Adi Shankara

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Redirect Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Good article Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Hindu leader Template:Advaita Template:Hindu philosophy Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (Template:Langx,Template:Refn {{#invoke:IPA|main}}),Template:Refn was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (acharya) of Advaita Vedanta.Template:Sfn Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scanty,Template:Sfn and his true impact lies in his "iconic representation of Hindu religion and culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta.Template:Sfn Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Saktism) with the introduction of the Template:IAST form of worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being.<ref name="Klaus Klostermaier 2007">Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, p. 40</ref>

While he is often revered as the most important Indian philosopher, the historical influence of his works on Hindu intellectual thought has been questioned.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Until the 10th century Shankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Maṇḍana Miśra,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and there is no mention of him in concurrent Hindu, Buddhist or Jain sources until the 11th century.Template:Sfn The popular image of Shankara started to take shape in the 14th century, centuries after his death, when Sringeri matha started to receive patronage from the kings of the Vijayanagara EmpireTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and shifted their allegiance from Advaitic Agamic Shaivism to Brahmanical Advaita orthodoxy.Template:Sfn Hagiographies dating from the 14th-17th centuries deified him as a ruler-renunciate, travelling on a digvijaya (conquest of the four quarters)Template:Sfn Template:Sfn across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy, defeating his opponents in theological debates.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn These hagiographies portray him as founding four mathas (monasteries), and Adi Shankara also came to be regarded as the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order, and the unifier of the Shanmata tradition of worship. The title of Shankaracharya, used by heads of certain monasteries in India, is derived from his name.

Owing to his later fame over 300 texts are attributed to him, including commentaries (Bhāṣya), introductory topical expositions (Prakaraṇa grantha) and poetry (Stotra).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn However, most of these are likely to have been written by admirers, or pretenders, or scholars with an eponymous name.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Works known to have been written by Shankara himself are the Brahmasutrabhasya,Template:Sfn his commentaries on ten principal Upanishads,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita,Template:Sfn and the Upadeśasāhasrī.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The authenticity of Shankara as the author of Template:IAST has been questioned and mostly rejected by scholarship.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

His authentic works present a harmonizing reading of the shastras, with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time.Template:Sfn<ref group=web name=Stanford_Dalal2021/> The central concern of Shankara's writings was the liberating knowledge of the true identity of jivatman (individual self) as Ātman-Brahman,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn taking the Upanishads as an independent means of knowledge, beyond the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā-exegesis of the Vedas.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Template:Refn Shankara's Advaita showed influences from Mahayana Buddhism, despite Shankara's critiques;Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and Hindu Vaishnava opponents have even accused Shankara of being a "crypto-Buddhist,"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn a qualification which is rejected by the Advaita Vedanta tradition, highlighting their respective views on Atman, Anatta and Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Template:TOC limit

DatingEdit

Several different dates have been proposed for Shankara.Template:Sfn While the Advaita tradition assigns him to the 5th century BCE, the scholarly-accepted dating places Shankara to be a scholar from the first half of the 8th century CE.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Matha datingsEdit

509–477 BCE: this dating is based on records of the heads of the Shankara's cardinal institutions Template:IASTs. The exact dates of birth of Adi Shankaracharya believed by four monasteries are Dvārakā at 491 BCE,Template:Refn Jyotirmath at 485 BCE, Jagannatha Puri at 484 BCE and Sringeri at 483 BCE.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> while according to the Kanchipuram Peetham Adi Shankara was born in Kali 2593 (509 BCE).<ref name="Dalal2010p376"/>Template:Refn

The records of the Sringeri Matha state that Shankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of "Vikramaditya", but it is unclear to which king this name refers.<ref name="nila">K.A. Nilakantha Sastry, A History of South India, 4th ed., Oxford University Press, Madras, 1976.</ref> Though some researchers identify the name with Chandragupta II (4th century CE), modern scholarship accepts the Vikramaditya as being from the Chalukya dynasty of Badami, most likely Vikramaditya II (733–746 CE).<ref name="nila"/>

Scholarly datingsEdit

788–820 CE: This was proposed by late 19th and early twentieth century scholars, following K.P. Tiele,Template:Refn and was customarily accepted by scholars such as Max Müller, Macdonnel, Pathok, Deussen and Radhakrishna.Template:Sfnp Template:Sfnp Though the 788–820 CE dates are widespread in 20th-century publications, recent scholarship has questioned the 788–820 CE dates.Template:Sfn Template:Refn
Template:Circa CE: Late 20th-century and early 21st-century scholarship tends to place Shankara's life in the first half of the 8th century.Template:Sfn Template:Sfnp Template:Refn This estimate is based on the probable earliest and latest limits for his lifetime. His works contains traces of debates with Buddhist and Mīmāṃsā authors from the 5th-7th century, setting the earliest limit at Template:Circa. The latest limit is established by Vacaspatimisra's commentary on Sankara's work, dated first half of the 9th century, thus setting the latest limit for Sankara at Template:Circa.Template:Sfnp

Other datingsEdit

44–12 BCE: the commentator Anandagiri believed he was born at Chidambaram in 44 BCE and died in 12 BCE.Template:Sfn
6th century CE: Telang placed him in this century. Sir R.G. Bhandarkar believed he was born in 680 CE.Template:Sfn
805–897 CE: Venkiteswara not only places Shankara later than most, but also had the opinion that it would not have been possible for him to have achieved all the works apportioned to him, and has him live ninety-two years.Template:Sfn

Traditional and historical views on ShankaraEdit

Template:See also

File:SankaraSthampaMandapam.jpg

Adi Sankara Keerthi Sthampa Mandapam, Kalady, Kochi

Traditional views of ShankaraEdit

Shankara has an unparallelled status in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta. Hagiographies from the 14th-17th century portray him as a victor who travelled all over India to help restore the study of the Vedas.<ref>Per Durst-Andersen and Elsebeth F. Lange (2010), Mentality and Thought: North, South, East and West, CBS Press, Template:ISBN, p. 68</ref> According to Frank Whaling, some Hindus, particularly those who follow Advaita, view Shankara as someone who defended Hindu dharma in response to Buddhist and Jain challenges and contributed to the decline of Buddhism in India.<ref name="Whaling_1979">Frank Whaling (1979), Sankara and Buddhism, Journal of Indian Philosophy Vol. 7, No. 1 (MARCH 1979), pp. 1-42: "Hindus of the Advaita persuasion (and others too) have seen in Sankara the one who restored the Hindu dharma against the attacks of the Buddhists (and Jains) and in the process helped to drive Buddhism out of India."</ref> His teachings and tradition are central to Smartism and have influenced Sant Mat lineages.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> Tradition portrays him as the one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Saktism) with the introduction of the Template:IAST form of worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being,<ref name="Klaus Klostermaier 2007"/> implying that Advaita Vedanta stood above all other traditions.Template:Sfn

Prominence of Maṇḍana Miśra (until 10th century)Edit

Scholars have questioned Shankara's early influence in India.Template:Sfn The Buddhist scholar Richard E. King states,

