Shankaracharya graphic from the Sringeri Sarada site (no longer at www.esviar.com )
Sankaracharya, the student of the student of Gaudapada was one of the most important philosopher/theologians of India. He was born in the eight century, in the village of Kaladi in Kerala. The traditional life-span attributed to him of thirty-two years is almost certainly a later fancy
The founder of the school of Advaita Vedanta, Shankaracharya travelled all over India, establishing monasteries, reforming worship procedures and debating with rival theologians. He was a prolific author and wrote a large number of commentaries (bhashyas) on Indian texts, especially the Upanashads and the Brahma Sutra. He played an important part in overthrowing Buddhism in India and instituting a Hindu (Vedic) revival. His name carries such reverence that his successors at the Sringeri Matha and other traditional Advaita Mathas have come to be known as Sankaracharyas.
| There is some Absolute Entity, the eternal substratum
of the consciousness...
By which this universe is pervaded, but which nothing pervades, which shining, all this universe shines by Its reflection... This is the innermost Self, the primeval Purusha, whose essence is the constant realisation of infinite Bliss, which is ever the same..."
Vivekacudamuni, vv125-131 (Transl by Swami Madhavananda, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta) |
Life of Shankaracharya - The Adventures of a Poet Philosopher, by Nitin Kumar
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Sankara - Biography of Sankaracharya, by Sri Swami Sivananda
The Advaita Vedânta Home Page - Sankara's Life
The story of Sri Adi Shankara traditional hagiographic account
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