SANAKARACARYA JI

By Pundit S Shirish Kumar

17^th May marked the anniversary of Jagadguru Sankaracarya, one of the most illustrious sages in

Hinduism. On this day, about 780 C.E. he was born in a village of Kaladi in the Southern state of

Kerala. We do not know the exact date of his birth or, for that matter, death. The earliest account of thesage’s life is to be found in Sankara-Dig-Vijaya ( Sankara’s world conquest), written by Madhava-Vidyaranya, a monk of Srngeri ashrama , in the present state of Mysore. The author himself born nearly six hundred years after Sankara’s passing away. A later day biography by Vyasacala does not shed more light on Sankara’s life. One of the recent publications is ‘ Sri Sankaracarya ‘, written by P. Seshadri and published by the University of Travancore, Trivendrum in 1949.

Sankara-Dig-Vijaya ( hereafter S.D.V.) is predisposed to consider the sage as the avatara (incarnation) of Lord Siva. As per the fourth chapter, our super hero, in his very first year of schooling became proficient in his mother tongue. In the second year, he acquired fluency in Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas and other religious scriptures. The next year, he was reciting and teaching Vedas to other students, followed by thorough study of Yoga, Mimamsa sankhya etc. in a short period. After completing his schooling Sankara took monastic vows and went on to acquire further knowledge under the guidance of his guru Govindapada. Upon completion of his studies the sage extensively traveled the Indian sub-continent, spreading his version of dharma ( the path of righteous). Sankara, the avatara, is supposed to have met and debated masters of different branches of Hinduism, and defeated them all.

It is important to note that the period under discussion can best be described as of religious upheaval. The sub-continent was under very strong influence of various splinter groups of the atheistic philosophy of Buddhism. Another major force, Jainism acknowledged individual souls, but rejected the notion that there was the supreme creator. The Yoga school paid only lip service to the idea of Isvara. Among the theistic schools, some ( i.e. Kapalikas) resorted to bizarre cult practices, including violence. Sankara reversed the trends toward chaos and confusion. According to S.D.V. Sankara the avatara of Lord Siva came to rescue the society as Lord Krsna did during the period of Dwapara Yuga to restore dharma ( Bhagavad Gita, Ch.4, Vs.7-8).

Sankara further developed and propogated the philosophy of advaita ( non-dualism) that was pioneered by a sage Gaudapada, about one hundred years earlier. If various religious poems ( i.e. Saundaryalahari), believed to have been written by Sankara , are any indication, there is full recognition of devotionalism ( Bhakti Yoga ) as well as that of rituals and ethical conduct ( Karma Yoga). These two are the initial rungs of the spiritual ladder. The last rung is the right knowledge and the self-awareness ( Jnana Yoga). This awakening alone will help to experience the non-duality of beings and Brahman ( the supreme consciousness). Described as turyavastha, advaita philosophy calims that a seeker may achieve this state of mind while being alive ( jivanamukta). This philosophy, not much dissimilar to the Buddhist notion of ‘ Samsara Dukka ‘ , takes it for granted that the world is constantly changing ( maya) , and it lacks substantiality. Our actions ( karmas) propelled by likes and dislikes (raga & dvesa) , anger and envy, create and perpetuate human bondage through the cycle of rebirth and death.

A seeker, having studied the Vedas under the guidance of a spiritual master , and perfected Bhakti/Karma Yoga, embarks on the journey of introspection and the meditation of the inner self. He/she will eventually become fully conscious of the utter futility of the everchanging phenomenal world of multiplicity, and consequently become detached from the world. The inner evolution will ultimately transform into pure awareness ( suddha cetana) that is devoid of any content. In simple words, it may be described as thoughtless awareness. He/she, though living in this world and ever ready to help others, in the retiring state of mind, gradually becomes less and less involved with the world ( nivrtti). Once the residual karmas are extinguished, at end of the life, there is no more rebirth ( videhamukti). The soul becomes liberated and one with the supreme. A simple analogy is that of an empty jar. Once it is broken, the captive space becomes just space, no more confined by any wall. Thus, in a nut-shell, Sankaracarya’s soteriology is salvation through the self-awareness.

What about the ever changing world of multiplicity and of pain and pleasure? Who created it? The advaita philosophy does not give any the logical answer, but it does maintain with absolute certainty that the world emanate from Brahman, the super-consciousness.

“Just as an intelligent juggler ( magician) who has no material, transforms himself, as it were, into a second self ascending into space, similarly the omniscient and the omnipotent Deity, who is a supreme magician, creates Himself as another in the form of the universe.” ( Eight Upnisads, Vol.1, translated by Swami Gambhirananda, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, P-27).

Sankaracarya’s major work include commentaries on Brahma-Sutra and Bhagavad-Gita. He is also the author of Vivakacudamani ( Crest-jewel of Discrimination), a masterpiece on advaita philosophy.

Sankara, the philosopher, is confined to the class-rooms and corridors of the academic world where students and teachers engage in endless discussions and debate ontology from diverse point of view. The sage’s immense popularity lies with the masses of India due to his authorship of many religious poems and stotras ( hymns), written in praise of Lord Siva, Divine Mother and Lord Krsna. These hymns have captured hearts of millions of Hindus for centuries. Drenched in deeply felt love for the deities, the stotras are recited and sung in temples as well as on the theatrical stages. Their appeal is universal within diverse schools of Hinduims.

The evengelical Sankaracarya is believed to have extensively traveled within India in a very short life span. ( He died at the age of thirty two). He is credited with the establishment of four major mathas ( monastic asramas) in Srngeri ( south), Dwaraka ( west), Badrinatha ( north) and Puri ( east). There is also an unconfirmed fifth contender at Kanch or Conjeeveram in the south. Through these monastic asramas Sankaracarya succeeded in preserving and promoting rather abstract doctrine of non-duality. The monks of the asramas also chanted the hymns, thus harmonizing the intellectual and emotional ( nirguna and saguna) approach to the supreme. We do not know who was the real Sankara; the philosopher or the devotee, or both? However, we do know that his legacy of advaita philosophy and the hymns is forever.