What are seven planes (chakras) where the mind dwells?

"The Vedas speak of seven planes where the mind dwells. When the mind is immersed in worldliness it dwells in the three lower planes — at the navel, the organ of generation, and the organ of evacuation. In that state the mind loses all its higher visions — it broods only on 'woman and gold'. The fourth plane of the mind is at the heart. When the mind dwells there, one has the first glimpse of spiritual consciousness. One sees light all around. Such a man, perceiving the divine light, becomes speechless with wonder and says: 'Ah! What is this? What is this?' His mind does not go downward to the objects of the world.

"The fifth plane of the mind is at the throat. When the mind reaches this, the aspirant becomes free from all ignorance and illusion. He does not enioy talking or hearing about anything but God. If people talk about worldly things, he leaves the place at once.

"The sixth plane is at the forehead. When the mind reaches it, the aspirant sees the form of God day and night. But even then a little trace of ego remains. At the sight of that incomparable beauty of God's form, one becomes intoxicated and rushes forth to touch and embrace it. But one doesn't succeed. It is like the light inside a lantern. One feels as if one could touch the light, but one cannot on account of the pane of glass.

"In the top of the head is the seventh plane. When the mind rises there, one goes into samadhi. Then the Brahmajnani directly perceives Brahman. But in that state his body does not last many days. He remains unconscious of the outer world. If milk is poured into his mouth, it runs out. Dwelling on this plane of consciousness, he gives up his body in twenty-one days. That is the condition of the Brahmajnani. But yours is the path of devotion. That is a very good and easy path.

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

What are the means by which one can see God?

Brahmo Devotee: "What are the means by which one can see God?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms."

Brahmo Devotee: "Sir, why are there so many different opinions about the nature of God? Some say that God has form, while others say that He is formless. Again, those who speak of God with form tell us about His different forms. Why all this controversy?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "A devotee thinks of God as he sees Him. In reality there is no confusion about God. God explains all this to the devotee if the devotee only realizes Him somehow. You haven't set your foot in that direction. How can you expect to know all about God?

"Listen to a story. Once a man entered a wood and saw a small animal on a tree. He came back and told another man that he had seen a creature of a beautiful red colour on a certain tree. The second man replied: 'When I went into the wood, I also saw that animal. But why do you call it red? It is green.' Another man who was present contradicted them both and insisted that it was yellow. Presently others arrived and contended that it was grey, violet, blue, and so forth and so on. At last they started quarrelling among themselves. To settle the dispute they all went to the tree. They saw a man sitting under it. On being asked, he replied: 'Yes, I live under this tree and I know the animal very well. All your descriptions are true. Sometimes it appears red, sometimes yellow, and at other times blue, violet, grey, and so forth. It is a chameleon. And sometimes it has no colour at all. Now it has a colour, and now it has none.'

"In like manner, one who constantly thinks of God can know His real nature; he alone knows that God reveals Himself to seekers in various forms and aspects. God has attributes; then again He has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can appear in various colours, and he knows, further, that the animal at times has no colour at all. It is the others who suffer from the agony of futile argument.

"Kabir used to say, The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my Mother.'

"God reveals Himself in the form which His devotee loves most. His love for the devotee knows no bounds. It is written in the Purana that God assumed the form of Rama for His heroic devotee, Hanuman.

"The forms and aspects of God disappear when one discriminates in accordance with the Vedanta philosophy. The ultimate conclusion of such discrimination is that Brahman alone is real and this world of names and forms illusory. It is possible for a man to see the forms of God, or to think of Him as a Person, only so long as he is conscious that he is a devotee. From the standpoint of discrimination this 'ego of a devotee' keeps him a little away from God.

"Do you know why images of Krishna or Kali are three and a half cubits high? Because of distance. Again, on account of distance the sun appears to be small. But if you go near it you will find the sun so big that you won't be able to comprehend it. Why have images of Krishna and Kali a dark-blue colour? That too is on account of distance, like the water of a lake, which appears green, blue, or black from a distance. Go near, take the water in the palm of your hand, and you will find that it has no colour. The sky also appears blue from a distance. Go near and you will see that it has no colour at all.

"Therefore I say that in the light of Vedantic reasoning Brahman has no attributes. The real nature of Brahman cannot be described. But so long as your individuality is real, the world also is real, and equally real are the different forms of God and the feeling that God is a Person.

