The next important milestone is the advent of Sankara. In his short but marvelously active life, he traveled all through the country, refuting atheistic and materialistic systems of thought, wrote commentaries on the Upanishads, on the Brahma Sutra and on the Gita. He interpreted these scriptures and built up his thesis with wonderful clarity and depth of exposition. He remolded Indian thought and destroyed many dogmas. His great capacity for deep feeling and emotional expression was combined with relentless logic. Sankara's contribution to philosophy is his blending of the doctrines of Karma and Maya, which culminated in a logical exposition of the idea of non-dualism. The entire universe consisting of Namarupa, names and forms, is but an appearance; Brahman, infinite consciousness, is the sole reality. Its attainment and the annihilation of the great illusion of the universe called Maya, by a process of realization, were the objects of Sankara’s quest. He revivified the doctrines of the Upanishads and, in Dr. Radhakrishnan's words; he was not a mere dreaming idealist but a practical visionary. His Advaita doctrine is still a living force in India. Adi Sankara established several maths in India to propagate the Vedantic or Advaita doctrine and the successive heads of these math’s as well as later scholars like Madhusudana Sarasvati and the great polymath Appayya Diksita have produced important treatises, elucidating the Vedanta as propounded by Sankaracarya.
Sankara’s outlook was based strictly on philosophical thought and logic; but even he has, in numerous compositions, described the supreme entity in a personal aspect as saviour, helper, friend and guide. He wrote poems dedicated to Nrusimha, Sri Krishna, Laksmi, and Annapurna, and there is his celebrated lyrical homage to Parvati or Durga - the Saundaryalahari.
Sankara was followed by Ramanuja, Madhva and others who called themselves commentators but were indeed creators of new systems. Ramanuja's philosophy was termed qualified monism and Madhva's was a dualistic system. The three major forms of Vedanta developed respectively by Sankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva are distinct philosophies, although each professes to have stemmed from the same three sources - the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra and the Gita.
Path of Devotion.
Sankaracharya is the first among the three acharyas who reformed Hindu religion by giving their own interpretation to the ancient sacred texts. At the time, the Vedic texts which have come down to Indians through the ages and only orally studied were the monopoly of a certain class. This knowledge was known as shruti, or learning by careful listening. The Vedas were in very old esoteric language were beyond the reach of the common man. The tremendous task of interpreting the true catholic spirit of Hindu philosophy was yet to be undertaken, and the three acharyas, Sankaracharya (788 - 820 AD), Ramanujacharya (11th century AD), and Madhwacharya (13th century AD) -- all hailing from southern part of India are credited for the status of present day Hindu thought and philosophy.
Sankara's arrival on the scene was at a most critical juncture when both Buddhism and Hinduism were fast disintegrating into various sects and cults. Buddha's original teachings were a reaction to the Vedic sacrificial extremities. But in the later centuries, practices like magic and sexual mysticism crept into Buddhism. Vedic religion was not very different, having given way to superstitious ways, and a large number of rituals. It was Sankara who tried to re-assess and integrate sound teachings of Buddha in the Vedic (Hindu) following, and was successful in the revival and reformation of Hindu thinking and way of life.
Sankara was born of poor but pious Nambudiri Brahmin couple in the Kaladi village of the Kerala kingdom. He lost his father early. Sankara had ascetic leanings from the beginning and he wanted to put to use all of the knowledge he could acquire for the better use of the society. He was the couple's only child and the mother resisted her son becoming a monk giving up all worldly life. It took great persuasion on Sankara’s part to win her over. He promised attending on her final hour.
He went in search of a guru for further spiritual guidance and studied under Govinda Bhagavatpada, who was a famous disciple of the great saint Gowdapadacharya. Gowdapadacharya advocated monism or advaita. All the learning Sankara mastered was put to use through his brilliant eloquence. Dialectics, logic and semantics were the primary areas of scholar hood in those days, and the only means to achieve supremacy was to argue and win debates in august assemblies of scholars. Sankara argued and won over many great scholars of his time belonging to different faiths. He established that the original teaching of the Vedas was that God is one and the study of Vedas is the only way to salvation.
At the time Vedic texts were summarized in brief aphorisms. The basic texts of Vedic knowledge were preserved in Brahma sutras of Badarayana, a work of First century A.D. This was known as the main composition of Vedanta (literally meaning "End or culmination of Vedas", used sometimes as culmination of Indian thought). Sankara wrote a brilliant and convincing commentary on Brahma sutras which were accepted throughout India. He wrote commentary of Bhagavad-Gita, chief Upanishads and other philosophic works. He is created beautiful compositions in praise of God and Mother Goddess. Vedanta and its interpretation by Sankara is accepted and revered even by modern theologists including Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo.
Sankara then took missionary work traveling the entire country (what is India today, then consisting of numerous feudal kingdoms). He established four mutts (or monasteries) in the four corners of the Hindu land -- Kashmir in the North, Dwaraka in the West, Puri in the East and in Sringeri in the South. These institutions are operational till today with innumerable followers upholding Sankara’s advaitism. These mutts and the pilgrims who visited them held India together as one nation for more than twelve centuries! All the heads of these institutions are today known as Sankaracharyas and wield tremendous political power in India. To distinguish these pontiffs from the first preceptor, Sankara is referred to as Adi Sankaracharya or Jagadguru (Universal teacher).
Sankara did not forget his old mother or the promise he had made. Tradition records that he was by his mother's side in her final moments. He then arranged for her funeral, although he himself was an ascetic, "dead" to the world.
While Sankaracharya criticised Buddhism in its decayed form, he assimilated many tenets of Buddhism cleverly, like that of nirvana (void). It was Sankaracharya who was responsible to absorb Buddha into Hinduism and recognize Buddha as an avatar (incarnation) of God!
Sankaracharya was only thirty-two years old at the time of his death. But his life's mission was complete. Revival and reformation of original Vedic religion, which is considered intellectual Hinduism is alive to this day.
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