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A simple life sketch of the Great Acharya

 

Narayana Narayana Narayana

 

Shankaracarya

 

The Incarnation of Lord Shiva

By Jeffrey Wallace

Originally published in The Clarion Call

 

Ours is an age of inquiry into the secrets of the

cosmos and life itself. As intelligent people, we

yearn to know what is beyond. We study the nature of

things ion this world to further our understanding of

who we are and where we came from. We fill our library

shelves with volumes of books so that future

generations may share in the wealth of our

discoveries. We do all these things in the name of

science and the advancement of knowledge, But we are

not the first people to inquire about the mysteries of

life. In fact, many great civilizations before ours

have penetrated deep into the unknown. One such era in

bygone days was that of Shankaracarya, who pioneered a

paradigm of enlightened thought, the dawning of

advaita vedanta.

 

During the eight century A.D., when Shankaracarya

appeared in India, the authority of the vedas which

guide humanity toward progressive immortality, had

been greatly minimized by the pervading influence of

Buddhist thought. At the time, most of India's

philosophers, in pursuance of the teaching of Buddha's

sunyarada philosophy of negative existence or prakrirt

nirvana, had renounced the vedic conception of isvara

(the Absolute Truth) and jiva (the eternal spark of

the same). Under the patronage of powerful emperors

like Ashoka (243 B.C.), Buddhism had spread throughout

the length and breadth of India. By dint of his vast

learning and his ability to defeat opposing

philosophies in philosophical debate, Shankaracarya,

however, was able to reestablish the prestige of the

Vedic literature's such as the Upanisads and the

Vedanta.

 

Wherever Shankaracarya traveled in India he was

victorious and opposing philosophies bowed.

Shankaracarya established his doctrine,

advaita-vedanta, nondualistic Vedanta, by reconciling

the philosophy of the Buddhists. He agreed with the

Buddhist concept that corporal existence is unreal or

asat -- but he disagreed with their conception of

prakriti nirvana.

 

Shankaracarya presented brahman, spiritual substance

as a positive alternative to the illusory plane of

matter. His philosophy in a nutshell is contained in

the verse, brahma satyam jagan-mithya -- brahman or

spirit is truth, whereas jagat or the material world,

is false. In other words, Shankaracarya's philosophy

was a compromise between theism and atheism. It is

said that Shankaracarya, according to the necessity of

time, place, and circumstance, took the position

between theism and atheism because the wholesale

conversion of Buddhists to the path of full-fledged

theism would not have been possible.

 

Professors of philosophy in India refer to a verse

from the Padma Purana (Uttara khanda 25.7) that

reveals the hidden identity of Shankaracarya:

 

 

mayavadam asac-chastram

pracchannam bauddham ucyate

mayaiva vihitam devi

kalau brahmana-murtina

 

" The Mayavada philosophy, Siva informed his wife

Parvati, is covered Buddhism. In the form of a

brahmana in the kali-yuga, I teach this imagined

philosophy. " Shankaracarya is thus widely accepted as

an incarnation of Shiva.

 

From a purport by:

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Since Lord Siva does not incarnate himself unless

there is some special reason, it is very difficult for

an ordinary person to contact him. However, Lord Siva

does descend on a special occasion when he is ordered

by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard,

it is stated in the Padma Purana that Lord Siva

appeared as a brahmana in the age of Kali to preach

the Mayavada philosophy, which is nothing but a type

of Buddhist philosophy.

 

Lord Siva, speaking to Parvati-devi, foretold that he

would spread the Mayavada philosophy in the guise of a

sannyasi brahmana just to eradicate Buddhist

philosophy. This sannyasi was Sripada Sankaracarya. In

order to overcome the effects of Buddhist philosophy

and spread Vedanta philosophy, Sripada Sankaracarya

had to make some compromise with the Buddhist

philosophy, and as such he preached the philosophy of

monism, for it was required at that time. S.B.

4.24.17

© A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

 

 

A Brief Biography

 

In the small village of Kaladi, in the southern

province of India, Sri Shankaracharya advented himself

as the son of a Vedic brahmana named Shivaguru and his

wife Arya. Even in childhood it was apparent that

Shankara, as his father named him, was a great

personality. At his birth astrologers predicted that

the boy would become a powerful scholar who would be

like an elephant in a banana plantation in the matter

of destroying false religions and spurious doctrines.