"Yours is the path of bhakti. That is very good; it is an easy path. Who can fully know the infinite God? and what need is there of knowing the infinite? Having attained this rare human birth, my supreme need is to develop love for the Lotus Feet of God.

"If a jug of water is enough to remove my thirst, why should I measure the quantity of water in a lake? I become drunk on even half a bottle of wine — what is the use of my calculating the quantity of liquor in the tavern? What need is there of knowing the Infinite?

"The various states of mind of the Brahmajnani are described in the Vedas. The path of knowledge is extremely difficult. One cannot obtain jnana if one has the least trace of worldliness and the slightest attachment to 'woman and gold'. This is not the path for the Kaliyuga.

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Another Classification in padma purANa - a better one

Pranams,

Vaishnava-s claim that not all purANa-s are acceptable and of equal authenticity. They cite a verse from padma purAnA in which it is said that tAmasIka puraNa-s are the ones which leads one to hell.

Lets have a look at these verses.

Controversial verses in padma purANa

There are some verses in Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, 236.18–21 which categorize each of 18 major purANa-s into sAttvika, rAjasika and tamasika. Lets analyse them.

Satvika Puranas:

वैष्णवं नारदीयं च तथा भागवतं शुभम् ।
गारुडं च तथा पाद्मं वाराहं शुभदर्शने ।
सात्विकानि पुराणानि विज्ञेयानि शुभानि वै ।।

Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Puran, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana, Varaha Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana (236.18)

Rajasa Puranas:

ब्रह्माण्डं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं तथैव च ।
भविष्यं वामनं ब्राह्मं राजसानि निबोधत ।।

Brahmanda Purana, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana (236.19)

Tamasa Puranas :

मात्सयं कौर्मं तथा लैङ्गम् शैवं स्कान्दं तथैव च ।
आग्नेयं च षडेतानि तामसानि निबोधत ।।

Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana (236.20)

सात्विका मोक्षदाः प्रोक्ताः राजसा सर्वदा अशुभाः ।
तथैव तामसा देवि निरयप्राप्तिहेतवः ।।

प.पु. उत्तर 236.21

Among these puranas Satvika Puranas lead one to liberation, Rajasa do not cause good and tamasa puranas lead one to hell. (236.21)

The word devi ( देवि) means goddess pArvatI. Kindly note that the word is not devI (देवी) but devi ( देवि), which has only one meaning, 'goddess'. Here it means devi pArvatI

The word niraya ( निरय) is translated as 'Hell'. While this is one meaning of the word, there are other meanings like profitless, yielding no income, bring or get out.

The word hetu (हेतु) means 'intention'. hetavaH (हेतवः) is the plural form, which can be both subject (pratham vibhakti) or object (dvitiya vibhakti).

So the verse could mean, 

O Devi pArvatI,  by reading tAmasika purANa-s, one will not gain anything.

We will try to give some logical reasoning why we disagree with those verses. There is another classification in matsya purANa.

Matsya Purana 190.13-14 says,

“The glory of Hari is greater in sattvika scripture; the glory of Brahma is greater in rajasika scriptures; and that of Agni and Siva greater in tamasika scriptures. In mixed scriptures the glory of Sarasvati and the pitrs is said to be greater."

[needs to be clarified]

Note, I am not able to find this classification in todays version of matya purana. 

Another Classification in padma purANa - a better one

According to Maharshi Suta, all the Puranas are nothing but the mediums through which Sri Hari manifests himself

एकं पुराण रुप वै तत्र पाद्मं परं महत् । ब्रह्मं मूर्धा हरेरेव ह्रदयं पद्मसंज्ञकम्॥
वैष्णवं दक्षिणो बाहुः शैव वामो महेशितुः । उरु भागवतं प्रोक्तं नाभिः स्यान्नारदीयकम्॥
मार्कण्डेयं च दक्षांग्रिर्वामो ह्याग्रेयमुच्यते । भविष्यं दक्षिणो जानुर्विष्णोरेव महात्मन: ॥
ब्रह्मवैवर्तसंज्ञं तु वामज्जानुस्नदाहृतः । लैऽगैं तु गुल्फकं दर्क्ष वाराहं वामगुल्फकम् ॥
स्कान्दं पुराण लोमानित्वगस्य वामनं स्मृतम् । कौर्म पृष्ठं समाख्यातं मात्स्यं मेदः प्रकी्र्तितम् ॥
मज्जा तु गारुडं प्रोक्तं ब्रह्माण्डमस्थि गीयते । एवमेवाभवद्विष्णुः पुराणाव्यवो हरिः ॥

