahman, the realized man eliminates vasanas, thoughts and actions.
Man perfected is the free spirit. His reason is turned to light, his heart into love, and his will into service. His demeanour is disciplined and his singleness of spirit is established. Ignorance and craving have lost their hold. He is dead to pride, envy and uncharitableness. The world in which he lives is no more alien to him. This free spirit reaches out towards the warmth in all things. He has that rarest quality in the world, simple goodness, besides which all the intellectual gifts seem a little trivial. He is meek, patient, long suffering. He does not judge others because he does not pretend to understand them. Because of his eager selfless love he has the power to soothe the troubled heart.
The released individual is artist in creative living. With an awareness of the Eternal, he participates in the work of the world. Like one sleepy or like a baby, he perceives the world as one seen in a dream and recognizes it only now and then. The Sanyasi, in whom the sense objects channeled by others are received like flowing rivers into the ocean producing no change because of his absorption in Existence Absolute, is truly liberated.
The man of Realization has to go through the tragedies and comedies of life. He cannot avoid them. But in and through them, he never loses sight of the idea that the objects, emotions and thoughts are, in reality, nothing but Brahman.
In the unbroken Knowledge, the Absolute, the Atman dualistic conceptions are like castles in the air. Therefore, attaining supreme Peace live in silence, identifying yourself with the non-dual Bliss Absolute. Whether going or staying, sitting or lying down, or in any other state, the enlightened sage whose sole pleasure is in Atman, lives ever at ease.
Ever enjoying the Blissful state of wisdom the realized man lives, sometimes a fool, sometimes a sage, sometimes with royal grandeur; sometimes roaming, sometimes like a motionless python; sometimes with a benignant expression, sometimes respected, sometimes insulted and sometimes unknown.
He does not direct the sense organs to their objects, nor does he detach them from these, but he remains like an indifferent onlooker. His mind being drunk with ‘wine’ of bliss of the Self, he holds not the least regard for the fruits of action. He is Siva himself, the best among the knowers of Brahman.
Just as an actor, whether he wears the dress of his role or not, is always a man, so too, the perfect knower of Brahman is always Brahman and nothing else. When a pot is broken the pot-space becomes the limitless space, so too, when the conditionings are destroyed, the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Itself.
Liberation is not an occasion for glorification. That is your Real Nature. All that you say is, ‘What a fool I was! I never knew my own nature.’ There is nothing to be realized. You are that. This is the supreme Truth – at the moment of Realization to be realized.
The final result of such a spiritual Self rediscovery is a total liberation of the mortal individuality from all its physical mental and intellectual entanglements. This is called Liberation, Self-Realisation or God Realisation.

By: Dr. Sandip Patel

Dr. Sandip Patel — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:22:31 +0000

Dear Colonel Mathur,

I loved your article at http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/11/adi-shankaracharya/ on Adi Shankaracharya. I wanted to find the exact methodology suggested by Shankaracharya to find the real self. Franklin Merrell-Wolff used and achieved self-realization using Shankaracharya’s methodology but does not provide any details in his book Pathways Through to Space.
http://www.om-guru.com/html/saints/wolff.html

Best Regards,

Sandip Patel, Ph.D.

By: Balu

Balu — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:24:34 +0000

Note that as per the original records kept in kanchi, badrinath, puri, etc. Adi Shankaracharya’s date is considered 509 BCE and not 788 CE or or 800 CE. The British have played havoc with our dates. Rest of the article has presented a nice summary. :-)

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