World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 491

in the matters of inner soul, which is an ocean of spiritual bliss, any differences on the ground that one is a brahmin and the other is an outcaste ?" On hearing this, Shri Shankara understood that the person before him in the form of an outcaste was not an ordinary pariah, but Parashiva Himself who had come to test him. On the spot, the following divine utterances came from Shri Shankara.
जाग्रत् स्वप्न सुषिप्तिषु स्फुटतरा या संविदुज्जृभते या। ब्रह्मादि पिपीलिकान्ततनुषु प्रोता जगत् साक्षिणी । सैवाहं न च दृश्यवस्तित्वति दृढप्रज्ञापि यस्यापिचेत् ।
चाण्डालोऽस्तु सतु द्विजोऽस्तु गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ।। (Brahma Chaitanya - or the Absolute Divine Power is at the back of all living beings. That flows incessantly in all three stages - 1. fully awakened state. 2. dream state, and 3. the deep sleep state. Further, it is there at the back of all - from the first living being (Brahma) to the last and tiniest living creature. Anyone who has realised and experienced that “I am a divine soul, not this physical body", -whether by birth he be a brahmin or an outcaste, it is immaterial - he is my real teacher.)
God, who is behind all living creatures, has no caste. The sense of caste and creed is that of body and mind. This is how the world is. At superficial level there appear ups and downs, differences in the world. But behind them, there is an Indivisible Unique Principle which is free from differences, ups and downs, lower and higher, etc. When one reaches great height in his achievement, one realises how all these castes and creeds get dissolved and harmonised. In this sense, the “Maneesha Panchaka" of Shri Shankara expresses the principle of harmonisation of castes.
Secondly, all are permitted and welcomed to know the essential meaning of the Vedas through history and mythologies. Any person from any caste can become enlightened. Though by birth a person is shudra, he can get enlightenment by the accumulated rewards and achievements of previous births, and doubtlessly he gets salvation through spiritual enlightenment. Shri Shankara tells these words at the end of the chapter on "Apashudradhikarana". It means, all kinds of people, irrespective of their castes, should move towards the realisation of Parabrahma or God, and it is a process of harmonisation of all castes and creeds.
Harmonising of geographical differences of our country
Our country now extends from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarath to Assam. But in the past, the whole of this region was not politically a single nation. Inspite of this, the solid reason for recognizing the boundaries of our country is based on Shri Shankara's visits to these places. To a
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