Although it is common to find Western scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya was the most influential and important figure in the history of Hindu intellectual thought, this does not seem to be justified by the historical evidence.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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According to Clark, "Sankara was relatively unknown during his life-time, and probably for several centuries after, as there is no mention of him in Buddhist or jain sources for centuries; nor is he mentioned by other important philosophers of the ninth and tenth centuries."Template:Sfn According to King and Roodurmun, until the 10th century Shankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Mandana-Misra, the latter considered to be the major representative of Advaita.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Maṇḍana Miśra, an older contemporary of Shankara,Template:Sfn was a Mīmāṃsā scholar and a follower of Kumarila, but also wrote a seminal text on Advaita that has survived into the modern era, the Brahma-siddhi.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The "theory of error" set forth in the Brahma-siddhi became the normative Advaita Vedanta theory of error,Template:Sfn and for a couple of centuries he was the most influential Vedantin.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn His student Vachaspati Miśra, who is believed to have been an incarnation of Shankara to popularize the Advaita view,Template:Sfn wrote the Bhamati, a commentary on Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya, and the Brahmatattva-samiksa, a commentary on Mandana Mishra's Brahma-siddhi. His thought was mainly inspired by Mandana Miśra, and harmonises Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra.Template:Sfn<ref group=web name=BhamatiVivarana>The Bhamati and Vivarana Schools</ref> The Bhamati school takes an ontological approach. It sees the Jiva as the source of avidya.<ref group=web name=BhamatiVivarana /> It sees yogic practice and contemplation as the main factor in the acquirement of liberation, while the study of the Vedas and reflection are additional factors.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The later Advaita Vedanta tradition incorporated Maṇḍana Miśra into the Shankara-fold, by identifying him with Sureśvara (9th century),<ref name=karlpottermms>Template:Harvnb: "There is little firm historical information about Suresvara; tradition holds Suresvara is same as Mandana Misra".</ref> believing that Maṇḍana Miśra became a disciple of Shankara after a public debate which Shankara won.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

According to Satchidanandendra Sarasvati, "almost all the later Advaitins were influenced by Mandana Misra and Bhaskara."Template:Sfn He argues that most of post-Shankara Advaita Vedanta actually deviates from Shankara, and that only his student Suresvara, who's had little influence, represents Shankara correctly.Template:Sfn In this view, Shankara's influential student Padmapada misunderstood Shankara, while his views were manitained by the Suresvara school.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Vaishnavite Vedanta (10th-14th century)Edit

Hajime Nakamura states that prior to Shankara, views similar to his already existed, but did not occupy a dominant position within the Vedanta.Template:Sfn Until the 11th century, Vedanta itself was a peripheral school of thought;Template:Sfn Vedanta became a major influence when it was utilized by various sects of Hinduism to ground their doctrines.Template:Sfn The early Vedanta scholars were from the upper classes of society, well-educated in traditional culture. They formed a social elite, "sharply distinguished from the general practitioners and theologians of Hinduism."Template:Sfn Their teachings were "transmitted among a small number of selected intellectuals".Template:Sfn Works of the early Vedanta schools do not contain references to Vishnu or Shiva.Template:Sfn It was only after Shankara that "the theologians of the various sects of Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater or lesser degree to form the basis of their doctrines,"Template:Sfn whereby "its theoretical influence upon the whole of Indian society became final and definitive."Template:Sfn Examples are Ramanuja (11th c.), who aligned bhakti, "the major force in the religions of Hinduism," with philosophical thought, meanwhile rejecting Shankara's views,<ref group=web name=EB_Ramanuja>Encyclopædia Britannica, Ramanajua</ref> and the Nath-tradition.Template:Sfn

Vijayanagara Empire and Vidyaranya (14th century) - creation of traditional (hagiographic) viewsEdit

In medieval times, Advaita Vedanta position as most influential Hindu darsana started to take shape, as Advaitins in the Vijayanagara Empire competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their sect.Template:Sfn It is only during this period that the historical fame and cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedanta was established.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Many of Shankara's biographies were created and published in and after the 14th century, such as Vidyaranya's widely cited Śankara-vijaya. Vidyaranya, also known as Madhava, who was the 12th Jagadguru of the Śringeri Śarada Pītham from 1380 to 1386<ref>Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mādhava Āchārya". Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> and a minister in the Vijayanagara Empire,<ref name=talbot/> inspired the re-creation of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire of South India. This may have been in response to the devastation caused by the Islamic Delhi Sultanate,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn<ref name=talbot>Cynthia Talbot (2001), Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra, Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN, pp. 185–187, 199–201</ref> but his efforts were also targeted at Sri Vaishnava groups, especially Visishtadvaita, which was dominant in territories conquered by the Vijayanagara Empire.Template:Sfn Furthermore, sects competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their own sectarian system.Template:Sfn Vidyaranya and his brothers, note Paul Hacker and other scholars,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn wrote extensive Advaitic commentaries on the Vedas and Dharma to make "the authoritative literature of the Aryan religion" more accessible.Template:Sfn Vidyaranya was an influential Advaitin, and he created legends to turn Shankara, whose elevated philosophy had no appeal to gain widespread popularity, into a "divine folk-hero who spread his teaching through his digvijaya ("universal conquest," see below) all over India like a victorious conqueror."Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In his doxography Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha ("Summary of all views") Vidyaranya presented Shankara's teachings as the summit of all darsanas, presenting the other darsanas as partial truths which converged in Shankara's teachings, which was regarded to be the most inclusive system.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Vaishanava traditions of Dvaita and Visishtadvaita were not classified as Vedanta, and placed just above Buddhism and Jainism, reflecting the threat they posed for Vidyaranya's Advaita allegiance.Template:Sfn Bhedabheda wasn't mentioned at all, "literally written out of the history of Indian philosophy."Template:Sfn Such was the influence of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha, that early Indologists also regarded Advaita Vedanta as the most accurate interpretation of the Upanishads.Template:Sfn And Vidyaranya founded a matha, proclaiming that it was established by Shankara himself.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Vidyaranya enjoyed royal support,<ref name=talbot/> and his sponsorship and methodical efforts helped establish Shankara as a rallying symbol of values, spread historical and cultural influence of Shankara's Vedānta philosophies, and establish monasteries (mathas) to expand the cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedānta.Template:Sfn

Hagiographies: Digvijaya - "The conquests of Shankara" (14th-17th century)Edit

File:Kaladi shankarabirthplace.jpg

The birthplace of Adi Shankara at Kalady

File:Adi shankara.jpg

Murti of Shankara at his Samadhi Mandir, behind Kedarnath Temple, in Kedarnath, India

Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scanty.Template:Sfn His existing biographies are not historical accurate documents, but politically motivated hagiographies which were all written several centuries after his time and abound in legends and improbable events.Template:Sfn