As a student Shankara quickly gained proficiency in

the Sanskrit language. He had a prodigious memory;

anything his teachers said stuck in his mind forever.

What the average student learned in twelve years

Shankara learned in one.

 

When Shankara was three years old his father passed

away. Life was difficult for mother and son, but by

the grace of God they lived peacefully according to

their means. Shankara continued his studies until his

eighth year when he decided to take sannyasa and live

a life of renunciation. One day Shankara said to his

mother, " The life of a man on earth is so full of

misery that he sometimes wishes that he had never been

born. The dullest among men knows that the body is

destined to die at the appointed time. What the yogi

alone knows is that in the cycle of samsara one is

born and dies again and again a million times. In the

cycle of samsara he sometimes plays the role of a son,

a father, a husband, a daughter, a mother, or a wife

in an unending succession. Therefore true and lasting

happiness can be achieved only by transcending birth

and death through renunciation, which is the gateway

to self-realization. My dear mother, please permit me

to embrace that state and strive to realize myself.

Allow me to accept sannyasa. "

 

" Don't speak like that again, " replied his

affectionate mother. " I wish to see you marry and

become a good husband for a good woman. Please do not

speak of taking sannyasa again. "

 

A few days later while Shankara was bathing in the

river a crocodile caught hold of his leg. Seeing the

hopeless position of her son the mother began to cry

piteously. It appeared that the crocodile might devour

her son | alive. " Mother! " said the boy, " there may be

a | way that I can be saved. It is said by the wise

men of our country ! that if one agrees to accept

sannyasa when ' one's life is in danger, one will get

out of that danger. Therefore permit me to renounce

the world. "

 

Prepared to do anything to save the life of her son,

the poor woman consented to his request. Shankara then

raised his hands and pronounced the words sannyas

o'ham " I have renounced. " When this was done the

crocodile immediately let go of Shankaracharya's leg

and his life was spared. As he come out of the water

he and his mother embraced. " My dear mother, you have

always been my provider. Now I am going out into the

world and henceforth whoever feeds me is my mother,

whoever teaches me is my father. My pupils are my

children, peace is my bride, and solitude my bliss.

Such are the rigors of my undertaking. "

 

" Be blessed my son. Your life is now in the care of

the Supreme Benefactor. " With this heartfelt exchange

between mother and son, Shankara departed.

 

Wearing a simple cloth, carrying a water pot, and

traveling only on foot with a staff in his hand, the

young Shankara roamed across the countryside for many

months. One day while resting in the shade of a banyan

tree Shankara noticed several frogs sitting peacefully

next to a cobra. Seeing this curious site he

remembered the lessons of his previous teachers that

coexistence between natural enemies was possible only

in the vicinity of a great sage or an enlightened

guru.

 

Upon inquiring from the people of the local village,

Shankara learned of a saintly person named Govindapada

who lived nearby in a cave. He decided to go there

immediately. Offering prostrated obeisances in front

of the cave Shankara recited a delightful hymn in

praise of the great guru. " My obeisances to you,

revered Govindapada, who are the abode of all

knowledge. Your fame has spread far and wide because

you have traveled inward into yourself to the very

core of your being. You are the most realized person

on earth, since you had the good fortune to become the

disciple of Gaudapada, the disciple of Sukadeva, who

was the self-realized son of Vyasadeva, the compiler

of Vedic literature. Thus you have a most remarkable

line of spiritual preceptors. Please accept this

unworthy sannyasi as your disciple and make me heir to

the knowledge of self-realization. "

 

Govindapada was pleased to accept this little sannyasi

as his disciple and he imparted the four sutras to him

that Shankara would later preach throughout the world:

 

 

prajnnam brahma

Brahman is pure consciousness

 

 

ayamatma brahma

Soul is brahman

 

 

tat tvam asi

You are that consciousness

 

 

aham brahmasmi

I am brahman

Shankara stayed with his guru for a long time, until

one day Govindapada, understanding that the young

Shankara was an incarnation of Shiva, said, " Now

listen to my wish. Proceed to the holy city of Banaras

immediately and start instructing the people on how

they can understand their real self. That which is

taught by the Buddhist philosophers does not reveal

the nature of the atma or self. It is your mission to

bring the people to the path of theism. Banaras has

many well-known scholars in all systems of philosophy.

