Understand Adi Guru Shankaracharya, not just as a mythical figure but as a great being of the Yog-Vedantic tradition, a master and also a man who had his journey, challenges and vision. Shankaracharya was an integrated being who wrote on Nirguna Brahman while simultaneously bowing to Shiva and Parvati. He spoke about the absolute, formless, unified field while cognizing the divinity in plurality. He wore orange robes yet wrote a very sensual description of the manifest reality in Saundarya Lahari. Gain a deeper understanding of this great reformer through exploration of key events on his journey through life.

Adi Guru Shankaracharya was a phenomenally creative being who dedicated his whole life to learning and teaching. Allow Anand Ji to guide you through the route Shankaracharya took as he established four mathas (centres of learning) around India; each being associated with one of the cardinal directions, one of the four Vedas and one of the four Mahavakyas (the great principles). Experience the brilliance of his journey for yourself.

Our senses are designed to locate beauty. A mind which is calm can locate beauty all around. We are designed to appreciate creation. There is cosmos being created from chaos all the time. This manifest reality is magnificent; it's sundaram (beautiful). Our whole apparatus is designed to locate beauty and rejoice in it. But for us to be able to access that beauty, we require a particular consciousness state. Surrender and see the beauty of it all.

Consciousness cannot not create. Give it enough time and nature comes up with wondrous things; galaxies upon galaxies. Shakti pulsates. Energy is generated and this energy is endless. There is no shortage of Shakti. It’s infinite. This Shakti keeps pulsating and from seemingly nowhere subatomic particles come into existence. The pulsation of Shakti, this vibration, the spanda within the womb of Chitta, condenses into form; first into fundamental particles and then the particles gain in complexity. The system is constantly organising itself from the inside out.

Kama (desire) is an expression of Amba, the Divine Mother, Shakti. Without that fundamental expression of Shakti, there would be no relative reality. It’s through the grace of Shakti that kama arises and it draws the dust together. There is a natural principle at work in the manifest reality which attracts, unites, and that attraction is what sustains this lila.

In these verses, Shakharacharya reveals his inner vision of Devi herself, highlighting the phenomenal beauty of the Absolute, while inviting us to have that shared experience through him and with him. The saundarya of the Goddess is in full expression.

In this verse, Shankaracharya speaks on the Sri Yantra; the all-encompassing yantra that contains all yantras within it. Our whole cosmos is, ultimately, yantra within yantra within yantra and the word ‘sri’ means supreme. It refers to the supreme Shakti and the value of sri means a life of great charm, bliss and beauty. When a being can locate the full Sri Yantra in the microcosm, that is the body, and the macrocosm, that is the manifest reality, then the Goddess becomes a living reality.

Explore the rising of Kundalini as depicted by Shankaracharya; the natural magnetism that develops in the individual who has the experience of Devi within their consciousness field. The electromagnetic current flowing through the being charges up the localised expression of the infinite, with the resultant effect that all beings start to be drawn to him or her.

All knowledge is constructed within the consciousness field, the field of Chitta. The essential nature of knowledge is non-local, so as a being attunes to the Mother, establishing a deep connection with her, embodying that fragrance, the flow of knowledge happens through them.

In these verses, the Absolute, instead of being an abstract idea, becomes the most intimate experience. Bhavani Tvam is one of the four great Mahavakyas, a principle of truth. Bhavani is that dimension of reality which is acausal, self-luminous and Para Shakti is addressed, here, in the most intimate way: “Hey Mother, may I realise you?” And even before the sentence is finished the yogi experiences union. Learn the Panchadasi mantra, associated with Tripura Sundari.

In these verses, Shankaracharya gives us a macro vision of reality, of the whole process of evolution and involution. Even though we are dealing with phenomenal spans of space and time, within that there are cycles of creation, sustenance and destruction and, ultimately, what we call this universe will return to its primordial state. From the bindu it emerges and, at a certain point, returns to it and this cycle goes on. Explore pralaya (reversal of the differentiated reality into the undifferentiated), mahapralaya, the eight siddhis and learn another mantra to support you in reflecting the luminosity of the Devi, gaining liberation.

Maya is intelligence at work; revealing and concealing. There are layers and layers to this manifest reality. If all was revealed or concealed, no experience would be possible. This world itself is a Tantra, a vehicle for evolution as, here, differentiated knowledge is available and that becomes a driver of evolution. No one can realise Shiva without realising Shakti. Shiva and Shakti, wisdom and energy, are ultimately inseparable. Explore the integrated, whole view as shared by Shankaracharya, the nine qualities of Shiva and Shakti and learn a japa mantra to access even greater bliss within and without, bhukti (material enjoyment) and mukti (liberation). It’s only because of the experience of bliss that this play continues.

Here, Shankaracharya shares his experience of the blossoming of the chakras. The evolution of atman is from grosser to subtler and subtler states of consciousness, bringing the experience of Paramatma, the supreme being, more and more into the relative. Only when the boundary between the transcendent and the immanent dissolves, when this and that merge, does God become a living reality; full value living. That is what Mumukshutva is, the longing to realise God. The meaning of life is to discover the truth. Live in alignment with existence.

Shankaracharya, through his genius of vision and his experience, continues to take us through the blossoming of the chakras. As the yogi progresses, the journey is from isolation to unity, suffering to ecstasy, restlessness to peace, from being stuck to dynamic evolution. Waves of bliss are indistinguishable from waves of beauty, waves of grace. The experience of the Goddess within the field of our consciousness naturally generates beauty and bliss which bubbles up into this manifest reality.

The nature of being is infinite. The nature of becoming is infinite. There is only infinity and infinity cannot be final. There is no final destination but there is a very clear sense of directionality. There is a very clear sequence, which keeps unfolding, and that marks the path of evolution of the atman. The whole journey is the unfoldment of bliss and beauty.

The astral plane is here, just at a subtler dimension. The finer we go the more luminous the structures become. As we dive deep within our own sadhana, we start to encounter that luminous state and it’s impossible not to be transformed by it. As finer values of consciousness are gained, it penetrates all relative life. If you are having the experience of Devi, that golden light naturally fills the past and the future.

As the shakti is getting elevated within our consciousness, refinement is taking place. Hamsa, the swan of Saraswati, needs to be awakened so that there can be a clear distinction between the voice of Saraswati, insight, and the voice of the conditioning, the ego. The untrained mind does not have this ability. As Hamsa wakes up within us, the flow of wisdom comes.

Saraswati is said to live in the tongue of the master. This refers to the phenomenal power of the word. As you elevate your consciousness state, what you give energy to starts to become matter, at a rapid pace. We recite mantra to have a certain opening within our consciousness. Japa creates a spanda (pulsation) within our psyche. An inner glow starts to develop as we gain intimacy with the mantra. Explore the power of the word and of japa with Shankaracharya.

Those who are moving in the direction of integration, of wholeness, start to have access to the dimension of grace, which is eternally present. No circumstances can influence this blossomed state. They remain eternally abundant, fulfilled. The lotus of Lakshmi can remain eternally open, but one must locate it. We don't want temporal accumulation. We want eternal abundance. From victory to victory. In the night, the soft glow. In the day, the radiance of Surya. We want both values.