पद्म पुराण, स्वर्ग खण्ड (६२।२-७)

1. Brahma Purana is said to be the 'forehead' of Sri Hari,
2. Padma Purana is said to be the 'heart' of Sri Hari,
3. Vishnu Purana is said to be the 'right arm' of Sri Hari.
4. Shiva Purana is said to be the 'left arm' of Sri Hari.
5. Srimad Bhagawat is said to be his 'thigh',
6. Narada Purana is said to be his 'navel',
7. Markendeya Purana is said to be his 'right-foot'.
8. Agni Purana is said to be his 'left foot',
9. Bhavishya Purana is said to be his 'right-knee',
10. Brahma Vaivrata Purana is said to be his 'left-knee'.
11. Linga Purana is said to be his 'right ankle',
12. Varaha Purana is said to be his 'left ankle',
13. Skanda Purana is said to be the hair on the body of 'Sri Hari'.
14. Vamana Purana is said to be his 'skin'.
15. Kurma Purana is said to be his 'back'.
16. Matsya Purana is said to be his 'stomach'.
17. Garuda Purana is said to be his 'bone-marrow'.
18. Brahmanda Purana is said to be his 'bone'.

Padma Purana, svarga khaNDa (62.2-7)

Note: These versies are found on both version of padma purana - south Indian with 5 khanda-s and bengali with 7 khanda-s.

We can conclude that, all the Puranas being manifestation of different parts of Sri Hari's body are very sacred and capable of bestowing salvation.  

For a body to function properly, all parts are important.

Source: Padma Puarana, Swarga Khand, International Gita Society / sankshipta Padma Purana

According to Padma Purana, there was just one purana, which was split into 18 by Bhagavan Veda Vyasa.

Points in favour of the claim in simple words are:

1. Verses in padma purANa classification in padma purana are interpolated / fabricated by vested interest group.
2. Another classification exists in padma purANa, svarga khaNDa, wihch says that all the purANa-s being manifestation of different parts of Sri Hari's body are very sacred and capable of bestowing salvation.
3. None of advaita AcArya-s consider any purANa as sAttvika, rAjasik or tAmasik
4. No veda or upanishad or Mahabharata is classified as sAttvika, rAjasik or tAmasik.
5. No purana says that Siva is born. rudra, is an aspect of Siva.

The truth of these claims are left to esteemed readers
Detailed article: https://sites.google.com/site/understandingadvaita/authenticity-of-puranas

Has God forms or has He none?

A Brahmo Devoteee: "Sir, has God forms or has He none?"

Sri Ramakrishna : "No one can say with finality that God is only 'this' and nothing else. He is formless, and again He has forms. For the bhakta He assumes forms. But He is formless for the jnani, that is, for him who looks on the world as a mere dream. The bhakta feels that he is one entity and the world another. Therefore God, reveals Himself to him as a Person. But the jnani — the Vedantist, for instance — always reasons, applying the process of 'Not this, not this'. Through this discrimination he realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream. Then the jnani realizes Brahman in his own consciousness. He cannot describe what Brahman is.

"Do you know what I mean? Think of Brahman, Existence-Knowledge- Bliss Absolute, as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence, as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has frozen at places into blocks of ice. In other words, God now and then assumes various forms for His lovers and reveals Himself to them as a Person. But with the rising of the sun of Knowledge, the blocks of ice melt. Then one doesn't feel any more that God is a Person, nor does one see God's forms. What He is cannot be described. Who will describe Him? He who would do so disappears. He cannot find his 'I' any more.

"If one analyses oneself, one doesn't find any such thing as 'I'. Take an onion, for instance. First of all you peel off the red outer skin; then you find thick white skins. Peel these off one after the other, and you won't find anything inside.

"In that state a man no longer finds the existence of his ego. And who is there left to seek it? Who can describe how he feels in that state — in his own Pure Consciousness — about the real nature of Brahman? Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. No sooner was it in the water than it melted. Now who was to tell the depth?

"There is a sign of Perfect Knowledge. Man becomes silent when It is attained. Then the 'I', which may be likened to the salt doll, melts in the Ocean of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute and becomes one with It. Not the slightest trace of distinction is left.

"As long as his self-analysis is not complete, man argues with much ado. But he becomes silent when he completes it. When the empty pitcher has been filled with water, when the water inside the pitcher becomes one with the water of the lake outside, no more sound is heard. Sound comes from the pitcher as long as the pitcher is not filled with water.

"People used to say in olden days that no boat returns after having once entered the black waters' of the ocean.

"All trouble and botheration come to an end when the 'I' dies. You may indulge in thousands of reasonings, but still the 'I' doesn't disappear. For people like you and me, it is good to have the feeling, 'I am a lover of God.'

"The Saguna Brahman is meant for the bhaktas. In other words, a bhakta believes that God has attributes and reveals Himself to men as a Person, assuming forms. It is He who listens to our prayers. The prayers that you utter are directed to Him alone. You are bhaktas, not jnanis or Vedantists. It doesn't'matter whether you accept God with form or not. It is enough to feel that God is a Person who listens to our prayers, who creates, preserves, and destroys the universe, and who is endowed with infinite power.

"It is easier to attain God by following the path of devotion."

Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

nAsadIya sUkta of rigveda - Thoughts on tamas

Lets try to study a hymm of rg veda called nAsadIya sUkta consisting on 7 verses. It defines the creation of universe. 

तम॑ आसी॒त्तम॑सा गू॒ळ्हमग्रे॑ऽप्रके॒तं स॑लि॒लं सर्व॑मा इ॒दं।

तु॒च्छ्येना॒भ्वपि॑हितं॒ यदासी॒त्तप॑स॒स्तन्म॑हि॒ना जा॑य॒तैकं॑॥ ३॥ 

tama̍ āasī̱ttama̍sā gū̱ḻhamagre̍’prake̱taṁ sa̍li̱laṁ sarva̍mā i̱daṁ |

tu̱cchyenā̱bhvapi̍hitaṁ̱ yadāsī̱ttapa̍sa̱stanma̍hi̱nā jā̍ya̱taika̍ṁ || 3 || 

At first there was only darkness (tamas) wrapped in darkness (tamas).

All this was only unillumined water. 

That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing, 

arose at last, born of the power of heat. 

(Later verses explain the creation.)

Why is it called as darkness covered with darkness? Here how should we interpret tamas gUNa? 

We all know that ISvara created this world through is mAyA. mAyA is trigUNAtimikA i.e. having three gUNa-s. It is never said that ISvara first created his mAyA. mAyA was always present with ISvara. Hence mAyA is called as anAdi (beginningless).

In above context, lets understand the word 'tamas'.

tamas here would mean inactivity or dormant. It could also mean unmanifested universe. w.r.t to mAyA, we can conclude that all three gUNa-s were present but in dormant form. But there was something which covered this. That which covered veiled these three gUNa was tamas i.e. tamas gUNa was the most dominant. The first two verses in nAsadiya sukta indicate supreme brahman above or beyond the reach of three guNa but seems to be veiled by mAyA just like sun seems to be veiled by clouds.

Hence the first tamas is indirectly referring to sat or truth which is Brahman and second one is referred by mAyA which is inactive and hence mAyA has not manifested universe.

To further simplify, we can say that, when there was no creation there was only brahman (sat, truth), and his mAyA was dormant.

If we take a meaning that there was a time when there was no brahman, it would contradict vedAnta. If we say that there was only tamas gUNa and no other gUNA was present, it would mean that other gUNA-s were absent and hence mAyA was absent. You can create things with the material that you have. If mAyA did not have other two gUNa-s (sattva and rajas) then mAyA would not be able to create anything. It would also contradict those verses which say that there was there was no time then there was no ISvara, like in gita krUShNa bhagavAna has said.

Hence we have to take it that during the time, when there was no creation, there was

sat (brahman and

mAyA in dormant state, veiling brahman (like clouds seems to veil sun)

nAsada means nA-asata meaning no non-existence. This verse also refutes zero state where there is only void and no Self (brahman), establishes nirgUna brahman as always present.

