Thread by @AdiShloka

II Sri Adi Śaṅkarācārya - श्री आदि शङ्कराचार्य II

Sōpānaṁ : 15 Chaṇḍāla or Śiva ?

ācārya Bhagavatpāda lived happily in Kāśī along with his disciple Sanandana, the aged sanyasi Sivajnenedra, Sadananda & some other disciples of Govindapāda. Their days were

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engaged in spiritual discussions, meditation, bathing in Gāṅga & visits to sacred temples.
One day after his bath, ācārya was walking from Manikarnika towards Annapūrṇa temple, with his disciples.
At that time, he observed a Chaṇḍāla with four dogs coming in the opposite

direction. It was very unusual for a Chaṇḍāla to take the street generally used only by the learned ones. Like a ‘Vaidya’ (Ayurvedic physician) who came upon a very rare herb by the wayside, ācāryaobserved the huge form, which was more than six feet tall.
There was awe,

reverence & a sense of recognition in the penetrating look of that all-knowing sage, The street was very narrow & it was impossible to move freely.
An ‘adhikaribrahmana’ ( a local brahmin authorised by society to maintain the customs ) who was walking ahead

shouted, ‘move away, move away’. The Chaṇḍāla simply stared first at the Brahmana, then at ācārya and said, “ O Brahmin! To whom do you shout ‘move away’ ? The body is inert & made up of five elements. It is neither Chaṇḍāla not Brahmana. The Self is the eternal, pure,

ever-free Consciousness. It is One & non-dual in all, like the space within d pot. Space is indivisible,& cannot exist as two, one in your body & the other in mine. There is only the One, non-dual ‘Chidakasa’. I know that aim That Consciousness, and that I am not a Chaṇḍāla.

You identify so much with the body & take pride that you are a Brahmana. Therefore, who is a Chaṇḍāla ?

With these words he looked at ācārya, and walked away, laughing aloud.

Sanandana noticed that ācārya was in a trance, From a distance,

the sweet song of the Chaṇḍāla resounded in their ears.

किम् गंगाम्बुधि बिंबितेम्बर मणौ चंडाल वीधी पयः
पूरेवा अन्तरमस्ति कांचनघटी मृत्कुम्भयोर्वांबरे?
प्रत्यग्वस्तुनि निस्तरन्ग सहजानन्दावबोधाम्बुधौ विप्रो
अयम् श्वपचोयमित्यपि महान् को अयम् विभेद भ्रमः?

It is the explanation of

this verse that the Chaṇḍāla gave the Brahmana :

“Is there any difference in the 'jewel of the sky' when it is reflected in the waters of the Gangaa 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 braahmana and this is a dog eater?”

“Oh! The glory of Kāśī ! ‘ Here the gods roam about in different forms’ says the Veda.

While Sanandana was musing thus, he saw the ācārya slowly coming out of his deep ‘samadhi’. He prostrated before the master & asked, “O Lord ! Who was that ? Was it Dattātreya or Śiva ? Listening to Brahmavidya from an illiterate outcaste, all my pride of learning has vanished.”

Without a reply, ācārya walked on silently. He went to his hermitage & remained in profound stillness for 3 days without any external contact.
On the 3rd day, ācārya beckoned Sanandana & handed over 5 shlokas written on a burja leaf. Reading it, Sanandana was immersed in Bliss.

The composition, मनीषापञ्चकम् - Manisha Panchakam, on the leaf was an answer to the question he had raised 3 days before :

जग्रत्स्वप्न्सुषुप्तिषु स्फुत्तारा या संविदुज्ज्रुम्भ्ते
या ब्रह्मिदिपिपीलिकान्त्त्नुशु प्रोता जगत्साक्षिणी ।

सैवाहं न च दुश्यवास्त्विती दृढप्रज्ञापि यस्यास्ति चेत
चन्दलोअस्तु स तु द्विजोअस्तु गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥ १ ॥

"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 braahmana."

{ Remaining part of the मनीषापञ्चकम् -Manisha Panchakam is enclosed here )

Annapūrṇa :

Sanandana & other disciples observed that the three days of meditation following this incident had brought about certain changes in ācārya. Sanandana felt that a stream of some divine plan

of action had possessed the mind of this ‘Brahmanishtha’. But ācārya did not reveal what it was. He observed his daily rituals of Gāṅgasnana & Viswanatha darn as usual.
They took their bhiksha at the Annapūrṇa temple. An old woman who lived in a hut near the temple used to

feed the enunciates with great affection. ācārya saw the elderly mother & the goddess in the temple as one, & with great joy spontaneously composed one shloka each day & sand it at the time of bhiksha.

This is the sweet composition known as ‘Annapūrṇāstava ’: { Enclosed }

The old woman’s devotion to ācārya was unusual. The compassion & motherly affection that the ācārya had for her delighted the disciples. One day ācārya said, “ Sanndana, the one who gives us bhiksha everyday

is Annapūrṇa, the mother of the world herself. Years ago, there was a famine in this area. At that time, assuming a human form, the Divine Mother herself, fed all the needy. The food that she gave was celestial in taste. One day the king also joined the common folk disguised as

an ordinary person & partook of her food. The king recognising her as the goddess, prostrated before her & requested her to remain there forever. The divine mother told him, ‘O King, as you have understood who I am, I can no more remain here in this form,. Still my presence will

be here forever as Annapūrṇa.
With this blessing, the goddess left Kāśī for Kanchi kshetram for penance. From there, she went to Arunachala & there, initiated by sage Gautama, merged again with Śiva. Even today we experience the presence of goddess. Is not this elderly mother

the goddess herself?”
So saying,D ācārya gazed at the Mother with eyes filled with tears. Oh ! How large-hearted is the enlightened one ! As stated in the ‘Sruti, ‘hrdayam viswamasya’(Mu. Up.)- ‘Universe is his heart’.

Thus ends fifteenth Sōpānaṁ.
I ओम् तत् सत् I
I Om Tat Sat I

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