आगमे ब्राह्मे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Navagupta’s Black Magic

(1-8) Navagupta, the master of black magic, was, as stated before, planning, ever since his defeat at the hands of Sankara, to bring about his death by black magic. By Abhichara (a form of black magic) this evil one produced in the body of the Acharya a rectal fistula of an incurable nature. The disciple Totaka always nursed his teacher and, washed and cleansed his cloth stained with blood and faecal matter that flowed through the fistula, which yielded to no treatment. One day, all the disciples together represented to their sick Master thus: “The occurrence of a disease cannot perhaps be prevented altogether; but if it is not arrested by treatment, it will grow into menacing proportions like an unchecked enemy. As you have no identification with the body, you may not be very mindful of these developments. But we, who see all your sufferings, are all extremely griefstricken. There are many expert physicians who can diagnose the nature of the disease and administer efficient treatment. Let us find out a proper physician to do the necessary treatment for you. The Sastras say that even if a teacher is careless about his bodily comforts owing to his indifference to the body, nonetheless, it is the obligation of dutiful disciples to do everything to relieve him and look after his comforts. Your happi- ness is our happiness. Your feet are our only support in life. We are, therefore, very much concerned for your recovery from these sufferings.”

(9-13) To this, Sankara replied: “Diseases are the results of the sins of the past. Only through these sufferings are such sins destroyed, so say the Sastras. Enlightened men say that there are two kinds of ailments- those caused by Karma and those that are of purely physical origin. The first type will be cured only with the exhaustion of Karma causing them. The second type is amenable to treatment. I do not want to be treated. Let this last till the Karma is exhausted. In the meanwhile, even if the body perishes, let it perish. I do not care a bit for it.” The disciples thereupon said: “It is true that you have no desire for the survival of your body. But we, your disciples, desire that you should be

ACCESSION TO SARADAPITHA [[187]] in our midst as long as possible. Because, our very life is dependent on yours, just as aquatic creatures depend for their life on the water in which they live. Great men keep up their body for the good of others, though they have nothing to achieve for themselves with the body. O great one! Your body, too, has to be preserved for the sake of the world at large.”

(14-32) The Acharya agreed to take medical treatment at these repeated and earnest requests of the disciples, who, thereupon, went in all directions in search of competent physicians. Generally the best physicians are to be found attached to the palaces of kings, as service under kings assures them of a high income. The disciples, therefore, went to the palaces of neighbouring rulers and at last managed to find out some competent physicians. The physicians demanded their fee first, and delighted on receiving it, promised to do all that was in their power to cure the ailment. The Acharya said to them: “My disease, located in the region of the anus,

is afflicting my whole body. You physicians, who are to diseases what the sun is to darkness, may do what you think fit to relieve these conditions. Considering diseases and the sufferings they cause as atonement for the sins of the past, I showed no interest in treatment till now. But under the pressure of these disciples of mine, I have sought your help.” The physicians then treated the case as best as they could, but with no effect. To them, who were very much disappointed at the failure of their efforts, the Acharya said one day: “You have been spending many days here for my treatment. It is proper that you go home now. Your relatives and dependents must be eagerly awaiting your return. Besides, your master, the king, may also get annoyed if he knows you have gone for practice elsewhere. If he is displeased, he will dismiss you from his service and appoint others in your place. Kings are as restless as horses, and to disobey their orders is to court dismissal. Good physicians are very few, but patients are in great abundance. So many patients, afflicted by various ailments, must every day be visiting your homes and returning disappointed on not meeting you. A man has his origin in his father. But, it is the physician who protects him when attacked by ailments. Often, a life has a premature end if a physician is not available. To all embodied beings, a physician is what Mahavishnu, the protector, is to the universe.” The physicians replied: “All that you say is [[188]]

