तत् त्वम् असि
TAT TWAM ASI
That Thou Art
Several hundreds of years ago, in the early 9th century, there lived a pious, devout and very learned Brahmin named Prabhakara. He lived in the tiny village of Sribali, in South India. Prabhakara and his wife were overjoyed when they were blessed with a baby boy. The little one had the most angelic face. Everyone who saw him would remark, “Your son has such an exquisitely beautiful face. His face radiates a very special glow. He will undoubtedly grow up to be a very handsome man.”
Prabhakara would delight in these words of praise. Unfortunately his joy was short-lived because as his son grew older, though he still looked incredibly handsome, his parents observed that he behaved very differently from the other children. Whereas the other toddlers began to babble and talk, Prabhakara’s son would sit absolutely silent. Prabhakara had mastered the Vedas and could effortlessly recite the scriptures. He had always looked forward to teaching his son the holy verses. However, try as he did, he could not draw out a single word from his son.
Pranhakara did not lose hope and kept reassuring himself that one day his son would speak. Days, months and even years passed but his son never uttered a sound.
People began whispering, “Prabhakara’s son is unable to even utter a single syllable. How could such a learned man beget such a dumb son?”
Many others were far harsher with their words and often made fun of the boy.
Prabhakar though despondent never lost his faith in the power of prayer. He firmly believed that this was the will of God and he would accept it as such. He and his wife showered their boy with love and prayed for him every day.
The child was a loner, always sitting in a corner by himself. Seeing his aloof manner people would comment, “The boy is not mentally at par with children of his age group.”
Others would nod sagaciously and add, “Indeed he is very strange.”
Prabhakara was hurt and very sad to hear their harsh words. It was heartbreaking for him that though he was able to impart knowledge to all the other Brahmin boys and teach them to recite the sacred texts, he could not educate his only son.”
Prabhakara’s son was soon labeled the “village idiot.”
The father watched sorrowfully as years passed and his son continued to remain silent, friendless and alone.
Then one day the village was abuzz with the news of the visit of the revered and famous sage Adi Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya travelled the length and breadth of the country and he was now passing through the village of Sribali. Hearing of the arrival of the sage, Prabhakara immediately rushed off to pay his respects to Shankaracharya. After doing so he cautiously and deferentially approached the Acharya. Then with folded hands and bowed head Prabhakara requested the learned sage, “Oh learned and wise sage I have a young son who till today has never uttered a word. He sits quietly in a corner of the house and does nothing else. If someone of your eminence blesses my child, I am certain he will get well. It is with great humility that I request you, oh revered sage, to accompany me to my house. If you could only bless the child, I would be forever grateful.”
The kind Acharya readily agreed to meet and bless the boy. When he reached Prabhakara’s home they found the boy sitting quietly in a corner. He was deep in his own reverie. He was so completely absorbed in his own thoughts that he did not even notice his father and the Acharya enter the house. Adi Shankaracharya went up to the boy and in a gentle voice asked, “My child, why is it you do not speak?”
Hearing the voice of the Acharya the boy looked up. Then seeing the sage standing there in front of him the boy immediately prostrated before the sage.
Then still on the ground he raised his head to look at Shankaracharya and said, “What is there to talk about? That which IS, cannot be understood through words.”
Shankaracharya’s disciples and a large crowd of villagers had gathered at Prabhakara’s house for a glimpse of the famed sage. All of them were aghast to hear the boy, who they had assumed to be a dumb fool, speak so clearly and fluently.
The sage, however, was amazed not so much by the boy’s ability to speak but by the words that he had uttered. The sage knew that when the boy said, “that which ‘IS’ cannot be understood through words, he had meant that God cannot be understood through mere words. The eminence of God must be ‘experienced’. God cannot be ‘understood’.
On his first sight of the child the Acharya had gauged the boy’s preeminence. His words now only reinforced Shankaracharya’s assessment. But the Acharya wanted all those gathered there and especially those who had scoffed at the child for being the village idiot to realize the magnitude of his words. He moved closer to the child and asked, “Tell me son, who are you?
