Image of Adi Sankara

Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 13,966

Date uploaded in London – 3 DECEMBER 2024 .            

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

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Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is teaching us lot of spiritual truths and practices through the life of Adi Sankara. I have found many interesting  anecdotes or quotes in the book “Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna”. Reading them together will help any spiritual aspirant.

Here are the anecdotes:

1

Sri Sankaracharya had a disciple who had been serving him for a long time but was not still given any instruction by him. Once, while seated alone, Sankara heard the footsteps of someone coming behind. So, he called out, Who is there? The disciple answered, It is I. The Acharya thereupon said, If this “I”  is so dear to you, then expand it to Infinity (i.e. know the universe as yourself) or renounce it altogether.

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2

After the attainment of Samadhi, some still retain the ego—the “I” of the servant or worshipper of God. Sankaracharya kept the ego of Vidhya (knowledge) for the purpose of teaching others.

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3

Sankaracharya’s exposition of the Vedanta is indeed true and true also is what Ramanuja speaks of it – the Visishtadvaita philosophy.

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4

There is a fabled species of birds called HOMA. They live so high up in the heavens and love those high regions so dearly that they never come down to earth. And it is said that they lay eggs in the sky and their young ones are hatched in mid-air as the eggs fall, pulled down by gravity. No sooner these fledgelings find out that they are falling downwards, than they immediately change their course and indistinctively fly upwards towards their home. Men like Narada, Sukadeva, Jesus and Sankaracharya are like these birds.  Even in their boyhood they became free from all attachments to the things of the world and betook themselves to the highest regions of True Knowledge and Divine Light.

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5

The great Sankaracharya had a foolish disciple who used to imitate his master in all matters.  Sankara uttered Sivoham (I am Siva); the disciple also repeated Sivoham. To correct his disciple’s folly, Sankara one day while passing by a smithy, took a pot full of molten iron and asked the disciple also to do the same. Of course, the disciple could not imitate this act of his master, and thenceforward he left off saying Sivoham. Base imitation is always bad, but to attempt to correct one’s own self by the noble examples of the great ones is always good.

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6

Picture of  Sri Ramakrishna

An outcaste was carrying baskets of meat from the slaughter house. On the way he met Sankaracharya who was returning after his bath in the sacred Ganges. It chanced that the outcaste touched the person of the holy man . Sankara was offended and cried out “ You have touched me sirrah!”. The outcaste replied, Sir neither have I touched you, nor have you touched me. Please reason with me and say whether your true Self is the body or the mind or the intellect; tell me  what you truly are. You know that the true Self is not attached to any of the three Gunas of Nature, Satva, Rajas, Tamas. Then Sankara was abashed and had the true awakening.

–subham—

Tags- Sri Ramakrishna , Adi Sankara, anecdotes, imitation , by devotee, outcaste, touch. True Self