The Life of Adi Shankaracharya

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya (1/4) - Shubhani Chaitanya

Sri Ramakrishna

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya The topic of our retreat is GPS guru parampara system focusing on the life and the teachings of the gran Adi Shankaracharya to speak or to reflector even to think about Adi Shankara cha Ji one must have a lot of Punia

we must have done some good karma somewhere somehow because when we think of great people automatically we become highly purified because

we think about how they live how they've walked how they've interacted with people and when we think about that and dwell on that we start wanting to make those same changes in our lives

so the study and the reflection of great people is an important part of our tradition and

we are blessed to study Adi Shankaracharya Ji and throughout this retreat I hope will understand why
I know that the aim of the retreat is to come up with a curriculum for the summer camp and I will do that do it in the best way I can or rather let him do it in a way that it won't be very systematic or it in a curriculum type way but

I just want you to revel in the grants life just revel in his life and just enjoy because when you love him then you'll be able to share his glory even better hmm it's a little stacked so before

we get into the topic of the Guru parampara system first

we need to understand what it means to be a shisha I forget to have a guru but what Noah what does it mean to be she means the student shisha brava means what should be the emotion what should be the character of the student who wants to learn about the Guru there is this beautiful Subhash cheetah I'll read it out to you then I'll explain to you Acharya Padma the B bottom shisha Swami they are sub Ramachari beef bottom garlic romaine is Acharya Padam other the day it says that learning happens in four quarters the first quarter of learning is from the Acharya from a teacher bottom sheesha Swami daya the second quarter happens through one's own intelligence or reflection Subrata rebirth bottom the third quarter happens through discussion through engaging in dynamic talks and exchanges with our peers bottom, Kollek Ramanujan and the last quarter happens in time so what does this mean first

we have to learn how to listen listening means what listening means our full attention is exactly where it's meant to be - listen also is an art huh because if we eat too much

we can have had too much baba Ji you can't listen it's very hard if we had a crazy day today and you know but couldn't sleep last night very hard to listen just to even listen properly one has to eat

well one has to sleep well one has to have their transactions or their interactions with people have to be relatively peaceful and calm because if not if it was disturbing then you would be thinking of that right now right why did he say that to me why did she say this to me all of these things will come in your mind isn't it so just to listen imagine how what the paths

we have to undertake we cannot just come into any Satsang and sit and pull out ourselves there the work that away Asha has to do tapas just to listen in the Vedanta course all the days that there was a big shine you know sometimes people would serve big shine it would serve all these things with dessert I and if you eat too much you're gone Vivint is gone you can't learn anything so

we have to be careful so

careful to think about what

we're going to eat think about sleeping on time etc

so first we have to know how to listen and how to listen also means with an open mind and you know

we all have our own beliefs we all have our own

Sri Ramakrishna

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya cultures are past our memories but when

we come to listen to vivant be open I may not understand everything right away and sometimes I make question things how can this be why is it like this it's okay don't create a block to Schreber them just let it go in whatever you don't understand write down and then go back to it later but let everything just flow let everything go in it may not be clear it's okay but just let it go in so the spirit of listening means taking that tapas practicing that austerity just listen being open and it also means the spirit of surrender that

I know in Bhagavad-gita when is it that Lord Krishna spoke to Arjuna when Arjuna said I'm dermis audio teeth I'm confused now you please tell I yet Shreya Nishita brew it on me you tell me what is Shreya so that element of surrender also needs to be there so first quarter is just listening now if this part is not clear forget the other three quarters did you see so the first quarter has to be clear now as I said some things won't hit you right away so the next quarter is Swami Baha means

I reflect on it whatever I've taken like whenever you go for a talk go for a lecture you after you finish you take the crux of it and just reflect on it see how it plays in your life see how you can see it in so many different angles see if it relates to something you already know that you've already seen somewhere see how it matches up and you keep your mind thinking and thinking in that let your mind go there the problem is

we don't we've to think about it two minutes and then that's it isn't it let your mind dwell in it and only then after that then sub brahmacharya then you have a discussion now with is you have discussion group nobody's prepared you just go and discuss and you know what happens everything goes on a tangent right this is the topic and then go somewhere else and go somewhere else and what are you doing this weekend I'm going there this is what happens-before

we go into any discussion with anyone so made hey I must I also bring something to the discussion
I cannot be there just there let me I would prepare everybody else who prepare so it's okay no I need to read I need to reflect on it think about it have some different angles and then let's share maybe you can shed some light on something that
I didn't understand and maybe I can shed some light on something you didn't understand so then only the discussion that has quality otherwise it becomes very superficial and the last quarter means wait just be patient because of it takes time for knowledge to really sink in we can reflect as much as we want and sometimes