SourcesEdit

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There are at least fourteen different known hagiographies of Adi Shankara's life.Template:Sfn These, as well as other hagiographical works on Shankara, were written many centuries to a thousand years after Shankara's death,Template:Sfn in Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit languages, and the hagiographies are filled with legends and fiction, often mutually contradictory.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Many of these are called the Śankara Vijaya ('The conquests (digvijaya) of Shankara'), while some are called Guruvijaya, Sankarabhyudaya and Shankaracaryacarita. Of these, the Brhat-Sankara-Vijaya by Citsukha is the oldest hagiography but only available in excerpts, while Sankaradigvijaya by Mādhava (17th c.) and Sankaravijaya by Anandagiri are the most cited.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Other significant hagiographies are the Template:IAST (of Cidvilāsa, c. between the 15th and 17th centuries), and the Template:IAST (of the Kerala region, extant from c. the 17th century).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Scholars note that one of the most cited Shankara hagiographies, Anandagiri's, includes stories and legends about historically different people, but all bearing the same name of Sri Shankaracarya or also referred to as Shankara but likely meaning more ancient scholars with names such as Vidya-sankara, Sankara-misra and Sankara-nanda.Template:Sfn Some hagiographies are probably written by those who sought to create a historical basis for their rituals or theories.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Early lifeEdit

According to the oldest hagiographies, Shankara was born in the southern Indian state of Kerala, in a village named Kaladi Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> sometimes spelled as Kalati or Karati.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Refn His parents were an aged, childless, couple who led a devout life of service to the poor. They named their child Shankara, meaning "giver of prosperity".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His father died while Shankara was very young.Template:Sfn Shankara's Template:IAST, the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to the death of his father, and was then performed by his mother.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

SannyasaEdit

Shankara's hagiographies describe him as someone who was attracted to the life of Sannyasa (hermit) from early childhood. His mother disapproved. A story, found in every hagiography, describes Shankara at age eight going to a river with his mother, Sivataraka, to bathe, where he is caught by a crocodile.Template:Sfn Shankara calls out to his mother to give him permission to become a Sannyasin (a religious ascetic), or else the crocodile will kill him. The mother agrees and Shankara is freed, and leaves his home for education. He reaches a Saivite sanctuary along a river in a north-central state of India, and becomes the disciple of a teacher named Govinda Bhagavatpada.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The stories in various hagiographies diverge in details about the first meeting between Shankara and his Guru, where they met, as well as what happened later.Template:Sfn Several texts suggest Shankara's schooling with Govindapada happened along the river Narmada in Omkareshwar, but a few place it along the River Ganges in Kashi (Varanasi) as well as Badari (Badrinath in the Himalayas).Template:Sfn

The hagiographies vary in their description of where he went, who he met and debated and many other details of his life. Most mention Shankara studying the Vedas, Upanishads and Brahmasutra with Govindapada, and Shankara authoring several key works in his youth, while he was studying with his teacher.Template:Sfn It is with his teacher Govinda, that Shankara studied Gaudapadiya Karika, as Govinda was himself taught by Gaudapada.Template:Sfn Most also mention a meeting with scholars of the Mīmāṃsā school of Hinduism namely Kumarila and Prabhakara, as well as Mandana and various Buddhists, in Shastrartha (an Indian tradition of public philosophical debates attended by large number of people, sometimes with royalty).Template:Sfn

Travels (Digvijaya) and disciplesEdit

File:Adishankara.jpg

Thereafter, the hagiographies about Shankara vary significantly. Different and widely inconsistent accounts of his life include diverse journeys, pilgrimages, public debates, installation of yantras and lingas, as well as the founding of monastic centers in north, east, west and south India.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn File:Adishankara.jpg]] While the details and chronology vary, most hagiographies present Shankara as traveling widely within India, Gujarat to Bengal, and participating in public philosophical debates with different orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, as well as heterodox traditions such as Buddhists, Jains, Arhatas, Saugatas, and Charvakas.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page needed<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page needed The hagiographies credit him with starting several Matha (monasteries), but this is uncertain.Template:Sfn Ten monastic orders in different parts of India are generally attributed to Shankara's travel-inspired Sannyasin schools, each with Advaita notions, of which four have continued in his tradition: Bharati (Sringeri), Sarasvati (Kanchi), Tirtha and Asramin (Dvaraka).Template:Sfn Other monasteries that record Shankara's visit include Giri, Puri, Vana, Aranya, Parvata and Sagara – all names traceable to the Ashrama system in Hinduism and Vedic literature.Template:Sfn

Shankara had a number of disciple scholars during his travels, including Padmapadacharya (also called Sanandana, associated with the text Atma-bodha), Sureśvaracharya, Totakacharya, Hastamalakacharya, Chitsukha, Prthividhara, Chidvilasayati, Bodhendra, Brahmendra, Sadananda and others, who authored their own literature on Shankara and Advaita Vedanta.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

DeathEdit

According to hagiographies, supported by four maths, Adi Shankara died at Kedarnath in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, a Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Texts say that he was last seen by his disciples behind the Kedarnath temple, walking in the Himalayas until he was not traced. Some texts locate his death in alternate locations such as Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) and somewhere in the state of Kerala.Template:Sfn According to the hagiographies related to the monastery of Kanchi, Adi Sankara attains sidhi at Kanchi.Template:Sfn

Hagiographies: attribution of Mathas and Smarta tradition (14-17th century)Edit

Template:See alsoTraditionally, Shankara is regarded as the founder of the Template:IAST of Hindu monasticism, and the Panchayatana puja and [[Shanmata|Template:IAST]] of the Smarta tradition.

Dashanami Sampradaya and mathasEdit

Advaita Vedanta is, at least in the west, primarily known as a philosophical system. But it is also a tradition of renunciation. Philosophy and renunciation are closely related:<ref group="web" name="MonasticTradition" />

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Shankara was a Vaishnavite who came to be presented as an incarnation of Shiva in the 14th century,Template:Sfn<ref group="web" name="MonasticTradition" /> to facilitate the adoption of his teachings by previously Saiva-oriented mathas in the Vijayanagara Empire. From the 14th century onwards hagiographies were composed, in which he is portrayed as establishing the Daśanāmi Sampradaya,Template:Sfn organizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an umbrella grouping of ten names.<ref group="web" name="MonasticTradition">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several other Hindu monastic and Ekadandi traditions remained outside the organisation of the Dasanāmis.<ref>Karigoudar Ishwaran, Ascetic Culture</ref><ref>Wendy Sinclair-Brull, Female Ascetics</ref>

According to tradition, Adi Sankara organised the Hindu monks of these ten sects or names under four Template:IAST (Sanskrit: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) (monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvārakā in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrikashrama in the North.<ref group="web" name="MonasticTradition" /> Each matha was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each continues the Vedanta Sampradaya.

