re: appearance day of Sankaracarya

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna, All glories to srila prabhupada.

 

PAMHO

 

I would like to introduce myself to the group. My name is Bhart. I live

near toronto and

have a full time job outside temple. I am aspiring to advance in my

devotion.

 

I have been following this for the last 2 days. But the

discussion has been of

such high standard that I do not understand much of it.

 

Today, a local hindu temple is celebrating Sankaracharya’s appearance day.

This day is

not marked on the Local ISKCON calender. I am not a sankarite but I feel we

can

always more about sankaracharya.

 

What follows is a quote from AC Bhaktivedanta prabhupada’s Chaitnya

Charitamarta.

Enjoy the reading.

 

 

Madhya lila 9.244

 

Regarding Sankaracarya, it is understood that he was born in the year 608 of

the Sakabda era, in the month of Vaisakha, on the third day of the waxing

moon, in a place in South India known as Kaladi. His father's name was

Sivaguru, and he lost his father at an early age. When Sankaracarya was only

eight years old, he

completed his study of all scriptures and took sannyasa from Govinda, who was

residing on the banks of the Narmada. After accepting sannyasa, Sankaracarya

stayed with his spiritual master for some days. He then took his permission

to go to Varanasi, and from there he went to Badarikasrama, where he stayed

until his twelfth year. While there, he wrote a commentary on the

Brahma-sutra, as well as on ten Upanisads and the Bhagavad-gita.

He also wrote Sanat-sujatiya and a commentary on the Nrsimha-tapini. Among

his many disciples, his four chief disciples are Padmapada, Suresvara,

Hastamalaka and Trotaka. After departing from Varanasi, Sankaracarya went to

Prayaga, where he met a great learned scholar called Kumarila Bhatta.

Sankaracarya wanted to

discuss the authority of the scriptures, but Kumarila Bhatta, being on his

deathbed, sent him to his disciple Mandana, in the city of Mahismati. It was

there that Sankaracarya defeated Mandana Misra in a discussion of the

sastras. Mandana had a wife named Sarasvati, or Ubhaya-bharati, who served

as mediator between Sankaracarya and her husband. It is said that she wanted

to discuss erotic principles and amorous love with Sankaracarya, but

Sankaracarya had been a brahmacari since birth and therefore had no

experience in amorous love. He took a month's leave from Ubhaya-bharati and,

by his mystic power, entered the body of a king who had just died. In this

way Sankaracarya experienced the erotic principles. After attaining this

experience, he wanted to

discuss erotic principles with Ubhaya-bharati, but without hearing his

discussion she blessed him and assured the continuous existence of the

Srngeri-matha. She then took leave of material life. Afterwards, Mandana

Misra took the order of sannyasa from Sankaracarya and became known as

Suresvara. Sankaracarya defeated

many scholars throughout India and converted them to his Mayavada

philosophy. He left the material body at the age of thirty-three.

 

 

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

 

 

 

Adi Lila Chapter 7.157

 

Sankaracarya, for example, is understood to be an incarnation of Lord Siva,

as described in the Padma Purana. He propagated the Mayavada philosophy under

the order of the Supreme Lord. We have already discussed this point in text

114 of this chapter: tanra dosa nahi, tenho ajna-kari dasa. "Sankaracarya is

not at fault, for he has thus covered the real purpose of the Vedas under the

order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Although Lord Siva,

in the form of a brahmana (Sankaracarya), preached the false philosophy of

Mayavada, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu nevertheless said that since he did it on

the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no fault on his

part (tanra dosa nahi). We must offer proper respects to all the demigods.

If one can offer respects even to an ant, why not to the demigods? One must

always know, however, that no demigod is equal to or above the

Supreme Lord. Ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya: "Only Krsna is the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, and all others, including the demigods such as Lord

Siva, Lord Brahma, Goddess Durga and Ganesa,

are His servants." Everyone serves the purpose of the Supreme Godhead, and

what to speak of such small and insignificant living entities as ourselves?

We are surely eternal servants of the Lord. The Mayavada philosophy maintains

that the demigods, the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead

are all equal. It

is therefore a most foolish misrepresentation of Vedic knowledge

 

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada