(l-5) Once, while the Acharya was travelling with his disciples from one pilgrimage to another, the party arrived at the holy spot of Gokarna on the sea-shore. The Acharya worshiped there at the shrine of Siva, who is the divine director of this stage of the world, who is adored by Brahma and all the gods, and who has His consort Parvati on the left side of His body. He sang a hymn of praise as follows: “I meditate on the form of Siva, the destroyer of Cupid, whose right side is illumined by His own radiance of sky-like whiteness and the left by the lighting-like brilliance of His consort Parvati who shares the left half of His body (in his Ardhanariswara form). In this combined form of Siva-Parvati, the hand of the Siva-half is shivering because of movements of the deer in it, as the deer leans to nibble at the grass-like beams of brilliance proceeding from the Devi-half; and the left arm of the Devi-half is also in turn shivering. as the parrot in that hand is struggling to peck at the corn-like bunches of brilliance coming from the Siva-half. This manifestation of Divine Radiance, in which the forbidding darkness of the poison mark on Siva’s neck is neutralized by the mellow light of the Mangalyasutra all the Devi’s neck – with this Radiance I am one in Non-dual Consciousness”.

Hymn to Hari-Sankara

(6-19) For three days and nights Sankara stayed at that holy spot, performing with great devotion the worship of the Lord of Gokarna – the Being that transcends the Gunas. From there the Acharya, who Was on a pilgrimage to all holy places, next proceeded to the temple of Hari-Sankara. The image there being the combined form of Siva and Vishnu, this place of pilgrimage is equal in holiness to Kailasa and Vaikunthn put together. There, with a hymn having a double meaning. so as to refer to both Siva and Vishnu simultaneously, he praised the Deity Hari-Sankara. who, as it were to dispel the doubts of people who looked upon Siva and Vishnu as two, has manifested in a single form, with hand held in the pose indicative of Non-duality. The following is the hymn with which he praised Hari-Sankara, simultaneously invoking both Siva and Vishnu in His incarnations: “May the worshipful Being Mahavishnu, who assumed the form of the Fish in the cosmic waters and restored to its proper place, the earth that had taken the shape of a boat bless me.” The same in the Siva sense means: “May the great God Siva who has the crescent moon on His forehead, who wedded Parvati, the daughter of Mena, and who is always associated with His bull-grant me all that is auspicious.” The second verse, as praise of Vishnu: “May that Being (Mahavishnu) who assumed the form of a tortoise suited for the support of the churning rod of Mandara mountain and who thus helped the Devas, be gracious unto me.” The same, as praise of Siva: “May I have the grace of that great God Siva who has assumed a suitable form for His sportive manifestations on mount Kailasa, who is adored with Mandara flowers, and who drank poison for the protection of the Devas.” The third verse, as praise of Vishnu: “I fold my hands in adoration of Him who incarnated as the great Cosmic Boar and restored the earth to her position.” The same, as praise of Siva: “I fold my hands in adoration of Him who shines with the great serpent Vasuki as His ornament and who sustains the devotee in his life of devotion.” The fourth verse, as praise of Vishnu: “I adore Mahavishnu the Man-Lion who destroyed Hiranyakasipu, the king of Asuras, and was extremely solicitous about the welfare of Prahlada.” The same, as praise of Siva: “I worship Him who has five faces, who holds the Ganga in his hair, and who gladdened the heart of the Devas by the destruction of Gajasura.” The fifth verse as praise of Vishnu: “I prostrate before the great Vamana who performed austerities as a Brahmacharin with deer skin as his wearing cloth, who was without a consort, and who got back the worlds from the Asura, Bali.” The same, as praise of Siva: “I salute Lord Siva who was desirous of getting the sacrificial offerings at the Yajna of Daksha-prajapati, who lost His consort Sati, and who thenceforth performed austerities as a Brahmacharin, and who looks handsome with his wearing cloth of skin.” The sixth verse, as praise of Vishnu: “May I receive the protection of Mahavishnu who incarnated himself as Parasurama, who had the brilliant form of a Brahmacharin, who was luminous like the moon, and who defeated Kartaviryarjuna in battle.” The same, as praise of Siva: “May I receive the protection of Siva, who as Kirata defeated Arjuna and who has the river Ganga and the disc of the moon in His matted locks.” The seventh verse, as praise of Vishnu: “May Rama, who with the prowess attained by the knowledge of numerous divine missiles, defeated Ravana, and who had Sita as his consort, bestow happiness upon me.” The same, as praise of Siva: “May the Great God Siva who dispels all untruth by the brilliance of his Truth-nature, and who destroyed Kama Deva (Cupid) having ten-pronged manifestations, and who had the daughter of the mountains as His consort, bestow happiness upon me.” The eighth verse, as praise of Vishnu: “May Balarama, who has the palm tree as his standard, who is an embodiment of Eternal Dharma, who is forbidding on account of his fierce voice under the influence of liquor and the plough weapon on his shoulder, who is fondled by his father Vasudeva, and who is of indescribable brilliance – protect me.” The same, as praise of Siva: “May Siva who excels as a dancer, who is of the nature of Moksha-dharma, whose neck looks forbidding by the brilliance of the poison Halahala sticking to it, whose crown is kissed by the moon, and who is of indescribable brilliance-protect me.” The ninth verse, as praise of Vishnu: “May I receive the protection of Mahavishnu having by His side Garuda, who incites terror in the minds of serpents, and who in His Krishna-incarnation charmed even the mind of Putana, and who has a crown of peacock feathers adorning His head.” The same, as praise of Siva: “May I be protected by the Lord Siva, in whose lap is Vinayaka seated embracing Him with his trunk, who has the Ganga on His crown, whose name is sanctifying, who presents Himself in the minds of those who meditate on Him, and who has the moon as his decoration.” The tenth verse, as praise of Vishnu: “I worship that spiritual Radiance manifested as Buddha, who was all-knowing, who was the conqueror of Mara, who was full of mercy, who was of the nature of Bodha (spiritual consciousness), and who was the adored of those who were opponents of Yajnas.” The same, as praise of Siva: “I worship that spiritual Radiance Siva, who is all-knowing, who is the destroyer of Cupid (Mara), who is full of mercy, who is all knowledge, and who is praised by those who destroyed the Yajna of Daksha.” The eleventh verse, in praise of Mahavishnu: “I offer my salutations to Mahavishnu as Kalki-inc~rnation, who assumes a body of inconceivable splendor, who removes the world’s darkness of ignorance by spiritual illumination, and whose advent is specially for destruction of evil ones and the protection of the good and the holy.” The same, as praise of Siva : “I salute Lord Siva whose inconceivably holy form removes the world’s ignorance by its spiritual splendor, and who resides ever in holy places like Kasi.”

