Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals :Ch-4. Part - 29.

Chapter-4. Swami Sri  Adi  Sankaracharya - The Genius ( Sankara Jayanti ) :

Part-29.

Sankaracharya's works must be studied not merely for the philosophical depths of his writings but also for the beauty of his language.

Of course, unless one knows Sanskrit one cannot appreciate his style.

"Vakyam prasanna-gambhiram" – hissentences are very smooth-flowing, very deep and beautiful.

They are not complicated arguments.

They are very simple, but full of depth and literary beauty which we will find only in such poets like Kalidasa.

Of course, Sankaracharya mostly wrote his commentaries in prose though he has also written poems of various kinds.

They are so simple, so sonorous and so beautiful.

For the beauty of the language of Sanskrit, and the depth of philosophical wisdom and the help they can offer us in our practical life, his works have to be studied.

There is a beautiful poem by Sankara known as Prabodha Sudhakara.

It is a very beautiful work because it combines Bhakti and Vedanta.

Sankaracharya was also a devotee.

All great Vedantins are also devotees.

It is very mysterious.

Madhusudana Saraswati was an utter Vedantin but he was a devotee of Lord Krishna.

We do not know how we can combine them. But they did.



Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was a great admirer of Adi Sankaracharya, and in his teachings we will find the spirit of Sankara.

If we can understand Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj properly, we can understand Sankaracharya also.

Of course, it is very difficult to understand both, because they are many-sided geniuses.

So let us study their works and try to live a practical life of Vedanta and Bhakti.

END.

Next : Chapter 5: Sivananda – The Fire of Sannyasa

Swami Krishnananda
To be continued  ....