You must hold discussions with them and guide them

along the lines of correct thinking. It is most

urgent! Please do not delay even one minute. " Taking

the order of his guru, Shankara started for Banaras.

 

When Shankara entered among the learned circles of

Banaras he was barely twelve years old. Indeed, his

tender age accompanied by his extensive knowledge and

deep realization astounded all who came to see him. As

destined by providence, Shankara soon attracted many

disciples who sat before him in rapt attention to his

every word on transcendence. From that time onward

Shankara became known as acharya or Shankaracharya.

 

At Banaras Shankaracharya turned the tide of atheism.

He compiled commentaries on the Brahma Sutra,

Bhagavad-gita, and the principle Upanishads, all of

which explained the nondual substance, brahman, as the

ultimate reality. Among his followers, his commentary

on the Brahma Sutra, known as Sarfraka-bhasya, is

considered the most important. Shankaracharya comments

on the nature of brahman as that which is beyond the

senses, impersonal, formless, eternal, and

unchangeable, as the summum bonum of the Absolute

Truth. According to Shankaracharya, that which is

known as the atma or soul is but a covered portion or

illusioned portion of the Supreme Brahman. That

illusion, says Shankaracharya, is due to the veil of

maya, which is created out of ignorance or

forgetfulness of the true self. The idea that the

Absolute Truth can be covered by maya was later

challenged successfully by Sri Ramanuja. Those who

followed the teachings of Shankaracharya then became

known to many as Mayavadis, or philosophers of

illusion.

 

Shankaracharya's theory of illusion states that

although the Absolute Truth is never transformed, we

think that it is transformed, which is an illusion.

Shankaracharya did not believe in the transformation

of energy of the Absolute. Acceptance of the

transformation of energy would have necessitated the

acceptance of the Personality of the Absolute Truth or

the personal existence of God -- full-fledged theism.

According to Shankaracharya we ourselves are God. When

the veil of ignorance is removed one will realize his

complete identity as being nondifferent from the

Supreme Brahman or God.

 

Shankaracharya held that the questions about the

origin of the universe and the nature of illusion were

unanswerable and inexplicable. Shankaracharya's

conviction was that the spiritual substance, brahman.

is supra-mundane -- separate from the gross and subtle

bodies of mind and intelligence in this world.

Shankaracharya further stressed that mukti, or

liberation from the cycle of birth and death, is

possible only when the living being renounces his

relationship with the material world. Shankaracharya

says that the concepts of " I " and " Mine " -- I am an

individual and these are my possessions: wife,

children, property, etc. are the causes of bondage to

material existence and must be given up. Thus the bulk

of his followers were and continue to be celibate

students.

 

To support his conclusions of adwaita-vedanta,

nondualism, Shankaracharya interpreted the Vedas to

suit his means. In other words, the Vedas have their

direct and indirect meanings. Shankaracharya, using

grammatical jugglery of suffixes, prefixes and

affixes, gave an imaginary or indirect interpretation

of his own. Thus Shankaracharya, positioning himself

between the theist and the atheist, sometimes appears

to have been the friend of both. The great acharya

adopted this stand to lay the foundation for future

theistic evolution. The contribution of Shankaracharya

in the development of theistic thought, from the

atheistic or neo-theistic concepts of the Buddhists'

praknti nirvana to those of the sublime transcendental

substantive brahman, has made India and generations of

future theists forever grateful.

 

Accompanied by a group of disciples Shankaracharya

traveled throughout India. To the north he traveled as

far as the ashram of Badrinatha in the Himalayas.

There he established a monastery for meditation and

Vedic studies. Similar monasteries were established

during his travels to Puri, in the east, Dwaraka in

the west, and Shringeri in the south. All of these

institutions established by Shankaracharya still exist

twelve centuries later.

