Nov 12
Adi Shankaracharya brought back the Vedic Lore to India by masterfully defeating in debate renowned Buddhist scholars of that time. He spread the Vedic way of life along the length and breath of India and established the four matths with the help of His four beloved disciples.
The five people sitting right in the middle of the Guru Parampara (The Holy Tradition of Masters, which is traced all the way back into the beginning of time to Lord Narayana) photograph are Adi Shankaracharya and His four (chief) disciples.
The Guru Parampara (The Holy Tradition of the Masters)
The four Disciples were:
Padmapada, literally meaning the one with the Lotus feet. Adi Shankara was traveling and they set up camp at a beautiful lake. Padmapada was foraging on the opposite bank of the lake, when suddenly the Guru called him… So intense was Padmapada’s love and devotion to His Guru, that he just ran across the lake on the water to where his Guru was… It is said that wherever Padmapada’s feet touched the water, a Lotus sprang up to support him. And hence he got the name Padmapada.
To be like Padmapada means to walk delicately, tread lightly on the planet. Be ever cheerful.
Hasta Malaka, was the guy who was extremely skillful in doing work. Literally it means the one who does stuff as easily as holding an amala (goose berry) in his hands. He had never said a word to his parents, and when he met Adi Shankara, the story goes, that he chanted out the Hasta Malaka Stotram, which in just a few verses talk about the subime Advaita philosophy. His parents were shocked to see how the Knowledge came from this little child who had never uttered a word since birth.
Adi Shankara explained that once when the child was very small, the mother had taken him to the river to bathe, somehow the child toppled into the water and drowned… a Rishi who happened to be there witnessed this, and his heart went out for the sadness the parents would feel, so he left his own body and entered the dead child’s body, bringing into the child all his years of meditation and all the Wisdom of the Knowledge He had… To be like Hasta Malaka is to be adept, so adept that any work given feels as if its as simple as holding an amala in your hands.
Vartikakara was the tape recorder. He could reproduce, exactly word for word what the Guru had said. Faithfully transferring the beautiful Knowledge of the Guru. Keeping it pristine and pure for the generations to come…
Trotakacharya was the dullard. He was least interested in Knowledge and Spirituality. But he loved the Guru and wanted to do everything he could for him. He was intensely in devotion and Seva of the Guru. However, He usually snored through the Guru’s discourses. Adi Shankara loved him even so…
One day all the disciples had gathered together to hear the Guru talk, and as usual Trotakacharya was washing the clothes, cooking food, fetching water or doing some mundane task… Adi Shankara refused to talk without him being there, much to the chagrin of the other disciples, who grumbled among each other about the futility of waiting for him… He anyways sleeps through all the discourses, why does the Guru wait for him to begin?!
Suddenly they heard him coming, whistling and singing a song… The song expounded the Knowledge in a deep and profound way and was being sung to one of the toughest meters… They all listened astounded, marveling at the beauty of the song … as the simple minded (?!) Trotakacharya made his way to the Guru’s feet…
Btw, The Art of Living tradition is of the Jyothir Matth and the Lineage of Trotakacharya.
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
(11 votes, average: 4.82 out of 5)
Simply beautiful.
well that was again a mind blasting treat!!
but bawa will you please explain it a little more?
is it possible that the lotus will support a human body??..
does love have so much power ???
can our love for guruji make it possible??
shall a disciple develop such qualities??
and if yes …how??
yes it is
yes it does
absolutely
definitely
It can happen through total one pointed Devotion to the Guru
Cool reply!
Amazing possibilities! 
@ Muktha
can our love for guruji make it possible??
shall a disciple develop such qualities??
and if yes …how??
well answer is SADHANA SEVA SATHSANG
Be Commited to ur work, to the path of spirituality Instead of brooding be more respondsible
It will be nice if u can go still more deeper about Adi Shankrachrya and his disciples
BAU UR TOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
LUVVVVVVVVVVVV UUUUUU
jgd sudhap!!
I got two replies ..one from you and one from that thing called bawa!!
thats sufficient to make me happy!!
thanks!!!
In the Guru Parampara picture, curious to know who is the sage beneath Shankaracharya and disciples…
And this is my supplicant for Guruji, pl. pass it on…
“Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.”
