SHANKARA JAYANTHI

Guru charanam, bhaja charanam,
Satguru charanam, bhava haranam.
Maanasa bhajare, guru charanam,
Dustara bhava saagara taranam.
Guru maharaaj guru jaya jaya,
Para brahma satguru jaya jaya
RELIGION IS realisation; it is not mere learning—this is the divine message which stands
deeply in the minds of every Hindu. This is not a mere fancy. This is not a mental conception. This
is not a stretch of imagination. It is not a coinage of the brain. Nor is it a decision arrived at by
vehement vituperation and incongruent argumentation promulgated by an ordinary intellectual
prodigy.
This is the assertion of Shankara, India’s greatest philosopher-saint, the incarnation of Lord
Shiva, reverently known as Srimath Adi Shankaracharya.
What can we take him for except the Lord Himself, who proclaims authoritatively and
undauntedly: “I am the Self of all; I am the all; I am transcendent; I am one without a second; I am
the Absolute; I am the infinite Consciousness; I am homogeneous bliss”.
Shankara is our Vedanta Guru. He was God incarnate. He was born at a time when Indian
thought and culture were decaying; when they underwent sore distraction; when ethical glory and
the widespread influence of the Buddhistic cult was gradually dying; when there was complete
chaos and confusion; when innumerable sects sprang up and, with their own individual doctrines,
confounded the masses; when evil social influences and blind superstitions, garbed falsely in the
clothes of religion, attracted the credulous masses into a frenzy, and ambushed them into complete
ignorance of the ultimate Reality. There were no less than seventy-two cults and sects of this type
which carried away people from the right path.
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KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI
BHAGAVAN SHANKARACHARYA
The Founder of the School of Monistic philosophy,
Who is regarded as the Avatara of Lord Shiva.
The advent of Lord Krishna rejuvenated Hindu religion and saved many a soul from
complete ruin, souls which would otherwise have subjugated themselves to passivism due to the
misinterpretation of the Vedas and the Upanishads. In the same way, Shankara appeared on earth to
deliver very many struggling souls. He set them free, and enlightened them through his peaceful,
unostentatious persuasion and loving propaganda. Through his irresistible logic, he planted the
triumphant banner of unique intellectual conquest over all other schools of philosophy. Before him,
all other theories proved to be phantoms and fallacies.
It was only Shankara who gave the unshakable concrete form to Hinduism and established
the unity and purity of enlightened Hindu thought and culture. Superstitions and corrupt practices
melted away in no time.
The age-long six systems of theism which were suppressed by the prattlers re-emerged in
their original glory only through the concerted efforts of Shankara.
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HINDU FASTS & FESTIVALS
His victory over other systems of philosophy was not due to a stubborn grip onto his own
faith and reasoning without considering the pros and cons of others. He had mastered even the
minutest intricasies of the other theories. The underlying currents of his thoughts were the
foundations of the other systems. It is for this reason alone that his philosophy was recognised with
much reverence by all the other schools of thought, despite differences in their superstructure.
The secret of his conquest and the charm therein lay in his most apt and reasonable
illustrations in every case. He never based his arguments on theoretical axioms and untestified
hypotheses, but entirely on integral experience. Further, all his arguments were based upon the
Vedas as well, which are genuine and authoritative.
Shankara never entered into hot discussions to substantiate his case or disprove others’
theories. With his gigantic intellect he poured out his masterly exposition in simple and clear terms
with the same supreme authority of the Gita, Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras, the self-evident
validity of the Sruti Pramana, and so on.
Above all, the philosophy of Shankara is not restricted to the highly intellectual. It is within
the easy reach of even the layman. With his profound knowledge, all-comprehensive learning, keen
intuitive insight and convincing explanations, he has erected the strong edifice of Vedanta, equally
accessible to the scholar and the layman. How effectively he prescribed “Bhaja Govindam” to the
scholar who was racking his brains in committing various scriptures to memory!
Vedanta is not the only aspect of philosophy he has preached to the world. He has entered
the heart of every earnest seeker after truth. He encourages the worship of various forms of the Lord
and greatly advocates Bhakti. Without a tinge of partiality to one form or the other, he has
composed innumerable hymns, each brimming with devotion and philosophical truth, each
inculcating divine ecstasy and perennial joy even in the tender undeveloped mind. His untiring
work for the welfare of mankind marks him out as a veritable, dynamic Karma Yogi, too.
At the background of all these, his devotion to his Guru is supermost. Mark what he says:
“Any person who realises ‘I am That Brahman’ through the unparalleled mercy and glance of the
Sadguru, loses all feelings of doubt and, with his mind free from illusion, attains liberation even
while living in the body”. How much efficacy and glory lie in devotion to the Guru!
Shankara Jayanthi falls on the 5th day of the bright half of Vaisakh (May-June). On this day,
study his works, pray and meditate. May you be showered with his blessings!
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