 

On one of his journeys in southern India,

Shankaracharya chanced to debate with a famous scholar

of Mahismati named Mandana Mishra, ' the jewel among

scholars.' Many learned persons gathered for the

debate and Bharati, the good wife of the scholar, was

chosen to be the judge and moderator. At the outset of

the debate Bharati placed a garland of flowers around

the neck of each of the two contestants. She

proclaimed that at the end of the discussion whoever

was wearing the garland which had not withered would

he the winner.

 

Mandana, who had never known defeat, opened the debate

by stating, " I accept the authority of the Vedas.

Their main teaching is that merit can be acquired by

the performance of the prescribed rituals in the

prescribed manner. One who performs these rituals will

go to heaven and dwell in the company of Indra and the

celestial damsels. When the merit is exhausted. he

will return to earth so that he can acquire more pious

credits for a longer stay in the world of the gods.

The Vedas also contain related commandments as a

prerequisite to the performance of the rites, " The

audience, consisting of many of Mandana's admirers and

disciples, applauded his statement.

 

Shankaracharya then responded, 1 also accept the

authority of the Vedas. Their main purpose, however.

is this: brahman alone is real; the phenomenal world

is an illusion; and the individual soul is identical

with brahman. The parts of the Vedas containing

descriptions and injunctions pertaining to ritual are

subordinate to the major part that deals with the

knowledge of the self and the ways of its acquisition.

Rituals can only lead to karma -- both good and bad,

which prevents one from attaining self-realization.

The only goal of the Vedas is brahman . "

 

Both scholars showed profound knowledge of the Vedas

in various ways, and the discussion continued unabated

for eighteen days. On the last day it was seen that

the garland of Mandana Mishra had begun to wither and

the garland of Shankaracharya remained ever-fresh.

Bharati then declared Shankaracharya the winner. Now

Mandana Mishra would have to renounce his connection

with the world and become the disciple of

Shankaracharya.

 

In a final attempt to save her husband, Bharati said,

" Oh Great acharya, you are certainly victorious in the

debate with my husband and he will have to become your

disciple. However, 1, the wife of Mandana Mishra, am

his better half. Before your victory is complete you

will have to defeat me also. " Shankaracharya was

somewhat surprised, but he accepted the challenge.

 

Addressing Shankaracharya, Bharati said, " I can not

admit that you are the master of all learning unless

you can prove that you have a good understanding of

sex education also. Now, tell me, what are the various

forms and expressions of love? What is the nature of

sexual love? What is the effect of the waxing and

waning moons on sex urge in men and women? You must

answer all these questions. "

 

Being a celibate monk and only sixteen years old, it

appeared as though Shankaracharya had been bewildered

by-his opponent. He then asked for forty days

additional time since he was not prepared to speak on

the subject immediately. Bharati granted the request

and Shankaracharya and his disciples left the

assembly. Through the powers of mystic yoga

Shankaracharya entered into trance. He left his body

and entered the body of a sensuous king named Amaruka.

In the body of the king Shankaracharya experienced

erotic love and acquired knowledge of all its

intricacies. Before the forty days had ended

Shankaracharya re-entered his own body and returned to

debate with Bharati.

 

After a brief discussion, Bharati conceded that

Shankaracharya was the undisputed winner.

Shankaracharya was now the leading spiritual master in

India. Day and night for sixteen continuous years

Shankaracharya preached the adwaita-vedanta. In his

thirty-second year while on pilgrimage in the

Himalayas, Shankaracharya left this mortal world for

the eternal abode.

 

During his life Shankaracharya had composed a number

of beautiful verses known as " Bhaja Govindam, "

" Worship Govinda. " A mystery surrounds these prayers

in that Shankaracharya taught consistently throughout

his commentaries that brahman is the supreme goal. Yet

in his prayers he says, " Just worship Govinda. "

 

Many commentators on the life of Shankaracharya

consider that his being an incarnation of Shiva means

that Shankaracharya was in fact the greatest devotee

of Godhead, but due to the necessity of the time he

could not directly advocate devotion as the highest

attainment.

 

Before departing from this world Sri Shankaracharya

spoke these last words:

 

 

bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam

bhaja govindam mudhamate

samprapte sannihite kale

na hi na hi rakshati dukrinyakarane

 

'Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh you fools and

rascals, just worship Govinda. Your rules of grammar

and word jugglery will not help you at the time of

death. "

 

 

 

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