Thats Swami Brahamanand Saraswati
Wow… so nice to know that I belong to Jyothir math
I wish guruji will fulfill my desire to actually visit the math along with him 
JGD
Jaigurudev bau!
It would be wonderful if you could tell more on the different matths and their traditions… and also basics of vedas,upanishads, vedanta, advaita philosophy….
Jai guru deva Bau!!!
Thank you for such wonderful knowledge..I have one question..
what does “Btw, The Art of Living tradition is of the Jyothir Matth and the Lineage of Trotakacharya” mean??
Trotakacharya founded the Jyothir Matth, which was presided over by Swami Brahamanand Saraswati, one of whose disciples was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who recognized Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji as an Enlightened Master, who founded the Art of Living … get it?
… and made me a teacher!
Guruji made Bawa a teacher
And then Bawa teaches us all;-D
We belong to a great tradition! WoWWW!
Just a small correction bawa, Adi Shankaracharya was the one who founded the Jyothir Mutt. He made Trotakacharya look after Jyothir Mutt.
Enlightening .. Beautiful .. Insightful .. Inspiring ..
Jai Gurudev!
Jai Guru Dev
Its very nice to know about four disciples of Adi Shankara Charya.
Please post this type of knowledge more n more.
Namaste Bau,
That was a very interesting post! Yes, it “sounded interesting” too
This reminds me of Guruji speaking about the 3 kinds of people who always surround the Guru-the Achches,the Luchches and the Kachches.
So, we belong to the ‘Kachche’ tradition, do we!
ha ha ha
Jai Gurudev!
Jgd. If you can plz tell us in the Guru Parampara Picture , who is shown before the Guruji or after the picture of Shankaracharyaji sitting with 4 disciples.Jgd
Somewhere I see Trotakacharya’s tradition
hii hii hii hahahaaha!
We belong to the wise singing dullards list
Ati sundar!!!
I have goose bumps all over me as I finish reading the post. This is even after I know all the stories mentioned in the post. May be it is the intention with which the post was written that has this effect. Maybe not… but an excellent post - easily one of the best!
Jai Gurudev!
Sriram
was waiting 4 this ultimate post.
jai gurudeva.
WOW!
Dinesh bhayya,
even at 27 years of age, I am klutzy…
I want to get rid of it and be sharp,
Will Surya-namaskars help ?
Nice piece of knowledge. Indeed Buddha and Shankaracharya revived hindu / vedic tradition at that time. Btw nice photo too, I had’nt seen one with Guruji in it.
Simply Amazing!!!!
dying to do Gurupooja course now.. 
Wow! This is an excellent knowledge to start the day for me.
Sad, I was so busy yesterday that I could not read it earlier.
Jai guru dev.
woow superbknowledge.
Dear Bau,
Were the practices and techniques taught by Trotakacharya and Art of Living similar? I mean would the disciples of Trotakacharya also do padmasadhana & 3 stage pranayaams etc…. And what happened to the other three lineages, there may be organizations stemming from the other 3 lineages too?
The Pranayamas etc are all Guruji’s original … the Knowledge is ancient, which Guruji has made contemporary and relevant to our times… all the other matths are still functional
Wish to bring to your notice that you have incorrectly spelt/written the name of one of Shankaracharya’s desciples.
Its not Hasta Malaka. It’s Hasta Aamalaka. In Sanskrit, when you combine the two, you have what is called Savarna Deergha Sandhi and the result is ‘Hastaamalaka’. Hasta means hand and Aamalaka means myrobalan fruit popularly known as gooseberry. He was known for clarity in thought and speech. So, in a manner of speaking, he was as clear as a gooseberry held in one’s palm.
Hence the name.
I hope you will make the correction.
awesome awesome post !!
Wish to bring to your notice that you have incorrectly spelt/written the name of one of
Shankaracharya’s desciples. Its not Hasta Malaka. It’s Hasta Aamalaka. In Sanskrit, when you combine the two, you have what is called Savarna Deergha Sandhi and the result is ‘Hastaamalaka’. Hasta means hand and Aamalaka means myrobalan fruit popularly known as gooseberry. He was known for clarity in thought and speech. So, in a manner of speaking, he was as clear a gooseberry held in one’s palm. I hope you make the correction.
