Śaṅkara Charitam – a re-telling – Chapter-13 – At the feet of the Guru

At the feet of the Guru

Śaṅkara felt a little disoriented and lost. The interior of the cave into which he had been pulled after he had held on to his Guru’s feet was so dark, that he could not see his own hands, even when he held them close to his eyes. He blinked his eyes rapidly and gradually his eyes adjusted to the inky darkness. He started to make out the contours of the cave and then the form of his Guru seemed to appear from the darkness like a phantom appearing out of thin air. Then slowly he saw the features congeal into the smiling face of Govinda Bhagavatpāda.

Śaṅkara once again fell at the feet of his Guru. Govinda Bhagavatpāda gently lifted the boy up and held onto his shoulders affectionately and looked deep into the bright eyes of the divine boy, eyes that shone like twin torches in that dark cave. Govinda Bhagavatpāda then told Śaṅkara, “My boy, I can see through the super-sensuous insight I have gained over several years of intense Tapas and deep Samadhi, that you are none other than Bhagavān Śiva himself, born to save and revive the Dharma. I gladly accept you as my disciple and shall teach you all that I know.” The year that followed passed in a blur. Śaṅkara was a quick and precocious learner – he absorbed everything like a sponge and retained all that was taught to him like words etched on stone.

Then finally the day arrived when the Guru and his favorite student had to part ways. The teacher’s Dharma had been completed and now the disciple was ready to become a teacher himself, a world teacher, in fact. Govinda Bhagavatpāda pointed to a spot in the cave where a single ray of sunlight had managed to penetrate the deep darkness of the cave, illuminating a small area that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the space within. Govinda Bhagavatpāda told the boy “See that streak of light and how it illuminates everything that falls in its path. It is the one source of light in the darkness that surrounds us here. It is we who must go to it, the light won’t come to us. Similarly, the spark of divine consciousness burns within each being. The goal is to go inwards toward this spark within. However, most people in the world are either unaware or uninterested in this quest. The few who are interested and proceed on this quest often fall by the wayside. Of the small fraction of those who go out on this quest, only the rarest of the rare manage to reach the goal. You, on the other hand, are one of the rare ones, being an aṃśa of Śiva – born with the light of consciousness burning brightly from the moment of your birth and blessed with all divine attributes. You have your task cut out for you. You must go around the country, reviving the Dharma and spreading the light of Vedanta. You will debate the greatest scholars of the land and defeat them. There will be none equal to you in wisdom and there will be no one who will be able to defeat you. You will attain the Sarvajña- Pīṭham^[1] and your name shall be remembered so long as the sun and the moon adorn the sky.”

With these words, Govinda Bhagavatpāda once again blessed the boy and reminded him of the four Māhavākyas, the grand declarations of the supreme truth from each of the 4 Vedas that occur in each of their associated Upaniṣads that define and summarize the quintessence of Vedāntic thought alluding to the unity and interconnectedness between the individual consciousness and the universal consciousness. These four Māhavākyas would form the four pillars of Śaṅkara’s philosophical edifice. These four Māhavākyas when arranged in sequence show a progressive elaboration and fruition of the philosophical thought process.

प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म “Prajñānam Brahma” – “The Super-Conscious-Intelligence is Brahman” [Aitareya Upaniṣad; 3.3 of Rig Veda] – this Chaitanya or super-conscious intelligence is the very essence of all beings, and this very same Chaitanya animates the microcosm of all beings and also pervades everything in the macrocosmic universe. To understand the universe, begin by understanding yourself.
अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि “Aham Brahmāsmi – “I am that Brahman. Atman / Conscious-Intelligence / integrated part of that universal consciousness” [Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad; 1.4.10 of Yajur Veda]. This body is ephemeral. It is here now but gone tomorrow. Every day there are many who are born and many who die in the eternal cycle of Saṃsāra. Therefore, I can’t be the body. My real nature is that of the Chaitanya that animates the body – the Brahman. I am that Brahman.
तत् त्वम् असि “Tat-tvam Asi” – “You are that (Brahman)” [Chāndogya Upaniṣad; 6.8.7 of Sāma Veda]. Not just me but you too are a product of that very same Chaitanya – meaning, the Brahman animates everything and everyone in the universe. The universality of the concept of the divine is brought out through this statement.
अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म “Ayam Ātma Brahma” – This self, this ātman is that Brahman/Supreme Consciousness [Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad; 1.2 of the Atharva Veda]. The individual Jīvātman is not dissimilar from the universal Paramātman – it is umbilically connected to the Paramātman but unaware of this connection – to “know” this “truth” is the first step in the path towards the realization of the divinity of life.

These four statements could be examined or understood individually or as a graduated progression of the inner realization – first the understanding that there is an Omniscient consciousness that pervades everything in the universe. Second, a fragment of this consciousness is present in each sentient and insentient being and therefore, is Omnipresent. Finally, the realization that this omnipresent being is the atman which in turn is a part of the supreme paramātman.

