PART TWO
Hastamalaka Stotra
Introduction by Sri Bhagavan
When Shankara, the Guru of the world, was travelling in
the western parts of India and overcoming in debate the
expounders of the various schools of thought, he once came
to a village known as Srivali. When a
brahmin inhabitant of
the village named Prabhakara heard about his arrival he went
to him with his thirteen year old son. He prostrated before
Sankara and made his son also prostrate. He then explained
that the boy had been dumb from his childhood, that he had
no likes and dislikes, nor a sense of honour and dishonour,
and that he was completely inactive. The Guru then raised the
boy up and asked him as follows in a cheerful tone:
Text
1.
`Who are you? Whose child are you? Whither are you
bound? What is your name? Whence have you come? Oh
Child! I should like to hear your reply to these questions.'
Thus spoke Sri Shankaracharya to the boy, and Hastamalaka
replied as follows.
2.
I am neither man, God, yaksha, brahmin, kshatriya,
vaisya, sudra, brahmachari, householder, forest-dweller, nor
sannyasi; but I am pure awareness alone.
3.
Just as the sun causes all worldly movements, so do I
-- the ever-present, conscious Self -- cause the mind to be
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active and the senses to function. Again, just as the ether is
all-pervading, yet devoid of any specific qualities, so am I
free from all qualities.
4.
I am the conscious Self, ever-present and associated
with everything in the same manner as heat is always
associated with fire. I am that eternal, undifferentiated,
unshaken Consciousness, on account of which the insentient
mind and senses function, each in its own manner.
5.
I am that conscious Self of whom the ego is not
independent as the image in a mirror is not independent of
the object reflected.
6.
I am the unqualified, conscious Self, existing even
after the extinction of buddhi, just as the object remains ever
the same even after the removal of the reflecting mirror.
7.
I am eternal Consciousness, dissociated from the mind
and senses. I am the mind of the mind, the eye of the eye, ear of
the ear and so on. I am not cognizable by the mind and senses.
8.
I am the eternal, single, conscious Self, reflected in
various intellects, just as the sun is reflected on the surface of
various sheets of water.
9.
I am the single, conscious Self, illumining all
intellects, just as the sun simultaneously illumines all eyes so
that they perceive objects.
10. Only those eyes that are helped by the sun are capable
of seeing objects, not others. The source from which the sun
derives its power is myself.
11. Just as the reflection of the sun on agitated waters
seems to break up, but remains perfect on a calm surface, so
also am I, the conscious Self, unrecognizable in agitated
intellects though I clearly shine in those which are calm.
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12. Just as a fool thinks that the sun is entirely lost when
it is hidden by dense clouds, so do people think that the
ever-free Self is bound.
13. Just as the ether is all-pervading and unaffected by
contact, so also does the ever-conscious Self pervade
everything without being affected in anyway. I am that Self.
14. Just as a transparent crystal takes on the lines of its
background, but is in no way changed thereby, and just as the
unchanging moon on being reflected on undulating surfaces
appears agitated, so is it with you, the all-pervading God.
15. As this stotra reveals the Self as clearly as the amalaka
fruit placed on the palm of the hand (hasta), it received the
name Hastamalaka Strotra. Moreover, the boy, eminent in
jnana [?], came to be praised by all people of this world as
Hastamalaka.
The father of the boy was speechless with wonder at those
words. But the Acharya said to him: `He has become your
son because of his incomplete austerities. This is your good
fortune. He will not be of any use to you in this world. Let
him stay with me.' He bade him go back and, taking the boy
with him, proceeded on his way. The disciples then asked
him: `How did this boy attain the state of Brahman [?]without
hearing, etc.?' The Guru replied: `His mother left her two
year old child in the care of a great and highly accomplished
yogi who was practising austerities on the bank of the Yamuna
while she went to bathe in the river with some women. The
child toddled towards the water and was drowned. Out of his
compassion for the disconsolate mother the sadhu [?] forsook
his body and entered that of the child. That is why this boy
has attained this high state.'
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