I stand corrected
ty for pointing it out
simply amazing,soo deep but yet told in a easy way to be adopted in day to day life!! as you teach everythig in a simple but ur own kind of way bauuu!
it really can make me the real devotee.thank you so much..
jai gurudev!
love
jui
hi bau,….
thanks for writing this piece of info……
i’m wondering were u inspired to write this …from the conversation we had a Vasind Ashram….
Luv u.
also wanted to ask 1 question ….if i have to delete sme of our -nve thoughts which is fixed in my mind…and xoz of which -ve attracts……how do i do that…….
i knw u wud say….Sadhna, Satsang, Pranayam….is the only ans…but i just wanted to write to u…..
tc…
also Seva
Hey Bau !!! This was sent to me by a friend of mine. Just wanted to share this divine music with every body after reading the article. Here’s the URL Try it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3jRTJgDEQ4. Jai Gurudev !!!
I hv heard it before ,its awesome.:-D.
beuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful
thank u so much for sharing this
So as we are from Trotakacharya’s root.. we are also too much dedicated to SEVA
Thanks Bau!!!
Jai Guru Dev
WOW! No words, can only say THANKS to you Bau for telling us this knowledge and our AOL lineage…Jai Gurudev, Love u…
Bau I have also heard that guruji was Swami Brahmananda Saraswati in his previous incarnation
Can you please write an article on Swami Brahmananda Saraswati.
Bau there are 3 main sects which revived hinduism. 1st being Shankaracharyas Advaita 2. Ramanujacharyas Vishitadwaita 3.Madhvacharyas Dwaita.
These philosophies though contradictory have revived the vedic tradition in the world. If you see most of the students of these 3 renowned masters were won over with debates. Shankara debated with and defeated many of the budhist philosophers ranmanuja defeated many of shankara and madhwacharya defeated many of shankara and ramanuja disciples and all the 3 hold vedas as base and contradict each other. Why is our philosophy so contradictory?
Truth is like that … things change depending on perspective
Whats great is that these people did it through debate, not through bloodshed 
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Dear Bau,
After your previous post, I just couldn’t resist reading about the four disciples of Adi Shankara and I came across this website http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/4426
Also, I would like to know who Guruji’s guru is. There is a lot of confusion regarding whether it is Maharishiji or Swami Brahmanandasaraswathiji or nobodyji. Please clarify.
Love,
Arun
Maharishiji recognized that Guruji was an Enlightened master, and Guruji Himself speaks fondly and lovingly of Maharishiji quite often
In any case, what real difference does it make? 
Bau,
I have a doubt..Our tradition starts with Narayana the ultimate lord..there are supposed to be 10 avtaras of narayana…9th being Budha..So what budha had propagated shankara and other 2 vedic jagadgurus opposed ..so how is that in the tradition where narayana is the ultimate master being corrected by shankara??
In India through the ages, everyone was given the opportunity to listen, learn and then decide for themselves what they wishes to follow … As Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita, Now i have told you everything, now YOU have to use your intellect and decide for yourself. NOT giving this freedom leads to fanaticism and sows the seeds of terrorism, as is fairly evident from the state of religious affairs the world over… But this freedom also means, that all is included in our Tradition, and you can choose to follow whatever
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Dear Bawa,
I have a question. Long time back, I used to visit the ISKCON temple in Mumbai (or was rather dragged to the temple by some IITB seniors and good friends who were core devotees). I could never really fully feel comfortable there, although I thoroughly enjoyed the keertan and the food. All the time, they would say that only Krishna is God and rest all like Shiva, Brahma, etc are ‘demi-Gods’. While taking oath, their first line would be that worshiping these demi-Gods and not Krishna is the biggest sin of the universe, etc, etc, etc…
I gave my ISKCON seniors our Wisdom for the New Millenium book to read, but there too, they managed to find some errors in the book and discarded it totally. My senior friend pointed out this line from the book, “If everything is already God, then why are we seeking perfection.” He sternly said that this line is completely wrong. Only Krishna is God, he stays in Vaikuntha and we all are his sevants, etc. This book is completely wrong and stop going to AOL.
