The Statue of Oneness, a 108 feet tall statue of the great guru of Advaita Vedanta, Adi Shankaracharya, will be inaugurated on Sept. 18 at Omkareshwar on the sacred Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh. This extraordinary event is part of Ekatma Dham, which is being developed as an extensive learning complex to promote the Vedic teachings of unity and oneness (Ekatma) that have been so beautifully expressed in the life and teachings of Adi Shankara.
I have been aware of the development of this vast project over the last few years and am happy to see the statute raised at this crucial period today in which there is so much disagreement and conflict in the world that can only be solved by an understanding of the deeper oneness that unites us.
India: The Eternal Land of Oneness and Unity Consciousness
India and its ancient yogic civilization has its roots in an enduring recognition of the unity and sacred nature of the whole of life. There is a greater diversity of spiritual, mystical, devotional, and meditative teachings aimed at Oneness arising in India than in any other region of the world as a continuous and broken tradition since the dawn of history.
India/Bharat embraces the spiritual abundance of human culture in a boundless unity, like the innumerable waves of a single ocean. We see this in India’s numerous diverse sacred sites, in its vast landscape from the Himalayas to the sea, colorful festivals, magnificent temples and great pilgrimage events like the Kumbh Mela that draw millions of devotees, and India’s myriad variety of artistic depictions, music and dance and philosophical explorations into the Divine and Cosmic.
Adi Shankaracharya: The Teacher of Oneness
Perhaps the most well-known teacher of Oneness and Non-duality (Advaita) in the history of India, particularly at a philosophical level, is Adi Shankaracharya, a monumental guru and sage for eternity, who born in Kerala lived and traveled throughout India some 1500 years ago or more.
Adi Shankara’s view of unity consciousness arises from his incisive interpretation and detailed commentaries on the key Vedic texts of the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita, as well as his own many shorter practical texts on non-dualist Vedanta like Viveka Chudamani. This became the main focus of the teachings of the Yoga of Knowledge or Jnana Yoga.
Shankara established four Maths or Advaitic teaching centers at the four corners of India, marking how this spiritual tradition of Oneness emanates to all four directions of the country and from there to the entire world.
Adi Shankara renovated the Char Dham, the four sacred Himalayan temples of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath along with many other temples in his travels and pilgrimage throughout India, a great work of Karma Yoga as well.
Shankara affirmed the underlying unity behind the Vedic deities worshipped in India, emphasizing the five deity lines of Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha and Surya. He composed magnificent, poetic and mystical hymns to the deities, which are still widely chanted and sung throughout India, like huis famous Saundarya Lahiri to the Devi Tripura Sundari, showing his deep understanding of Bhakti Yoga as well.
Nondualist Vedanta has spread worldwide since the time of Swami Vivekananda who brought it along with Yoga at his trip to the United States in 1893 for the World Parliament of Religion. Since then, many great Vedantic gurus have continued that sharing and awakening to the Self of all, including Swami Rama Tirtha, Paramahansa Yogananda, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya), Swami Avdheshananda and the many Shankaracharyas of India that continue unbroken lineages to Adi Shankar himself.
Most teachers of Nonduality and Self-inquiry globally today, which has become a worldwide movement, still reflect the teachings of Adi Shankara, using his terminology, teachings, logic, mantras and ways of knowledge (vidyas), as he extracted the unitary essence of Self-knowledge with clarity, logic and direct unmediated inner experience in our daily awareness for us to recognize at the core of our being.
The Statue of Oneness and Omkareshwar
This magnificent 108-foot-tall statue of Adi Shankara has been constructed near the Omkareshwar Shivalinga temple on the sacred Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh in the very heart of India.
Omkareshwar is one of the twelve famous Jyotirlingas of Shiva Mahadeva. Its name reflects Shiva as the ruling power behind the cosmic mantra OM, from which the entire universe arises and into which it returns, and which mantra is the basis of Yoga and the Vedas. Omkareshwar is the place of Shiva as the origin of OM and the Sanskrit language through the power of his drum.
Omkareshwar holds the special cave shrine where Adi Shankara studied with his great guru Govindapada, and where he composed many of his voluminous writings and commentaries that awakened India to the nondual teachings of the Self within.
Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is only 100 kilometers from Mahakal Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. As Omkareshwar is Shiva’s abode as the power of the Divine Word, Mahakal is his abode as the Lord of time and Eternity. Mahakal has already undergone a magnificent restoration and expansion as a center of Vedic learning and yogic culture. Omkareshwar will augment that central presence of Shiva in Madhya Pradesh.
Ekatma Dham
Ekatma Dham Global Center for Oneness covers a vast area and will take yet more time to complete its many dimensions. Ekatma Dham will showcase a diverse range of architectural styles from North and South India. It will have libraries, teaching centers, scientific research facilities and a vast complex for teaching Vedic knowledge and Sanskrit from Advaita to all the Vedic Sciences and Yogic disciplines for young and old alike and students from throughout the world. It will help inspire India/Bharat in a new spiritual, yogic, cultural and scientific Renaissance.
The Eternal Teaching of Oneness
Oneness and Unity Consciousness is the prime teachings of Yoga, Vedas and Vedanta. The Upanishads teach there is only one Self (Atman) in all beings, one consciousness behind all life and all existence, one supreme Reality of Brahman as Being-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute. That Supreme Self is our true nature and that Supreme Brahman is our boundless reality, embracing and transcending all names and forms.
Over the world since the dawn of history have been present extraordinary yogis, mystics, seers, and sages, known and unknown, who have searched for this underlying unity of all existence. Yet it is in India (Bharat) where this inner search for higher consciousness has been most central and enduring
This planetary heritage of oneness is the birthright of all creatures, the ultimate spiritual democracy of our shared innermost Self-awareness. Unity of consciousness is our common Divine heritage behind all people, and cultures, present in the ground on which we stand, the mountains, rivers, ocean, and sky, and the whole of nature’s endless bounty and beauty. If you open your inner eye through meditation, you will find unity and bliss (ananda) in everything great and small, from the infinitesimal to the Infinite. Adi Shankara and Ekatma Dham can guide and inspire you on how to realize this.
The Future of Oneness in Humanity
As Oneness is our human origin and the origin of the entire universe, it is also our futuristic goal and ultimate achievement as a species, which is to know and embrace the entire universe within our own awareness, in our own hearts and minds. The question is how long we will take to manifest this supreme unity and make it the core value and aspiration for our civilization and the vision of our species overall. Ekatma Dham can provide a new impetus for this and a future of Oneness for all.
Our new information technology must be integrated into a greater seeking of unity, not through mere uniformity but through discovering the inner unity behind all the outer diversity of life, such as the great yogis and mystics have kept alive over the ups and downs of history. Like the leaves, branches, flowers, and fruit of a vast tree, our differences are part of the same organic Being and flow of life. We must return to our roots in Oneness to have peace and happiness.
It is crucial today for India/Bharat and the entire world that we honor this Statue of Oneness for the wisdom that it represents and the civilizational transformations it has the power to unfold. Oneness is the ultimate science, art, and vision, which takes us beyond all sorrow to the supreme Ananda. It is not a theory or belief but the very ground of all life, existence, and awareness, who we are in essence as connected to all.
May the Adi Shankara Statue of Oneness bring unity to your mind and heart, encouraging us to pursue the highest knowledge and compassion for the benefit of all as our main purpose and true dharma in life!
David Frawley is the Founder & Director, American Institute of Vedic Studies. He is a master educator in Ayurveda and Vedic studies with over 40 years of experience. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2015 for distinguished service of higher order.
By David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)