The Acharya at Mookambika

(20-24) After having adored Hari-Sankara and praised Him with this beautiful hymn (each verse of it having a double meaning so as to apply to Vishnu and Siva at the same time), the Acharya proceeded further south to the shrine of Mookambika. On the way, he came across a Brahmana woman weeping bitterly with the dead body of her only son on her lap. Her husband was standing by her side. The most merciful Acharya was deeply affected by the sight, when be heard a disembodied voice from the skies telling, “There is no use of grieving in situations that are beyond one’s power to relieve. Pity here will result only in mental agony to one so pitying.” On hearing this, The enlighted one said: “What I have heard from the Supreme Being is correct. It is only the grace of that Being who creates, preserves and destroys, that can achieve what is impossible for limited beings to do.” At these words of the Acharya, the child awoke as from a sleep, and all were astonished at the wonderful play of the Lord.

(25-37) Then the Acharya reached the temple of Mookambika of great spiritual power, which was surrounded by a dense and attractive growth of trees and plants like mango trees, jack trees, palms, pomegranates, sugar cane and the like. With eyes brimming with tears of bliss and with all the hairs on end, that great sage Sankara, possessed of the spirit of universal benevolence, recited the following hymn in praise of the Divine Mother with a heart overflowing with devotion: “O Mother! It is the three hundred and sixty rays of light proceeding from Thy lotus feet that reflect all through the year as the light of the sun, the moon and the fire. Men versed in Thy worship according to the ritualistic code adore Thee with sixty-four procedures of worship and with rich offerings including costly garments. Others worship Thee with non-material offerings. They offer Thee worship with these sixty-four procedures in the six psychic centers along the Sushumna path. Ordinary people worship Thee with material offerings; middling devotees with mental offerings followed by physical offerings; and great ones with spiritual worship only. But when one is established in Non-dual Consciousness, no question of worship or adoration arises. Thou hast thirty-eight aspects, of which five lead to liberation. Wise men always adore Thy feet which excel every other aspect. As the fire of cosmic destruction, Thou burnest up the universe; as life-giving ambrosia, Thou createst the worlds; and as the soul of immortality, Thou preservest it and redeemest the Jivas. Those who contemplate Thee in these three aspects attain spiritual felicity. Those who want to adore Thee first grasp the truth about Thee from the instruction of the Guru, then realize it in Samadhi, and attain to the state of Non-duality. Those who meditate on Thee in the lowest Chakras, known as Muladhara and Swadhisthana, are prompted by worldly desires and attain only to them. Those who adore Thee in Manipura just reach the gate of Thy spiritual being. Those who meditate on Thee in the Anahatachakra, attain to Thy region; those who do so in the Visuddhichakra attain closeness to Thee; and those doing so in the Ajnachakra attain to equality of bliss with Thee. The highest type of Sadhakas who meditate on Thee in the thousand-petaled lotus in the head, known otherwise as Dhruva-mandala, overcome the interest in the four forms of communion and attain to oneness with Thee. These four forms of communion are: the unity of Sri Chakra and the six Chakras in the body; the unity of the Mantras pertaining to the Sri Chakra and the six Chakras; the unity of Sri Chakra and Thyself; and the unity of the Mantras of Sri Chakra and Thyself. The Sadhaka recognises all these forms of unity.”

