"Adi Sankara" as an Entrepreneur, Poet, Leader, Philosopher

Having an idea is one thing but bringing the idea to life in such a glorious festive way is another.

I'm an entrepreneur. I'm a founder of a company called Mentor Cloud. I live in Silicon Valley and when I think of Shankara I can only think of someone with a big vision to unify the country. At that time several hundred years ago when there was so much division, so many different.

So many different mindsets, religions, spiritual practices.

He was also extremely passionate that he left his house at a very young age. He lost his father at a very young age and thank God his mother, you know, gave him away to the world. He's very mission driven and extremely persistent. So when you compare this to some of the greatest entrepreneurs in the world all of these traits can be said about them. That's why in my mind Shankara is one of the greatest and the oldest entrepreneurs.

Next, having built a product company I also believe that he is a brilliant inventor because he brought a product of Advaita philosophy of the oneness, just using words and will, no weapons. Because we have seen over and over again in the civilizations that how one civilization attacks the other to gain superiority. Here is an entrepreneur, a leader and a thinker, a philosopher who has just used the power of debate to just bring people together to a single way of thinking.

And a knowledge contributor because our knowledge.

Is to be used for the benefit of humanity. We heard conscious Swami Varu share about how this human body and the human life is to be used for the purpose of the benefit of the world around us. So Shankara is a knowledge contributor. 16 commentaries, 20 treatises and 22 original works. And there are many, many more that he has contributed. Sharing his knowledge and leaving us this amazing treasure.

And he's a tireless worker. Aren't entrepreneurs working hard all the time, sometimes with no pay or very less pay?

Shankara has walked across India six times. Not when there were planes or buses or trains. Six times to accomplish his mission of unification of the country when the country most needed us.

I also view him as a humanist. His love for others. We heard this morning about how he saw the poverty of a family when he went for his morning Bhiksha and prayed the Goddess to shower gold and remove this poverty. Servant leader helping so many people along the way. And then he has given a word to his mother. Even though you are giving me to the world, when the time comes for you to leave this body, I will come back. And he kept his word and came back when his mother was breathing her last breath.

He's Also, I feel extremely disciplined because so much work, so much travel, so many debates, all in a matter of 32 years. So when I look at myself and when I look at entrepreneurs, some of them have a very disciplined lifestyle. So it's incomprehensible to imagine that a single human being can accomplish so much in such a short lifespan. And that too with so much profundity that we are still celebrating his birthday, his life and his works.

And lastly, he has been a wonderful mentor. My company is called Mentor Cloud and one of the things that I enjoy is mentoring other people. And he has established a system of mentorship, establishing matams and inspiring millions of sages and scholars and leaders across multiple centuries and across multiple countries. And you will hear from some of them during the course of this month long festival. So this, all of this was going on in my mind when I said, someday we have to present him in these aspects that would make a lot more sense to people who are not from the Sanatana Dharma or from India. And I was fortunate to share that idea with the founder of Advaita Academy, Mr. Hariker Vadalmani. And he immediately jumped on the idea, having doing so much wonderful work to preserve Sanatana Dharma and Advaita in so many ways. I mean, it will take me two hours to describe his activities, his passion and his life's mission, but he loved the idea and his team came together and made this festival Happen not in one month, just in a matter of 10 days. So that is the power of oneness. Some of us, we have never met, but do we need to? If you're talking about oneness and celebrating oneness, do we really need to meet? Because we're all connected. We're all connected to the universe and we can accomplish so much if only we think and act as one.