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Aadhi Shankara

1. Most scholars believe that Shankara was born in the year 788AD and passed away in 820AD. The time when he lived has been questioned recently. Scholars now believe that Shankara lived at the turn of the second century BC. His visit to Kashmir
at that time has been recorded by Kalhana in Raaja Tarangini. To commemorate his visit, the several thousand years old Mahadaiva mandir was dedicated in his honour and has since been known as the Shankaracharya mandir.
2. He was born in Kaaladi in Kerala on the west coast of the Malabar peninsula. His parents were Nambudri Brahmins and their family deity was Bhagvaan Shiva. By birth and throughout life he was a Shaakta.
3. Shankara passed away from this world at the age of 32 years in the village Kaidaarnaath in the Himaalayaas.

His Genius:

4. He developed a profound philosophical insight, and founded the sect of smaartava brahmana. His learning and sanctity are held in the highest esteem and reverence.
5. Shankara’s preceptor at school was Govinda, himself a pupil of Gaudapaada. Gaudapaada was the first proponent of the advaitic philosophy. Shankara developed this further and perfected it.
6. His genius had become obvious to his parents and teachers by the time he was 8 years old. Soon after this he renounced ordinary life to become a monk (sanyaasin). Shankara was a genius of indescribable magnitude, profound thinker, master of reason and logic who was able to resolve every difference of opinion

Shankara the Preacher:

7. During his very brief life span his achievements were unbelievably vast. He was a great religious reformer and teacher who toured throughout Bharat (India), teaching Hindu philosophy and discussing his beliefs. This was done at a time when ascetic
Buddhism had spread widely throughout the land of Bharat. He made Hindu dharma once again popular with the masses as well as with the scholars of divinity. He sought and engaged his opponents in discourse and debate, leaders of other philosophical
schools as well as heretics, overcoming each one with his reasoned and logical argument. He taught that the mind needs discipline in order to shed desires and attachments and
to rid itself of evil traits like selfishness, passions, anger, hatred and jealousy. A person should do good deeds and act morally in order to gain spiritual merit. An individual should strive to develop self and society at the same time. He maintained that, for spiritual salvation, one must acquire devotion (bhaktee) and knowledge
(jnaana), and perform (good) deeds (karma), altogether. He urged action without expectation of reward – nishkaama-karma to fulfil the duties of social class (varna) and the four phases of life (aashrama).
8. At various quarters in Bharat, he established monasteries (matha). The objectives were to protect the Vedic dharma from non-Vedic beliefs and cults, and to maintain an unbroken teacher-student lineage that would ensure perpetual teaching of the scriptures. Heads of these monasteries, called Shankara-aachaarya, are great Vedic scholars who continue in the tradition of Adhi-Shankara, protecting and promoting the Vedic dharma and performing daily elaborate pooja for the welfare of the society.

Five monasteries were established in different parts of Bharat:
a) Shaardha matha at Shringairee (Shringaa Giree) in Karnataka, Mysore on the Western Ghats. Its first Shankaraachaarya was Suraishwara. The matha has maintained records giving an account of the lineage of all Shankaraachaaryas since Suraishwara.
b) Kaalikaa matha situated in Dhwaarkaa in Gujaraat. Its first Shankaraachaarya was Hastaa-malaka.
c) Jyotir-matha/Joshee-matha in Badhreenaatha in Uttar Pradesh. Its first Shankaraachaarya was Totaka.
d) Go-vardhana matha in Puree in Orissa, its first Shankaraachaarya being Padhma Paada.
e) Komatree-matha in Kaancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. Adhi-Shankara resided here, occupying the peetha (seat). This matha has also maintained a full record of all the Shankaraachaaryas since then.

Shankara travelled to all parts of Bharat in his quest to re-popularise Hindu dharma and to take it to the masses. He even went to Kashmir, and won the Kashmiri Pandits back from the Mahaayaana Buddhism that they had developed and were promoting.

Shankara the Scholar:

9. Shankara was a scholar of divinity, unparalleled and unmatched. He became the undefeated champion of the vedaanta sutras. In the exposition of the scriptures, he left no issue unresolved, no stone unturned, embracing each and every tenet. He interpreted the scriptures (vr’ti), wrote commentaries (shareeraka baashya) on the Upanishads, Baghvad Geeta, and the Vedanta (prasthaana tr’ya).

He wrote numerous aphorisms (vyaasa sootra). Some are listed below:
Vaidanta sootra
Brahma-sootra
Vivaika choodaamanee
Upadaisha sahasree
Vaakya vr’ti – exposition of the vedic mahaa-vaakya
Aparoksha-anubhooti – self-realisation
Aatma-boddh – knowledge of Self; also known as the ‘Song of the Soul’
Tatva-boddh
Aapta vajra soochee
Moha mudhhara
Aanandha laaharee – hymn in praise of Paarvatee, consort of Bhagvaan Shiva
Dasha shlokee
Commentaries on Vishnu Sahasranaama
Sanatsu jaateeya
These, and many other works, mirror the power of his mind and the genius of his soul.

Shankara the Philosopher:

10. Shankara was not only a sage and a saint, he was one of the greatest philosophers that ever lived, of the class of Sri Ramanuja, Madhava and Vasugupta. He propounded the concept of monism/non-dualism called advaita, also known as maayaavaada advaita and advaita vaidaanta, the tenets of which
are briefly given below:

parmaatman, the Ultimate Principle.
niraakaara (formless),
nirguna (without attributes),
adr’sya (beyond the reach of the eyes of the mortals),
akarta/akrata (non-agent),
nir-vishaisha (without special characteristics), and satchita-
aananda (Truth, Reality and Bliss).
nirguna, yet appears as saguna (with attributes) for the
pious worship of the devotee.

God is real and actual in absolute terms – parmaarthic sata.
This Universal Self, is the Cause of the material manifested world. The latter, although an illusion, is also real in relative terms – vyavhaaric sata. In the absence of (spiritual) knowledge – avidyaa, the illusion is perceived as a reality.

Maayaa is that mysterious divine power which hides the real and manifests as the (unreal) material world. It is responsible for all the differences and the plurality seen in the material world. For all practical purposes, maayaa appears real to the human being, but vanishes when one attains the knowledge of the eternal, through
enquiry(vichaara).

The physical body that the soul occupies is obtained through the cumulative result of the karmas of previous lives – praarabdha. These karmas dwell in the person as samskaaras and are invisible (adr’shta). A person is responsible for own destiny both in the present life as well as in future lives. The fate enjoyed by the doer (tantra) can be destroyed by gaining the knowledge of Ultimate Reality (Brahman).

All that is visible and invisible is in reality one eternal aatmana, which is Pure Consciousness. Realisation of the highest Truth- anubhooti – leads to immediate and direct perception of one’s own Self – aparoksha. The realised soul remains ever immersed in the Supreme Truth, freed from ego and from future births, and hence has no praarabdha.