108 ft statue for Shankaracharya in Madhya Pradesh

[V Subrahmanian]

A few years ago two high ranking officials of the Madhya Pradesh Govt. had visited Sringeri on the concluding day of the annual Mahaganapati Vakyartha Vidwat Sadas. Speaking at the occasion they said: We have taken up a number of programs to propagate the message of Adi Shankaracharya. We are very pleased by the way this Vidwat Sadas is conducted. We invite you to organize this event in our place for which we extend all cooperation.

Now the Govt has decided to erect a 108 ft. statue of Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar on the banks of river Narmada.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/adi-shankaracharya-s-108-feet-statue-to-be-built-in-mp-from-jan-2235-day-long-ekatm-yatra-for-collecting-metals-for-statue-to-start-on-december-19/story-glEVRYS8ISjHynzyDDkDqN.html

[sreenivasa murthy]

What a collosal wase of public money!

Sreenivasa Murthy

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[Raman M]

yes, for those who lack any appreciation and cant understand the value beyond the cost

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[Ekam One]

All,

Curious, if Adi Shankara himself would have appreciated this type of grandeur.  Aren't statues - especially the ones trying to use physical "size"(108 feet) as an expression -  a symbol of Ego/Ahankara?  Would this be in line with the Advaita sadhana that Adi Shankara stood for? 

Nothing against the people building this but, just curious to understand if this would be the right way of respecting Adi Shankara's teachings.

This question, in turn, translates to our day to day lives as well.

As followers of Adi Shankara, Should we prefer to be simple and minimalist in our lives, or is it OK to prefer grandeur in personal lives?

PraNaams

Ekam.

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Feb 11, 2021 at 12:49 AM Ekam One <quad.4...@gmail.com> wrote:

All,

Curious, if Adi Shankara himself would have appreciated this type of grandeur.  Aren't statues - especially the ones trying to use physical "size"(108 feet) as an expression -  a symbol of Ego/Ahankara?  Would this be in line with the Advaita sadhana that Adi Shankara stood for? 

Shankara is not against any form of scripture-approved worship/practices. The Shankara Vijaya says that he has prayed in temples, installed deities, etc.  The practice of building superstructure temple Gopurams is admitted in the Vedic culture. In similar vein, a mega statue for Shankaracharya would inspire awe in the personality of the Acharya who is regarded as an incarnation of Lord Shiva Himself. Followers of Shankara could view Him as Vishvarupa and such upasana is instructed in the Shvetashvataropanishat:  

yasya deve paraa bhaktiH, yathaa deve tathaa gurau

tasyaite kathithaaH hyarthaah prakaashante mahatmanaH

The purport is: For an aspirant who holds the Guru the same way, reverence, he holds Ishwara, the hidden truth of the Upanishads will reveal themselves. 

So, all this is in accordance with the Veda, shishTaachaara, sampradaya, etc.

regards

subbu 

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[sunil bhattacharjya]

Dear Subbuji,

It is nice that a statue of Adi Shankara will be constructed. Once some followers of Lord Buddha made one statue,as they were missing him. When the Lord returned, they wanted to demolish that, but Lord Buddha told them that they could keep it if they wanted. 

My worry is that the correct date of 509 BCE should be mentioned. Shringeri math have problem in admitting the 509 BCE date and they don’t care. Hope Adi Shankara will inspire enough courage in the management of that math to stand by the truth. Spiritually also that will be helpful to them. I believe that truthfulness helps in the spiritual journey. 

Regards 

SunllKB 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Ekam One]

Thank you sir for your answer.  But, i must admit, this is not clearing all my doubts.

The practice of building superstructure temple Gopurams is admitted in the Vedic culture.  Is this about the Vedic culture or vedic Pramanas? where do we draw the line? 

1. There is every reason to believe that the mega Gopurams  were used as symbols of show of power by the kings, especially in south.

2. Did Shankara himself build any temple for his Gurus, in addition to what the temples he established  for worship of Saguna forms of Ishwara? 

3. And the quote from Shvetashvataropanishat, only asks us to revere a Guru as a Isvara. Not build Mega statues for him.

4. How does Vairagya relate to this whole discussion?

PraNams

Ekam

[V Subrahmanian]

[Ekam One]

Mano buddhi ahankara chittani naham , Na cha shrotravjihve na cha ghraana netre
Na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vayuhu, Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham
Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham, Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

Na cha prana sangyo na vai pancha vayuhu Na va sapta dhatur na va pancha koshah
Na vak pani padam na chopastha payu Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham
Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham Chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

On Thursday, 11 February 2021 at 14:49:07 UTC+2 v.subrahmanian wrote: