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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

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

The Mandhata island, nestled on the Narmada River, is home to two of the 12 Jyotirlingas – Omkareshwara (located on the island’s south side) and Amareshwara.
The island is home to Shaivite, Vaisnavite, & Jain temples dating back to the 14th & 18th centuries.
The name ‘Omkareshwar’ is derived from the island’s shape, which resembles the sacred syllable ‘Om’, and its name means ‘the Lord of Omkara’.