Who Are You? Talks on Dasha Shloki of Acharya Shankara

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Preface Life is a journey, and we travel it with the help of many. The role of the guide is particularly important. In childhood, the parents are the guides; in school and college there were teachers, but throughout our entire lives the guru-preceptors are guiding us. As the result of our karma or the grace of the Divine, we are born into a certain family. We cannot change this destiny. While passing through many educational institutions, we received the support of family and friends. We learned a lot in the field of secular education. Our skills and understanding became more refined. However, despite all this there is something missing; our lives are not complete or mature unless we experience more love, more peace, and more joy.

The question is, how can we attain more love, peace, and joy? It is possible through spiritual training and education. To acquire this, it is beneficial to have a good guide. Unfortunately, finding a good guide is not so easy. Shri Acharya Shankara, a great philosopher and spiritual guide of India, stated in the Viveka Chudamani that finding a spiritual guide is one of the three rarest gifts of the Divine, along with attaining human birth and the desire for liberation.

Just as spiritual seekers are on a quest to find a worthy teacher, brilliant teachers are seeking perceptive, receptive students.

The union of a good teacher and an enthusiastic and efficient student is like gold and jewels studded together, becoming a beautiful ornament. When a good student is an apprentice of a loving teacher, knowledge flows in love. The student excels in training, and the teacher is proud of the student's excellence. From the Vedic period until now, the success of a teacher has always depended upon qualified disciples. As in a family, good children bring joy to their parents and grandparents, then they promulgate a positive family tradition and become good parents in the future. In the same way, spiritual training by a worthy teacher bears fruit through the success of students or disciples.

When a person receives a balanced blend of secular education and spiritual training, it results in more efficiency and achievement in both the material and mental realms. Inner peace, love, and more energy and joy in work make life more pleasant.

Shri Acharya Shankara, the greatest philosopher and spiritual personality of India, had a befitting guru-preceptor. When the master asked the student to introduce himself, the young boy with brilliant eyes and a beautiful countenance gave an amazing reply in ten verses. They are rhythmic to read, melodious to sing, and meaningful to contemplate. These verses help a seeker explore their true identity, which is free from the complex of body, mind, and ego.

This book is a compilation of talks given on these ten verses recited by Shri Acharya Shankara when he was a young boy in reply to his adorable guru-preceptor, Shri Govinda Bhagavat Pada, on the bank of the holy river Narmada. Although Shri Shankara was young, his answers are the essence of all scriptures, especially Vedantic teachings.

Introduction We all should be educated in both secular and spiritual matters. Secular knowledge gives us the ability to live healthy and comfortable lives. With spiritual training we achieve mastery over the mind and understand life in a different way. Love, compassion, and kindness arise, which make life more peaceful and meaningful. For secular education we go to schools and colleges, but for spiritual training seekers approach a qualified teacher. Just as a student seeks a worthy teacher, the teacher wants to see whether a student in close proximity is qualified for esoteric and metaphysical knowledge. What qualifications should the student have? How should a student approach a teacher? With what attitude? With what expectations? These are fundamental questions in spiritual life. This book is a beautiful narration of a worthy seeker and a befitting teacher and master, from the spiritual history of humankind.

There is a difference in opinion about whether Acharya Shankara lived before Christ or afterwards. Nevertheless, thousands of years ago in India, a young boy at the age of eight, having studied the scriptures thoroughly with his extraordinary brilliance, went in search of his spiritual guru-preceptor. During those days, travel was not as easy as it is today. Young Shankara walked from the extreme southern end of India, from Kerala, towards the north.

Then he walked along the bank of the holy river Narmada in quest of his spiritual master. Walking through the mountains and forests was not an easy undertaking. Even though he had had a vision of his master, he did not know what he looked like. As he walked, the young boy would ask wandering monks on the bank of Narmada, "Do you know a holy man by the name Govinda Bhagavat Pada?" However, no one was able to help him.

Today, we can advertise ourselves, our teacher, or our spiritual organization through print or electronic media or, at the very least, with our words. But in the past, true spiritual masters hid themselves. The bee in quest of honey will fly from flower to flower until it finds nectar; similarly, spiritual aspirants, seekers of Truth, will surely find a worthy teacher, provided that they are sincere in their quests.

The young boy walked along the bank of the river Narmada determined to see his spiritual master, but no one was able to help in his quest. (People walk along the banks of the river Narmada even today; it is called Narmada Parikrama, or the circumambulation of the river Narmada. The path starts from Amarakantaka, the source of the river Narmada, and continues to the confluence; then it returns along the other bank to the source, from where the journey started. Many walk on foot and do not cross the river. It is a difficult walk and can take a few years if you follow all the rules.)

One day young Shankara saw some wandering monks meditating and praying. He waited until they had finished, then bowed down to them and asked, "Do you know Govinda Bhagavat Pada?" They replied, "We do not know him." The monks then told the young boy, "We know a holy man who lives in a cave not far from here. You can go see if he is the person you are looking for. Usually he never speaks. Whenever we see him, he is meditating."

Thus, the young boy headed towards the cave. Outside the cave many people were waiting to see if the holy man would open his eyes, as he was meditating inside the cave with his eyes closed People had been waiting for two, three, or even four days. But who can wait and for how long? After losing patience everyone eventually left; that is, all except one. With firm determination, the boy decided to wait for however long it took. Ordinarily, the mind is impatient and patience has its limits.

**Contents and Sample Pages**