Maneesha Panchakam By Adi Shankaracharya

The king of Kasi welcomed Sankara and offered royal comforts in his palace for his stay.Sankara said that such a stay is not for ascetics and he requested him to make a small dwelling on the banks of Ganga for the stay of his disciples and himself.He also declined any food offering stating that they would take food only on alms.

Sankara used to teach the disciples from Kasi and also to those who came with him from Naramada country.After early morning bath, he expounded teachings of Vedas and Upanishads and also the atma vichara. Then he and his disciples would go for bhiksha.This Satsangh was going on for some time. Then in the same period, he composed Sri Annapurna Ashtakam and Sri Kasi Viswanatha Ashtakam. Nityanandakari Varabhayakari Soundarya Ratnakari...... Gangadharanga kamaneeya Jadakalabam......

There in Kasi, one miracle also took place upon Sankara. He had his early morning bath and was returning in one of the bylanes to his residence. He found an outcaste, a dog eater, smelling of toddy all over his body, in tattered clothes, without any bath for days, holding a oozing toddy leather pouch on his shoulders, -- coming on the opposite direction. There was no space to go for both, without brushing on each other. Some stories say that even wife of outcaste,came with him.

Sankara says: Andhi vesha dharam dhrushtva gacha gacha idhi cha abravit.... O outcaste! Move away! Move away!

The outcaste asks Sankara:

1. O noble among the brahmins! Whom do you want to move away? Is it one body which is made up of food to the other body which is also made up of food? Or, should the Chaitanya in me move away from the Chaitanya that is in you?

2. Is there any difference between the Sun that is reflecting on Ganga and the ditch water that is near my home? Is the Space that is within a gold vessel, different from the Space that is within a mud pot? Wherefrom do you get the delusion, in the all-expanding Pure Space which is the waveless Ocean of Bliss, as between a brahmin and a dog eating out caste?

Sankara thought for a second about this mind-blowing question! He meditated and looked in front and could see Siva and Uma,smiling. Siva was holding the leash of four dogs! He looked in the form of Kalabairava!

Sankara then sang in a cry:

3. That eternal Pure Awareness, which is the Witness of wakeful, dreaming and deep sleep states, which is in all souls from an ant to Brahma, as the sphurna, as I,I,I.., the One who is having this stable Atmajnana, he is my Guru regardless of whether he is a brahmin or an outcaste!

4.I am Brahman.This entire universe is the expansion of this one Brahman-consciousness.I am unaware of this only due to my sattvic,rajas and tamas characteristics which produce this ignorance and I am deluded into thinking that all un-Brahman are Brahman. All these are delusions. There is one Pure Awareness which is Brahman and this is all pervading. One who is having this stable Brahma Jnana, he is my Guru, regardless of whether he is a brahmin or an outcaste!

5. With Guru's Upadesa, my determination that this entire universe is perishable will be strengthened. With that non vacillating mind,I shall meditate on Brahman and burn my past and future karmas in that Pure Awareness. I shall leave this body to the current,Prarabdha Karma and remain unmoving. This is my conviction.

(The Prayatna Mahavakyam, the great saying for practise, is mentioned here: I am Brahman. Aham Brahmasmi.)

6.That Pure Awareness which stay in the Heart of men and animals and devas, as I,I,I,; in whose effulgence the solid non-shining mind, senses, body, knowledge, shines;the Awareness which is hidden by ignorance like Sun hidden by clouds, The yogi meditates upon and remains in peace. He is my Guru. This is my conviction.

(This is the great saying for experience. Anubhava Mahavakyam.Tatvam Asi. You are That.)

7. From this great ocean of bliss, even Indra and Devas get satisfied by taking a droplet.The peaceful Sages feel completion. The One who has merged into that ocean of biss, Brahman, will become Brahman. Who ever is such a realized Sage, his feet are to be worshipped even by Indra. This is my conviction.

This is the famous Maneesha Panchakam. The whole thing is a play for the sake of the seekers. Even though casteism and untouchability were rampant in Sankara's days, one cannot think that Sankara had such a feeling of separateness.

Maneesha means, my conviction.

Sources:

1) http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/manishhaa5.pdf
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manisha_Panchakam

Readers interested are requested to read below article as well

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/10/sri-sankara-and-butcher.html