"Swamiji's Gurukula vasam"

 

 

At Gurukula

 

 

 

 

 At the age of five Shankara's Upanayana was performed. By that time his father Shivaguru was dead. Only the mother had to bear the responsibility of bringing up the child pupil. Shankara was sent to the nearby Gurukula on the banks of river Poornaa. Under the guidance of Guru he studied the Vedas and its branches and also all other subjects. His brilliance brought credit to the entire Gurukula. From an incident that happened during his stay at the Gurukula one can understand his deep concern for the poor and distressed persons.

 

 

 

 

 There is a convention that the pupils in a Gurukula should get their food by begging. Accordingly the boy Shankara went round to beg. He stood at the door of a house and shouted, "Mother, please give alms. He repeated the appeal twice. There was no reply. He repeated it several times. Then a woman came out and stood with a sad face. There was nothing in the house to offer to this boy. Hence that piteous look. Tears welled up in her eyes.

 

 

 

 Shankara understood the situation. "Mother, I shall be content with whatever you give me. Thereby may there be no scarcity in your house," he said. But how to give anything when there was nothing? What is there to give? At last she remembered the gooseberries grown in the backyard. She brought some gooseberries and gave them to Shankara. Shankara then prayed to Shreedevi, the Goddess of Wealth, to show her mercy on this humble and virtuous woman. Then, as Written in the books, there was a shower of golden gooseberries in the house. This means that as a, result of Shankara's prayer to the Goddess, that family became rich and Prosperous.

 

 

 

 Shankara stayed in the Gurukula for eight years. By then he made such a thorough study of all the subjects that he had them at his finger-Ups. More than any other subject, he was greatly interested in the Vedanta, the most advanced part of the Vedas, which is said to be the very came of spiritual truth. This is the highest and the culminating point of all knowledge. "By knowing which everything will be known, and that is what the Vedanta aims at," say the learned. Even at such a tender age Shankara was attracted towards that goal. This shows the greatness of his personality. 

 

 For The Sake Of Mother

 

 

 

 Many instances that reveal the divine spirit of great men are available at every stage of their lives. It was so in the case of Shankara also. After completing his education in the Gurukula, it was the time when Shankara was at home rendering service to his mother and also teaching some pupils. Aryamba had fallen ill. But still she insisted on having her daily bath in the river Poornaa. Though the river-bed was in front of her house, it had dried up because of summer, and the slender flow of water was far away. Aryamba had to cross the vast sand-bed to reach the water. One day she managed to finish her bath and was returning home. While crossing that sand-bed, not being able to withstand the sun and strain, she fainted and fell down on the way. Shankara got the news and rushed to the spot. He attended to her. When she recovered a little, he brought her home.

 

 

 The summer might be unbearable and the water might be flowing at a distance across a broad bed of sand. But Aryamba would never agree to change her routine. So the next day, would she not go again to the river for bath? this worried Shankara. He folded his hands in salutation to the river goddess, Poornaa Devi. He prayed to her to flow in full, extending her waters up to their house, in order to facilitate his mother's ritualistic bath. Maybe in answer to his prayer, or maybe by a seasonal phenomenon or due to both, there was a continuous downpour of rain throughout the night. The next morning river Poornaa was found flowing fully over the breadth of her sands in all her grace and majesty. This is as good a miracle as having brought the distant river very near. Whether spirituality has or has not the power to awaken the static power latent in Nature and make it dynamic is a matter for thought. All the people of Kalati joined the ailing Aryamba in praising and blessing Shankara.