With these final words of his Guru ringing in his ears, Śaṅkara once again started on his life journey. He had a promise to fulfill but was unsure where to begin. He decided to sit for some time and meditate on this question and was sure that the answer would come. Meanwhile, his Guru Govinda Bhagavatpāda retreated into his cave and sat down in a corner – he closed his eyes and quickly entered the deep and tranquil state of Samādhi. He saw in his mind’s eye that his role had been fulfilled and there was nothing else for him to do. His long sojourn on earth and his wait for the boy who would change the course of Dharma had finally come to an end. He had transferred all of his knowledge and repository of wisdom to that boy, and he knew through the power of his intuitive, super-sensory insight that this boy would fully redeem the promise of his birth and save Dharma from the dark depths to which it had plunged. It was time for him to go.

Govinda Bhagavatpāda – notes in blood

The initial reaction of the Brahmarākṣasa had been “Here is a good meal coming my way!” However, as soon as the boy came nearer and his bright face became visible, something within the Brahmarākṣasa stirred and the spirit of Gauḍapāda hidden inside and suppressed for so many years made an appearance. That is why he disguised himself as a Brahmin and stood in front of the boy.

The Brahmarākṣasa disguised as a Brāhmaṇa stopped the boy and immediately started putting his questions to the young boy. Initially, taken aback, the boy however quickly got his bearings and started answering the questions with ease and spontaneity. When the Brahmarākṣasa had exhausted all his questions, he looked long and hard at the boy and slowly his disguise dissolved and he once again assumed the fearsome form of the Brahmarākṣasa. The boy shrank back in fear and anxiety but the Brahmarākṣasa assured him he meant no harm. He also told the boy that he had been waiting for someone like him for several hundred years. He narrated his entire story starting with Patañjali Mahaṛṣi’s discourse at Chidambaram, the disastrous aftermath, how he, Gauḍapāda, had escaped death but had been forced to become a Brahmarākṣasa and spend years feeding on gullible travelers, till today, when he had finally found a worthy disciple.

The Brahmarākṣasa told the boy that he would teach him the entire Mahābhāṣyaṃ but set forth a few seemingly impossible conditions. The boy whose only desire was to learn, accepted all the conditions. These conditions included:
(1) The boy would not get up even once during the discourse
(2) He would not/should not ask for clarifications as the Brahmarākṣasa would not repeat anything that he had uttered once
(3) The Brahmarākṣasa would sit on the pipal tree and deliver his discourse day and night without a break
(4) The boy could sleep only when the Brahmarākṣasa slept (if at all) and should remain awake as long as the Brahmarākṣasa was awake.
The Brahmarākṣasa then asked the boy his name and the boy said “Chandragupta Śarmā”. In a strange twist of fate, the Brahmarākṣasa who was earlier known as Chandra Śarmā was now teaching this boy whose name was Chandragupta Śarmā!

They both climbed the pipal tree and settled on a large branch – the Brahmarākṣasa started his discourse and the boy realized at that moment that he neither had writing material nor writing instruments. He did not hesitate even for a moment. He pulled out a knife from his waistband, made a slit in his thigh, shaped a twig into a stylus and a pipal leaf into a writing pad, dipped the stylus into the blood oozing out of the cut, and started to write on the pipal leaf…

To be continued…

Postscript

In chapter-1, the prevailing state of adharma at the time of Śaṅkara-avatāra was discussed and the rationale and need for an avatāra-puruṣa were clarified. In chapter 2 the prelude to Śaṅkara-avatāra and Śaṅkara’s parents were covered and in chapter-3 the promise of the descent was detailed. Chapter-4 was about the victory of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa. Chapter-5 is about Maṇḍana Miśhra and Bhārati’s love for each other and the descent of Śaṅkara. Chapter-6 is about the death of Śaṅkara’s father and the marriage of Maṇḍana Miśhra and Bhārati. Chapter-7 is about the genius of Śaṅkara and how as a five-year-old he composed the Kanakadhārā stōtram. In chapter-8, events preceding and foreshadowing Śaṅkara’s Saṃnyāsa are covered. In chapter-9 continues the process of Śaṅkara’s Saṃnyāsa and also summarizes the different types of Saṃnyāsa and how it is taken up depending on the context. In Chapter-10, Śaṅkara starts his life as a saṃnyāsi and takes his first steps toward his Guru, his destiny. Chapter-11 is a prequel and traces the events that lead up to Śaṅkara’s meeting with his Guru and the brief events that trace the lives of Gauḍapāda and Govinda Bhagavatpāda. Chapter-12 discusses the epochal meeting between Śaṅkara and his Guru and also continues the flashback into the story of Gauḍapāda and Govinda Bhagavatpāda