Thus Spake the Divine - Human Birth is Very Significant

Thus Spake the Divine

Human Birth is Very Significant

There is a Sanskrit shloka which reads as follows:

“shastram shareera mimamsa

devastu parameshvaraha;

acharya shankaracharya:

santume janma janmani”

The literal meaning of this verse, which is the prayer of an individual pleading to God, is:

“If I have to take birth again and again, please grant me the following wishes. Let the Shastra I follow be Sharira Mimamsa (That which speaks about the soul inside this body). Let Lord Parameshvara be my Ishta Devata and let my Guru be Adi Shankara”

Generally, people wish to be exempted from further Janmas (births) by attaining Moksha or salvation, thereby unifying with Paramatma. However, if there is an option available that Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada will be the Guru in each and every birth of a person, then, that person will not mind any number of births! That is what this verse highlights! This is similar to that of Appar Swami, who says one should take birth as human being just to get engrossed into Nataraja!

Adi Shankara has also composed a similar verse in Shivananda Lahari starting with “Naratvam Devatvam”. In this Shloka, Acharya says, “If I can embrace the Lotus Feet of Lord Parameshvara and

immerse in absolute bliss, then, I welcome any form of birth, be it human, deva, stone, tree, animal, mosquito, cow or bird. When the reminiscence of God runs through my heart, how does the kind of body in which the birth occurs matter?”

When we say “Acharya” without any prefix, it denotes only Sri Shankara Acharya. There are several Acharyas viz. Bhishmacharya, Dronacharya, Vyasacharya, Sayanacharya and so on. But when we just say Acharya, people will relate it only to our Shankara Acharya, which signifies the divine charisma of Acharya. The term Acharya is defined as: “A spiritual preceptor, who not only establishes the significance of spiritual practices, philosophies and rituals, but also adheres to his own preaching in its strict sense.” Adi Shankara Acharya has propounded the Philosophy of Advaita, which advocates a non-distinct identity of Paramatma and Jeevatma. Though we pompously speak of the great Advaita

Philosophy, we have hardly imbibed its wisdom, whereas Acharya lived the philosophy. Though He was engaged in different kinds of activities, he remained as the Brahmam of “No action”. He propounded the path of Wisdom (Jnyana Marga); He also endorsed the Bhakti Marga (Path of Adoration and Devotion). Though we follow both the paths, viz. Bhakti and Jnyana, we do not adhere to them in their true sense. How do we engage ourselves in Bhakti and Jnyana with absolute commitment?

Acharya propounded Karma Marga (Path of Duties) as the foundation stone for both Bhakti and Jnyana Marga. According to Him, if we diligently perform our duties and rituals, as ordained by Shastras, we will acquire discipline, mental control and purity in thoughts. Only then will we be able to travel the paths of Bhakti and Jnyana in their real sense.

Like how the term “Acharya” forms the synonym for Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada, similarly, when we say Veda in foreign countries, people identify it as Advaita Veda. Though there are several philosophies, such as Dvaita, Visishtadvaita or Shaivism and so on, which are also based on Vedas and Upanishads, only Advaita propounded by Acharya carries the reputation. Recall the declaration of Swami Vivekananda about Advaita Philosophy in Europe and USA saying, “Let the Lion of Vedanta Roar”. This has transformed the religion of Acharya into a universal religion.

However, Acharya succinctly clarifies that this religion was not established by Him anew. It is only the fundamental essence of our Upanishads. Along with Advaita Philosophy, Acharya founded the Shan Mata worship, which refers to the worship of one divine power, Brahmam, in all its six manifestations (Shanmata in Sanskrit means six religions). They pertain to the worship of Lords Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda.

There is another feather in the cap of Acharya. Founders of other philosophies, such as Visishtadvaita, Dvaita and Shaivism, namely Sri Ramanujar, Sri Madhvacharya and Sri Meykandar respectively, have emerged only after the dawn of our Acharya. But other religions established by founders, namely Kapilar, Jaimini, Ganathar, Gowthamar prior to the birth of our Acharya decayed with the advent of our Acharya. He established the Vedic Religion over-powering the antagonism and criticisms by Buddhism and Jainism. Since Acharya made all these achievements

before he turned 32 years, there is absolutely no doubt that He is the Avatara of Lord Parameshvara.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.