Coming of the Disciple Hastamalaka

(38-53) For several days the Acharya stayed there adoring the Devi and receiving the reverential homage of many spiritual aspirants there. During his stay, he took the food obtained by holy begging (Bhiksha). On one of those days, he visited with his disciples a village of Brahmanas named Sri Bali, where every house emitted the holy smell of the smoke of Agnihotra sacrifice. In that place, inhabited by about two thousand Brahmanas who had abandoned all prohibited actions and spent all their time in the study of the Veda, in the performance of Swadharma and Yajnas, no untimely death ever took place. There was a temple in that village, in which was installed Lord Siva and His Consort in combination, who looked like an ornament of gold studded with gems, or the sky with the disk of the moon. Among the inhabitants of that village was one named Prabhakara who was noted for his learning, his adherence to Vedic rites, and his life of holiness and beneficence. Though he had plenty of cattle, wealth and relatives, he was not happy because his only son was dumb and behaved like an idiot. Though the boy was handsome in appearance and very gentle and patient in demeanor, his behavior in other respects was like that of an idiot-hearing nothing, talking nothing, and sitting in some comer alone in reverie. The Brahmana Prabhakara was spending anxious days and awaiting an opportunity to approach some wise man to know the cause of his son’s strange behaviour-whether it was due to possession, the result of past actions, or merely his nature. He now heard that a great personage accompanied by many disciples and moving with a big library of books, had come to the village, and he decided to approach him with his son. Following the injunction that one should not visit with empty hands a deity, a king or a spiritual teacher, he approached Sankara with a load of fruits and prostrated at his feet. His son, who was shining in appearance like a fire-brand covered with ashes, was also made to prostrate before him. But the boy, idiotic as he was in behavior, continued to be in the prostrate position and refused to get up. The sage, however, lifted him up in his infinite mercy, and as the boy was standing there, with face looking down, his father asked Sankara to enlighten him on the cause of the strange behavior of his son. He said: “He is now seven years old, and his mind seems to be undeveloped. He has not even learnt the alphabets, not to speak of the Vedas. The early period of his life has thus gone in vain. Boys of his age come and call him for play, but he does not join them. Seeing him sitting silent, boys beat him; still he will not show any sign of annoyance. Sometimes he comes for food, sometimes he abstains from all food. He does not heed any instruction. I never try to rectify him by punishment, but have left it to his fate to direct his future.”

(54-62) When the Brahmana thus finished his submission, the Acharya addressed the boy thus: “Who are you? Why are you thus behaving like an inert being?” To this, the boy replied, “O great teacher! Certainly I am not an inert thing. Even an inert thing becomes conscious in association with me. I am one with undivided Bliss, free from the six states of grief, namely, infatuation, hunger, thirst, old age and death, as also from the six conditions of beginning, continuance, growth, change, decay and destruction. This consciousness of the Atman is common to all liberated ones.” In this way, in twelve verses, he expounded the doctrine of the spiritual Self. As the knowledge of the Self was natural to him like an Amalaka fruit in one’s hand, he became famous under the name of Hastamalaka. The Acharya was surprised to see that this boy had the knowledge of the Atman even without the instruction of a teacher, and he blessed him, placing his hands on his head. Then the Acharya said to the boy’s father: “It is not befitting that this boy should stay with you, And since his behavior. is like that of an idiot, what good can you derive by his stay with you? This apparently dumb son of yours knows the truth of the Atman by virtue of his practices in his past life. Otherwise, how could this boy, without the knowledge of the ‘R’s’, thus expatiate on the nature of the Self? He must be having inborn intuitive knowledge. He has not the least attachment to house and property. Nor has he any sense of ‘I-ness’ with regard to the body. How can one who knows all these objects, including the body, as external and unconnected with oneself, have any identification with them?” Saying so, the Acharya took that boy also into his party and started towards his next destination. The boy’s father also followed him for some distance and then returned to his place.

