मनीषापञ्चकम्: Manishapanchakam of Shankaracharya (Sanskrit Text, Introduction, Word Meaning with Hindi-English Translation)

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I am no saint or a sage, but a common man as we all are. I am a common man, born with the problem of livelihood and continuing with same. Besides this, I also am a seeker of true knowledge. I had some hard experiences in life, which forced me to think about Life. Thus, I had questions in my mind about reality of life.

I started my search for answers to many such questions and for the realized persons, who could help resolve my queries. I first met Mrs. & Mr. Karandikar who are very sorted personalities. Through them, I got connected to Swami Pattabhiram Ji who was a great scholar. He helped me with a new vision to look at the world. He is no more in this physical world. Thereafter, I got to know of more saints such as Swami Rama, Swami Vedbharati Ji, Sant Singh Maskin Ji and Pujya Dipakbhai Desai Ji. I have met Swami Vedbharati Ji and Pujya Dipakbhai Desai Ji in person and the rest in videos. These great personalities have given a new direction to my view towards the world.

A few months ago, I got to know of Manishapanchakam, a text from Adwait Vedanta tradition. I purchased two books and saw some videos on this subject by eminent persona. I read some books on internet too. Most of the publications and the videos were in English. So, a question arose as why is it so.

Philosophical treatises from Upanishads such as 'Ishavasyamidam sarvam yatkinchit jagatyam jagat' and 'sa bhumim vishwato vruttatyatishthatdashangulam' unambiguously state that the universe is pervaded by God consciousness. On the philosophical ground of 'Jeevo brahamaiv naparah', which means that all sentients are Bhahman only, none else; Shankaracharya suddenly encounters a man posed as the Chandal. Looking at his abhorrent form, Acharya tells him to get away. In response, the facts disclosed by the Chaņdal in five verses is the crux of this Panchakam. However, the worldly action is shaped by the behaviour accepted as per the traditions and also by the society. Individuals, families, and societies are governed by such customs and rules.

The way percepts of daily life are not valid in dreams and the ones of the dreams are not valid in daily life, so is the fact that principally agreed percepts may not necessarily be practical. It is an accepted fact of physics that matter can be converted into energy. Despite being an accepted fact, in real life, we need fuel for energy, stones don't help.

There are epigrams such as 'apo vai narayanah' and 'jalam vai jivanam' which mean 'water is God' and 'water is life' respectively. Still, all water is not suitable for drinking.