we may even wonder how come we can't practice what

we've learned because it takes time so give it took Arjuna 700 shlokas now you think is gonna take you only one shloka what no way gonna take us one shloka to shlokas if it took Arjuna 700 shlokas at least it should take us that long because we're all like Arjuna isn't it so just wait and when

we learned this way this is called being a shisha this is cheb have so anything that

we learn from anybody is open reflect discuss and then wait hmm now what does it mean to be a guru, you've all learned so many times right remover of ignorance there's a Sanskrit shloka I'm gonna recite a few Sanskrit shlokas here and there because

we're talking about page vanity Shankar Acharya Bukhara and Icarus to rock our stand near the critter and the car a Nehru that what guru TB deity Bukhara and the chorus - GU means darkness ruh Cara ruh means Sun narrow the crib that which takes away the darkness and because of these two syllables one meaning darkness the one the other one meaning remover of Darkness the word guru is formed and what is the darkness in our lives as a student of Vedanta darkness is

Sri Ramakrishna

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya Ignorant darkness is ignorance because it is only because of ignorance all sorrow happens the root cause of every single thing is just ignorance if you and

I want to know why we're feeling sad it's because

we forgot the knowledge that's all every time we feel sad it means we've forgotten what

we've learned because you've all most of you have been in the Chinmaya mission, most of you have learned so many things have gone to so many discourses but at that moment when

I'm breaking down it's because what I've learned isn't there I've lost sight of it so ignorant is darkness now in our culture a guru is one who is shrewd tria and Brahm Manish these are two very important qualities shrewd tria means someone who's well-versed in the scriptures and not only that but someone who can communicate it because people may be very

well versed but they cannot say anything they cannot communicate then that cannot be guru how will you learn from that person so somebody has to be able to share what they have learned that is shrewd RIA and they have to know not only the scriptures but the essence of the scriptures many people have read Bhagavad-gita Vyasa Watson Bhagavad-gita Garamendi Avada kara stay right

well they should know the essence of it this is guru very very clear about it, Ram Manish that means they abide in that knowledge it means that knowledge isn't just not a superficial intellectual thought it means that they're there walking that knowledge they don't only talk it but they walk the walk like how pooja guru dev so fearless so just every breath was a teaching Shreya he knew

we wrote commentaries on all the major Upanishads most of them and on Bhagavad-Gita and if

we read about him if we revel in him just see his interactions with all people prime minister to the core guru means that we are so fortunate

we have guru para and here you have Swami dear Ananda G that is a great fortune to have somebody like that in one's life you better be beside him all the way because not many people will get the opportunity and you have it hmm so guru is Shreya guru is Brahma night now you know

we chant guru stotram and when we chant crew stotram what happens we forget the order of this and

we forget them what's happening what comes next what comes after Chaitanya shush with a Shonto you know we know it somehow

we don't know the order and but when you reflect on guru stotram
I tell you here is an eye-opener or a heart opener there's you all know the shloka Nagar already come tattva Nagar already come top aha that fog jnana param

nasty does mushy gravy anima Nagar already come to that vow there's no higher truth than the guru why because the Guru's it is it the Guru lives it it's not just the opening shots the Bhagavad-gita

we're reading the lives of great masters but the Guru is the one who's actually living it and what's best about the Guru is the Guru can come to our level

we may not be able to understand everything that our Shastras say but the Guru can come to our level and say here come here let me show you what

I know and I will take you along Nagar or Adam that I'm Nagar or and he comes tapa there is no higher austerity than serving the guru oh

we may practice so much tapas when we think of tapas or austerity we think fasting we think being in bonus but

I tell you serving the Guru requires guts because what does the Guru do they break your ego they shatter it like anything you know if people ask why do I have to stir why do I need a guru why can't I just read the book and study book cannot break your ego but a guru yeah

Sri Ramakrishna

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya I've shared with the chicks in New York so many times he stories that you don't wear for me what do you really like you can't take it anymore you know once

I was working with a team on the quest on a quest the movie and I was in charge of the hard drive the hard drive that they kept every after every shooting

I would take the hard drive keep it with me etc I had the whole thing and Swamiji was like no matter what happens you keep it you take it back and

we had an Shh in Delhi that night and I happen to be part of that and it went too late you don't go to like 5:00 in the morning so watch it from 12 to you first of all, to shoot one scene it takes six hours at all
I was so it was quick great thing oh my god what is this you know it makes six hours you have to be there you know you have to just hang out and they have to fix everything get the great lighting

I'm like you guys are crazy you know so the whole night you're there and then like five six o'clock it finishes I'm so tired it's so tired and then so I was like can I get the hard disk because obviously, they have to update it like it's gonna take too long

we'll give it to him tomorrow morning so it's like yeah it's okay tomorrow morning it's fine you know I

went back the next day so I mean she asks me where's the hard disk

I said Oh Swamiji you know it ended so late so they said they'll give it to me 10 minutes cold irresponsibility you can't even do that are you crazy though oh my god the whole everybody heard it and all I could do is
I could just stand there means it's not a big deal if somebody takes the hard drive but the thing is like that's my the responsibility you know he was trying to show me that that's my the responsibility you better do it no matter what that day I wanted to pack my bag and leave

