Post # 102
The Legend of Adi Shankara and the Chandala...
Once upon a time, Adi Shankaracharya was on a pilgrimage in Varanasi. One day, he took his bath in Ganga and was going to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. On the way, he met a Chandala - an untouchable, who was strutting down the street towards him, along with his four dogs.
In those days, when Brahmins crossed the streets, others made way. Chandalas with dogs were no exception. But this one was weird. He didn't budge.
Shankaracharya politely but firmly asked the Chandala to step aside. What happened next is a part of lore!
Chandala asks Shankara what he should move. Should he move his body, which is a heap of food anyways - Annamayakosha, and is made from a combination of the five primordial elements- Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space - Panchabhutas? Same as Shankara's.
How can a Chandala's body defile a Brahmin's body, when both of them are exactly of the same nature?
Or should he, the Chandala, move his soul, which is formless and is identical for all creatures?
"What, O! Shankara, should I move aside?" asked the Chandala, naughtily.
Adi Shankara stood stunned!
He, the doyen of Hindu resurgence, advocate of Advaita philosophy (non-dualistic nature of soul), master orator-debator-commentator, was stunned by an untouchable!
Suddenly it dawned on him. The Chandala was none other than Lord Shiva - the original Shankara - and the four dogs represented the four Vedas.
Overwhelmed by the situation, Adi Shankaracharya burst out into a Shloka, popularly called Manisha Panchakam.
This Shloka has five stanzas, it explains the non-dualistic nature of Atman, and re-affirms Shankara saying again and again, “One who looks at the creation from a non-dualistic viewpoint is my true teacher, be he a Brahmin or a Chandala.”