According to Paul Hacker, the system may have been initiated by Vidyaranya (14th c.), who may have founded a matha, proclaiming that it was established by Shankara himself, as part of his campaign to propagate Shankara's Advaita Vedanta.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Vidyaranya enjoyed royal support,<ref name="talbot" /> and his sponsorship and methodical efforts helped establish Shankara as a rallying symbol of values, spread historical and cultural influence of Shankara's Vedānta philosophies, and establish monasteries (mathas) to expand the cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedānta.Template:Sfn

Smarta TraditionEdit

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Traditionally, Shankara is regarded as the greatest teacherTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn and reformer of the Smartism sampradaya, which is one of four major sampradaya of Hinduism.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn According to Alf Hiltebeitel, Shankara established the nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone of a revived smarta tradition:

Practically, Shankara fostered a rapprochement between Advaita and smarta orthodoxy, which by his time had not only continued to defend the varnasramadharma theory as defining the path of karman, but had developed the practice of pancayatanapuja ("five-shrine worship") as a solution to varied and conflicting devotional practices. Thus one could worship any one of five deities (Vishnu, Siva, Durga, Surya, Ganesa) as one's istadevata ("deity of choice").Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Panchayatana puja (IAST Template:IAST) is a system of puja (worship) in the Smarta tradition.<ref name="Bühnemann2003p60">Template:Cite book</ref> It consists of the worship of five deities set in a quincunx pattern,<ref name="Harle1994p141">Template:Cite book</ref> the five deities being Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya, and an Ishta Devata such as Kartikeya, or Ganesha or any personal god of devotee's preference.<ref name="Flood1996p17">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sometimes the Ishta Devata is the sixth deity in the mandala.<ref name="Bühnemann2003p60" /> while in the Shanmata system,<ref>Various Papers: Śaṅkarācārya, Conference on Sankara and Shanmata (1969), Madras, Template:Oclc, Reprinted by HathiTrust Digital Library</ref> Skanda, also known as Kartikeya and Murugan, is added. Panchayatana puja is a practice that became popular in medieval India,<ref name="Bühnemann2003p60" /> and has been attributed to Adi Shankara.<ref name="lexicon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, archaeological evidence suggests that this practice long predates the birth of Adi Shankara.Template:Refn

Neo-Vedanta (19-20th century)Edit

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Shankara's position was further established in the 19th and 20th-century, when neo-Vedantins and western Orientalists elevated Advaita Vedanta "as the connecting theological thread that united Hinduism into a single religious tradition."Template:Sfn Shankara became "an iconic representation of Hindu religion and culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta.Template:Sfn

21st centuryEdit

A 108-foot statue of Adi Shankara was unveiled near Omkareshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh to commemorate his life and work on 21 September 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another 12-foot statue at Kedarnath was unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 November 2019, is made of chlorite schist and weighs 35 tonnes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

File:Shankaracharya Math Pashupatinath Temple Pashupati Kathmandu Nepal Rajesh Dhungana 6.jpg

Adi Shankaracharya Math in Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal

WorksEdit

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Adi Shankara is highly esteemed in contemporary Advaita Vedanta, and over 300 texts are attributed to his name, including commentaries (Bhāṣya), original philosophical expositions (Prakaraṇa grantha) and poetry (Stotra).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn However, most of these are not authentic works of Shankara, and are likely to be written by his admirers, or scholars whose name was also Shankaracharya.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Piantelli has published a complete list of works attributed to Adi Sankara, along with issues of authenticity for most.<ref>M Piantelly, Sankara e la Renascita del Brahmanesimo, Indian Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Apr. 1977), pp. 429–435</ref>

Authentic worksEdit

Shankara is most known for his systematic reviews and commentaries (bhashyas) on ancient Indian texts. Shankara's masterpiece of commentary is the Brahmasutrabhashya (literally, commentary on Brahma Sutras). The Brahma Sutras are a fundamental text of the Vedanta school of Hinduism.Template:Sfn Shankara refers to or cites some passages from works attributed to Gaudapada (the teacher of Shankara's teacher) in his commentaries, revealing a line of influence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

According to Flood, of the Upanishadic commentaries only his commentaries on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and the Taittiriya Upanishad are authentic.Template:Sfn Hacker and Mayeda also accept as authentic the commentaries on the Chandogya Upanishad, the Aitareya Upanishad, the Kena Upanishad,Template:Refn the Isha Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, and the Prashna Upanishad.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The authenticity of the commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad and Gaudapadas Madukya-karika has been questioned.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Other authentic works of Shankara include commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita (part of his Prasthana Trayi Bhasya).Template:Sfn His Vivarana (tertiary notes) on the commentary by Vedavyasa on Yogasutras as well as those on Apastamba Dharma-sũtras (Adhyatama-patala-bhasya) are accepted by scholars as authentic works of Shankara.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Among the Stotra (poetic works), the Dakshinamurti Stotra, the Mohamudgara Stotra(Bhaja govindam), the Shivanandalahari, the Carpata-panjarika, the Visnu-satpadi, the Harimide, the Dasha-shloki, and the Krishna-staka are likely to be authentic.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Shankara also authored Upadesasahasri, his most important original philosophical work.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Of other original Prakaranas (प्रकरण, monographs, treatise), seventy-six works are attributed to Shankara. Modern era Indian scholars such as Belvalkar as well as Upadhyaya accept five and thirty-nine works respectively as authentic.Template:Sfn

File:Adi Sankara at SAT Temple.jpg

Murti of Shankara at the SAT Temple in Santa Cruz, California

Shankara's stotras considered authentic include those dedicated to Krishna (Vaishnavism) and one to Shiva (Shaivism) – often considered two different sects within Hinduism. Scholars suggest that these stotra are not sectarian, but essentially Advaitic and reach for a unified universal view of Vedanta.Template:Sfn

Shankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is the oldest surviving. However, in that commentary, he mentions older commentaries like those of Dravida, Bhartrprapancha and others which are either lost or yet to be found.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Works of doubtful authenticity or not authenticEdit

Commentaries on Nrisimha-Purvatatapaniya and Shveshvatara Upanishads are attributed to Shankara, but their authenticity is highly doubtful.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Similarly, commentaries on several early and later Upanishads attributed to Shankara are rejected by scholars<ref name=paulhackeraupr/> to be his works, and are likely works of later scholars; these include: Kaushitaki Upanishad, Maitri Upanishad, Kaivalya Upanishad, Paramahamsa Upanishad, Sakatayana Upanishad, Mandala Brahmana Upanishad, Maha Narayana Upanishad, Gopalatapaniya Upanishad. However, in Brahmasutra-Bhasya, Shankara cites some of these Upanishads as he develops his arguments, but the historical notes left by his companions and disciples, along with major differences in style and the content of the commentaries on later Upanishad have led scholars to conclude that the commentaries on later Upanishads were not Shankara's work.Template:Sfn

The authenticity of Shankara being the author of Template:IAST<ref>Adi Shankaracharya, Vivekacūḍāmaṇi S Madhavananda (Translator), Advaita Ashrama (1921)</ref> has been questioned,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn though it is "so closely interwoven into the spiritual heritage of Shankara that any analysis of his perspective which fails to consider [this work] would be incomplete."Template:Sfn Template:Refn According to Grimes, "modern scholars tend to reject its authenticity as a work by Shankara," while "traditionalists tend to accept it."Template:Sfn Nevertheless, Grimes argues that "there is still a likelihood that Śaṅkara is the author of the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi,"Template:Sfn noting that "it differs in certain respects from his other works in that it addresses itself to a different audience and has a different emphasis and purpose."Template:Sfn

