Knowing by Experience

Adi Sankara holds a spiritual debate with Mandanamisra. Mandanamisra loses the argument. The agreement was, whoever loses the debate becomes the winner’s disciple; if Mandanamisra loses, he must renounce the world, and if Adi Sankara loses, he must enter family life. Mandanamisra’s wife Sarasavani, maintains that only if Adi Sankara is able to clarify her questions too, will they accept Mandanamisra’s defeat, and proceeds to ask him, ‘What do you know of family life?’ He asks her for a month’s time, enters the (dead) body of the King of Kasi, understands the nuances of family life, and returns to win the debate. Mandanamisra and Sarasavani get initiated into sanyas and become Adi Sankara’s disciples.

Was it the king of Kasi or Adi Sankara who obtained clarity? It was Adi Sankara only. Instead of drinking from a cup, you drink from the saucer, but the person is the same. Adi Sankara could not become a Gnaani till he understood the underlying concept of family life.

My system of working is based on a lucid, practical philosophy… only because I had been with the mundane world, and know as much about it as you do, if not more. So, you must invest more trust in a person who has renounced the world after leading a family life, because he knows the best and the worst of everything. He is a true Gnaani.

Never assume that Mahaans walk on a path strewn with roses; more often than not, their paths are showered with more thorns than those for whom the worldly pleasures hold an appeal