STORY - Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya - Part III

The basic aim of life is to free oneself of the clutches of Maya or wordly delusion which makes one a prey to passions. A person should realise that there is no mother, father, brother, friend in this life. One is all alone. One is born alone and shall merge in the Supreme alone.

Of course one might be born to some mother. One might even be born as a spirit, ghost, Gandharva, Raakshas or Pishaach. But invariably the same thoughts rise in the mind of individual - will I be able to maintain a separate identity in this universe, will I ever be able to make way into the divine land of Siddhashram?

The scholars do try to find answers to these queries. They don try to explain what life is. But they are not able to explain to the full.

Hidden in the words of Soundarya Lahiri is a very high knowledge and a whole text can be written on each verse of the text. And even after having written so many commentaries on this text the scholars are not able to explain all facts of life totally.

There is very deep knowledge in these verses and the scholars find themselves incapable of fully describing it. They cannot find words to express the essence of this knowledge.

By writing this text Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya did not create just a few verses rather he explained that there is no phenomenon like Dwait or dualism in this world. He said that Brahm and Maya are the same. One cannot contemplate of Brahm as being different from Maya.

Brahm is cloaked in the veil of Maya and in order to remove this veil one needs to meditate by the process of Veikhari. The first step in this process is giving a permanent place to the holy image of the Goddess Mother Parvati in one's heart and soul. And through this process one can reach the final stage of enlightenment.

It is necessary to explain each verse of Soundarya Lahiri in detail for without it the common man cannot delve into it secrets, he cannot realise the great science of Tantra hidden in it, he cannot pierce the veil of Maya and have a glimpse of the Supreme. Even greatest of Ayurved experts cannot glean from these verses invaluable knowledge about various miraculous herbs. The best masters of Yog cannot find the complete explanation of the world of Yog that lies hidden in its verses through which one can make the Kundalini rise from the Mooladhar to the Sahastrar. Can the most distinguished scholars realise the significance of this world, the Supreme, the human body and Siddhashram by reading this text?

This is perhaps not possible! This is why I have tried to explain here the deep knowledge that lies hidden in the verses written by Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya. This explanation does not focus on just the gross meaning rather it goes deep and tries to find the subtle thoughts that Shankar wished to convey. It is when a human leaves the gross behind and delves into the subtle that he is not a mere mass of flesh and bones, he is not merely machine activated by the nerves rather within him is the Infinite - the same Infinite whose glimpse Arjun had in the divine form of Lord Krishnna.

This infinite is present in each human being. All one needs is a Guru who could make one realise it. An ordinary ordinary Guru would not do. He must be a Guru who has understood this science, who has mastered all Sadhanas and spiritual processes and who can not just understand each verse of this text rather who can make others understand the same too.

He must be a Guru who has mastered Yog, who has deep knowledge of Ayurved, who can explain what Brahm and Maya are and who can make one pierce the veil of Maya and merge with Brahm or the Supreme.

I know that it is very difficult to find such a Guru. To master all these sciences is not possible for an individual. I also know that each of these sciences and processes is like a huge ocean of knowledge and even if one devotes one's whole life one cannot master the subject fully. For a common man it is not possible to become perfect in Tantra or realise the Supreme in a single life time.

One has to take many births to master just one subject and it would be then that one would understand what Brahm and what is Maya, or what is the true value of this world and the human body or what is the state of consciousness. It is after several lives of study that one can understand how totality can be gained in Tantra or how perfect and powerful Yantras can be designed. One can then learn how one can gain entrance into Siddhashram, the highest seat of spiritual learning.

It is a fact that all these subjects cannot be mastered in one life time. But one time or another one has to struggle with these questions. However perfect answers are gained only when a great spiritual master, a divine being, the Supreme incarnates upon the earth in order to explain the true essence of the verses written by Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya.

STORY - Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya - Part IV

Many scholars have accepted that these verses are not merely an elucidation of the science of Tantra or Yantra, rather they also contain amazing facts related to the science of Ayurved. This is because Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya was not merely a master of Tantra, he had not just realised the Supreme rather he was also a great master of the Ayurved System of medicine.

From whichever place he passed plants, herbs and trees themselves would become eager to reveal to him their virtues and medicinal properties. The verses also explain how through the use of these herbs one could keep the human body healthy and fit forever so that it could become a permanent abode of the divine.

