Adi Shankaracharya's Manisha Panchakam is one of the most famous in Indian religious and philosophical literature. Shankaracharya, while returning from The Ganges after having a holy dip,at Varanasi, was encountered by a low-caste,chandala, whom the disciples of Adi Shankaracharya ordered to get aside,to give way to their Guru. The seemingly 'chandala' put a question to the disciples as to 'whom' they are asking to get aside, 'him' or the indwelling person within him..if it is him, there is no meaning in it, because, by birth nobody becomes a lowcaste or a great one, if it is the person dwelling in the inner side, it is futile because the same inner self is present outside also and everywhere. Then, in both cases, their asking 'him' to get aside is 'meaningless' and 'futile'. Adi Shankara, on listening to the question raised by the chandala, at once realised that the 'chandala', carrying his four hunting dogs along, is none other than the Kashi Visweswara himself, and those four dogs are The Four Vedas, prostrated before him and delivered Five pious Shlokas, that are packed with the deepest meaning and secrets of the Upanishads and pleaded guilty on behalf of his disciples, who could not recognise him(the chandala) to be the Lord Parama Shiva himself! These Five Shlokas are called "Manisha Panchakam", because all the five shlokas end with the same address saying '..Gururithyesha Manisha Mama.
1.Jagruth swapna sushupthishu sphutathara ya samvidujrumbhathe
Ya brahmadi pipilakantha thanushu protha jagath sakshini
Chandalosthu sathu dwijosthu gururithyesha manisha mama
That which divine glow replenishes through the three stages of 'awakenness','dream' and 'deep slumber', that which is present in all, from the 'Divine' to the smallest creature like an 'ant', that is 'I', not just this 'visible form' to the naked eye...whoever posseses this 'Divine Knowledge' is my 'Master', may he be a lowcaste or a highly learned one!
Commentary:- This very first shloka of the total five is a secret from the Upanishaths! In the World of Philosophy there are 'Four Great Sayings' or 'The Maha Vakya Chathushtaya' which are the totality of Indian Philosophical Thought, so as to say! Manisha Panchakamis nothing but a commentary on these 'Four Great Sayings'. To understand the greatness of Manisha Panchakam we have to know the 'The Four Great Sayings', or the 'Maha Vakya Chathushtaya'. Let us examine them.(A) Pragnanam Brahma,(B) Aham Brahmasmi (C) Thattwamasi and (D) Ayamathma Brahma. There is one great Upanishath called The Shuka Rahasyopanishath. It is delivered to Maharshi Shuka (son of Veda Vyasa) by Lord Parama Shiva himself, at Kailasha, after Maha Shiva initiated Shuka into Brahma Vidya by performing the Upanayana samskara and delivering the pious Gayathri Upadesha to Shuka Maharshi, at the request of Veda Vyasa. After requested by his Disciple Shuka to open the secrets of Maha Vakya Chathushtaya to him, Lord Parama Shiva preached this most secret and pious knowledge to him.
(A) Pragnanam Brahma..This is taken from Rigveda,Ithareya Upanishath..given below is the first explanatory manthra shloka:-
That,with the help of which, "It" is Seen, Heard, Smelled, Expanded, Good or Bad in Taste is known as the Pragnana or the Utmost Knowledge. Here, "It" stands for the 'Divine'. In other words, the knowledge which enables to see, perceive,know,explain and justify the 'Divinity' is the Utmost Knowledge, meaning the scope and end of the Knowledge is to know,perceive and decide the 'Divine'.
This is the second explanatory manthra shloka. The Divine 'Consciousness' or the 'Life'present in Lord Brahma, Devendra king of the Gods, Other Gods and Godesses, in 'Men', in Horses and Cows, that is in all the creatures, " IS ONE AND THE SAME!".
