किं वांछसि दूरीकर्तुम्? (kim vAnChasi dUrIkartum) - What is it that you want to send away?

To ask someone who disagrees with a dominant narrative to “go away! (to Pakistan, for instance)” has been the preferred retort of late. 

But ... what is it that is being asked to “go away”? 

The same question was asked to Adi Sankara, by a Candala (untouchable) when asked to move away from the path, lest he pollute it with his presence. 

अन्नमयाद् अन्नमयम् अथवा चैतन्यमेव चैतन्यात्
यतिवर दूरीकर्तुम् वांछसि किम् ब्रूहि गच्छ गच्छेति

annamayAd annamayam athavA caitanyameva caitanyAt 
yativara dUrIkartum vAnChasi kim brUhi gacCha gacCheti

“O great monk! When you say “Go! go away!”, what is it that you want to keep distance and from what? This physical body made of food from your physical body made of the same food, or that spark of the supreme being inside me, that is inside you too?”

An elevted soul like Adi Sankara immediately realised his folly, and composed one of his most famous works; a set of 5 verses called the manIShApanCakam, one of his keystone works on advaIta (monism). 

But... what about all of us who find it convenient to exclude someone who is different from us for any reason - looks, belief, views?

Can we ask ourselves - what is it that we are actually asking to go, when we say “go away!”?

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