Finally, a peak of suffocation reached and I stopped going to ISKCON. When I did this, one of my IITB seniors completely stopped talking and started utterly ignoring me whenever we met in the campus. I tried a lot to explain him that I am following another path and that our goals are finally the same, but that was of no use. In later years, they even managed to drag a fresher from IIT, whom I had made to do the YES!+ course to ISKCON by brainwashing him against AOL.
I found all the speakers and preachers (all senior ppl of ISKCON) there to be completely closed minded in this regard. Many would not even spare people like Swami Vivekananda and AOL and all other spiritual paths in their talks since their focus was/is not Krishna. However, amongst all of them, I did find one great person there, Radhanath Swami. From his talks and presence, I could sense that he was a great soul. He is the present head of ISKCON and amongst the centered and realized people I have met. I am sure that his Guru, Srila Prabhupada must also have been great.
The biggest amazement for me is that, despite having great people like Radhanath Swami, what makes the immediate followers of ISKCON (including senior heads) so very much closed minded and not wanting to acknowledge other paths and organizations? That’s the biggest bewilderment I live with when it comes to Indian spiritual organizations.
Although I am not that greatly bothered and anxious to seek answers to these confusing aspects of life, yet it would be nice if you throw some light on why the reputed people and organizations representing Indian knowledge behave like this??
Love,
Jai Gurudev,
Sandeep
If I am not wrong, it might not be contractictory. Spiritual Masters catered to the needs of those times.
For example, Adi Shankaracharya or Swami Vivekananda never spoke about stress. But Sri Sri Ravishankar has to speak about stress. I feel they give knowledge according to the times they are living in.
What do you say bau?
totally agree!
no words bau!!! simply amazing!!
wowowow jyothir math awesome awesome .. i didnt figure out that it was shankaracharya and his disciple sin the guruparampara tradition but now i do.. thanks bau for clearing my doubts.. and did u get my emails??jgd..
Mind Blowing Knowledge Bau !!
Can u tell me any web link for this Supreme Knowledge.
Bau!! How can one be like Hasta Malaka in Actions.
Cmon, you know my answer to that one… Sadhana Seva and Satsang!
Got it Bawa !!
Heyy Bawa!
I had attended one of your recent sessions in Mumbai at the Goregaon Sports Complex.
You remember you said that you would post the e-mail you had received from one of the teachers who wanted to implement the concentration Pranayam and who had managed to complete 6 weeks of work in 9 days?
Thank you so much! I LOVED all those sessions, they were truly magical!
Take care
Jai Gurudev
Lavanya
Bau… I love you
this blog has the superb quality of being truly interesting
It does not just “sounds” interesting ..it is .
I read this in office on IE the day it got posted and had a few questions in my mind.
IE wasnt friendly enough to allow me to post any comment… For me it was a great deal that it even allowed me to see it totally !!!
Today when I got to see all the comments in firefox… I feel AMAZING !!!
Each and every question has been answered…… about Swami Bramanand , our lineage …… even my doubt about Hastaamalaka’s name is cleared in the comments posted..
Wow great !!!!!!
amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing post bau
:) 
:) :)..
only you can write about the ancient text in such simple words that will be understood in the correct context without much debate.
love you Bau
waah waah!! kya post hai!!
mazaaaa aaa gaya!
jgd
Dear Nau,
The post was so amazing and it immediately made me watch Adi Shankaracharya on You-tube..
Bawa, I sometimes feel all of us youth really wanna know more about all these great scriptures like Vedas, Upanishadas.. But, either we dont know the language they are written in or the translation is too difficult to understand.. I pray u wud enlighten us more by writing more such posts so we may know and appreciate the beautiful heritage we have..
Jai Gurudev!!
Lots of love
Bawa
PS: Do u ever plan to come to New Jersey?
OOPs.. For some unknown reason, I signed off as u.. and wrote my name instead of urs.. Sorry..
waoooo
wow Bau.. Loving every bit of this post. Amazing…
It’s supeeeeeeeerb. Jgd love u bau.