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Fundamental Aspects of
Sankaradeva's Religion - Eka-
Sarana
Eka-Sarana, in Sankaradeva's Mahapurusism,
means taking absolute shelter or refuge in One
God, Krishna. The word sarana has its roots in
the Sanskrit sri literally meaning 'taking shelter
or refuge'. It is as said in the Bhagavad Gitā:
In fact, the Bhagavada Gita is one of the three sacred sources, the
other two being the Bhāgavata Purāna and the Padma Purāna
(Svarga Khanda), that constitute the 'prasthānatraya' of
Mahapurusism. It is from these sacred sources that Sankaradeva
derives the basic concepts of sarana, deva, nāma and bhakata
respectively of his doctrine.
Sarana is sometimes equated with 'diksa', but the latter does not, in
reality, sufficiently express the real meaning of 'sarana'. In historical
sequence, after Krishna, the Buddha used the word sarana in the
sense of taking refuge.
One in Four
Symbolically, the Guru first shows the jiva (- life - representing the
proselyte) the wretchedness of its existence being afflicted by the
three afflictions (tri-tāpa) and prescribes the panacea of complete
surrender to God (Deva). But, as the Name of God (Nāma) is more
potent than God Himself, the proselyte beseeches God to grant him
the privilege of seeking shelter in His Name, for God is where His
Name is:
God does not part company with his Nāma (Name). Know it for
certain that where Nāma is there God is also.
The chain of the four Mahapurusiyā saranas is a ring where the four
are one as the one shows itself as four.
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