Shankaracharyas

• Context (IE): The four Shankaracharyas have said they will not attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Who are the Shankaracharyas?

• Shankaracharya means ‘teacher of the way of Shankara’.
• It is a religious title used by the heads of the four cardinal mathas or peeths.
• The Shankaracharya heads the four Hindu maths (monasteries) — in Dwarka (Gujarat), Joshimath (Uttarakhand), Puri (Odisha), and Sringeri (Karnataka).
• These Maths were founded by the eighth-century religious scholar and philosopher Adi Shankara (c 788 CE-820 CE).
• These mathas comprise religious shrines, temples, libraries, and residences.
• The existence of these mathas before the 14th century CE is disputed, with evidence suggesting retrospective establishment to legitimise these centres of learning.
• The Vijayanagara kingdom began to patronise the Sringeri matha in the 14th Century.

Adi Shankaracharya

• He is Known as Adi Shankara, born 11th May 788 AD, at Kaladi (poised to be declared a national monument) near Kochi, Kerala.
• He took Samadhi at the age of 33 at Kedar Tirth.
• He was a devotee of Shiva.
• He was the disciple of Govindacharya.
• He propounded the Doctrine of Advaita (Monism) and wrote many commentaries on the Vedic canon (Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita) in Sanskrit.
• He was opposed to Buddhist philosophers.
• The followers of Shankaracharya are called as Smratas.
• He was one of the mystic Bhakti poet-saint leaders who gave Hinduism a new direction.
• He emphasised that devotion to the supreme Brahman is an effective means to realise the truth beyond duality.
• He advanced the concept of Nirgunabrahman (god without attributes).
• He emphasised knowledge (Gyan) as the only way to salvation.
• He emphasised that ritualistic actions are secondary and do not lead to liberation.
• He sought to integrate Gyan and bhakti as complementary means to attain the ultimate truth.

Major Works of Shankaracharya

• Brahmasutrabhasya (Bhashya or commentary on the Brahma Sutra).
• Bhajagovinda Stotra.
• Nirvana Shatakam.
• Prakaran Granths.

Disciples of Adi Shankaracharya

• Shankaracharya’s four closest disciples played pivotal roles in propagating his teachings:
  1. Padmapada: Known for his deep devotion and poetry.
  2. Totakacharya: He devoted himself to Shankaracharya’s mission and was revered for his poetry “Totakashtakam.”
  3. Hasta Malaka: A child prodigy astounded Shankaracharya with his understanding of Advaita philosophy.
  4. Sureshwara: Initially a householder, he became a disciple after losing a philosophical debate to Shankaracharya

Teachings and Philosophy

Advaita Vedanta

• Adi Shankaracharya’s most significant contribution is his propagation of Advaita Vedanta.
• This philosophy asserts the ultimate non-dual nature of reality, i.e., the Individual soul (Atman) is identical to the supreme reality (Brahman).
  • Adi Shankaracharya believed that the individual and supreme souls are like waves and the ocean.
  • The waves appear different from the ocean but comprise the same water substance.
• According to it, the Upanishads reveal a fundamental principle of nonduality termed ‘brahman’, which is the reality of everything.
• It seeks to establish that the essential core of oneself (atman) is brahman.
• The fundamental thrust of Advaita Vedanta is that the atman is pure non-intentional consciousness.

Maya

• Adi Shankara emphasised the concept of Maya, which is the illusion that the material world is separate from Brahman.
• He argued that realising the illusory nature of the world and recognising one’s true identity as Atman is the key to spiritual liberation (moksha).

The doctrine of Neti-Neti

• Shankara’s philosophy employs the “neti-neti” (not this, not that) approach, where one negates all attributes and limitations to realise Brahman’s attributeless and limitless nature.
• Neti-Neti meditation is a form of self-inquiry in which the practitioner searches for the location of the self.
• With its aid, the Gyani negates identification with all things of this world, not the Atman.
• The doctrine of Neti-neti also finds significance in Buddhism.

Statues of Adi Shankara

• 108 feet high ‘Statue of Oneness’ of Adi Shankaracharya was unveiled on Mandhata mountain at Omkareshwar in Khandwa district, M.P.

• Indian PM has also unveiled a 12-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath, UK, in 2021.