ADISANKARA'S SIDDHANTHA TATHWA VINDU

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Friends,

I am giving below, Adi Shankara's Siddhantha Tatwa Vindhu , as translated by CHARLES JOHNSTON. About the time of Shankaracharaya of Kalady whom we consider as Adi Shankara, there are disputes. There is also a theory that Shankaracharya of Kaladi was not Adi Shankara and there were many Shankaracharas before him. Further, the time of Adi Shankara whom most of us consider as KALADI SHANKARACHARYA itself is contraversial. Even his time of living is conraversial. According to KANCH, DWARKA AND PURI PEETHAMS while the dates are described as 509 - 477.B.C. SRINGERI PEETHAM says it as 820 - 788. B.C. Swamy Nianjanananda Saraswathy in his book "SANYASA DARSHAN" says Shankaracharaya was born at Kalady in Malabar in 686. His Samadhi was in Kedarnath which is now in Utharanchal State . Even people living around Kedarnath believe that HE attained SAMADHI at that place. I leave this to the HISTORIANS to solve. However, if He was the same person who was responsible to the renaissance of Hinduism then to certain extend it must coincide with the life pweriod of Gauthama Buddha which is also again contaversial. Some say it is between 563 and 463 and others say that it is from 410 to 400 BC. BNow, I leave it to you to determine. It is a fact that Adi Shankara established 4 PEETHOMS and not 5 since KAMAKOTI PEETHOM was not established by HIM. The four PEETHOMS are (1) SHRI GOVARDHANA PEETHOM in POORI JAGANNATH i.e in EAST for RIG VEDA (2) SRI. SARADA PEETHOM AT SHRIGERI ( Karnataka) , YAJUR VEDAM (3) SHRI SHARADA PEETHAM at DWARKA in the west for SAAMA VEDA and SHRI JYOTSS PEETHOM ( JYOTHIR MADHOM) at Badarinath in Uthar Khand State for Athrava Vedam. I shall be dealing with the life of Adi Shankara later if time permits.

The translation of the VINDU or WORDS OF VERSE OF DEEP SIGNIFICANCE is given below :

"1. Nor earth nor water, fire nor liquid air, nor ether, nor the powers, nor these in one; undifferentiated, in dreamless perfect rest, that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

2. Nor castes nor their divisions, rite nor rule, are mine, nor fixing mind and thought and mood; no longer dreaming things not Self art 'I' and 'mine,' that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

3. Nor mother, father, nor the gods and worlds, nor Scriptures, offerings, shrines are there, they say, in dreamlessness abandoned by the lonely Self; that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

4. Nor sectary of Cause or Lord or Life knows That, nor follower of Saint or Rite, in perfect union, pure of all but Self, that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

5. Nor upward, downward, nor within, without; nor midward, backward, That, nor east nor west; all-present everywhere in partless unity, that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

6. Nor white nor black nor yellow, That, nor red; nor small nor very great nor short nor long; formless, yet like a light, a star; that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

7. Nor teacher, teaching, learner, what is learned; nor thou nor I nor this expanded world; conscious of its own form, from error free, that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

8.Nor waking, mine, nor dream, nor dreamless sleep; nor fire of life or heart or seeing soul; these three are of unwisdom; but the fourth, that, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

9. Even expanded for the sake of Self -- Self, that, still perfect, on no other rests -- all the wide world besides is little worth. ahat, the One, final, blest, alone, am I.

10. Nor is this first with any second to it; nor lonely this, nor yet has it compeers; nor is this secondless One void or filled with aught; how shall I tell this perfect wisdom's crowd?

" OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VASUDEVAYA, Om VISWASMI NAMAH, OM NAMO NARAYANAYA "

P.R.RADHAKRISHNAN