manīṣā pañcakam

Anushtup Metre Once, when the great teacher (Shankaracharya) was going toward the holy land of Kashi, the giver of liberation, he encountered Shankara (Shiva) on the path, accompanied by Gauri (Parvati).

Seeing him dressed as an outcaste, Shankaracharya said 'Go away, go away.' That chandala then spoke to Shankara (in reply).

The Chandala questions: O great among the twice-born! What is it that you want to move away by saying, ”Go, go”? Do you want the body made up of food to move away from another body made up of food? Or do you want consciousness to move away from consciousness?

Shardulavikridita metre Is there any difference in the ‘jewel of the sky’ when it is reflected in the waters of the Ganga or in a ditch in the way-side of a slum? Is there any difference in the space as such, be it in a golden pot or in a mud-pot? In the ocean of the self-existing Blissful Consciousness, in the inner Self, devoid of thought ripples, how can there be this delusory distinction: ‘this is a brāhmaṇa and this is a dog-eater?’

1.Sri Shankara answers: This indeed is my deep conviction: he who has realised that he is not the seen, but that he is the one Consciousness that illumines all experiences during the waking, dream and deep-sleep states, the one Consciousness that is the sole witness of the entire play of the universe, the one Consciousness which is the very life spark in all forms from the Creator down to the ant, he alone is my Guru, be he a sweeper, be he a brāhmaṇa.

2. He who, in his direct experience of the immaculate Supreme-Bliss-Eternal, has come to the firm understanding that the entire universe is but an extensive play of pure Consciousness, all projected by his ‘ignorance’ expressed in the three moods of his mind, while he himself is but that Brahman—he alone is my Guru, be he a sweeper, be he a brāhmaṇa.

3. He who has done long reflections upon his teacher’s words that this world of change is permanently in a state of flux; he who has tamed his mind to a true state of quiet and poise; he who has brought his mind, devoid of all dissimilar thoughts, constantly to contemplate upon Brahman; he who has burnt up all his past and future residual-vāsanās in the fire of pure Consciousness; he who has offered his body to live through and exhaust its present destiny – he alone is my Guru, ‘be he a sweeper, be he a brāhmaṇa.’

4. A yogī with his hushed mind lives, meditating upon That, which expresses as ‘I--I’ the subjective individuality in all creatures: plant, animal, human and angels; That, by whose Light, mind and senses and body are all enlivened to activity, even though they are all made up of inert and insentient matter; That, which illumines everything as sun from behind a bank of clouds – He alone is my Guru: this is my firm conviction.

5. During its moments of utter quiet, a yogī’s mind gains that Ocean of Bliss, a tiny droplet from which is sufficient to make Indra and others feel contented and happy. Such a one who has dissolved his individual intellect in this eternal Ocean of Bliss, is verily Brahman, not a mere Knower of Brahman – That rare one, whose feet are worshipped even by the very King of Gods indeed, he alone is my Guru; this is my firm conviction.

O Shambhu, from the perspective of the body, I am your servant; from the perspective of the individual soul, O three-eyed one, I am a part born of you; but from the perspective of the Self, you alone are everything—thus my understanding has been firmly established by all the scriptures.