grif Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 It is propagated in Iskcon teachings that Shankaracharya brought people away from Buddhism and back into the Vedic fold. Is this true? Is there any evidence of this that is more than a claim? Some people actually say that Shankaracharya's monistic views were not even so popular in India at all at the time and that his teachings are more popular only in the last 100 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raghucharan Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Am not sure if Shankara got people away form Buddhism but there are scriptual evidences showing shankara proving the advaitha philosophy much advanced and scientific/convincing then the buddhist scriptures of those times. Upanishads and vedas were available since a long time. But the first exponent to give explanatory notes on these upanishads was gaudapadacharya (guru of guru of Shankara). His bashya (explanation) on mandukya upanishad is considered very scientific even today. Later Shankara is the only person who could explain neatly what the upanishads/vedas actually meant and could write bashyas on them in a lucid way understandable to normal humans like us. And Shankara's monistic views are questioned/debated since the time he left this world. But there is no convincing book/journal/text found which could refute it till date. His popularity is eternal according to me (but only applicable to people who can dedicate life to understand what he said). Hope I have answered your query.You can study more of his philosophy and his life span through books available on internet too. Regards, Raghu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grif Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 That was kinda funny because it says you replied in June, but I just got a notification today! In any case, yes it may be that Shankaracharya refuted the Buddha's teaching, but I am not sure that there is valid evidence that he was the one that caused the decline of Buddhism in India. As far as any text refuting Shankaracharya's views, Nagarujuna had already done so about 600 years prior by correctly understanding the view of the Upanisadas regarding an existant self. Many of the schools of Vedanta were flourishing at that time. Perhaps Shankaracharya repackaged things a bit. It is also my understanding that Gaudapada himself altered the view of Advaita by mixing it with some views of Nagarjuna. This is what many scholars point to. But don't ask me to explain the differences because my understanding is a bit rough. You can google it I am sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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