Word had spread that Prabahkara’s son had begun to speak and the crowds at his house had increased manifold. To their utter amazement the boy replied to Adi Shankaracharya’s question in 12 chaste Sanskrit shlokas (verses). These exquisite verses recounted the crux of the Advaitic philosophy. The Advaitic philosophy teaches us that nothing exists apart from God. Humans, all living things and the entire universe is nothing but a manifestation of the Lord.
In those 12 versus the boy spoke of the divinity in each one of us. In his profound verses he proclaimed - I am neither man, God, Yaksha, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sudra, Brahmachari, householder, forest-dweller, nor Sanyasi; but I am pure awareness alone. Through his verses he conveyed to all that the true nature of man was the pure Self, the Atman. We are all nothing other than an expression of divinity - a manifestation of the divine Lord.
On hearing the boy speak so eloquently and gauging his spiritual brilliance Adi Shakaracharaya named him Hastamalaka. Hastamalaka is made up of two Sanskrit words - Hasta meaning hand and malaka is the Sanskrit word for the gooseberry fruit. This was the name the Acharya chose for the boy because of his incredible knowledge of the divinity in himself and in each one of us. This knowledge was as clearly apparent to him as is a berry placed in the centre of an open palm.
Shankaracharya realized that Hastmalaka was not cut out for an ordinary life. He was an extraordinary young person. So, the Acharya said to Prabhakara “Your son is not for a life such as yours. I wish to take him on as my disciple.”
Prabhakara too was of the same opinion as the Achrya and hence readily agreed.
From then on Hastamalaka travelled with Adi Shankaracharya and attended the classes held by the Acharya for his disciples. He did so only to further strengthen his knowledge and to gain proficiency in holding discussions. Though Hastamalaka excelled in his understanding of the scriptures, Shankaracharya would not permit him to write books. The Acharya would also always acknowledge that Hastamalaka was at a far higher level of spiritual enlightenment than any of his other disciples. When his disciples questioned, “Why guru ji do you encourage us to write yet never permit Hastamalaka to do so? How is it revered sage that though all of us are equal in your eyes you do give Hastamalaka a pre-eminent position?”
Adi Shankaracharya accepted that his disciples were entitled to an answer. The answer he gave was through a narration. The Acharya being an avatar of Lord Shiva had knowledge of not just the present but of the past and of the future too.
Gathering his disciples around him he began, “One day an eminent and holy sage was sitting in meditation on the banks of the Jamuna river. A group of brahmin women came to bathe in the waters of the river. One of the young women had a two-year-old baby boy with her. She requested the sage to care for her child while she had a quick dip in the waters. Though he did agree the sage became so engrossed in his meditation that he lost all awareness of his surroundings. The little boy unknown to the sage had toddled off on his own, reached the banks of the river and slipped into the waters. The child had drowned in the river and the sage had been totally unaware of this. When the mother returned, she let out a heart-wrenching cry of grief as she saw the dead body of her son floating on the waters. Her piteous cries shook the sage out of his contemplation. He was moved with compassion for the mother who was heart-broken. Using his mystical powers, he left his own body and entered the body of the child. The dead child miraculously came back to life. That child was Hastamalaka.”
This explained Hastamalaka extraordinary spiritual knowledge.
In order to spread the Advaitic philosophy Shankaracharya established four mathas (schools of spiritual learning) in the four corners of India. It was but natural that Hastamalaka having such a wealth of spiritual knowledge and being one of Adi Shankaracharya’s primary disciples was appointed head Acharya at one of the mathas.
The twelve verses recited by Hastamalka when he was still a child were so extraordinarily brilliant that they have gained a place of eminence in our scriptures as the Hastamalaka stotra. The greatest testimony to this treatise of twelve verses is in that it was Guru Adi Shankara himself who wrote the commentary on this extraordinary piece of spiritual literature.
LIFE LESSONS
1. God made each one of us different from the other and hence we must never look down or make fun of anyone because they are different from us.
2. Despite all the ridicule he was subjected to as a child, Hastamalaka never held it against his distractors. Never allow harsh and mean words to make you bitter.
3. Like Prabhakara always have faith that no matter how many difficulties you may face, God will always look after you.
4. Unlike the villagers we must never be harsh or cruel in our judgement of others
5. Like Adi Shankaracharya we must always see the best in others. We must learn to look at the person behind his external appearance.
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