correct. Still, we are reluctant to leave this place. Will any in- telligent man go to inhabit the lower worlds, leaving the heavenly regions of the gods?” With these words, the physicians, though quite competent in their profession, departed in deep sorrow on account of their failure to effect a cure. And the great teacher, for his part, continued to put up with all the sufferings, giving up all attachment to the body. As the disease was only increasing, in spite of the treatment given by celebrated physicians, the Acharya meditated on Lord Siva with a view to understand the mystery behind his ailment. Thereupon, commissioned by the Lord, the Aswins, with long blue eyes and holding a book in hand, appeared before him in the form of Brahmanas and said, “O great Sannyasin! There is no treatment for this ailment. It has been produced in you by another man by black magic.” Padmapada was terribly angry on knowing this, and in spite of the protests of the Acharya, whose kindness extended even to his bitterest enemies, chanted the sovereign Mantra ‘Om’ to counter the magic of Navagupta. Immediately the disease was transferred to that evil-minded Sakta himself, and he died of it. How can one attain happiness by doing evil to great ones intentionally!

The Vision of Gaudapada

(33-53) Sometime after he was free from the disease, the Acharya, while sitting on the sandy bed of Ganga for meditation, saw before him the form of sage Gaudapada. He shone like a night-lotus blooming under the glory of evening clouds reflecting the light of the setting sun. In one hand of his was a Kamandalu of sparkling metal resembling the inside lustre of lotus flowers, while the finger tips of the other counted a rosary of Rudraksha beads, round which honey bees hummed, mistaking them to be blue lotus buds. The Acharya prostrated himself before Gaudapada in great excitement and then stood before him in an attitude of great respect with hands held in salutation. Gaudapada now began to speak, casting all around his glances, which resembled the waves of the Milk Ocean, and the lustre of his smile that excelled the soothing influence of moonlight. He said: “Govindacharya imparted to you the saving knowledge of the Atman, and you have well realised the eternal truth of Sat-chid-ananda, the eternal and untainted Being. You have also acquired many disciples

ACCESSION TO SARADAPITHA [[189]] always attending on you-disciples who have their minds at peace and senses under control and who are endowed with devotion, faith, renunciation and strong urge to have direct experience of Brahman. You have gained mastery over the six instinctive urges of the mind. You have gained proficiency in the six-limbed Yoga. You have acquired the six-fold spiritual excellences. Your mind has become one with the Eternal Being. I hope all these attain- ments are yours already." To these enquiries of Gaudapada, Sankara answered with great emotion and humility: “Honoured Master! By your grace all those excellences you have mentioned can certainly accrue to me. What is there unattainable for one on whom your gracious look has fallen? A glance of yours can make a fool a scholar, a sinner a saint, a dumb man an eloquent speaker, and a lascivious person a paragon of purity. Who in the world can understand even an iota of your vast and endless greatness? It was only to you that Suka, the great son of Vyasa, imparted the truth of Brahman out of the fulness of his heart. The greatness of that Suka, your teacher, was such that even at birth he was endowed with the knowledge of Brahman. Immediately he was born, he abanonded hearth and home and became an illumined wanderer, so that his father Vyasa had to go after him, calling on the Yoga aphorisms, cried out like this, he, the son Suka, replied my son! my son!’ And as the father Vyasa, the commentator in the form of reverberations of voices coming from the trees. To such an extent had that great Suka attained identification, through knowledge, with all existence. You are that limitless

‘O

by that illustrious personage. It is, indeed, the summit of good fortune for a devotee of yours like myself that he could see you today face to face.” At these words Gaudapada said: “My child, hearing about your unique excellences, I, though unruffled always, have come in the surge of love to meet you. With great joy I heard from Govinda’ that from your mind has arisen the sun of a com- mentary that has brought the lotus of my Karika on the Mandukya into full bloom, spreading the fragrance of its import everywhere.” Thereupon, the Acharya read out with all humility his commentaries on the Mandukya Upanishad and Gaudapada’s Karika on the same. Highly pleased with the commentary, Gaudapada said, “O emperor of the realm of scholarship! On hearing your very [[190]]

clear and correct interpretation of my Karika, my mind is bursting with joy and I feel an irresistible prompting to give you a boon. Choose whatever you like!” Sankara replied: “When I met you,. in whom the splendour of Suka resides, I have received the vision of Mahavishnu Himself. What greater boon can be sought by me whose thought revolves always around that Supreme Being only?” Deathless and desireless, that great sage Gaudapada thereupon disappeared, blessing the Acharya, who spent much of that night narrating to his disciples all that had happened.

