Many Forms, One Truth: Why Adi Shankaracharya Worshipped All Deities

Non-Duality Through Devotion: The Message of Adi Shankaracharya

Adi Shankaracharya is known as the greatest teacher of
Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of non-duality. He said Brahman alone is real
and the individual self is not different from it. Then people get a doubt. If
everything is one, why did he write beautiful hymns on Ganesha, Murugan, Shiva,
Vishnu and Devi? Why did he promote murti worship and Srividya upasana?

The answer is simple. Advaita is the final truth, but a
person cannot jump into it in one day and declare “I have reached.”
Actually there is nothing to reach, because we are already That. But the mind
is very difficult to control. Every day it creates a storm and throws a person
here and there. For crossing this storm, a good boat is needed. Devotion to a
deity is that boat.

What the Scriptures Say

The Rig Veda says “Ekam sat viprah bahudha
vadanti” (Rig Veda 1.164.46). Truth is one, the wise call it by many
names. So Murugan, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu and Devi are not different truths.
They are different doors to the same house.

The Isha Upanishad begins with “Ishavasyam idam
sarvam” (Isha Upanishad, verse 1). All this is pervaded by the Divine. If
everything is pervaded, then seeing the deity in everything is already a step
towards non-duality.

Bhagavan Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 7.21 that
whichever form a devotee wants to worship with faith, He makes that faith
steady. In Gita 4.11 He says, “In whatever way people approach Me, I
accept them accordingly.” So the path of deity worship is fully accepted
by the scripture itself.

Shankaracharya himself, in Vivekachudamani verse 31, says
that among all the means of liberation, devotion is the greatest. This is the
same Acharya who wrote the commentaries on Advaita. So there is no
contradiction in his teaching.

Importance of This Understanding

Many people think Advaita is only dry logic and worship is
only for beginners. This is a wrong idea. Shankaracharya established Shanmata,
the worship of six deities, and the Panchayatana puja of Ganesha, Surya,
Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. By this he united different sects who were fighting
with each other. He showed that all of them lead to the same destination.

In his Soundarya Lahari, the first verse says that Shiva
becomes able to create only when united with Shakti, otherwise He cannot even
move. Here also he points to Advaita. Shiva and Shakti are not two, they are
one reality seen as two.

Symbolism and Meaning

Each deity is a symbol of Brahman with some qualities.
Ganesha removes obstacles, so he represents wisdom clearing ignorance. Murugan
with his spear represents focused knowledge that cuts the ego. Shiva represents
pure consciousness, Vishnu represents sustaining order, and Devi represents the
power behind all creation.

When a devotee meditates on a form, slowly the form becomes
a mirror. The devotee understands that the one he worships is in his own heart
also. Then worshipper, worship and the worshipped come to one. Shankaracharya’s
Nirvana Shatakam ends every verse with “Chidananda rupah shivoham
shivoham”, I am the form of consciousness and bliss, I am Shiva. Here the
devotee and the deity become one.

An Anecdote

In Kashi, it is said, Shankaracharya was walking when a man
of so-called low caste came with four dogs. When the disciples asked him to
move away, the man asked, “Do you want the body to move away from the
body, or the Self from the Self?” Shankaracharya understood the man was a
teacher and bowed to him. He then composed Manisha Panchakam, whose refrain
says that whoever has this knowledge of non-duality, be he a Brahmin or an
outcaste, is his guru. This shows that his devotion and his Advaita were never
different.

Life Lessons

First, we should not fight about whose God is bigger. All
paths are valid if followed sincerely. Second, a person should start from where
he is. If he is not able to meditate on the formless, he can start with a form.
Third, devotion is not weakness. It softens the ego, and without softening the
ego, knowledge will not stay.

Modern Day Relevance

Today people are stressed and mind is restless, maybe more
than before. A daily prayer, a lamp, a mantra gives the mind one point to hold.
Also, the world is full of religious conflict. The teaching “truth is one,
paths are many” gives a very practical attitude of respect and peace.

Modern Science and This Ancient Saying

Modern research on meditation and prayer shows that regular
focused practice lowers stress and improves attention. This matches what the
Acharya said, that the mind needs a good boat. Also, physics today tries to
explain all forces as different expressions of one underlying field. A
scientist uses many models to understand one reality. In the same way, the
Rishis used many deities to point to one Brahman. This is not to say science
proves religion, but the thinking pattern of unity behind variety is very similar.

Adi Shankaracharya did not see worship and Advaita as
enemies. Worship is the boat and Advaita is the shore. When the boat reaches,
the traveller understands that he never really left the shore. So whether we
pray to Murugan, Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu or Devi, if we see the divine in all,
we are already walking the path of non-duality.