The knowledge that the same divine Glow is present in The Highest of Gods and The Lowest of the Creatures, in the Two Legged and in the Four Legged, is the Utmost Knowledge Divine! The same truth is explained by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in "The Bhagavath Geetha",'Vidya vinaya sampanne Brahmane Gavi Hasthini;Shunichaiva Shwa pakecha Panditah Sama Darshinah', meaning The Knowledgeble treat The Well-read and humble Brahmin, The Cow, The Elephant, The Stray Dog and The Dog devouring Chandala equally! The word 'panditah' does not denote mere knowledge, for, The Lord Himself explained in the 'Geetha'.."Yasya sarve samaarambhaa kama samkalpa varjitaah, Gnaanaagni dagdha karmaanam tamaahuh panditham budhah", meaning, He, whose duties are performed without any detachments and whose deeds are tested in the Fire of Real Knowledge is called 'Panditha'.
The same Truth was sounded by Annamacharya when he said 'The Deep Sleep experienced by The King and The Clown, The Mother Earth that the Priest at a Templeyard and an attender on corpses at a Graveyard tread on is one and the same ! ''The same sunlight beats down on The Elephant and The Stray Dog equally just as the same Divine mercy falling on the Severest Sinner and the Purest Pious!','There is no difference of The High and The Low here, Lord Sree Hari is the Soul dwelling in All Beings equally, All The Creatures are equal here, Lord Sree Hari is the Soul dwelling in All Beings equally!
The same truth is sounded by Swami Vivekananda, when he said,"Each soul is potentially divine. The Goal is to manifest this Divinity within, by controlling Nature external and internal!."
Adi Shankara sounded the Divine Truth embedded in Upanishaths and Bhagavath Geetha, The Compendium of Upanishaths, in the first shloka of Manisha Panchakam, by saying whoever possesses the divine knowledge that the same divine power exists and runs through all gods and all creatures, is my master irrespective of his birth and creed and established the equality of all creatures, and, THIS IS THE GIST OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT! we need not have any doubt, when Adi Shankara testified it thus! Look, how great Indian Philosophy and Hinduism are to have advocated equality of all beings! Let us be proud of them!
(2) Brahmaivaahamidam jagath cha sakalam chinmaathra visthaaritham
Itham yasya dhrudha mathih sukhathare nithye pare nirmale
Chandaalosthu sathu dwijosthu gururithyesha manisha mama
I am The Divine, This Universe is filled with The Divine, All This external and peripheral is 'connived' by me as 'eternal' and 'permanent' due to my 'innosence' under the influence of the Thrigunas, whoever possesses this blissful, eternal and pious knowledge is my 'Master', irrespective of his birth as a low-caste chandala or as a well-read brahmin!
This second shloka of the Manisha Panchaka is a commentary on the second one of the Mahaa Vaakya Chathushtaya,"Aham Brahmasmi",from Bruhadaarnyaka Upanishath from Shukla Yajurveda, the manthra shlokas as preached by Lord Parama Shiva, on 'Aham Brahmasmi' are as hereunder:-
That Divine Power present elsewhere and everywhere, is present in my body capable of realising and experiencing the Divine Glow, as a witness to the Intellect. That divine power is called as the "aham"
(ii) Swathah poornah paraathmaathra brahma shabdena varnithah
Asmeethykya paramarshah thena brahma bhavaamyaham
That Intellect which was called the Pragnanam Brahma is by nature Complete,or, Totality! That 'Aham' is the 'Individual Soul' and this'Intellect' is the 'Divine Soul', 'asmi'means unifying the two, meaning by uniting the 'aham' with the 'intellect',the individual soul is united with the divine soul, aham is linked with the brahmam, realising the truth that 'Aham Brahmaasmi'.Adi Shankaracharya says, 'whoever says"The Divine Knowledge present everywhere is present in me and by uniting this 'divine intellect' with 'aham', I become The Divine",is my 'Master', irrespective of whatever his birth and knowledge are! Whoever realises the 'Divine Intellect' and unites it with the Individual soul is my 'Guru'
Whoever realises with confirmation that this world is temporal and prone to distruction with the help of Gurupadesha and goes on contemplating on the Guruupadesha and in that Eternal and Pious Fire of Knowledge burns his misdeeds of the past, present and future and goes on performing his duties without any hinderance is my 'Guru', irrespective of who ever he is, an out caste Chandala or a wise Brahmin. This third shloka is a commentary on the Third Mahavakya "Thattwamasi" from Chandogya Upanishad of Samaveda and the manthra Shlokas from Lord Parama Shiva from Shuka Rahasyopanishad are:-
The Only One That was there before this Creation, that was nameless and formless, that which had no alternative, is Denoted by 'thath' on contemplation even now.
(ii) "Shrothurdehendriyaathitham vasthvathra thwam paderitham
ekatha graahyatheseethi thadaikyam anubhuyathaam
That which was explained in the above manthra shloka, which is beyond the perception of Gnanendriyas and karmendriyas, denoted by 'thath',is 'thwam' or 'you', 'asi' means 'are', and this realisation results from joining that 'thath' with 'thwam asi' which means' that you are', which implies that "you are that which existed before the Creation without any name and form, that has no alternative, which is different from and beyond the perception of the Gnanendriyas and Karmendriyas and realising this oneness is 'thathwamasi' means, you are, as normal visible human being, is not the reality. You are actually the nameless, formless,unsubstituted, continuous entity which is beyond the perception of senses and karmendriyas, you are that divine entity, realising this is 'aham brahmasmi' through 'thathwamasi'.
The knowledge that only One existed, is existing and will exist, only One that has no name and form;Only One that can not be perceived and experienced by the Karmendriyas, Gnanendriyas, The Manas, Chitha and Ahamkara reminds that we are not that 'doing' or 'being', through us, 'He' does, 'He' experiences, we are just an equipment, through and by which he acts, reacts , enacts and ends the acts! If one could realise and experience this, experiencing is more important, not mere knowing, he will be immediately out of the Dwandwas, Raga and Dwesha, Sukha and Dukha etc. When we have the knowledge that 'we are not the doers' and we are not that experience, the result removes the tension or curiosity of doing and the fear of having to experience the unwanted probably and when we realise that this world is not permanent , hence all the pleasures and pains that it possesses are also not permanent, when we know that the 'Brahmam' or the 'Supreme God' is the permanent one, all this with the help of a Sadguru, we have to and we will, naturally, turn towards the permanent one throwing away the temporary ones.
When we know that we are not the doers, we realise that whatever wrongs and rights done were not done by us, hence we do not have evil or good result, what ever we did, we did without any love or hatred, hence we do not have any good or bad effect for doing so, because it is not we, but the 'Divine' that did it so, through us, hence we do not have good or bad effects, hence, no karma phalithas that were from the previous births and deeds, that were called the prarabdha and sanchaitha, and no ill effects in future also, which are called the 'agami', because whatever we do hereafter are without any karthruthva and bhokthruthva, and thus burning all these in the Eternal and Divine Fire of Knowledge, we become blissful individuals.Whoever attains it is my Guru, whoever he is, an out caste Chandala or a learned and wise Brahmin!
Here, we have to be careful in deciding what is done by me and what is not done by me, with the help of 'Budhi' for safety! We can think that we are not doers and we are not that experience the result, and whatever is done and experienced is by the Brahmam only, when we are detached, not from doing, but from the result. So,when it is detached attachment not attached detachment that does not give any result, good or bad, then only we are free from the Prarabdha, sanchitha and aagami karma phalas! Secondly, who is doing, what is done, good or bad is to be decided with the help of 'budhi', or 'intellect' or the 'pragnanam', which is the 'Brahmam', 'Pragnanam Brahma', and we can not take it conveniently and do what ever is convenient and profitable, in what ever way we like and say that ' I am not the doer or the fruit bearer', it has to be decided utilising the 'budhi', even then if we deceive our selves, there is the 'antharyami or the pragnanam brahma, watching, not only he, The Pancha Bhuthas, The Sun, The Moon and Fire, these are all the witnesses for what we do, how we do and why we do. We can not escape from the responsibility, even if we become too smart and say it is not I, but the God doing through me, so I am not responsible! All this knowledge can be very very dangerous, if the real meaning and implication behind the words are not grasped in right earnest, it is why it is said, " Uthishta, Jaagratha, Praapya Varrannibodhatha, Kshurasya Dhaara Nishitha Durathyaya, Durgam Padham Thath Kavayoh Vadanthi.."in one Upanishad,a famous saying attached with Swamy Vivekananda! It means actually, Raise, Wake up, Get True Master and be enlightened, The Path is Sharp as a Sword's Blade and hard to get through and explore", it is why Adi Shankara also says in this third shloka "..nischithya vaacha guroh..", but in this Kaliyuga getting a real guru who does not say "I am God", is next to impossible! So caution, care and preparedness is needed in the path of religion and philosophy, lest we should deceive others and be deceived by our own selves!
