One of the greatest philosophers of India, Adi Shankaracharya founded the Advaita Vedanta, which is one of the sub-schools of Vedanta. Shankara travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers.

Sharing a lovely story which will give you valuable insight into the life of this great poet and philosopher and the wisdom of Adi Shankaracharya.

One night Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the great Advaita master, was desperately searching for something on the street outside his small hut. When his pupil returned from his errand, he saw this and curiously asked the Master, “Acharya, what are you looking for here on the street at this hour?”

Shankaracharya replied, “I lost my needle, I am looking for it.”

The pupil joined him in the search, but after searching for a while, he asked, “Can you try and recollect where you might have dropped it?”

Shankaracharya said, “Of course, I remember. I dropped it near the bed in the hut.”

The pupil, utterly astonished at the strange answer, said, “Aacharya, you say you lost it inside the house, then why are we looking for it outside?”

Shankaracharya innocently replied, “There is no oil left in the lamp, so it is pitch dark inside the house. Hence I thought of searching for it outside, since there is enough street light here.”

While holding back his laugh, the pupil said, “If you lost your needle inside the house, how could you even expect to find it outside?”

Shankaracharya simply smiled back at the pupil and the pupil got the message behind the acharya’s puzzling act.

Isn’t that what we do? We run to far away temples and walk up mountains to search for what we have lost inside ourselves. We are all seeking outside what we have lost inside us. Why? Just because it is pitch dark Inside.

Silly, aren’t we?!

Light the lamp inside you and find your lost treasure right therein.

A few more reflections :

Speaking of… ego,fear,sadness,pain,pleasure, doubt,procrastination,craving, desire,ambition, wants, needs, accumulations, all create mental clutter and stressful reactions.

Happiness, hope,courage, bravery,belief, faith, trust, confidence,perseverance, positivity, a sense of purpose and cultivating the ability to let go in understanding, all create a sense of balance in the responses.

All is within us and so is the choice of what we wish to bring to light.

Simplify the process to make it work in tandem with your being.

Ask the question to the self and your thoughts will find the way .

We are wired to find solutions within us… scientifically neuroplasticity speaks of the ability of our cells to stretch and acknowledge new awareness into our being .

Seek the answer in ways that are holistic and in tandem with universal truths of being.

Life is a cycle and this circle of life will manifest solutions in time.

©Savvy Raj