One day as the great theologian and scholar Shankara was walking to the temple in Varanasi, he crossed paths with a beggar, and as was the custom at the time, gestured to the man to keep his distance. The beggar spoke, saying “great sage, do you address me as one body, made of food, to another? Or as one eternal consciousness to another? Is not the supreme being reflected in every object just as the sun is? Is not its reflection on the sacred water of the Ganges the same as that on a puddle in a muddy street? Is water any different, if it is in a golden vessel or in a clay pot?


From these comments Shankara recognized that the beggar was none other than the great God Shiva. He replied, saying “any one who convinces himself that he is that very essence, that witnesser of all things, which is manifest in all conditions and in all objects, from the highest God to the tiniest insect, is an enlightened one and a teacher regardless of his social standing. It is due to ignorance and illusion that men believe the universe to consist of different things, but anyone who in contemplation of the absolute realizes its identity with himself is a great master. Indeed, the entire universe is transitory, but the man who follows the innate direction of humanity in meditating constantly on the infinite and supreme being will cleanse his imperfections in sacred fire. That man realizes within himself the truth and quality of the supreme being, which in the uncontemplative man is hidden by ignorance as the sun is hidden by clouds. Indeed, I am convinced that the man who has his mind fixed always upon that great being worshipped even by the Gods and is thus at peace with himself has not only understood the supreme being, but in fact is that very same. Thus, Lord, in body I am your servant. In life, I am a part of your self. In soul, you are within me and within every other.”