This happened in Bharat at a time when the performance of rituals had taken precedence over the understanding of their spiritual significance in Hindu society. As a result, a lot of Hindus had either become dogmatic or had taken to other paths like Buddhism which actively preached against ritual worship. The traditional, pure science and philosophy of the Vedas was in grave danger of oblivion. It was essential to save this ancient wisdom for all of mankind and the task of spreading the knowledge of the true meaning of the Vedas was entrusted to one of the greatest prodigies of all time – Shri Adi Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya had taken Sanyas at the age of 8 and by the time he was 12, he is known to have already authored some of the profoundest commentaries on the Bramha Sutras of the Vedas, the Bhagwad Gita and the Upanishads.

So, Adi Shankaracharya set out on this critical mission. He envisioned that if he could win over some of the foremost Masters of the Purva Mimamsa School of Philosophy (which dealt with the norms of conducting Vedic Rites in Hinduism), by making them realize that rituals were of relatively lesser importance to the Supreme understanding that Man and God are one, (the Adwaita philosophy) these Gurus would in turn educate their disciples and the masses within their influence. Thus, Vedic wisdom would be revived.

In this quest, Adi Shankaracharya met one of the most renowned luminaries of ancient India, Mandana Misra and challenged him to a debate. How he met Mandana Misra is a fascinating tale in itself, replete with its own philosophical and ethical intonations. But for the purpose of the present article, it would suffice to provide a glimpse into Mandana Misra’s transcendental credentials.

It is said that when Shankracharya asked for directions to Mandana Misra’s home, people told him to go to the house where he would hear a lot of caged parrots discussing among themselves the deepest philosophical questions of life and nature – questions like, ‘does God intervene in manifesting the consequences of Karma or does the law of Karma work as a natural, self-contained cycle of cause and effect?’ Or, ‘does life create its circumstances or do circumstances create life?’  Such was the depth of regular discussions that happened in Mandana Misra’s home, most of them with his wife, a scholar of equal or perhaps even higher renown in the intellectual and spiritual circles of Bharat. She was Ubhaya Bharti.

Coming back to the challenge of the debate, it was decided that the loser in the debate would become a disciple of the winner and adopt their philosophy and way of life. This meant that if Adi Shankaracharya lost, he would have to become Manada Misra’s disciple, give up Sanyas, get married and lead a householder’s life. If Mandana Misra lost, he would have to accept Shankaracharya as his Guru, take up Sanyas and leave his wife and householder’s life.

As if the stakes of the debate were not high enough, the story becomes even more entrancing when it is mutually agreed upon that Ubhaya Bharti would be the judge of the contest.

What a sublime show of faith and respect for the opponents’ sense of fairness by all three stakeholders! Neither did Mandana Misra cry foul that Shankaracharya was simply asking for Ubhaya Bharti to be the judge so that if he lost, he could blame it on bias, nor did Shankaracharya suspect the partiality that might have ordinarily been expected of a wife who would lose her husband for the rest of her life if she ruled against him.  The decision was based entirely and solely on merit.

The most intriguing aspect of the story, however, is in the ingenious stratagem which Ubhaya Bharti devised to judge the debate. In this era of the most raucous cacophonies of brazen lies and ridiculous non-logic unabashedly marauded as media debates, we all must take a leaf out of the upright wisdom of Bharat in the fine art of Debating.

Ubhaya Bharti, placed a garland of fresh flowers each around the necks of both the opponents and declared that the one whose flowers in the garland withered first would lose the debate. Absurd? How could the shriveling of flowers possibly indicate the winner of any debate let alone, a debate between such luminaries on a subject as complex as Vedic Philosophy?! Modern day recountings of the story provide almost no explanation in this regard, but if one were to view this peculiar strategy from the standpoint of the science of Yoga and the glorious tradition of Shastrarth or philosophical debates in ancient India, one would see how Ubhay Bharti’s extraordinary ingenuity was logical, shrewd and profound!

Consider the following:

1. As was the practice in those days, many scholars would assemble on a daily basis to hear the debate. The withering of the garlands was open for all to witness. Therefore, nobody could accuse anyone of being unfair or prejudiced.

2.According to the science of Yoga, the thoughts, emotions and attitudes which we harbor within ourselves alter the subtle Pranic energy within various dimensions of our being – physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual. These subtle waves of Prana manifest in our aura and in the environment around us. In the case of the present debate, the Pranic energy of the debaters would affect the flowers on the garlands.

Faster heartbeats, distorted breathing, and subtle, negative vibrations all brought about by the feelings of anger, fear and frustration would cause the flowers to wither; whereas regular heartbeats, rhythmic breathing and the subtle positive vibrations created by the feelings of calm, sincerity and harmony would keep the flowers fresher for longer.

3.The above signifies the principles of Shastrarth or Ethical Debating wherein one argues purely out of conviction and experience rather than out of the desire to influence. To present an analogy, the sun does not have to bother with making anyone believe that it is bright. Its presence itself validates its luminosity. The sun would not be agitated to the slightest extent, even if the whole world were to accuse it of being dark!

In Bharat, a debater was expected to have this kind of a deep-rooted, centered conviction in their beliefs such that those beliefs would become who he or she was.  Such a person would be so balanced within himself that he would speak out of the core of his own integrity rather than out of a need to ‘prove the other person wrong at any cost.’  There would be no place for anger, fear or frustration in the mind of such an individual, creating within and around his system a harmonious environment in which the flowers would stay fresher for longer. And if his conviction faltered because the opponent’s arguments seemed more compelling, then even if he continued to defend his stand, the discomfort felt in the mind and body at knowing that he may not be right after all, would become evident in the wilting flowers.

The integrity of the debater is perhaps the only logical premise to decide on a winner because we would all agree that debates are after all, just words and arguments, which seasoned orators can ramble on forever! The crux of debating therefore is not in the arguments that are presented by the debaters, the crux of debating is in the integrity of their convictions and intentions. Shastrarth or Debates in ancient India were never, ‘exhibitions or competitions of intellectual prowess’ but rather they were devices to exchange knowledge and wisdom. The purpose of debating was not to ‘win’ but rather to ‘explore’ the various dimensions of reality in all its possible perceptions. Debating was therefore a mechanism to examine and strengthen the roots of Dharma or Right Action in personal and social life.

And Ubhaya Bharti established, applied and accomplished all of this wisdom in one stroke ‘just with a garland of flowers.’ To this day, Ubhaya Bharti is regarded as one of the wisest judges and greatest scholars of Bharat. Some scriptures say that she was an incarnation of none other than Devi Saraswati herself – the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom. But even if we consider her as an ordinary mortal, she stands out as one of the foremost propagators of the Sagacity, Incorruptibility and Practicality of Hindu Culture. And yet, she is not the only one. The sacred Itihaas of Bharat is replete with innumerable such sublime stories of great men and women who accomplished the profoundest of feats in the simplest of ways, even to their personal detriment only for the purpose of upholding Dharma.

By the way, history has it that Mandana Misra had lost the debate.

Amishi Seth has authored four books published by Penguin, Landmark and Orange Art Media. She has written and directed over 50 successful plays, mega stage shows, conducted trainings and workshops with reputed Educational Institutions like Birla, Somaiya, SIES, Vibgyor International and others as also with Production Houses including Raell Padamsee’s Ace Productions and Harish Bhimani. She also runs her own YouTube channel called PEP THOUGHTS...that talks about do-it-here-and-now practical ways to apply concepts of Spirituality and Human Values to change one’s attitude and solve everyday problems and issues of life.

Image credits: Picture by Raja Ravi Varma

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