Sankara's lasting legacy - II

Greetings on Sanakara Jayanti - 2021

The first piece of this essay was written last year and is available here. 

After a year, on to the second part! 

Fundamentally, there are two ways in which unity can be fostered among a group of people.

People would unite based on mutual need. The need could be the safety or security. The strength of this unity fluctuates based on the changes in the resources people have to fend themselves. This is seen in case of nations as well as families. Nations with similar needs try to forge a front. Families stay together based on the mutual needs of the members. This unity is largely resource driven. 

The second type of unity is a cultural unity. It is based on the shared beliefs/value systems and where the beliefs are not common, with a mutual respect of individual beliefs. This unity is strong as long as there is cognizance of the shared belief, knowledge of the common goals and a mutual respect. This is true in nations as it is in families. As the saying "birds with same feathers flock together" goes - humans with similar beliefs also flock together as they find that common thread to be one of sustenance. This unity is largely belief driven.

Given the social nature of human beings, sustainable unity can be brought through the exploration and understanding of beliefs and consequent value systems. A family is a good reflection of the society. It is common experience to see that families which are tied by cultural threads meet more often, derive mutual support in times of crisis and due to that tide over the crises more effectively. On the other hand, families that don't have cultural ties among its members find it extremely difficult to tide over hard times in spite of availability of large amount of resources.

Like the cultural unity in families comes from its wise elders, the cultural unity among various groups is identified by once-in-a-millennium reformers like SankarAchArya. Like it was delineated in the part I of this essay, the AchArya went beyond the symbolic ritual practices to identify the unifying themes among the various sects. 

However rituals are important engagements for people. Therefore in order to prescribe such rituals, he created a framework for the worship of all gods as the manifestations of one God. Thus the rituals were enriched to relate to the higher goal and were no longer mechanical engagement. 

Of course, even after the advent of AchArya from time to time, there have been clashes in sects of diverse beliefs but there have also been messiahs that have appeared at those times and by deriving strength from the spring of Sankara's teachings, unity has always been fostered in the society. 

Pic taken from here.

The above pic adapted from here is a classic example of showing unity in diversity. The harvesting festival is celebrated in every part of India with a different name. We can find so many differences in the cuisine, clothing, celebrations of this festival in all these states. But what is common is that it is a festival of harvest and time to show gratitude to mother nature for the blessing of bounty. 

But this is not a magic wand to create unity. This calls for constant engagement with people who do not share our beliefs. The idea should always be to find common and unifying grounds rather than spotting the differences. Two important aspects to achieve this are 

1. Commitment to engagement 

2. Open mind

Commitment to engagement reflects the determination to find the unifying glue while the open mind ensures that neither the interests of the groups suffer nor does the goal. 

Much of the chaos in today's society can be attributed to lack of open mind. This results in biases and almost everyone is approached with a bias if not suspicion. Symbolism has scored heavily over spirit. Since every group has a different symbol and are avowed to follow that, every sect feels insecure at the comments from other sects. But if we look beyond the symbolism and identify the common spirit there can be unity and peace.

The open mind is not needed only for unity in the society, it should be the second nature to any human being in any pursuit either personal or professional. Corporates are trying to exploit this in the name of diversity. But even there the diversity mostly stops at gender balancing! Real diversity that would benefit any organization is the diversity of opinions. But most leaders shy away from this and want to be surrounded by yes-men! 

Handling diversity of opinion coupled with clarity of the goal will not only pay rich dividends to organizations but also ensure a healthy, peaceful and productive environment. 

If one reads the life and works and achievement of SankarAchArya and how he brought about the unity of the land, there are many lessons lurking there for us to imbibe and solve many of our conflicts today. 

I pay rich tributes to the memory and teachings of Sankara on this day. We are indeed enriched by his advent. May we explore his teachings more and find direction.

Sankaracharya's lasting legacy

Sri Sankaracharya, also known as Adi Sankara was a phenomenon who unfortunately is not as widely known as he should be in India and the world at large. His single biggest achievement has been to traverse the length and breadth of India by foot, a whopping 18000 Km by very conservative estimates, writing up contemporary commentaries on the scriptures that dictated the way of life in bhArat, conquering in controversies, establishment of centers of excellence and creating a legacy that is alive today and by virtue of all those ensuring a spiritual integration of bhArat.

Talking of Sankara’s legacy, what is his most lasting legacy? Is it the number of treatises and commentaries that he has written, viz. commentaries on brahma sUtras, upanishads, bhagavadgIta ; hymns that are both poetic and philosophical such as saundarya lahari or SivAnanda lahari or bhajagOvindam; or are they the large number of eulogies he has composed on almost all gods; or is it the conquests against those who controverted with him; is it the establishment of centers of excellence for practice of sanAtana dharma aka mutts; is it  giving jnAna the highest place? This list of course is just the tip of the iceberg of his extraordinary accomplishments in course of a life that lasted but 32 years. Arguably, his most lasting legacy has been his approach to the goal of spiritual integration of bhArat.

His mission of the spiritual integration of bhArat involved the following key aspects, viz. Expertise, Communication, Listening, Influencing, Transforming and Creating – all key aspects of leadership that we think of today.

Expertise

Sankara’s prodigious talent saw him mastering everything he came across in no time. He mastered the scriptures at a very young age. Perhaps a very early testimony of his command over language and learning is the spontaneous eulogy of goddess Lakshmi in the form of the kanakadhAra stOtram – a eulogy that showered gold in the house of a poor lady. The versatility he displayed in his genius at a very early age was an ample demonstration of his expertise. This reflected amply during his stay with the guru gOvinda bhagavatapAda for whom he was a privilege to teach!

Communication

His guru clearly saw that Sankara was made for higher accomplishments and that his power of articulation should not be wasted upon. He also seems to have recognized that an able person should be in an ecosystem where his talents are appreciated and also provides him with a stage to test his ideas. Hence guru gOvinda directed Sankara to go to kASi which was a center of learning brimming with scholars and also urged him to write commentaries on the brahma sUtras and upanishads. Thus kASi became the center in launching Sankara to the national scene. There was a fertile ground of seekers available here and Sankara excelled in communicating his thoughts on the scriptures in a succinct manner which brought him many a disciple. vyAsa himself had a duel with Sankara here in form of an old man from whom Sankara faced the severest test of authenticity of his interpretations and he graduated successfully in this test. Thus this period of stay in kASi where Sankara communicated vEdic philosophy to humanity in a contemporary manner was the key not only to hand over these works to posterity but also to gather the human resource needed in further stages of his mission.

Listening

Authoring impactful and authentic treatises on scriptures resulted in several scholars surrendering to him as his disciples. It was now time for Sankara to travel the farther lands and bring people into the fold of sanAtana dharma. He met with leaders of diverse faiths in this sojourn. He controverted with them and in the process he listened to their view point carefully before calling their bluff. It is never possible to refute another argument convincingly unless one listens well. The tradition of debate that Sankara brought forth in his conquests far outshines any other conquest in the history of mankind. There was no imposition on a view point but logical discussions on view points with both sides listening honestly. Their commitment to pursuit of truth is really admirable and is a necessity of the times today.

Influence

That Sankara heard diverse viewpoints ranging from materialism to ritualism to nihilism but ultimately won them over and helped each one identify other as a pilgrim in the journey is Sankara’s greatest achievement. These people were no pushovers and were deeply steeped in their pursuits. The amount of influence that he could create with his precise articulation to achieve this is indeed stunning.

Transform

Sankara however didn’t make his opponents change their pursuits but only made changes which helped them to relate to the ultimate goal through that path which they gladly adopted and accepted him as their guru. Sankara seems to have influenced and integrated them using what is known as a “merger and acquisition” strategy well known in the contemporary parlance today. This helped him to achieve far more than what 32 years on earth could afford! The transformation he caused can be further gauged from the devout followers he commands millennia after his withdrawal from the physical world.

Create

All the above leadership qualities enabled Sankara to create institutions for eternity. He created institutions in various parts of the country, seemingly keeping geography in mind. These mutts served as local powerhouses radiating his teachings and helping people in course correction from time to time. Even more than building the institutions he institutionalized the ways of worship with a clear view of the goal of life which is still the guiding light for seekers of the sanAtana dharma. Thus every home became a torchbearer of sanAtana dharma.

His achievement

The sanAtana dharma defines self-realization as the goal of life. As life evolved and population became more diverse the paths of self-realization also got diverse. From this diversification emerged several ways of attaining salvation, viz. karma kAnDam – ritualism, patanjala – practice of yOga and pranayama, sAnkhya – enumerativism, charvaka – materialism, SUnyavAda – nihilism to name a few, by the process of reductionism. The reductionistic practices got so deep rooted over a period of time that they lost sight of the ultimate aim for which the path was laid down. This led to conflicts and claims of superiority over one another as is common in any society with multiple ways of life. This was threatening the very fabric of sanAtana dharma which is when Sankara was born.

The dating of his advent is highly variable and historians differ in their assignment of the period widely. But by conservative estimates Sankara reigned on this land no less than 1200 years ago. He was born in kAlaDi near the present day Ernakulam in kEraLa. His legend reconstructed through hagiographic accounts of his conquests is much of the basis to know about his birth and life. But a lot more comprehensive glimpse of his personality can only be gleaned through his works.

Coming back to the society of those days - torn with diverse practices arising out of a common goal of life, Sankara’s mission was the spiritual reunification of the faiths and people. He noticed that various faiths differed in practice but forgot the reason for the practice. It was akin to forgetting that it is actually the light of the same Sun that enables us to see the various objects in the world.

Sankara emphasized that it is the same Sun that is shining in the pot, puddle, pond as well as the river. Therefore, the different water bodies share the commonality of reflecting the same Object of illumination. If you want to see the Sun, you could see him in any one of them equally well. The same is true with the ultimate purpose of life which can be attained through any of the different practices provided the goal is clear.

Difference is seen when we concentrate on the waterbody but oneness is seen when we concentrate on the same Sun that is reflected. This practice of perceiving this oneness in the creation is advaita or non-dualism.

The back-to-the-drawing-board approach of Sankara was refreshing. With this conviction, he set forth on his conquests with proponents of the diverse faiths and won them over in vAdas - debates. The greatness of the debates is that the “loser” didn’t lose the debate, rather he was elevated to a higher purpose in the pursuit of his faith. No one feared a loss in this duel but it was an honest enquiry of truth which if it was convincingly different from one’s views was not only welcomed but embraced.

Sankara’s advaitavAda concentrated on the essence and goal of myriad practices and therefore gave each its own place in the pursuit of the truth. Thus no faith was coerced into sanAtana dharma by enticement or enforcement. They just re-assumed their pristine forms in the light of the conviction of the goal that Sankara shined upon them. Thus Sankara achieved the spiritual unification of the various faiths of this land and that of bhArat and established harmony in the society.

This achievement of reunification of bhArat by Sankara must rank among the greatest efforts in the world for it was not done by use of any force but by sheer vAda (debate and logic) and an honest pursuit of truth. This way of resolving conflicts by debate is the greatest gift of bhArat to the world. This is what marks as an ancient and intellectual civilization. And we owe much to Sankara for that.

In the second and concluding part of this article I will attempt to outline what modern day scientists and pursuers of truth can learn from Sankara. Coming soon. Stay tuned.