Story Time: Story of Adi Shankara and his mother's passing

so today we will end the series on adi shankara's life for now with a final story in the last few episodes story sessions we learned about the life of adi shankaracharya how he met his principal disciples his main disciples and all the things that transpired that happened and in the last session we saw how he met Trotec acharya the fourth disciple who through his pure devotion received the highest knowledge and also how Padma pada had asked to go on a pilgrimage and the whole discussion that happened when adi shankara tested his resolution and the merit

of going on pilgrimages today again we will start with a small prayer an invocation to the lineage of enlightened masters to the Guru parampara and to Adi Shankar Acharya and then we will start the story [Music] sada Shiva Sathya as much Kamala Prashant action issue guru taught me the multiple eparchy knee vomit yup today Dakshina the story continues after but my father left for his pilgrimage it is said that adi shankara spent some more time there with his disciples and suddenly one day through his intuition his yogic intuition he saw that for his mother the

end was nearing she had come to the end of her life he informed his disciples he told them that you know the time has come for my mother to leave the body and I had promised her to be with her in the final moment so I need to leave you for some time and then it said that he using his yogic powers he traveled through the air to the south to his native place in what is nowadays Kerala and he came to the the house he saw his mother because he had promised her that in

her final moments he would be there with her and he would take also care of the proper cremation rites and everything so it said that seeing his mother there in bad news he was very weak she was sick she was very old basically the first thing he did was he prostrated before her he who was the the great Saint where all the knowledge was considered as an Avatara of Lord Shiva himself and to whom all the different schools of philosophy had bowed down being defeated in debate or having recognized the greatness of his teachings and

his personality that great saint and scholar prostrated before his mother and then when she saw him know she is it said immediately she was freed from all her distress because of course she was she was not comfortable she was in pain and she was in the process of dying but it's said that seeing her son after all these years was such a joy for her and such a relief like someone who is suffering from the hot Sun no in the scorching heat is outside and there is no shelter no shade and then if when you

see that a rain cloud is coming the clown that is bearing rain that is going to rain he feels so much of relief it is said she felt like that when she saw her son and Adi Shankaracharya even though he was fully established in non-attachment came to his mother in his heart melted you know because he felt for his mother seeing her like this and then he told her that you know please don't be sad I am here by your side no as I have promised and tell me anything you want anything you need I

will do it for you is there anything else now in your final moments anything I can do for you anything you would like from me and she was so happy to see her son and you know that he was in good health like a proper mother you know seeing that her son was healthy he was happy he was taken care of so she said no that she was just so grateful to see him and seeing him like this and she said no what else can I wish for my son is doing such wonderful work and

this is something that you know every mother can wish for that's the highest that you are happy you're healthy and you're doing so good to look for the world and then she told him that my son I know you have so many divine powers but my time has come you know I don't want to live in this body any longer it has become old it has become sick the only thing I ask you in these final moments is to be Stour me the highest knowledge guide me so that I may realize the highest and my

soul becomes free and then cremate this body whatever is left of it as for the Scriptures and the proper manner that is all I ask of you to take care of this in my final moments so then it said that with all that love and compassion Adi Shankaracharya he began instructing her on the nature of the Brahma and the consciousness explaining to her in all the the beautiful terms of the knowledge that you know it is eternal which is all-pervading it is untouched it is ever pure and it is not in parts it is a

whole at the same time it is everything it is present in all this diversity and he was explaining that it's the nature of consciousness or place all these things but then he looked at his mother and she looked at him with little sadness in her eyes and she said my dear son you are sharing such beautiful and high philosophy and and knowledge but my mind is very simple I am not able to to comprehend something which is so abstract and which is so impersonal you know something which is everywhere which is all-pervading I am NOT

able to relate to that so she was very modest and and humbled that she said no my intellect cannot comprehend it you have you are so advanced but for me these are just concepts it is not translating into an experience I cannot relate to it so I will not be able to find peace this way my soul will not be able to evolve this way and then she asked him she said instead maybe you can sing the praise of the divine allow me to have a vision of the divine allow me to see the divine

and merge in that and he felt so much of love for his mother and and some pity also because he wanted to give her the highest knowledge but it was not possible for her to grasp that so then it said that he recited a beautiful hymn in praise of Lord Shiva and by doing so he summoned the emissaries there the assistants the attendants of Lord Shiva himself and they appeared there they came but then you know she was attendants they look a little scary they have their tried ins they are covered with ashes and seeing

them his mother became scared she became frightened and she was not comfortable because it was looking very very scary for her so seeing that still she was not comfortable then Adi Shankara he closed his eyes and then he sang a beautiful hymn of praise each other the mantras in honor of Maha Vishnu of Narayana himself and describing how beautiful and pleasant he looks no lying on the on the Adi she she in the ocean of of consciousness and describing the beautiful ornaments and his attendants and and just as Shiva looks a little scary and you

