Ayyan Raghav > Ayyan's Quotes

“When our false perception is corrected, misery ends also.”
― Adi Shankaracarya, Shankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination: Viveka-Chudamani

“You never identify yourself with the shadow cast by your body, or with its reflection, or with the body you see in a dream or in your imagination. Therefore you should not identify yourself with this living body, either.”
― Adi Shankaracarya, Shankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination: Viveka-Chudamani

“Like the appearance of silver in mother of pearl, the world seems real until the Self, the underlying reality, is realized.”
― Shankara

“Let my idle chatter be the muttering of prayer, my every manual movement the execution of ritual gesture, my walking a ceremonial circumambulation, my eating and other acts the rite of sacrifice, my lying down prostration in worship, my every pleasure enjoyed with dedication of myself, let whatever activity is mine be some form of worship of you.”
― Adi Shankaracarya, The Saundaryalahari or Flood of Beauty

“When the Great Reality is not known the study of the scriptures is fruitless; when the Great Reality is known the study of the scriptures is also fruitless.”
― Shankaracharya, The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom and other writings of Sankaracharya

“Once we become conscious, even dimly, of the Atman, the Reality within us, the world takes on a very different aspect. It is no longer a court of justice but a kind of gymnasium. Good and evil, pain and pleasure, still exist, but they seem more like the ropes and vaulting-horses and parallel bars which can be used to make our bodies strong. Maya is no longer an endlessly revolving wheel of pain and pleasure but a ladder which can be climbed to consciousness of the Reality.”
― Adi Shankaracarya, Shankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination: Viveka-Chudamani

“Who but the Atman is capable of removing the bonds of ignorance, passion and self-interested action?”
― Shankara

“Having read all the shastras and well grounded in them, they grow conceited that they are all knowing, accomplished and worthy of respect; filled with love and hate they presume themselves respectable; they are only packasses esteemed for carrying heavy loads over long distances in difficult and tortuous ways.”
― Adi Shankaracarya, ADVAITA BODHA DIPIKA

“Sickness is not cured by saying 'Medicine,' but by drinking it;”
― Adi Shankaracharya, The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom and other writings of Sankaracharya

“प्रातः स्मरामि हृदि संस्फुरदात्मतत्त्वं
सच्चित्सुखं परमहंसगतिं तुरीयम् ।
यत्स्वप्नजागरसुषुप्तिमवैति नित्यं
तद्ब्रह्म निष्कलमहं न च भूतसङ्घः ॥१॥

prātaḥ smarāmi hṛdi saṃsphuradātmatattvaṃ
saccitsukhaṃ paramahaṃsagatiṃ turīyam |
yatsvapnajāgarasuṣuptimavaiti nityaṃ
tadbrahma niṣkalamahaṃ na ca bhūtasaṅghaḥ ||1||

~

At dawn, I meditate in my heart on the truth of the radiant inner Self.
This true Self is Pure Being, Awareness, and Joy, the transcendent goal of the great sages.
The eternal witness of the waking, dream and deep sleep states.
I am more than my body, mind and emotions, I am that undivided Spirit.

At dawn, I worship the true Self that is beyond the reach of mind and speech,
By whose grace, speech is even made possible,
This Self is described in the scriptures as “Not this, Not this”.
It is called the God of the Gods, It is unborn, undying, one with the All.

At dawn, I salute the true Self that is beyond all darkness, brilliant as the sun,
The infinite, eternal reality, the highest.
On whom this whole universe of infinite forms is superimposed.
It is like a snake on a rope. The snake seems so real, but when you pick it up, it’s just a rope.
This world is ever-changing, fleeting, but this eternal Light is real and everlasting.

Who recites in the early morning these three sacred Slokas,
which are the ornaments of the three worlds,
obtains the Supreme Abode.

~ Adi Shankara (8th century)”
― Adi Shankaracharya

“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
― Gautama Buddha