File:Vidyashankara Temple at Shringeri.jpg

Vidyashankara temple at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Shringeri

The Aparokshanubhuti and Atma bodha are also attributed to Shankara, as his original philosophical treatises, but this is doubtful. Paul Hacker has also expressed some reservations that the compendium Sarva-darsana-siddhanta Sangraha was completely authored by Shankara, because of difference in style and thematic inconsistencies in parts.<ref name=paulhackeraupr>Template:Harvnb</ref> Similarly, Gayatri-bhasya is doubtful to be Shankara's work.Template:Sfn Other commentaries that are highly unlikely to be Shankara's work include those on Uttaragita, Siva-gita, Brahma-gita, Lalita-shasranama, Suta-samhita and Sandhya-bhasya. The commentary on the Tantric work Lalita-trisati-bhasya attributed to Shankara is also unauthentic.Template:Sfn

Shankara is widely credited with commentaries on other scriptural works, such as the Vishnu sahasranāma and the Sānatsujātiya,<ref name=vanb78>Johannes Buitenen (1978). The Mahābhārata (vol. 3). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Template:ISBN</ref> but both these are considered apocryphal by scholars who have expressed doubts.Template:Sfn Hastamalakiya-bhasya is also widely believed in India to be Shankara's work and it is included in Samata-edition of Shankara's works, but some scholars consider it to be the work of Shankara's student.Template:Sfn

Philosophy and practiceEdit

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According to Koller, Shankara, and his contemporaries, made a significant contribution in understanding Buddhism and the ancient Vedic traditions, then transforming the extant ideas, particularly reforming the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, making it India's most important "spiritual tradition" for more than a thousand years.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Benedict Ashley credits Adi Shankara for unifying two seemingly disparate philosophical doctrines in Hinduism, namely Atman and Brahman.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to Nakamura, Shankara was not an original thinker, but systematised the works of preceding philosophers.Template:Sfn The central theme of Shankara's writings is the liberating knowledge of the identity of the Self (Ātman) and Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Moksha is attained in this life by recognizing the identity of Atman and Brahman,Template:Sfn as mediated by the Mahavakyas, especially Tat Tvam Asi, "That you are."

Historical contextEdit

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Shankara lived in the time of the great "Late classical Hinduism",Template:Sfn which lasted from 650 till 1100 CE.Template:Sfn This era was one of political instability that followed the Gupta dynasty and King Harsha of the 7th century CE.Template:Sfn Power became decentralised in India. Several larger kingdoms emerged, with "countless vassal states".Template:Sfn Template:Refn The kingdoms were ruled via a feudal system. Smaller kingdoms were dependent on the protection of the larger kingdoms. "The great king was remote, was exalted and deified",Template:Sfn as reflected in the Tantric Mandala, which could also depict the king as the centre of the mandala.Template:Sfn

The disintegration of central power also led to regionalisation of religiosity and religious rivalry.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Local cults and languages were enhanced, and the influence of "Brahmanic ritualistic Hinduism"Template:Sfn was diminished.Template:Sfn Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra,Template:Sfn though "sectarian groupings were only at the beginning of their development".Template:Sfn Religious movements had to compete for recognition by the local lords,Template:Sfn and Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and various traditions within Hinduism were competing for members.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>TMP Mahadevan (1968), Shankaracharya, National Book Trust, pp. 283–285, Template:Oclc</ref><ref name=frankwhaling>Frank Whaling (1979), Śankara and Buddhism, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1–42</ref> Buddhism in particular had emerged as a powerful influence in India's spiritual traditions in the first 700 years of the 1st millennium CE,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn but lost its position after the 8th century, and began to disappear in India.Template:Sfn This was reflected in the change of puja-ceremonies at the courts in the 8th century, where Hindu gods replaced the Buddha as the "supreme, imperial deity".Template:Refn

Systematizer of AdvaitaEdit

According to Nakamura, comparison of the known teachings of the early Vedantins and Shankara's thought shows that most of the characteristics of Shankara's thought "were advocated by someone before Śankara".Template:Sfn Shankara "was the person who synthesized the Advaita-vāda which had previously existed before him".Template:Sfn According to Nakamura, after the growing influence of Buddhism on Vedānta, culminating in the works of Gauḍapāda, Adi Shankara gave a Vedantic character to the Buddhistic elements in these works,Template:Sfn synthesising and rejuvenating the doctrine of Advaita.Template:Sfn

According to Koller, using ideas in ancient Indian texts, Shankara systematized the foundation for Advaita Vedānta in the 8th century, reforming Badarayana's Vedānta tradition.Template:Sfn According to Mayeda, Shankara represents a turning point in the development of Vedānta,Template:Sfn yet he also notices that it is only since Deussens's praise that Shankara "has usually been regarded as the greatest philosopher of India."Template:Sfn Mayeda further notes that Shankara was primarily concerned with moksha, "and not with the establishment of a complete system of philosophy or theology,"Template:Sfn following Potter, who qualifies Shankara as a "speculative philosopher."Template:Sfn Lipner notes that Shankara's "main literary approach was commentarial and hence perforce disjointed rather than procedurally systematic [...] though a systematic philosophy can be derived from Samkara's thought."Template:Sfn

Shankara has been described as influenced by Shaivism and Shaktism, but his works and philosophy suggest greater overlap with Vaishnavism, influence of Yoga school of Hinduism, but most distinctly express his Advaitin convictions with a monistic view of spirituality,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and his commentaries mark a turn from realism to idealism.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Moksha - liberating knowledge of BrahmanEdit

The central theme of Shankara's writings is the liberating knowledge of the true identity of jivatman (individual self) as Ātman-Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn One of Shankara's main concerns was establishing the Upanishads as an independent means of knowledge beyond the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā exegesis of the vedas.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Template:Refn

According to Shankara, the one unchanging entity (Brahman) alone is real, while changing entities do not have absolute existence. Shankara's primary objective was to explain how moksha is attained in this life by recognizing the true identity of jivatman as Atman-Brahman,Template:Sfn as mediated by the Mahāvākyas, especially Tat Tvam Asi, "That you are." Correct knowledge of jivatman and Atman-Brahman is the attainment of Brahman, immortality,Template:Sfn and leads to moksha (liberation) from sufferingTemplate:Refn and samsara, the cycle of rebirth.Template:Sfn This is stated by Shankara as follows:

<poem> I am other than name, form and action. My nature is ever free! I am Self, the supreme unconditioned Brahman. I am pure Awareness, always non-dual. </poem> {{#if:Adi Shankara, Upadesasahasri 11.7Template:Sfn|{{#if:|}}

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Pramanas - means of knowledgeEdit