know fierce sometimes Narada is very pleasant and very beautiful Shiva is covered in ashes and Mariah is covered in beautiful clothes and invoking thus the attendants the helpers the emissaries of Lord Narayana they arrived with the divine vehicle and seeing them his mother was so happy she was so comfortable you know and she acts she thanked her son she expressed her gratitude she was so grateful for this gift in her final moments and it said that you know looking at that and listening to the beautiful description of Narayan and seeing that in her mind's eye

you know she ascended the vehicle with her subtle body she went with those attendants and it said that the vahana it it rose up and it took her through the subtle intermediate realms of of the creation through the realms of Agni of value of Surya and then finally even going beyond the realm of Brahma the creator she attained by koonta which is the abode of Lord Narayana of Maha Vishnu and she seen the form of narayana which you see dissolved in that she attained her eternal peace her liberation in that loca that realm called by

Kunta which is the abode of Narayana and thus his mother was liberated now Adi Shankara he planned to do the cremation the final rites for his mother's body himself which is very uncommon because traditionally normally one who has taken sannyasa is excused and exonerated from all those responsibilities and duties but then because he was the only son the only child of his mother and this is the one desire she had expressed to him when he took sannyasa and and at her final moment as well he had given her the promise that I will make sure

that as your son I will do this for you I will take care and what happened is that he did all the arrangements he wanted to do all the arrangements and he called all the the relatives and the neighbors who were there to help him with this they helped him with the rites and what happened is that for some reason they were very unwilling it said they were disgusted with him they laughed at him and they questioned that why you as a sannyasi as a renunciate why are you even considering doing this you're you know

you're not eligible nor are you competent to perform these final rites it is not your place and it requires the the fire the acne that is maintained by a householder to light the funeral pyre traditionally and that is why also a sannyasi is exempted because he doesn't have such a fire he doesn't maintain it so he had asked for their help and it said that he begged them imagine he was the greatest scholar and saint and he went on his knees and he begged them that at least let me use the give me the fire

from your the Agni in your home to cremate this body but it said that they coldly refused him they ignored him they refused his requests and they were not ready to help him rather they were making fun of him they were scolding him that you know this is inappropriate so seeing that insensitivity it said that he became very angry Adi Shankara himself became very angry at his behavior and it is said that he himself made a funeral pyre at the gate of the house with some dry woods and whatever he could find and through his

yogic powers he some at me out of his right hand and perform declamation rights through that the fire of his penance and his knowledge and it said that after performing the rites of his mother he then cursed the people of the place and he told them he said may you become incompetent to study the Vedas your insensitivity in this manner not allowing for these rites to be performed the way the Vedas demand may you become incompetent to study the Vedas and may no sannyasi visit your home for bhiksha for arms because that is a great

blessing so he said made no sannyasi in the future come to your home for bhiksha and then one more curse he gave them he said may you cremate the dead bodies of you and your family in your own compounds in your own hopes like he had to do for his mother not in the proper cremation ground earth and it is said and it is known that from the time of that curse in that place Vedic study declined and sannyasis never took Big Shot took arms in the homes of those people and it said that even

they were obliged to follow that custom of creating the dead bodies in their own house compounds so there the scriptures say that you know how because how can you ever attain happiness when you insult great Souls it said you should never insult or trouble someone you know just that okay he is a very mild person or no if such a great saint or solar someone comes it is not your place to to insult them like that so of course not you would say as a sannyasi is such a great saint and master how can he

curse them but then there is always a bigger picture know the kind of sin they incurred by doing this he freed them from that so any action taken by a great Saint a guru like that is always for the benefit of the people as well and it is said that after performing all the rites and after making sure that his mother reach that highest eternal state in by Kunta in the realm of Narayana he traveled to many more places across India converting those who belong to the opposing and hostile philosophies and doctrines and establishing temples

in different places and covering the whole of India defeating old opposing doctrines and establishing his four disciples in the four parts of India in the north and in the South in the east and in the West he established four main pitas or ashrams from where they would take care of that part of India that region to protect the Vedic tradition and to guide the people and they became Shankar Acharya of each direction and those matters are still there today that parampara continues and then finally it is said he went to the Himalayas where he was

received by a the host of all the devi devatta that welcomed him to come home as an amp shava Tara of Lord Shiva and it said that they took him they guided him back to the realm of Shiva Shiva Luka where he merged back with the Shiva tattva so this is the beautiful story of adi shankaracharya and with this we complete this knowledge session we will have some more stories of other beautiful traditions of sayings of gurus in the coming days and I hope you all enjoy it lots of love and blessings namaste Jay good