I wasn't quite packed New York I don't want to do this anymore but then I said no this is top aha but this is what

we're meant to do nobody will break your ego like the Guru and when the Guru breaks it let him break it and break it again it is a joy it is really really a joy so when

we have a chance to serve a guru you serve and get your ego broken and there will be times when you'll want to leave because it's getting too hard stay just stay
so na juror Radhika tapa that jnana param nasty what the Guru teaches is the highest knowledge not jnana but am nasty there's nothing higher then this knowledge, everything

we're learning is really information that's why they call it information technology you know knowledge technology is everything

we're learning is information only why because it changes again after three years you have to learn some the whole new system isn't it you thought that you know something so

well and then after 2 or 3 years again now you know you taught now now they have a whiteboard and then smart board and this but like wow

I don't even know what Margaret used for what board and circle if you just get me talk you know

we get so confused and then you know if you have your phone you've seen older people if you give them a new the phone they're miserable they don't want this because they're so used to their old foe and they don't want that new phone they'll say take can you get me something else that's why every two-three years especially with the day and age that

we're in we have to keep learning what to do isn't it but the knowledge of the self thousands of years is the same and it's not gonna change it's just not gonna change every not every information piece of information that you and I know it will change including the information

we know about people oh she's like this she's so like this and what happens after two years there's completely different like that everything is like that only in Chandra, Upanishad nada wants to come to learn from Senate Kamara and he says I want to learn from you Kamara

Sri Ramakrishna

The Life of Adi Shankaracharya says what do you know is I know Rig Veda Yajur Veda Atharvaveda I know all the Vedas I know this the Oppa Vedas all of these like Shiksha culpa via Karana salad choir looks at him says what you know his only words there's nothing and he said I'll teach you something you know I should look at that and he knows Veda me it means

we know this much he knows Veda and said it come on is like you just no words relax chill I'll teach you something worth knowing that's nine but I'm nasty there's nothing higher than this and that's what the Guru gives it see that's my Shri grave Namaha and I bow down to the guru Namaha to the guru what are real salutations to the Guru what is bowing down to the Guru means when

we do Namaskar what happens the highest part of ourselves bow down to the lowest part of the Guru which means

we're willing to give everything

we've got at their feet and their feet why do we bow down to their feet because it's the values that they stand on that's what

we really bout that onto and when

we're willing to give everything what does that mean it means all grew if there is a clash between my desire and your desire that your desire win let it overtake mine that's what it means to bow down

I always do Namaskar Namaskar right Gurudev says so nicely namaste and I must take which knee so much day hey you know so nice he says in his talks but really that's the bother

we go it your desire should win over mine because your desire is gonna be better than mine anyway it always is gonna be better this is what a guru is meant this much only

I'm sharing with you but a guru so much more what's the relationship between guru and God many people ask because of Kabir does she says Nah he says if I meet the crew and if I meet God who will

I bow down to first he says grew because guru has shown me, God now what's the relationship between them you see Raghavan comes in many many avatars right many many avatars one is called a poor Nevada poor Anna means he manifests in his full form he she whoever it maybe manifests in the full form like Krishna avatar Krishna avatar could do anything means he could play the flute he could defeat an army could steal butter so many different things you know Rama avatar so many different things Rama avatar could also do so sometimes God comes in their full form full glory this is called or never sometimes Bhagavad will come in Java I'm sure means the world doesn't need my full glory right now I'll just give a little piece of me just like Matt see an avatar that's just a piece of Bhagavan a big fish right or Varaha the board these little advertisers

I'm sure I'll just give you my I'm sure that's all you need sometimes it can be an Asia avatar like who a visa means all of a sudden because the devotee is really crying out for Bhagavad all of a sudden Bhagavan comes like Narasimha avatar

I remember when Brad was there and here Anya Kashyap who said where's your God is your God in this pillar and you better bet he's in that pillar you know he chairs the pillar of fire that he comes and he takes that Hironaka she poo and he puts his nails on him and just all of a sudden he just comes just for-profit and in that in parvatamma

so he says Brad I'm sorry

I kept you waiting you know I'm so sorry and Brad was just so overjoyed to see back upon so sometimes a spec van comes in a mad rush that is a V Charlotte is sometimes Becca van comes as a nippy avatar in the avatars of saints and sages it comes in their form because when

we're around their company don't we feel like gods right there you know mmm when

we sit around Grucci when

we sit around Swamiji there's some definite irradiating that is there is something about the saints and sages that to be half and God also comes has

Bhagavad Gita Summary in English

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