Shankaracharya Jayanti at SRSG
by Divya Gupta and Rabindra Sahu
  Fresh with the memories of a fortunate and blessed trip to the ancient seat of the Bharati Lineage, established by the great Adi Shankaracharya, we decided to celebrate Shankaracharya Jayanti (his birthday on April 20) at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) by dedicating a whole day to remember him, his teachings, and his contributions. We gathered at the Shankaracharya temple to invoke the engage our senses in the meaningful rituals, invoking the sacred presence of the divine forces and Adi Shankaracharya.
 During the day, we met at the Initiation Room to re-enact the famous dialogue between Shankara, Mandana, and Bharati, that nurtured many fruitful discussions for ourselves. Swami Radha Bharati played the role of Adi Shankara and Divya Gupta played the role of Ubhaya Bharati, while Swami Ritavan Bharati played the role of Mandana Mishra. We also watched a movie on the life of Adi Shankara. Swami Ritavan guided a contemplative meditation in the evening, which was followed by the recitations of famous Hymns of Shankara, which are truly treasured by all spiritual seekers of the tradition. Many reported the next day that the charged events of the Jayanti-day seemed to carry on through the evening with effortless japa all night, along with a renewed dedication to the spiritual life noted in the Shiva Sankalpa Hymn that remain our smriti, our constant reminder each night.
Om Shri Shankarayai Namah.
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