Ascending the Throne of Omniscience

(54-61) Next morning, while the Acharya and his disciples were assembled near the banks of the Ganga after their morning rites and duties, some one brought to them the news: “In the world, Jambu Dveepa is the most famous region. In that region Bharata excels all others. In Bharata, Kashmir is the most famous place. For, there, it is said, Mother Sarada is present. In that region there is a temple with four gates dedicated to Sarada. Within is the Throne of Omniscience. As only an omniscient one can occupy that throne, the entrances to it will not be opened to others. Scholars from the East, the West, and the North, who could stand the test to prove their omniscience, have in the past opened the three entrances pertaining to their respective directions. It is said, till now there has been no learned man from the South qualified enough to get the southern entrance opened.” On hearing this news, the Acharya, who hailed from the South, felt a prompting tó get the entrance opened and efface the stigma on southerners that there never had been a scholar in the South competent to enter through the southern gate to the Throne of Omniscience. So, the Acharya started soon to that Temple of Sarada in Kashmir. As he approached the temple, people who hailed his advent began to exclaim: “O elephants of perverse controversialists! Flee from your forest of dualism. For, here comes Sankara, the lion ruling over the forest of Advaita, with Sannyasa for his terrific teeth, bent upon breaking the foreheads of all of you, elephants of the forest of Dvaita! He is verily like a lion that shatters the foreheads of elephants in rut. By his mere look he will put you, jackals of controversialists, to flight.”

ACCESSION TO SARADAPITHA [[191]] L

Challenge by Scholars

(62-80) As his admirers shouted like this, the Acharya appro- ached the southern entrance with a view to open it, when a set of controversialists stopped him and said: “Where are you going in great haste? First say what you want. Through thoughtless action, you can achieve nothing. Only one who can establish his claim to be omniscient- that is, to be a master of all branches of learning- can go in. He will be tested. Know, O fame seeker, you cannot gain entrance here before that.” Now, a proud controversialist, an adherent of the school of Kanada, which holds that there are six categories, approached the Acharya and declared, “In our philosophy, two atoms together form into a new atom of subtlety called Dvayanuka (doubled atom). If you are omniscient, tell me what is it that unites the two Anu’s or atoms into one unit. If you cannot give a correct answer, then your claim for omniscience is only a bluff publicised by your disciples.” Sankara replied, “That unity is due to something inherent in the atoms.” The glorifiers of Kanada then withdrew, saying that the Acharya was correct. Then came forward the representative of the Nyaya school, who said in his pride of scholarship, “Gautama’s school differs in the conception of liberation (Mukti) from the school of Kanada. Say what that difference is, if you want to justify your claim to omni- science”. Sankara replied: “In the view of Kanada, liberation (Moksha) consists in a state like that of Akasa free from all qualities. In the view of Gautama, it is, in addition, a blissful and sentient condition. In the enumeration of categories, there is a clear dis- tinction- the former has seven and the latter, sixteen. Both accept Iswara (God) as the cause of the world.” Thereupon the representä- tive of Gautama’s school of Nyaya withdrew. The Samkhya disputant now came forward and said, “Say whether Prakriti (Nature) is independent or dependent on an intelligent entity? If you are omniscient, you must give a correct answer. Then only can you get in.” Sankara replied, “The Samkhyas say that Prakriti, constituted of the three Gunas, out of which the universe is formed, is independent. But the Vedantists say that it is dependent on Iswara.” The Samkhya thereupon withdrew. Then came the scholars of the famous Buddhist schools of realism and nihilism declaring, “Without being tested, you cannot enter the temple,

Realism is of two kinds. What is the point of difference between them? And what is the difference between Vijnanavada (idealism) and your philosophy? Only after giving correct answers for these questions can you go into the temple." Sankara replied: “Of the two schools of realism, according to the Sautrantikas it is reason only that apprehends the real nature of things, while the Vaibhasikas consider perception as the main criterion of truth. Both of them, however, accept the doctrine of universal impermanence. The difference between them, therefore, is very little. The Vijnana- vadins accept consciousness as a momentary and perishable succession, while the Vedantins maintain it to be unitary and unchanging. The difference between them is vast.” Now, the Digambara Jaina approached and asked: “If you are a master of all learning, tell us what is meant by Astikaya in our system.’ To this, Sankara replied: “The Jainas speak of five Astikāyas- Jivāstikāya, Pudgalāstikāya, Dharmāstikāya, Adharmastikaya and Akāsāstikaya. If you have to ask me any other question, do it quickly.” After these representatives of non-Vedic schools of thought had turned their back, a scholar of Jaimini’s school of Purvamimamsa came forward and put the question: “In Jaimini’s doctrine, what is the nature of sound (Sabda) is it substance (Dravya) or quality (Guna)?” The Acharya replied: “Varna is eternal, all-pervasive, and graspable by the ear; Sabda is its form. Substance (Dravya) is all-pervasive, according to this school.”

The Test by Saraswati

(81-92) As the controversialists were satisfied that the Acharya was proficient in all philosophies, they opened the entrance to the temple respectfully and the Acharya entered into it. Holding the hand of Padmapada, he was about to ascend that Throne of Omniscience, when he heard the disembodied voice of Saraswati, the consort of Brahma and the presiding Deity of the temple, challenging him thus, “That you are all-knowing is an already proved fact. Otherwise, how could Viswarupa, who is famed as an incarnation of Brahma, have become your disciple? To ascend this Throne, one should not only be all-knowing but be absolutely pure in life. Do not commit the grave impropriety of ascending this Throne, without reflecting whether you have been absolutely pure in life. In spite of being a Sannyasin, in order to learn the

ACCESSION TO saradapitha [[193]] secrets of sex-life, you lived in sexual relationship with women. Was it proper for you to do so? To ascend this Throne, perfect purity of life is as much needed as all-round learning.” To this, the Acharya replied, “From birth, I have done no sin with this body. What was done by another body will not affect this body of mine.” The voice of Saraswati became silent, accepting the ex- planation, and the Acharya now ascended the Throne of Omni- science and shone there, while the spectators began to hymn his praise just as Gargya, Kahola and others did to Yajnavalkya. They sang: “By refuting all the arguments of well-trained and experienced controversialists, you have established your fame in all parts of the country. You are, indeed, a worthy person to the title of Omniscience. Hail, Hail unto the great Sannyasin’s ascen- sion to the Saradapitha! Hail, Hail to Sankara of undimmed and undecaying fame!” The ‘vociferous claims of the followers of Kapila and Kanada were drowned in the loud beat of kettle drums proclaiming the victory of the Acharya’s Vedanta philo- sophy. So did the doctrines of Kumarila, Bhaskara and Patanjali either disappear or lose all their former glamour. When Sankara, the luminous sun of knowledge, driving away the darkness of atheistic thought, shines on Saradapitha, where are the Buddhist doctrines, where are the teachings of Kanada, Kapila, Bhatta and Bhaskara? These and all other doctrines have dissolved and dis- appeared in his brilliance. At the order of their king Indra, the Devas in heaven beat gigantic kettle drums, which in the world reverberated as the bursting sound of clouds and the deep roar of the ocean. They also poured down such a rain of flowers of the heavenly Kalpaka tree, that it is said that for several days Sachi, the consort of Indra, could get no flowers for decorating her coiffured hair.

Fulfilment of Mission and Disappearance at Kedara

(93-99) Thus, for the triumph of his doctrine, and not from considerations of personal glory, did the great Sankara adorn the Throne of Omniscience. After this crowning triumph of his life, he left for Badari with some of his disciples, while deputing the others to Sringagiri and other places. At Badari, he spent some days, teaching his Advaita commentary on the Sutras to some followers of Patanjali’s school, who found his doctrines more [[194]]

acceptable than theirs and, therefore, became his disciples. Thus, teaching his noble doctrines to fit recipients, the Acharya shone like the moon spreading the light of his fame everywhere-a light that brought the cooling peace of spiritual consolation to all who came under its influence. In this way, Sankara, the great incarna- tion of Siva, reached the thirty-second year of his life, devoted solely to the practice of holiness and execution of noble deeds. He had, during that period, finished the writing of commentaries on Vedantic texts, which received recognition from all learned men and which were, for all time, to help humanity in its quest after holiness and spiritual freedom. He had put down, the pride of well-established sectaries who till then commanded the respect of vast numbers of ignorant people. He had also renovated the path for the attainment of salvation, removing all obstacles and closing all dubious diversions that inferior teachers had intro- duced. What other work could possibly be left for the great Acharya to accomplish? What else remained for him to achieve- for him, whose noble fame surpassed that of universally coveted things like sweet jasmine, fragrant sandal paste, cool moonlight and pearls of lustrous whiteness, and the flow of whose universal benevolence had extinguished the fire of suffering in the hearts of good men? The four quarters could not contain the flood of his fame that came gushing to them. All the worlds got astounded by the unparalleled feats he accomplished. All devotees found their expectations fulfilled in the ways he had shown for the attain- ment of salvation and for happiness in the world. What more could he, the prince among men, contribute to the welfare of the world?

(100-107) Next, the Acharya went to Kedara, the holy land of Siva, where the heat of sin in men is dispelled and peace generated in their hearts, where the votaries of the Lord feel uplifted from the dangers and difficulties of life. There, the cold was so great that his disciples were not able to bear it. The Acharya, therefore, meditated on Lord Siva for giving them relief, and out from the foot-steps of the Lord came a spring of hot water, which flows as a stream even to this day, declaring the glory of Acharya Sankara. Now there came a concourse of Rishis and Devas with Brahma at their head, to lead this incarnate aspect of Siva back to His pristine state in Sivaloka (Siva’s Abode) in the heaven of Kailasa.

ITHA

ACCESSION TO SARADAPITHA [[195]] The assemblage of luminous chariots filled the heavenly paths. The celestials rained a heavy shower of Mandara flowers over the region and sang the glory of Lord Siva who had taken that form of a Sannyasin: “Thou art the first of Devas. Thou art the destroyer of Tripuras. Thou didst burn Cupid and swallow poison. Thou, the three-eyed one, art the centre from which the origin, the susten- ance and the dissolution of the universe take place. Thou hast accomplished the mission for which Thou didst manifest in the world. Pray! Do come now into our midst in Thy heavenly Abode.” As the Devas addressed Him thus, the great Lord, stirred to the depth of His being, was ready to ascend to His supreme Abode, when there came and stood before Him the divine Bull Nandi, His vehicle, of swan-like whiteness. Indra and his retinue now raised their voice in a chorus of hymns and began to rain flowers gathered from the heavenly Kalpaka tree, and in the midst of these thrilling occurrences, the great Sannyasin, mounting the back of the divine Bull with Brahma supporting Him, transformed himself into his real form as the great Lord Siva with matted locks and the crescent moon peeping from it. And, as the Devas and the Rishis cried ‘Hail unto Him’, He attained to His Divine Abåde.