Shankara recognized the means of knowledge,Template:Sfn Template:Refn but his thematic focus was upon metaphysics and soteriology, and he took for granted the pramanas,Template:Sfn that is epistemology or "means to gain knowledge, reasoning methods that empower one to gain reliable knowledge".Template:Citation needed According to Sengaku Mayeda, "in no place in his works [...] does he give any systematic account of them,"Template:Sfn taking Atman-Brahman to be self-evident (svapramanaka) and self-established (svatahsiddha), and "an investigation of the means of knowledge is of no use for the attainment of final release."Template:Sfn Mayeda notes that Shankara's arguments are "strikingly realistic and not idealistic," arguing that jnana is based on existing things (vastutantra), and "not upon Vedic injunction (codanatantra) nor upon man (purusatantra).Template:Sfn

According to Michael Comans (aka Vasudevacharya), Shankara considered perception and inference as a primary most reliable epistemic means, and where these means to knowledge help one gain "what is beneficial and to avoid what is harmful", there is no need for or wisdom in referring to the scriptures.Template:Sfn In certain matters related to metaphysics and ethics, says Shankara, the testimony and wisdom in scriptures such as the Vedas and the Upanishads become important.Template:Sfn

Merrell-Wolff states that Shankara accepts Vedas and Upanishads as a source of knowledge as he develops his philosophical theses, yet he never rests his case on the ancient texts, rather proves each thesis, point by point using the pramanas (means of knowledge) of reason and experience.<ref>Franklin Merrell-Wolff (1995), Transformations in Consciousness: The Metaphysics and Epistemology, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, pp. 242–260</ref><ref>Will Durant (1976), Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Simon & Schuster, Template:ISBN, Chapter XIX, Section VI</ref> Hacker and Phillips note that his insight into rules of reasoning and hierarchical emphasis on epistemic steps is "doubtlessly the suggestion" of Shankara in Brahma-sutra-bhasya, an insight that flowers in the works of his companion and disciple Padmapada.<ref>Stephen Phillips (2000) in Roy W. Perrett (Editor), Epistemology: Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, Routledge, Template:ISBN, pp. 224–228 with notes 8, 13 and 63</ref>

Logic versus revelationEdit

Stcherbatsky in 1927 criticized Shankara for demanding the use of logic from Madhyamika Buddhists, while himself resorting to revelation as a source of knowledge.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Sircar in 1933 offered a different perspective and stated, "Sankara recognizes the value of the law of contrariety and self-alienation from the standpoint of idealistic logic; and it has consequently been possible for him to integrate appearance with reality."<ref>Mahendranath Sircar (1933), Reality in Indian Thought, The Philosophical Review, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 249–271</ref>

Recent scholarship states that Shankara's arguments on revelation are about apta vacana (Sanskrit: आप्तवचन, sayings of the wise, relying on word, testimony of past or present reliable experts).<ref name=arvindrevel/><ref>Aptavacana Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne University, Germany</ref> It is part of his and Advaita Vedanta's epistemological foundation.<ref name=arvindrevel>Arvind Sharma (2008), The Philosophy of Religion and Advaita Vedanta, Penn State Press, Template:ISBN, pp. 70–71</ref> The Advaita Vedanta tradition considers such testimony epistemically valid, asserting that a human being needs to know numerous facts, and with the limited time and energy available, he can learn only a fraction of those facts and truths directly.<ref>M. Hiriyanna (2000), The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pp. 42–44</ref> Shankara considered the teachings in the Vedas and Upanishads as apta vacana and a valid source of knowledge.<ref name=arvindrevel/> He suggests the importance of teacher-disciple relationship on combining logic and revelation to attain moksha in his text Upadeshasahasri.Template:Sfn Anantanand Rambachan and others state that Shankara did not rely exclusively on Vedic statements, but also used a range of logical methods and reasoning methodology and other pramanas.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

AnubhavaEdit

Anantanand Rambachan summarizes the widely held view on the role of anubhava in Shankara's epistemology as follows, before critiquing it:

According to these [widely represented contemporary] studies, Shankara only accorded a provisional validity to the knowledge gained by inquiry into the words of the Śruti (Vedas) and did not see the latter as the unique source (pramana) of Brahmajnana. The affirmations of the Śruti, it is argued, need to be verified and confirmed by the knowledge gained through direct experience (anubhava) and the authority of the Śruti, therefore, is only secondary.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Yoga and contemplative exercisesEdit

Shankara considered the purity and steadiness of mind achieved in Yoga as an aid to gaining moksha knowledge, but such yogic state of mind cannot in itself give rise to such knowledge.<ref>Anantanand Rambachan (1994) The limits of scripture: Vivekananda's reinterpretation of the Vedas. University of Hawaii Press, pp. 124–125.</ref> To Shankara, that knowledge of Brahman springs only from inquiry into the teachings of the Upanishads.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "Shankara directly identifies this awakened atman with Brahman and the higher knowledge. And Brahman, reminds the Advaitist, is known only from the Upanishadic sayings".</ref> The method of yoga, encouraged in Shankara's teachings notes Comans, includes withdrawal of mind from sense objects as in Patanjali's system, but it is not complete thought suppression, instead it is a "meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".<ref name=michaelcomans>Michael Comans (1993), The question of the importance of Samādhi in modern and classical Advaita Vedānta, Philosophy East & West. Vol. 43, Issue 1, pp. 19–38</ref> Describing Shankara's style of yogic practice, Comans writes:

the type of yoga which Sankara presents here is a method of merging, as it were, the particular (visesa) into the general (samanya). For example, diverse sounds are merged in the sense of hearing, which has greater generality insofar as the sense of hearing is the locus of all sounds. The sense of hearing is merged into the mind, whose nature consists of thinking about things, and the mind is in turn merged into the intellect, which Sankara then says is made into 'mere cognition' (vijnanamatra); that is, all particular cognitions resolve into their universal, which is cognition as such, thought without any particular object. And that in turn is merged into its universal, mere Consciousness (prajnafnaghana), upon which everything previously referred to ultimately depends.<ref name=michaelcomans/>

Shankara rejected those yoga system variations that suggest complete thought suppression leads to liberation, as well the view that the Shrutis teach liberation as something apart from the knowledge of the oneness of the Self. Knowledge alone and insights relating to true nature of things, taught Shankara, is what liberates. He placed great emphasis on the study of the Upanisads, emphasizing them as necessary and sufficient means to gain Self-liberating knowledge. Sankara also emphasized the need for and the role of Guru (Acharya, teacher) for such knowledge.<ref name=michaelcomans/>