नास॑दासी॒न्नो सदा॑सीत्त॒दानी॒म् नासी॒द्रजो॒ नो व्यो॑मा प॒रो यत्।

किमाव॑रीव॒: कुह॒ कस्य॒ शर्म॒न्नंभ॒: किमा॑सी॒द्गह॑नं गभी॒रम्॥१॥ 

nāsa̍dāsī̱nno sadā̍sītta̱dānī̱m nāsī̱drajo̱ no vyo̍mā pa̱ro yat |

kimāva̍rīva̱ḥ kuha̱ kasya̱ śarma̱nnaṁbha̱ḥ kimā̍sī̱dgaha̍naṁ gabhī̱ram ||1|| 

Neither existence nor nonexistence was there Neither matter nor space around

What covered it, where it was and who protected?

was there that plasma, all pervading, deep and profound? 

न मृ॒त्युरा॑सीद॒मृतं॒ न तर्हि॒ न रात्र्या॒ अह्न॑ आसीत्प्रके॒तः।

आनी॑दवा॒तं स्व॒धया॒ तदेकं॒ तस्मा॑द्धा॒न्यन्न प॒रः किञ्च॒नास॑॥२॥ 

na mṛ̱tyurā̍sīda̱mṛta̱ṁ na tarhi̱ na rātryā̱ ahna̍ āasītprake̱taḥ |

ānī̍davā̱taṁ sva̱dhayā̱ tadekaṁ̱ tasmā̍ddhā̱nyanna pa̱raḥ kiñca̱nāsa̍ ||2|| 

Then there was neither death nor immortality 

nor was there then the torch of night and day.

The One breathed windlessly and self-sustaining.*

There was that One then, and there was no other.

OR

Neither death nor immortality was there

And there was neither day nor night

But for that breathless one breathing on its own*

There was nothing else, surely nothing

*Breath here refers to sustenance and not physical breathing. It is symbolic in the sense that inhalation meaning withdrawing everything within and exhalation means creating universe. Here the breathless breathing means the sustain without creation and destruction. Since there is a period of silence between inhalation and exhalation, where there is no activity (recaka and kumbhaka), it means no activity. 

तम॑ आसी॒त्तम॑सा गू॒ळ्हमग्रे॑ऽप्रके॒तं स॑लि॒लं सर्व॑मा इ॒दं।

तु॒च्छ्येना॒भ्वपि॑हितं॒ यदासी॒त्तप॑स॒स्तन्म॑हि॒ना जा॑य॒तैकं॑॥ ३॥ 

tama̍ āasī̱ttama̍sā gū̱ḻhamagre̍’prake̱taṁ sa̍li̱laṁ sarva̍mā i̱daṁ |

tu̱cchyenā̱bhvapi̍hitaṁ̱ yadāsī̱ttapa̍sa̱stanma̍hi̱nā jā̍ya̱taika̍ṁ || 3 || 

At first there was only darkness wrapped in darkness.

All this was only unillumined water. 

That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing, 

arose at last, born of the power of heat. 

OR

It was darkness concealed in darkness

And an uninterrupted continuum of fluid

Out came in material form and shape

That one lying deep inside, on its own intent.

*Fluid or un-illumined water is mAyA

काम॒स्तदग्रे॒ सम॑वर्त॒ताधि॒ मन॑सो॒ रेत॑: प्रथ॒मं यदासी॑त्।

स॒तो बन्धु॒मस॑ति॒ निर॑विन्दन् हृ॒दि प्र॒तीष्या॑ क॒वयो॑ मनी॒षा॥४॥ 

kāma̱stadagre̱ sama̍varta̱tādhi̱ mana̍so̱ reta̍ḥ pratha̱maṁ yadāsī̍t |

sa̱to bandhu̱masa̍ti̱ nira̍vindan hṛ̱di pra̱tīṣyā̍ ka̱vayo̍ manī̱ṣā ||4|| 

In the cosmic mind, all pervading

Desire, the primal seed made its first appearance 

And the wise men, seeking deep in their heart 

Could see the link between ‘that is’ and ‘that is not’. 

(तिरश्चीनॊ विततॊ रश्मीरॆषामध: स्विदासी ३ दुपरिस्विदासीत् ।

रॆतॊधा।आसन्महिमान् ।आसन्त्स्वधा ।आवस्तात् प्रयति: परस्तात् ॥५॥) 

ति॒र॒श्चीनो॒ वित॑तो र॒श्मिरे॑षाम॒धः स्वि॑दा॒सी ३ दु॒परि॑ स्विदासी ३ त्।

रे॒तो॒धा आ॑सन्महि॒मान॑ आसन्त्स्व॒धा आ॒वस्ता॒त्प्रय॑तिः प॒रस्ता॑त्॥५॥ 

ti̱ra̱ścīno̱ vita̍to ra̱śmire̍ṣāma̱dhaḥ svi̍dā̱sī 3 du̱pari̍ svidāsī 3 t |

re̱to̱dhā āa̍sanmahi̱māna̍ āasantsva̱dhā ā̱vastā̱tpraya̍tiḥ pa̱rastā̍t ||5|| 

Reins of the link, a grid of crisscross lines,

Holds all the seeds and mighty forces, 

Microcosmic forces within 

And macro forces out above. 

