12th SET OF Q & A OF SHANKARA

Verse 56 - Meaning:
Q:How is (kasmaat) liberation (muktim) attained (labheta) ?
A:By whole-hearted devotion (bhakteh)to "Mukunda" or the Supreme Being.
Q:Who (kah) is "Mukunda" ?
A:It is the Being who enables Jiivaas to overcome (yas-taarayed) the sea of Ignorance (avidyaam).
Q:What is (ka ca) Ignorance (Avidya) ?
A:It is the state of absence of the full knowledge (a-sphuurtih) of one's true self.(aatman)


Verse 57 - Meaning:
Q:Who is (kasya) free from sorrow (na-soko) ?
A:That one (yah syaad) who never gets angry. (a-krodhah)
Q:What (kim) is happiness (sukham) ?
A:It is the state of contentment. (tushtih).
Q:Who (ko) is a true king (raajaa) ?
A:That one who gains the loyalty of the subjects or the people under his rule.(ranjana-krt)
Q:Who is(kasca) despicable like a dog (svaa) ?
A:That one who (yah-syaat) courts the favour of the mean. (niica-sevako)


Verse 58 - Meaning:
Q:Who (ko) is the Lord of Maayaa (maayii) ?
A:The Supreme Being.(parameshah)
Q:What (kim) is true magic (indra-jaalaa-yate) ?
A:This ever-changing Universe.(prapanco-ayam).
Q:What (kah) resembles a dream experience (svapna-nibho) ?
A:The activities (vyavahaarah) of the waking (jaagrad) life.
Q:What is(kim - api ca) the True Being (satyam) ?
A:It is Brahman (the Supreme Being which is not destroyed even in absolute annihilation).


Verse 59 - Meaning:
Q:What (kim) is falsity (mithyaa) ?
A:That which disappears (yad-naasyam)without a residue when true knowledge (vidyaa) dawns.
Q:What (tu) is called a wordy fiction (tuccham) ?
A:The horn of a hare and similar other entities like sky-flower. (sasa-visaanaadi).
Q:What (ka-ca) is it that cannot be determined as true or untrue (anirvaacyaa) ?
A:It is "Maayaa" which is just a superimposition but non-existent.
Q:What (kim) is the superimposed (kalpitam) ?
A:It is the aspect of Duality.(dvaitam)


Verse 60 - Meaning:
Q:What (kim) is really real (paaramaarthikam) ?
A:Non-Duality or Advaitam
Q:How does ignorance (a-jnaata) arise (ca- kuto) in one ?
A:It does not arise since it has always been existing. In other words, it is beginningless or Anaadi.
Q:What (kim) sustains (poshakam) the body (vapusas-ca) ?
A:It is the operative quantum of Karma (Praarabdha Karma)
Q:What (kim-ca) gives us food (anna-daayi) to sustain life ?
A:Longevity or the span of life (caayuh) with which Praarabdha has endowed one.