(4) Ya Thiryannara Devathabhiraha mithyantha sphuta gruhyathe
yad bhasa hrudayaksha deha vishayabhanthi swatho chethanaa
Tham bhasyai pihitharka mandala nibham sphoorthim sadaa bhavayan
That Divine light that glows within all the things and because of which the things seem like glowing themselves, due to which light the lifeless things seem with life, like the Sun being the cause of glow for the Moon and other Stars, but the Moon and the Stars seem like glowing by themselves, is present every where. Whoever realises this secret behind the Glow of things that are with life and lifeless, that are moving and unmoved, Whoever realises and contemplates on the Real Glow, the Divine Glow behind all the glowing, is my Guru, irrespective of his caste and learning, may he be a chandala or a wise brahmin! This fourth shloka from Manisha Panchakam is a commentary on the Fourth Maha Vakya 'Ayamathma Brahma'. Explanatory manthra shlokas for this from Shuka rahasyopanishad, preached by Lord Parama Shiva, to Shuka are-
That which ever is visible in this Universe is filled with that Brahma Thathwa, that self illuminating Glow illuminating all that is visible. That Divine 'Chethana' or 'Glow' or 'Kala' is self illuminating and illuminating all, present in the self but different from the Self, is called the Prathyagathma, that Divine Glow is also called the Brahma Thathwa, that divine glow is present in all the visible in the Universe, nothing is without it, all creatures, all things are complete with this glow that is the reason for all the glowing, like a filament in an electric bulb, which is the real glow, not the electric bulb itself, who realises this Truth is my Guru!
(5) Yath Saukhyambudhi lesha leshatha ime shakradayo nirvrutha
Yasmin Nithya Sukhambudhau kalitha dheer brahmaiva na brahmavid
Yah kaschith sa surendra vanditha pado nunam manisha mama
In this fifth and last shloka, Adi Shankaracharya goes on to present the Phala Shruthi, or the Fruit or result of attaining the knowledge of the Manisha Panchaka Sthothra! The knowledge of the Mahavakya Chathushtaya and, or, Manisha Panchaka Sthothra, is like that Divine and Great Ocean of Peace and Tranquility presenting the Ecstasy of Self Realisation or the Brahma Gnana, even an iota or a drop of which is sufficient for even the King of Gods,Devendra, other Gods, all the sages and munis to have that rapturous joy of Brahma Gnana. By concentrating and contemplating on and by worshiping that Thattwa Gnana they are all through the Cycles of birth and rebirth cleared, and on contemplating on which knowledge the contemplator becomes the contemplated itself, the Gnani becomes the Gnana itself, the worshiper becomes the worshiped himself and the sadhaka becomes the sadhya itself, means Brahmaikya is attained, Advaitha is achieved and whoever possesses this knowledge, this peace of eternal tranquility, is bowed even by the Devendra and other Gods, and, whoever possesses this Divine Knowledge is my Guru, irrespective of what his caste and standing are, may he be an out caste chandala or a learned and wise brahmin!
This is the text, meaning and commentary for Manisha Panchaka Sthothra as rendered by me, an ordinary and ardent follower of Adi Shankaracharya and any suggestions, remarks and enquiries are welcome, I am always availabe in the service at the Lotus Feet of Adi Shankara.