OR

And they have stretched their cord across the void,

and know what was above, and what below.

Seminal powers made fertile mighty forces.

Below was strength, and over it was impulse.

Seminal fluid is literal meaning. Ii means begetting which can mean manifesting something from within.

को अ॒द्धा वे॑द॒ क इ॒ह प्र वो॑च॒त्कुत॒ आजा॑ता॒ कुत॑ इ॒यं विसृ॑ष्टिः।

अ॒र्वाग्दे॒वा अ॒स्य वि॒सर्ज॑ने॒नाथा॒ को वे॑द॒ यत॑ आब॒भूव॑॥६॥

ko a̱ddhā ve̍da̱ ka i̱ha pra vo̍ca̱tkuta̱ āajā̍tā̱ kuta̍ i̱yaṁ visṛ̍ṣṭiḥ |

a̱rvāgde̱vā a̱sya vi̱sarja̍ne̱nāthā̱ ko ve̍da̱ yata̍ āaba̱bhūva̍ ||6 || 

But, after all, who knows, and who can say

Whence it all came, and how creation happened? 

the gods themselves are later than creation, 

so who knows truly whence it has arisen? 

इ॒यं विसृ॑ष्टि॒र्यत॑ आब॒भूव॒ यदि॑ वा द॒धे यदि॑ वा॒ न।

यो अ॒स्याध्य॑क्षः पर॒मे व्यो॑म॒न्त्सो अ॒ङ्ग वे॑द॒ यदि॑ वा॒ न वेद॑॥ ७॥ 

i̱yaṁ visṛ̍ṣṭi̱ryata̍ āaba̱bhūva̱ yadi̍ vā da̱dhe yadi̍ vā̱ na |

yo a̱syādhya̍kṣaḥ para̱me vyo̍ma̱ntso a̱ṅga ve̍da̱ yadi̍ vā̱ na veda̍ || 7 || 

That one, out of which the creation came

May hold the reins or not, 

Perceiving all from above, That one alone 

Knows the beginning – may not know too.

Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti, 4th May 2014

|| bhava SHañkara deSHika me Sharanam ||

Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya

(image credit)

On the auspicious occasion of Shri Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti, lets pray to the Jagadguru of Kali yuga, without whom, our bharat would be lost it's backbone – our vedic sanatan dharma, and our shastras. It was Adi Shankaracharya who revived our vedic dharma, defended against non-vedic sects, removed weeds that had penetrated deep into our vedic dharma, gave clarity and correct understanding of our shastras, encouraged sattvik practices of various sects like Vaishnav, Shaiva, Shakta, and others.

One account of this occasion, let us pay a tribute to a legend, an avatar, who is the very reason of the existence of our identity as a Hindu, as other religions like Buddhism, Jainism and later on Islam were trying to dominate Bharat varsh.

But how can we pay tribute to such a great saint who has boundless compassion and whose depth cannot be repaid? The only way to revere him is to honestly live the life he has asked us to live and reach the pinnacle of truth.

It is said that the first instruction and the last instruction of any saint is considered as very important.

His first composition was Dasasloki, which was spontaneously composed by Adi Shankaracharya when his Guru asked his intro. These explain us who Adi Shankaracharya was.

Dasasloki are 10 verses which describes about Atmasthiti.

Please find link to Dasasloki

http://shivu360.blogspot.in/2009/02/shiva-dasasloki-nirvana-dasakam-nirvana.html

Last instructions are called Updesha Panch or Sopan Panchaka.

In five verses of Sopan Panchakam our acharya (Adi Shankaracharya) has guided us step-by-step vedic path leading to Self Realization.

Please find the links to Sopan Panchakam

http://www.kamakoti.org/shlokas/kshlok25.htm

http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/adhi-shankaras-sadhana-panchakamupadesa.html

An Article, which is a personal opinion of author, as to why Adi Shankara is called as Jadaguru was published recently.

Adi Sankara - A Jagadguru

http://indiaspirituality.blogspot.in/2014/04/adi-sankara-jagadguru.html

There is also a longer article published by adbhutam's blog as a four part series titled - Greatness of shankara’s life and teachings

http://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/greatness-of-shankaras-life-and-teachings-1/

http://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/greatness-of-shankaras-life-and-teachings-part-ii/

http://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/greatness-of-shankaras-life-and-teachings-part-iii/

http://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/greatness-of-shankaras-life-and-teachings-part-iv-concluded/

Let us conclude this with a hymn by Shri Totakacharya in praise of Adi Shankara

But first, lets understand how was this hymn spontaneously composed from the bottom of heart of a not-so-brilliant but beloved disciple of Adi Shankara.

Totakacarya, one of the chief disciples of Sankara composed an octad of verses in praise of the Master. The metre he has used in this composition is the difficult but beautiful totaka. Every word of this exquisite hymn bespeaks the utter devotion of its author to Sañkara. Sañkara, the Guru, is all to him. There is nothing equal to the Guru; nothing superior to him. The Guru is the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance. There can be no greater good than the removal of ignorance. The spirit of devotion of the disciple is best expressed in the soul-moving burden of this song : Be Thou my refuge, O Master, Ùañkara (bhava Sañkara deùika me ùaraïam)!

There is an interesting history associated with this stotra. Anandagiri was one of the less scholarly disciples living with Shankara at Sringeri. But Giri, as he was called, was extremely devoted to the AchArya. Giri would always engage himself in the service of his Guru. Once it so happened that Shankara was about to begin his usual morning discourse on the upanishads and the other disciples started reciting the shAnti pATha. But Giri was absent because he had gone to the river to wash his Guru's clothes. So Shankara asked the other disciples to wait for Giri's return. But PadmapAda, who was obviously proud of his erudition, said, ``Giri is a dull fellow. He really does not deserve to learn the shAstras. What is the point in waiting for him to join us?'' Shankara decided to humble the pride of PadmapAda and other disciples. Out of sheer compassion for Giri, the AchArya blessed him with the knowledge of the shAstras, making use of supernatural powers to do so. As a result, Giri became a learned scholar instantaneously. Returning from the river, he composed the toTakAShTaka, eight verses in praise of his Guru. The other disciples were struck with wonder to hear him extemporaneously compose the aShTaka in the difficult meter. Giri also composed another work, again in the toTaka meter, called the ShrutisArasamuddharaNa. Due to the grace of the Guru, Giri became a knower of all scriptures, and he earned the respect of PadmapAda and other disciple. He came to be known as toTakAchArya, because he was an adept in composing verses in the toTaka mete. He became one of Shankara's four most important disciples, and was later entrusted with running the JyotirmaTh at Badari. The above story is from the Shankara digvijaya of Madhava-Vidyaranya. 

The toTakAShTaka has been composed in the toTaka meter, in which each pAda (quarter) has four sa-gaNa's.Here a sa-gaNa is made up of two short syllables followed by a long one. The hymn naturally lends itself to be set to music. A suggested RAga is (HindustAni) toDi.

Totakashtakam

विदिताखिलशास्त्रसुधाजलधे महितोपनिषत् कथितार्थनिधे |

हृदये कलये विमलं चरणं भव शंकर देशिक मे शरणम् || - तोटकाष्टकं -1

O Thou, The Knower Of All The Milk-Ocean Of Scriptures! The Expounder Of The Topics Of Great Upanisadic Treasure-Trove! On Thy Faultless Feet I Meditate In My Heart. Be Thou My Refuge O preceptor, Sankara. I meditate on Your pure lotus feet in my heart | O Preceptor Shankara, be my refuge. - Totakashtakam - 1

Full Totakashtakam

http://bloggingvogging.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/totakashtakam-a-hymn-of-eight-stanzas/

http://www.kamakoti.org/shlokas/kshlok1.htm

Videos:

AdiShankaracharya –Full movie Sanskrit with English Sanskrit subtitles

Hymn dedicated to Guru

Guru Ashtakam

Guru Paduka Stotram 

Dakshinamurty Stotram

Totakashtakam (Traditional)

Totakashtakam (Uma Mohan, G Gayatri)

 || bhava SHañkara deSHika me Sharanam ||