Adi Shankaracharya Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Adi Shankaracharya
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Adi Shankaracharya is a realised soul who spread the word of Advaita philosophy and Smartha Brahmins such as I follow his school of thought; His much admired philosophy is that God is within oneself, and to come in synch with one's soul is to find happiness which is tremendous in its innocence and purity. In the picture below, he is sitting on a carpet of flowers with a glow of fire beneath his head. If you find the fire within your soul, then the drudgery of everyday existence is like walking and sitting on flowers which soothe the soul when fresh and blooming.
Soundarya Lahari or The Waves of Beauty (that perhaps pervaded the austerity and creativity in the soul of Adi Shankaracharya and caused him sorrow in his Spartan existence as a realised soul)
And I include an excerpt:
(Getting sons as progeny)


"Oh, daughter of the mountain of ice,

With a bow made of flowers,

Bow string made of honey bees,

Five arrows made of only tender flowers,

With spring as his minister,

And riding on the chariot of breeze from Malaya mountains
The god of love who does not have a body,

Gets the sideways glance of your holy eyes,

And is able to win the entire world alone."
Please notice that love transcends lust although essential to the course of love unle-ss it is platonic love beautified by sexual attraction;

I must mention his poetry, Bhaja Govindam, and I must make mention of the fact that my mother thinks the world of it but I think that it speaks of a sexist society where women although worshipped, have a comparatively backward role.
This is an excerpt from his Vivekachudamani:
"There are peaceful and magnanimous saints who - -like the spring season—are ever doing good to the h-umanity. They have crossed the dreadful ocean of (embodied)existence through their own efforts and without any (personal)motives, they help others to cross it"
Personally, I think that Adi Shankaracharya was a little depressed for I have when I was sick, felt the constraints of existence as a bondage but now I revel in the Lord's creation and when I see a robin or cardinal hopping on the porch of our house or in our garden, I cannot but be captivated by God's magnificent existence in his created world.
Ganga astottaram
"(Salutations to Devi Ganga)O Devi Bhagavati Ganga, the Goddess of the Devas, You liberate the Three Worlds with the (merciful)waves of Your Liquid Form,
1.2: O the Stainless Pure One Who resides in the Head of Shankara, May my Devotion remain firmly established on Your Lotus Feet.
(Salutations to Devi Ganga)O Mother Ganga, You originate from the Feet of Hari, and flow down with Pure White Waves resembling the Whiteness of Frost, the Whiteness of Moon, as well as the Whiteness of Pearl,
3.2: O Mother, Please remove the burden in my Mind created due to Evil deeds, and by Your Grace finally make me cross the ocean of Samsara (Worldly Existence) ."
My thoughts as the poetess of this style of Ars Poetica poem:
Ganga is a river in Northern India and water is the essence of existence along with air and food and shelter. It is right of Shri Shankaracharya to say that water originates from the feet of God and has to be worshipped for along with quenching one's thirst, one has to quench the thirst for knowledge and work (mostly paid)and I say that that can also make men and women cross the ocean of samsara or worldly ties.

Acknowledgements:
The internet