Adi Shankaracharya
·
He was one of the most revered Hindu philosophers and theologians
from India
·
He travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his
philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers.
·
He established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in
the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mīmāṃsā school established
strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. He is reputed to have founded four mathas
("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival
and spread of Advaita Vedanta of which he is known as the greatest revivalist.
·
Adi Shankara is believed to be the organiser of the Dashanami
monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship. [Shanmata
worship: It centers around the worship of the six main deities of Hinduism,
viz, Shiva,
Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda. In this system, six major deities are
worshipped. This is based on the belief in the essential oneness of all
deities, the unity of Godhead, and their conceptualization of the myriad
deities of India
·
He was born in Kaladi in present day central Kerala, India
·
[Story behind the birth: It was after his parents, who had been
childless for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple, Thrissur, that
Shiva appeared to both husband and wife in their dreams, and offered them a
choice: a mediocre son who would live a long life, or an extraordinary son who
would not live long. Both the parents chose the latter; thus a son was born to
them. He was named Shankara (Sanskrit, "bestower of happiness"), in
honour of Shiva (one of whose epithets is Shankara)]
·
His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara's
upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to the
death of his father, and was then performed by his mother.
·
As a child, Shankara showed remarkable scholarship, mastering the
four Vedas by the age of eight.
·
At the age of 8, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa, Shankara
then left Kerala and travelled towards North India
in search of a guru.
·
On the banks of the Narmada River
·
When Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara's identity, he replied
with an extempore verse that brought out the Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
·
Govinda Bhagavatapada was impressed and took Shankara as his
disciple.
·
The guru instructed Shankara to write a commentary on the Brahma
Sutras and propagate the Advaita philosophy.
·
Shankara travelled to Kashi, where a young man named Sanandana, hailing from Chola
territory in South India, became his first disciple.
·
At Badari he wrote his famous Bhashyas ("commentaries")
and Prakarana granthas ("philosophical treatises").
·
In Srisailam, he composed Shivanandalahari, a devotional hymn in
praise of Shiva.
·
Towards the end of his life, Adi Shankara travelled to the
Himalayan area of Kedarnath-Badrinath and attained videha mukti ("freedom
from embodiment").
·
There is a samadhi mandir dedicated to Adi Shankara behind the
Kedarnath temple. {However, there are variant traditions on the location of his
last days. One tradition, expounded by Keraliya Shankaravijaya, places his
place of mahasamadhi (leaving the body) as Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur,
Kerala. The followers of the Kanchi kamakoti pitha claim that he ascended the
Sarvajñapīṭha
and attained videha mukti in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu)}
·
According to the tradition in Kerala, after Sankara's samadhi at
Vadakkunnathan Temple, his disciples founded four mathas in Thrissur, namely
Naduvil Madhom, Thekke Madhom, Idayil Madhom and Vadakke Madhom.
Mutts of Shankaracharya:
|
Direction
|
Place
|
Vedas
|
Sishya
|
|
North
|
Jyotirmatha / Badrinath /
|
Atharva
|
Totakacherya
|
|
South
|
Sringeri,
|
Yajur
|
Suresvara
|
|
East
|
Goverdhana, Puri
|
Rig
|
Pdmapada
|
|
West
|
Saradamatha, Dwarka (HQ)
|
Sama
|
Hastamalakacarya
|
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