The Acharya at Sringa-giri and Coming of Totaka

(63-69) Then, this great sage, whom the Devas praised and who had conquered all the desires of the heart, traveled with Padmapada and other disciples to the place called Sringa-giri (Sringeri), where· the sage Risya-sringa had for a long time meditated on the Supreme Self. Nearby flows the Tungabhadra, which brings good to all who bathe in its waters. The place was inhabited by a large number of virtuous people who were noted for their hospitality and the performance of Vedic Yajnas. There, the Acharya expounded to learned and receptive scholars his commentaries, which are so profound that even by hearing them one advances in the path of salvation. Like a Vachaspati, excelling even Adisesha’s power of expression, he expounded the doctrine of the unity of the Self with Brahman, and rid the people of their superstitions. There, at Sringa-giri, he had a temple, as graceful as those of Indra-loka, built and installed therein an image of the Divine Mother and instituted Her forms of worship. At the end of the Mandana Misra episode, he had received the promise from the Divine Mother (as Ubhaya-bharati) that She would reside wherever he would invoke Her in future. So he installed Her there at Sringa-giri under the name of Mother Sarada, and there She resides even to this day granting devotees their prayers. At this place a new disciple named Giri joined the Acharya. He was noted for his obedience, industry, righteousness and taciturnity. His devotion to the service of the teacher was such that he would do everything for him anticipating his want. Thus he would take his bath before his teacher, make all arrangements for his personal needs like cleaning of teeth, ablutions, sitting, sleeping, etc. He would shampoo his feet and follow him like a shadow. He would never do before the teacher anything smacking of disrespect – never sit listlessly before him, talk too much in his presence, or turn his back to him. He always walked behind the teacher, stopped when he stopped, listened attentively to whatever he said, and did every” thing for him even without being told. One day, this disciple had gone to wash his teacher’s clothes and was a bit late in returning, and so the teacher, out of love for the disciple, delayed his discourse for a time, awaiting his arrival. As it was getting late, some of the other disciples started the Santipatha uttered at the beginning of the class, but the teacher stopped them and asked them to wait for a while until the disciple Giri returned. Thereupon, Padmapada said, pointing to a wall near by with his eye, “Whom are we to wait for? What qualification has a fellow, so dull as that wall, for the study of the Sastra?”. In order to dispel the pride of these disciples, and out of his love for the one they traduced, the Acharya awakened in him, by an act of will, the knowledge of fourteen subjects. With all knowledge awakened in him by the grace of the Guru, the disciple Giri now appeared on the scene, uttering a great hymn in the metre known as Totaka, and for this reason he afterwards came to be known by the name Totaka. “On the supporting tree of the Acharya grows the creeper of devotion, taking its root at his own feet and watered by his grace. On that creeper, on the stalk called ‘Totaka’, has grown this fruit of a wonderful poem which will for all time be relished by the superb parrots, the ‘men of wisdom.’ Devotion to the Guru is an aid like a ladder that helps man in ascending to that high, sky-transcending state of spiritual absorption, from which all the three worlds look very small. What wonder is there if the veil of ignorance was so rapidly dispelled in one who knew the proper use of this aid! “It must indeed be the grace of the Acharya that enabled the fool of this fellow to compose the great poem in Totaka metre, embodying all the highest teachings of the Veda.” So thought all the disciples. Thus on witnessing the wisdom and the poetical skill that their co-disciple had acquired through his devotion to the Guru, Padmapada and others abandoned their pride of learning and came to hold him in high regard. As this poem emerged from this disciple’s mind entirely out of his devotion to the Guru and as it took shape in Totaka metre, he (that disciple) has come to be known as Totakacharya among wise men. This brief but superbly beautiful, well-reasoned and profound poem in Totaka metre, introductory to the study of the Vedanta, is even to this day known among scholars as Totakam. Receiving the new name of Tot aka from the Acharya, and equaling Padmapada himself in learning and intelligence, he came to be known as one of the chief disciples of Sankara. On seeing these four principal disciples of the Acharya-Hastamalaka, Padmapada, Sureswara and Totaka-wise men wondered whether they were the four Vedas themselves embodied, or the four Purusharthas (the four Values of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha) taken shape, or the four faces of Brahma manifest, or the four forms of liberation (Salokya, Samipya, Sarupya and Sayujya) embodied and come to reside among men. The fortunate men who have come to appreciate and have faith in the highest teachings of the Acharya and the Supreme Bliss to which it opens the way, care a trifle for the felicities of the region of Indra with its unique elephant Airavata, the sweet music of bees, and all the delights connected with it. The Acharya shone bright with his fame spreading everywhere, whitening the quarters, as if it were the spray that splashed from the milk ocean on being churned with the Mandara mountain. He shone amidst the luminaries constituted of his disciples, who were competent to put down by their very look the pride of scholars representing various spurious and dubious doctrines.