Hinduism - 13

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13. The advent of Bhagavan Adi Sankara

 

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.