ATAMABODHA OF SANKARA By Pranav Khullar

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.. ATAMABODHA OF SANKARA

By Pranav Khullar

 

Atmabodha, set in 68 verses, begins by stating that it will serve as

a primer to those desirous of liberation, equipped with the tool of

discernment and renunciation. The second verse gets to the heart of

the matter declaring that knowledge alone can be the cause of

liberation, just as the fire is the direct cause of cooking.

Requirements might include water, pots and pan; but it is fire which

actually makes cooking possible.

 

Sankara stresses that karma or action is powerless to destroy

ignorance. Self can be known only through knowledge, just as light

alone can dispel darkness. Constant practice and use of knowledge

removes the dirt of ignorance.

 

Sankara talks about the illusion created by oyster shells scattered

along the beach on a moonlit night. We mistake them for silver, only

till we recognize the reality of the oyster shells. Similarly, the

world of names and forms exist till self-knowledge dawns.

 

Sankara declares that meditation is essential to refocus on the

Self. The flame of knowledge can be kindled only by constant

meditation, which he compares with the act of rubbing wood to light

a fire. Meditation is the friction between the mind-wood and Om-wood

pieces.

 

The story of Rama is allegorized as Atmarama, one who deserves

satisfaction from the Self-alone, having crossed the ocean of

delusion to vanquish the creatures of passion, just as Rama crossed

the ocean to kill Ravana.

 

The concluding verses are a lucid exposition of Advaita, in which

Sankara wants us to understand that: `All things, which can be

perceived or heard, are Brahaman itself, and nothing else…and though

Atma is reality, it can be perceived by one who has the eye of

wisdom…' Sankara asks us to undertake the real pilgrimage to

the `shrine of Atma', which alone will bestow equanimity.

 

Atmabodha, like its companion piece, the Vivekachudamani, is a call

to free enquiry. It reflects the fact that Sankara was reaching out

to the masses as much as the intelligentsia of his time: it is a

call to the heart as much as a call to the mind. (Source: The Times

of India)

 

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.