By London Swaminathan
Post No. 866 Date: 25th February 2014

Adi Shankara was a philosopher. His hymns such as Viveka Chudamani, Bhaja Govindam, Guru Ashtakam, and Dakshinamurti Hymn are purely religious. But his Question and Answer hymn known as Prasnaottara Ratnamalika is different from others. He talks about secular subjects in addition to spiritualism. (Prasna means Question and Uttar means Answer). The question and answer format was used in the Upanishads. Dialogues are in the Vedas. Socrates borrowed it from India and used it in the West. The Western scholars named it Socratic Method. But it has become popular after Yaksha Prasna in Mahabharata. Buddhists copied it in their Milinda Panha.

(Socrates used the Upanishad command Know Thy Self. Paramahamsa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi gives more details about Socrates’ encounter with a Hindu Yogi in page 367 which I have already published in this blog)

Let us look at a few secular questions and answers from Shankara’s Prasnaottara Ratnamalika:

About Government Service!
In Sloka 37
And what assembly is to be shunned?
That which is devoid of elder councillor.

Here in what should a man be conscious?
Verily in the service of the king
(King= governments)

In Sloka 30
Which place is to be shunned?
One abounding in wicked people and ruled by a greedy king

Add Sloka 32
What is the cause of ignominy?
Currying the favour of unregenerate people.

In Sloka 57
Who is a king?
One who makes others happy.

On Wives and Friends

Equally interesting is his views on wives, women and friends. Before looking at his answers we must remember the age he lived in and the views of other cultures around the world at that time.

What attracts the mind of a wise man?
Good poems and a wise lady. ( Sloka 28)

It is a beautiful answer of a man with a very good taste. But we would’t have expected from a philosopher like Shankara. He has met one of the wisest ladies of ancient India Sarasavani, wife of Mandana Mishra and defeated her in arguments. He wrote commentaries to all the major Upanishads where he had come across the wisest ladies Gargi and Maitreyi .No wonder he gave such an answer!
I have dealt with Mandana misra – Adi Shankara clash in “Lie Detectors in the Upanishads”– posted on 27 June 2012.

If we believe the arguments of Kanchi Paramacharya, Shankara lived a few centuries before Christ. I have also proved that Paramacharya was right by quoting verses from 2000 year old Sangam Tamil literature. The majority view placed him in the eighth century. They were confused because of Abinava Shankara ( Abi nava shankara means ONCE AGAI N A NEW SHANKARA. He was a ditto of Adi Shankara). So we have to take into account the age he lived in before scrutinising his answers.

In verses (slokas) 9, 15, 23, 31, 38 and 49 he makes interesting comments on women and wives:

What is inscrutable? (kim gahanam?)
The conduct of woman (Stri Charitham)
(Inscrutable= impossible to understand or interpret!)

Q: What activities should one resist from doing ?
(avadhirana kva karya?)

A: Association or indulgence with the unscrupulous, others’ women and others’ wealth.
(khala, para-yosit and para-dhana respectively)

What is momentary like lightning?
Bad company and young women.

By what means can a person be griefless?
By obedient wife and undiminishing wealth.

It is strange that Adi Shankara talks about wealth.
But Tamil poets Valluvar also said the same. His wife Vasuki was an obedient wife who put her husband above everything. Valluvan also said that such a woman can make rain pour down. Valluvan also said that there is no other world if you don’t have god’s grace (Arul) and there is no life in this world if you don’t have money (Porul).

What is to be well protected?
Good name, devoted wife and discernment

Who is the friend of a house holder?
His wife

In this answer, he follows Yudhitra in Yaksha Prasna of Mahabharata.
Yudhistra described wife a a friend, philosopher and guide.

Q: Who is the clever man ? (kah caturah)
A: One who does not become the slave of the influence of females.

The finale comes in his answer to the question
Who is the perceptible Goddess? (Prathyaksha Devata Ka?)
Mother (Matha)
This is the same answer we have been getting from the days of Vedas: “Matha, Pitha, Guru ,Deivam!”

About Friends

He gives his views on friendship in slokas 13, 16 and 22:
What bestows happiness?
Friendship with good people.

This he repeats for the umpteenth time; in his Bhajagovindam hymn he sang about Sath Sangam. All the Hindu sages repeated it hundreds of times.

What is to be cultivated with affection?
Compassion towards the helpless and friendship with the good.

Where should we live?
Near good people.

But the finale on this subject comes in his answer to
Who is a friend?
He who prevents us from doing sin (one who saves from sin).

English people knew that
A friend indeed is a friend in need.

Valluvar says lot of things about friendship. But Adi Shankara is unique in giving this answer. A lot of people are spoiled by their friends. They make them do bad things for the sake of giving company. Probably Adi Shankara knew what is going to happen in 20th and 21st centuries. So imagined this question and gave an appropriate answer!

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