But most of the scholars have failed to realise that each word of each verse of the Soundarya Lahiri is as powerful, effective Mantra is obtained that is based on Tantra. Through this Mantra a person can free himself of the clutches of Maya and become completely fused in the Divine.

Nothing of course is impossible, although it might seem difficult. To climb the Gouri Shankar mountain is not impossible although it is sure a strenuous exercise. To fly in the sky or excavate the greatest depths of the earth is not impossible although it might well seem tough. To dive deep into the Manasarovar lake is not impossible although it might be a difficult task. And till a person does not realise the Guru he cannot understand the true worth of Himalayas or piousness of the lake Manasarovar. Without the Guru it is not possible to give a permanent place to the Divine in one's heart and soul or give rise to true knowledge from within. This is why it is said that the process of searching for a true Guru and finding the Guru is a very difficult task. But one who undertakes the mission and finds a real Guru is able to completely transform his life and become really unique and great in life.

The text Soundarya Lahiri has two parts - the first part is famous as Anand Lahiri and second is famous as Soundarya Lahiri. In the first part Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya has explained about Brahm and Maya and he has explained that Adwait is the basis of life. A human should consider his form as Maya and try to fuse it with Brahm or Supreme which is also within, in order to reach Siddhashram.

The final destination of every human is Siddhashram. But to reach it, live there and return to this world is not an easy task. It is like trying to measure the amount of water in the ocean or swim across all the oceans. But a few Yogis are able to do this. Due to the good Karmas of the past lives they are highly enlightened. They might look ordinary but in fact they are very divine and they sure can make quick progress on the spiritual path.

On the spiritual path there is no age bar. The concept of age is man made. The real age is one's spiritual age and not all an understand what spiritual age means the progress one has made in spiritualism in different lives.

Till one does not understand and realise what one's spiritual age is one cannot attain to totality in life, one cannot know what true beauty means. One who does not have this realisation in life leads an ordinary existence and dies an ordinary man without having achieved anything great.

The first part of the text, Anand Lahiri, has forty verses and in these verses Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya has described the great powers that lie hidden in a human being especially the Shree Chakra that is there within. He has also described the Shree Vidya through which all the six divine centres of the human body can be activated. It describes how through the Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Veikhari modes of Mantra chanting one can cause the Kundalini power to rise up and activate the Sahastrar.

Till the Kundalini power is not activated a human is forced to lead an ordinary life. Till the Kundalini is not fully activated one cannot understand the principle of Adwait explained by Bhagwatpad Shankaracharya. The principle of Adwait states that Brahm and a living organism are the same. Adwait is an attempt to understand Brahm and Maya. In these verses he tried to explain the creation, preservation and the progress of the universe. And through these very verses he explained how the human body could be made perfect and immortal.

It just seem that the Supreme Consciousness is just running a grossly material world. Even man seems to be making a lot of progress. But in life he has to face lots of struggles, opposition, pain discomforts, joys and sorrows. A person who is himself entangled in the mesh of this world cannot help others get free of it. After death the person is again born in the same state and he makes no progress in life or from one life to another. Thus he has to take birth again and again.

This is what Bhawatpad Shankaracharya tried to explain that without a Guru there can be no progress in life. He also explained how one can recognise a true Guru. He said that an ordinary human cannot be a Guru. It is the knowledge within a human, the consciousness within, the power of Shree Chakra and Shree Vidya within that is the Guru. Only a person who has his Kundalini fully activated and who knows how to activate the Kundalini of others can be called a Guru and only he is imbibed with the power of the Guru element.

In the future we might come across many scholars, one might find great erudites who can write powerful commentaries but one cannot easily find a Guru who has assimilated all the knowledge of the world within. It is next to impossible to find such a Guru who understands fully the science of Kayakalp through which one can make the body healthy and fit and even immortal. It is difficult to find a Guru who can make the body smaller than a thumb and travel to the holy land of Siddhashram. It is very difficult to find a Guru who has been to Siddhashram which is the abode of thousands of years old Yogis, Rishis and Sanyasis. It is a divine land where Lord Krishnna and the highly revered Bhagwatpad Swami Sachidanand can be seen. Divine fragrance emanates from their forms. In this beautiful land is a divine lake called Siddhyoga. This place is free from the cycle of life and death. The sun never rises or sets here. Rather a divine radiance ever fills the atmosphere. The soil of this land is fragrant too. Various divine energies remain present in this land in invisible forms. And their presence can always be felt.