Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
(35th Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham)
As the 35th Shankaracharya of the Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham established by Sri Adishankara Bhagavatpada, and as a matchless Tapasvin and Jivanmukta, Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamin shines resplendently as an exalted crest jewel among yogis.
As a young boy, He displayed deep devotion to God, fearlessness, universal compassion, same-sightedness in pleasure and pain and a strong desire to see God – the traits every spiritual seeker aspires and prays for.
“My Guru’s command is inviolable. As a disciple, it is my duty to carry it out” – this was the feeling His Holiness had when He received a difficult instruction from His Guru on the day He was initiated into sannyasa. He was not even 14 years of age at that time. His Holiness’s devotion and surrender to His Guru were natural, total and unconditional.
Just as light alone can destroy darkness, so too, knowledge alone can destroy ignorance, which is the cause of bondage, and thereby confer liberation. The fruits of actions are always impermanent and so, if liberation were caused by action, it too would be impermanent.
If action cannot confer liberation then what is its role in spiritual discipline? Action performed in a spirit of dedication to Ishwara brings about purity of the mind which is an essential prerequisite for the dawn of Knowledge.
Normally, one acts impelled by the desire for the fruits of action. One man works to earn money while another performs sacrifices with a view of going to heaven. Desire for the fruits of action, either worldly or otherwise, is always the cause of bondage.
It is true that desire for liberation is also a desire; initially it should be nurtured to the extent that one has burning desire for liberation so that all other desires are forced to yield to this overwhelming desire.
An advanced spiritual aspirant should even discard the desire for liberation as a hindrance because the misconception that there is bondage is the cause of bondage and desire for liberation presupposes the existence of bondage.
Freedom from attachment in no way implies laziness or not putting forth one's best. On the contrary, Karma Yoga, as this means is called, consists in the performance of one's duties to the best of one's ability with firmness and dexterity but without any attachment and egoism whatsoever.
