The Essence of Faiths
Whispers from everywhere
Shankara’s Wisdom
Shankara (788-820) was one of Hinduism's greatest philosophers and poets. He used the word 'Self' to indicate the spirit or force which drives the universe. This Self or Oneness is universal, timeless and everlasting in contrast to the illusory, personal 'self' or ego with which we are all so painfully familiar.
'Wisdom', from Shankara's point of view, means knowing the Self whereas unwisdom involves being trapped into thinking that the personal self has some abiding reality. This selection of quotations from his ATMA BODHA (Awakening to the Self) capture the essence of his message:
"In the solitary place, at rest, passionless, with senses well controlled, let a man bring the one Self into his being, thinking of nothing but that endless One. (37)"
"By experiencing one's own nature as it really is, wisdom straightway arises and destroys the unwisdom of 'I' and 'my', like a mere mistake in direction. (45)"
"The eye of wisdom beholds everywhere the Self that is Consciousness and Being; the eye of unwisdom may not behold it, as the blind see not the shining sun. (64)"
"He who, regarding neither space nor place nor time, enters on the pilgrimage of the Self, the all present, the healer of all pain, the everlasting joy, the stainless, the ceasing from all other allegiance, all knowing and all possessing, becomes immortal. (67)"