Samanvayat Tatparya LingaEdit

Shankara cautioned against cherrypicking a phrase or verse out of context from Vedic literature, and remarks in the opening chapter of his Brahmasutra-Bhasya that the Anvaya (theme or purport) of any treatise can only be correctly understood if one attends to the Samanvayat Tatparya Linga, that is six characteristics of the text under consideration: (1) the common in Upakrama (introductory statement) and Upasamhara (conclusions); (2) Abhyasa (message repeated); (3) Apurvata (unique proposition or novelty); (4) Phala (fruit or result derived); (5) Arthavada (explained meaning, praised point) and (6) Yukti (verifiable reasoning).<ref>George Thibaut (Translator), Brahma Sutras: With Commentary of Shankara, Reprinted as Template:ISBN, pp. 31–33 verse 1.1.4</ref>Template:Sfn While this methodology has roots in the theoretical works of Nyaya school of Hinduism, Shankara consolidated and applied it with his unique exegetical method called Anvaya-Vyatireka, which states that for proper understanding one must "accept only meanings that are compatible with all characteristics" and "exclude meanings that are incompatible with any".<ref>Mayeda & Tanizawa (1991), Studies on Indian Philosophy in Japan, 1963–1987, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 529–535</ref><ref>Michael Comans (1996), Śankara and the Prasankhyanavada, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 49–71</ref>

The Mahāvākyas - the identity of Ātman and BrahmanEdit

Moksha, liberation from suffering and rebirth and attaining immortality, is attained by disidentification from the body-mind complex and gaining self-knowledge as being in essence Atman, and attaining knowledge of the identity of Ātman and Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn According to Shankara, the individual Ātman and Brahman seem different at the empirical level of reality, but this difference is only an illusion, and at the highest level of reality they are really identical.Template:Sfn The real self is Sat, "the Existent," that is, Ātman-Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Whereas the difference between Ātman and non-Ātman is deemed self-evident, knowledge of the identity of Ātman and Brahman is revealed by the shruti, especially the Upanishadic statement tat tvam asi.

MahāvākyasEdit

According to Shankara, a large number of Upanishadic statements reveal the identity of Ātman and Brahman. In the Advaita Vedānta tradition, four of those statements, the Mahāvākyas, which are taken literal, in contrast to other statements, have a special importance in revealing this identity.<ref name=Long>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn They are:

तत्त्वमसि, tat tvam asi, Chandogya VI.8.7. Traditionally rendered as "That Thou Art" (that you are),Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn with tat in Ch.U.6.8.7 referring to sat, "the Existent"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn); correctly translated as "That's how [thus] you are,"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn with tat in Ch.U.6.12.3, it' original location from where it was copied to other verses,Template:Sfn referring to "the very nature of all existence as permeated by [the finest essence]"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि, aham brahmāsmi, Brhadāranyaka I.4.10, "I am Brahman," or "I am Divine."Template:Sfn
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म, prajñānam brahma, Aitareya V.3, "PrajñānamTemplate:Refn is Brahman."Template:Refn
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म, ayamātmā brahma, Mandukya II, "This Atman is Brahman."

That you areEdit

The longest chapter of Shankara's Upadesasahasri, chapter 18, "That Art Thou," is devoted to considerations on the insight "I am ever-free, the existent" (sat), and the identity expressed in Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 in the mahavakya (great sentence) "tat tvam asi", "that thou art."Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In this statement, according to Shankara, tat refers to Sat,Template:Sfn "the Existent"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Existence, Being,<ref name="ShankaraBasya">Shankara, Chandogya Upanishad Bhasya - Chapter 6 (Tat Tvam Asi) Template:Webarchive</ref> or Brahman,Template:Sfn the Real, the "Root of the world,"Template:Sfn Template:Refn the true essence or root or origin of everything that exists.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn<ref name="ShankaraBasya"/> "Tvam" refers to one's real I, pratyagatman or inner Self,Template:Sfn the "direct Witness within everything,"Template:Sfn "free from caste, family, and purifying ceremonies,"Template:Sfn the essence, Atman, which the individual at the core is.<ref name=maxmuller61>Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad 6.1-6.16, The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, pages 92–109 with footnotes</ref><ref>Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, Template:ISBN, pages 136–137</ref> As Shankara states in the Upadesasahasri:

Up.I.174: "Through such sentences as "Thou art That" one knows one's own Atman, the Witness of all the internal organs." Up.I.18.190: "Through such sentences as "[Thou art] the Existent" [...] right knowledge concerning the inner Atman will become clearer." Up.I.18.193-194: "In the sentence "Thou art That" [...] [t]he word "That" means inner Atman."Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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The statement "tat tvam asi" sheds the false notion that Atman is different from Brahman.Template:Sfn According toNakamura, the non-duality of atman and Brahman "is a famous characteristic of Sankara's thought, but it was already taught by Sundarapandya"Template:Sfn (Template:Circa or earlier).Template:Sfn Shankara cites Sundarapandya in his comments to Brahma Sutra verse I.1.4:

When the metaphorical or false atman is non-existent, [the ideas of my] child, [my] body are sublated. Therefore, when it is realized that 'I am the existent Brahman, atmanTemplate:', how can anyduty exist?Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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From this, and a large number of other accordances, Nakamura concludes that Shankar was not an original thinker, but "a synthesizer of existing Advaita and the rejuvenator, as well as a defender, of ancient learning."Template:Sfn

Meditation on the MahāvākyaEdit

In the Upadesasahasri Shankara, Shankara is ambivalent on the need for meditation on the Upanishadic mahavyaka. He states that "right knowledge arises at the moment of hearing,"Template:Sfn and rejects prasamcaksa or prasamkhyana meditation, that is, meditation on the meaning of the sentences, and in Up.II.3 recommends parisamkhyana,Template:Sfn separating Atman from everything that is not Atman, that is, the sense-objects and sense-organs, and the pleasant and unpleasant things and merit and demerit connected with them.Template:Sfn Yet, Shankara then concludes with declaring that only Atman exists, stating that "all the sentences of the Upanishads concerning non-duality of Atman should be fully contemplated, should be contemplated."Template:Sfn As Mayeda states, "how they [prasamcaksa or prasamkhyana versus parisamkhyana] differ from each other is not known."Template:Sfn

Prasamkhyana was advocated by Mandana Misra,Template:Sfn the older contemporary of Shankara who was the most influential Advaitin until the 10th century.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn "According to Mandana, the mahavakyas are incapable, by themselves, of bringing about brahmajnana. The Vedanta-vakyas convey an indirect knowledge which is made direct only by deep meditation (prasamkhyana). The latter is a continuous contemplation of the purport of the mahavakyas.Template:Sfn Vācaspati Miśra, a student of Mandana Misra, agreed with Mandana Misra, and their stance is defended by the Bhamati-school, founded by Vācaspati Miśra.Template:Sfn In contrast, the Vivarana school founded by Prakasatman (Template:Circa–1300)Template:Sfn follows Shankara closely, arguing that the mahavakyas are the direct cause of gaining knowledge.Template:Sfn

Renouncement of ritualismEdit

Shankara, in his text Upadesasahasri, discourages ritual worship such as oblations to Deva (God), because that assumes the Self within is different from the Brahman.Template:Refn Template:Refn The "doctrine of difference" is wrong, asserts Shankara, because, "he who knows the Brahman is one and he is another, does not know Brahman".<ref>Sanskrit:Upadesha sahasri
English Translation: S Jagadananda (Translator, 1949), Upadeshasahasri, Vedanta Press, Template:ISBN, pp. 16–17; Template:Oclc</ref>Template:Sfn The false notion that Atman is different from BrahmanTemplate:Sfn is connected with the novice's conviction that (Upadeshasahasri II.1.25)

