Gyan Yoga: Lord Shankaryacharya
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Lecture 8: GYAN YOGA: LORD SHANKARYACHARYA Adi Shankarcharya was born (788 and 820 A.D=32yrs)) to an educated orthodox Namboodri brahim family Shivaguru and Aryamba in Kerala. Though rich, they led simple life. As a child, he learned the languages and epics. By age 5, his father died and his mother raised him. HE was then sent to a nearby Gurukul for studying. It is said that at the age of eight he had understood the four Vedas. By the time he was twelve years of age, he had understood all branches of knowledge. And by sixteen he had written commentaries on those Vedanta which are considered to be his major works. Sharp as his intellect was, so was his heart very broad. After finishing his studies, Shankara returned home and continued to lead a life devoted to learning, and serving his mother until oneday when he was caught by a crocodile in the river, he prayed to his mother to let him be a sanyasann and lead a new life. Shankara spent eight years with guru Govindapada studying scriptures such as the Upanishads until age 16 years when he set out on his crusade to the four corners of India The founder of the school of Advaita Vedanta, Shankaracharya travelled all over India, establishing monasteries, reforming worship procedures and debating with rival theologians. He was a prolific author and wrote a large number of commentaries (bhashyas) on Indian texts, especially the Upanashads and the Brahma Sutra. He played an important part in overthrowing orthodox sects including Buddhism in India and instituting a Hindu (Vedic) revival. His dedication in unifying the spiritual beliefs of the nation has made him a legendary figure of India who is deservedly recognized as a reincarnation of the Lord Shiva. The evil of intolerance in the minds of various caste and creeds had to be combated purely by the weapon of knowledge and self-purification with devotion and love to all (Brahmins or chandalas, rich or poor). GYAN YOG: LORD BUDDHA According to tradition, Budha (The Enlightened One) was born as Siddhārtha (he who achieves his aim) in 563 BC to 483 BC. in Lumbini[7] and raised in Kapilvastu (Nepal). Buddha's mother died soon after his birth. During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita announced that the child would either become a great king or a great holy man. At age of 16, married Yaśodharā.and they had a son, Rahula. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha felt that material wealth was not the ultimate goal of life. To be a great king, he was shielded from religious teachings or knowledge of human suffering. Despite his father's efforts, Siddhartha was deeply depressed by sights of aging charioteer, a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. At age 29, he left the palace and sought to overcome aging and suffering by living the life of an ascetic. He tried to find enlightenment through meditation, and near total deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practicing self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. He adopted middle path and through meditation under a Bodhi tree, he achieved the truth of human sufferings. Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of Gautama Buddha are: The Four Noble Truths: 1) Suffering is an inherent part of existence; 2) Origin of suffering is ignorance which leads to attachment and craving; 3) Attachment and craving can be ceased 4)Practicing the Noble Path: (right understanding, thought, action) will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and therefore suffering. GYAN YOG: KABIR DAS Kabir (1398—1448) was born in a weaver's family and later adopted by childless Muslim weavers named Niru and Nimma, who found him near Lahara Tara lake, in the holy city of Varanasi. [3] Some say he was the son of a Brahmin widow, adopted by the Muslim couple. [4] It is not clear whether he ever married, but tradition gives him a wife named Loi and two children. Early in his life Kabir became a disciple of the Hindu bhakti saint Ramananda. It was unusual for a Hindu teacher to accept a Muslim student. He did not classify himself as Hindu or Muslim, Sufi or Bhakta. A weaver by profession, Kabir ranks among the world's greatest poets. In India, he is perhaps the most quoted author. The Holy Guru Granth Sahib contains over 500 verses by Kabir. Kabir immensely contributed to the Bhakti Movement and is considered a pioneer of Bhakti along with Ravidas, Farid, and Namdev.The legends surrounding his lifetime attest to his strong aversion to established religions. Brahmins and Mullahs had strong hold on all the spheres of life in this city. Kabir through his couplets not only reformed the mindset of common villagers and low caste people but give them self confidence to question Brahmins. Kabir also denounced mullahs and their rituals of bowing towards kaba five times a day. Because of open condemnation of established and popular religions, Kabir became an object of the wrath of both Hindus and Muslims in and around Benaras. Kabir believed in sell-surrender and God's bhakti. He was against all ritualistic and ascetic methods as means to salvation, the wealth of three worlds resides in the goodness of heart. "The man who is kind and practices righteousness, who remains passive in the affairs of the world, who considers creatures of the world as his own self, he attains the immortal Being; the true God is ever with him. For him, true worship is only inwards. Put on the rosary inward. Kabir's satire was brought to bear not simply on the vices and weaknesses of men but reached through and beyond them to the very system themselves of the then Hinduism and islam. In his poems, he was quick to tell the illustrations of moral and spiritual truth in the incidents of everyday life , and many of his similes and metaphors are very striking. For example, “What can one do, if, with lamp in hand, one falls in the well." "Or goes astray with open eyes. Discern ye now between good and evil." In Maghar, his tomb or Dargah and Samadhi Mandir still stand side by side.[ Lecture 8 HW Write the following for Shankara, Budha and Kabir. 1. Birth state ________ __________ ______________ 2. Background family _________ __________ ______________ 3. Name of Guru _________ __________ _____________ 4. Background of Guru _________ __________ _____________ 5. Education background _________ __________ _____________ 6. Composed __________ __________ _____________ Write some contribution related to each of the three gyan yoga swamis that inspired you and why. .