...I am one [and] He is another; I am ignorant, experience pleasure and pain, am bound and a transmigrator [whereas] he is essentially different from me, the god not subject to transmigration. By worshipping Him with oblation, offerings, homage and the like through the [performance of] the actions prescribed for [my] class and stage of life, I wish to get out of the ocean of transmigratory existence. How am I he?Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Recognizing oneself as "the Existent-Brahman," which is mediated by scriptural teachings, is contrasted with the notion of "I act," which is mediated by relying on sense-perception and the like.Template:Sfn According to Shankara, the statement "Thou art That" "remove[s] the delusion of a hearer,"Template:Sfn "so through sentences as "Thou art That" one knows one's own Atman, the witness of all internal organs,"Template:Sfn and not from any actions.Template:Sfn Template:Refn With this realization, the performance of rituals is prohibited, "since [the use of] rituals and their requisites is contradictory to the realization of the identity [of Atman] with the highest Atman."Template:Sfn

However, Shankara also asserts that Self-knowledge is realized when one's mind is purified by an ethical life that observes Yamas such as Ahimsa (non-injury, non-violence to others in body, mind and thoughts) and Niyamas. Rituals and rites such as yajna (a fire ritual), asserts Shankara, can help draw and prepare the mind for the journey to Self-knowledge.Template:Sfn He emphasizes the need for ethics such as Akrodha and Yamas during Brahmacharya, stating the lack of ethics as causes that prevent students from attaining knowledge.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

ĪśvaraEdit

Shankara, while rejecting empirical reality due to his position of nonduality, still attributes value to the universe as it identifies with Īśvara. He sometimes blurs the distinction between Īśvara and Brahman, using various terms for both. However, he generally separates Īśvara, associated with the universe and its attributes, from the absolute nondual Brahman. Drawing from the Upanishads, Shankara sees Īśvara as the universe's material and intelligent cause, emanating it through the power of maya, thereby making the universe sentient and self-aware. In relation to the Mandukya Upanishad, Shankara compares the universe's unmanifest state to Īśvara in a deep dreamless cosmic state.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Shankara's conception of Brahman as the cause of the world does not invoke creation in the literal sense but vivartta (manifoldness without transformation), distinct from satkaryavada (actual transformation). Shankara argues that insentient matter cannot act purposefully and rejects any actual transformation of Brahman.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Influences of Mahayana BuddhismEdit

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Shankara's Vedanta shows similarities with Mahayana Buddhism; opponents have even accused Shankara of being a "crypto-Buddhist,"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn a qualification which is rejected by the Advaita Vedanta tradition, given the differences between these two schools. According to Shankara, a major difference between Advaita and Mahayana Buddhism are their views on Atman and Brahman.Template:Sfn According to both Loy and Jayatilleke, more differences can be discerned.<ref name=david>David Loy (1982), Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?, International Philosophical Quarterly, 23(1), pp. 65–74</ref><ref>KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, Template:ISBN, pp. 246–249, from note 385 onwards</ref>

Similarities and influencesEdit

Despite Shankara's criticism of certain schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Shankara's philosophy shows strong similarities with the Mahayana Buddhist philosophy which he attacks.Template:Sfn According to S.N. Dasgupta,

Shankara and his followers borrowed much of their dialectic form of criticism from the Buddhists. His Brahman was very much like the sunya of Nagarjuna [...] The debts of Shankara to the self-luminosity of the Vijnanavada Buddhism can hardly be overestimated. There seems to be much truth in the accusations against Shankara by Vijnana Bhiksu and others that he was a hidden Buddhist himself. I am led to think that Shankara's philosophy is largely a compound of Vijnanavada and Sunyavada Buddhism with the Upanisad notion of the permanence of self superadded.Template:Sfn {{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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According to Mudgal, Shankara's Advaita and the Buddhist Madhyamaka view of ultimate reality are compatible because they are both transcendental, indescribable, non-dual and only arrived at through a via negativa (neti neti). Mudgal concludes therefore that

... the difference between Sunyavada (Mahayana) philosophy of Buddhism and Advaita philosophy of Hinduism may be a matter of emphasis, not of kind.<ref>Mudgal, S.G. (1975), Advaita of Shankara: A Reappraisal, New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass, p. 4</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Some Hindu scholars criticized Advaita for its Maya and non-theistic doctrinal similarities with Buddhism.<ref>Julius Lipner (1986), The Face of Truth: A Study of Meaning and Metaphysics in the Vedantic Theology of Rāmānuja, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, pp. 120–123</ref>Template:Sfn Ramanuja, the founder of Vishishtadvaita Vedānta, accused Adi Shankara of being a Prachanna Bauddha, that is, a "crypto-Buddhist",Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and someone who was undermining theistic Bhakti devotionalism.Template:Sfn The non-Advaita scholar Bhaskara of the Bhedabheda Vedānta tradition, similarly around 800 CE, accused Shankara's Advaita as "this despicable broken down Mayavada that has been chanted by the Mahayana Buddhists", and a school that is undermining the ritual duties set in Vedic orthodoxy.Template:Sfn

DifferencesEdit

The qualification of "crypto-Buddhist" is rejected by the Advaita Vedanta tradition, highlighting their respective views on Atman, Anatta and Brahman.Template:Sfn Template:Refn There are differences in the conceptual means of "liberation." Nirvana, a term more often used in Buddhism, is the liberating 'blowing out' of craving, aided by the realization and acceptance that there is no Self (anatman) as the center of perception, craving, and delusion. Moksha, a term more common in Hinduism, is the similar liberating release from craving and ignorance, yet aided by the realization and acceptance that one's inner Self is not a personal 'ego-self', but a Universal Self.<ref name=david/><ref>Thomas McFaul (2006), The Future of Peace and Justice in the Global Village: The Role of the World Religions in the Twenty-first Century, Praeger, Template:ISBN, p. 39</ref>

FilmsEdit

Shankaracharya (1927), Indian silent film about Shankara by Kali Prasad Ghosh.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
Jagadguru Shrimad Shankaracharya (1928), Indian silent film by Parshwanath Yeshwant Altekar.<ref name=":1" />
Jagadguru Shankaracharya (1955), Indian Hindi film by Sheikh Fattelal.<ref name=":1" />
In 1977 Jagadguru Aadisankaran, a Malayalam film directed by P. Bhaskaran was released in which Murali Mohan plays the role of Adult Aadi Sankaran and Master Raghu plays childhood.
In 1983 a film directed by G.V. Iyer named Adi Shankaracharya was premiered, the first film ever made entirely in Sanskrit language in which all of Adi Shankaracharya's works were compiled.Template:Citation needed The movie received the Indian National Film Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography.<ref name="31staward">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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On 15 August 2013, Jagadguru Adi Shankara was released in an Indian Telugu-language biographical film written and directed by J. K. Bharavi and was later dubbed in Kannada with the same title, by Upendra giving narration for the Kannada dubbed version