Life of Adi Shankaracharya

Adi Shankarachrya, a prominent Indian Philosopher and Scholar of Vedanta is believed to have
been born around 788 A.D from a Brahmin couple Shivaguru and Aryamba in Kalady, a small
town in Kerala. His parents were great devotees of Lord Shiva upon which they were blessed with
Shankara who is also considered as the reincarnation of lord Shiva. The year in which Adi
Shankarachrya was born is still a subject to debate as the three monasteries set up by
Shankarachraya – Dwarka, Puri and kanchi makes us believe he was born around 509 BC. While
fourth monasteries say he was born around 44 BC. Likewise, other books like Shankara Sthapata
highlights 509 as his birth date. Nevertheless to say, Shankara teaches us about rising above the
supreme soul or the Brahman which has no birth or date. He wrote 18 commentaries on major
Hindu scriptures and he did not for once mention his birth date, which makes Adi Shankarachrya
and his teaching and philosophy more divine and pure.

Shankara was exceptionally brilliant and intelligent from an early childhood. At the age of two he
had mastered the skill of eloquently writing and speaking in Sanskrit. By the age of four he had
read all four Vedas and in this early life period he lost his father. So, his mother took upon herself
to educate Shankara about all the Vedantic scriptures. When he turned home, he went away from
home despite his mother's denial to live an ascetic and renounced life and agreed to his mother he
would return back for her funeral. In his search for a spiritual teacher, Shankara met with his Guru
Govinda Bhagavatpada and under his mentorship Shankara many Vedic books and philosophies at
an early age and within a very short span.

At the age of Thirty two, Shankara attained Maha Samadhi and abandoned this world with
numerous teachings and integrated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. In his early twenties, he
traveled to the Indian Sub continent to proliferate his teaching and knowledge to benefit a large
audience Brahman, atman, vidya (knowledge), avidya (ignorance), maya, karma and moksha.
Over three hundred texts and scriptures are attributed to his name by his admirers and followers.
However, many have also opposed his works but he did not win it by an argument but through his
immeasurable teachings that drastically revolutionized Hinduism.

Works

One of the most remarkable and marvelous works of Adi Shankaracharya is his
commentaries on Brahma Sutras, 10 Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and his teachings on
Advaita Vedanta which are praised by many philosophers and scholars till today.
Adi Shankaracharya is also the author of the ancient Sanskrit text, Upadesasahasri (the
thousand teachings). It is an 8th-century text which consists of two parts – metric and prose.
The metric or verse part includes nineteen chapters, whereas the prose part has three branches.
The first part talks about the issues of Advaita Vedanta. In this verse, he mentions that pure
consciousness, atman, and awareness are the true self, not a body and mind. Then, in the prose
part, he states the ways to reach the final liberation or a way towards connecting with the inner
soul. Other than writing commentaries on prominent Hindu Scriptures, Shankara wrote stotras
on Krishna and Shiva.

He also put together seventy-two hymns for gods and goddesses and wrote twenty-three texts
to expand his teachings and knowledge about non-dualism or Advaita Vedanta around the
Indian Subcontinent. Shankara is also said to have founded four monasteries, at Sringeri
(south), Puri (east), Dvaraka (west), and Badrinath (north), probably following the Buddhist
monastery (vihara) system. Some of the Bhasya and Stotra Shankara wrote are:

Bhasya

● Brahmasūtra
● Aitareya Upaniṣad (Rigveda)
● Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (Śukla Yajurveda)
● Īśa Upaniṣad (Śukla Yajurveda)
● Taittirīya Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)
● Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)
● Kaṭha Upaniṣad (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda)
● Kena Upaniṣad (samaveda)
● Chāndogya Upaniṣad (samaveda)
● Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad[note 1] (Atharvaveda) and Gauḍapāda Kārika
● Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (Atharvaveda)
● Praśna Upaniṣad (Atharvaveda)
● Bhagavadgīta (Mahabhārata)
● Vishnu Sahasranama (Mahabhārata)
● Sānatsujātiya (Mahabhārata)
● Gāyatri Mantraṃ
● Prakaraṇa grantha

Stotra

● Ganesha Pancharatnam
● Annapurna Ashtakam
● Dakshinamurthy Stotram
● Krishnashtakam
● Bhaja Govindaṃ, also known as Mohamuḍgara
● Śivānandalahari
● Saundaryalahari
● Śrī Lakṣmīnṛsiṃha Karāvalamba Stotraṃ
● Śāradā Bhujangaṃ

Teachings
The teachings of Adi Shankaracharya were primarily based on the existence of the soul and
the supreme soul also known as Brahman. He supported the existence of the supreme entity or
soul and believed that by knowing the human system or the soul, one can know the entire
universe. According to Shankara,to attain moksha and be freed from the cycle of birth and
death also known as samsara, one has to identify the true self of Atman and Brahman.

The teaching of Shankara can be mentioned in verse

“Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah—Brahman (the Absolute) is alone
real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.”

Summary of Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s greatest Thinker

Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s greatest thinker is meticulously researched and

comprehensive of his life and philosophy. The book introduces the philosophical thought
right from the Vedas to Upanishad and explains in a modern language the Advaita Philosophy
of Sankara.

The book begins with Shankar’s childhood at his hometown , the popular crocodile incident
which made him debate with his mother Aryamba, thus choosing sanyasa. Adi Shankar
Acharya is considered to be the ideal Sanyasi. He was born in Kalady, Kerala and his short life
span of 32 years, his accomplishment seem a marvel even today, with our modern
conveyances and other facilities. At the tender age of eight, burning with the desire for
Liberation, he left Home in search of his Guru. From the southern state of Kerala, the young
Sankara walked about 2000 km to the banks of river Narmada, in the central plains of India, to
his Guru-Govindapada. He stayed there serving his Guru for four years. Under his teaching’s
compassionate guidance, the young Shankaracharya mastered all the Vedic scriptures. At the
age of twelve, his Guru deemed that Sankara was ready to write commentaries on major
scriptural texts. At his Guru’s command, Sankara wrote commentaries elucidating the subtle
meanings hidden in the teachings of the scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he dropped his pen
having completed writing all the major treatises. There is a legend about the young disciple
during this period of his stay with the Guru. From the age of sixteen to thirty-two ,
Shankaracharya went forth, traveling across the length and breadth of ancient India bringing
to the heart of the masses the life-giving message of the Vedas. In those days ancient India
was sunk in a quagmire of superstitions and scriptural misinterpretations. Degraded rituals
flourished. The essence of Sanatana Dharma , with its all embracing message of Love,
Compassion and the University of Humankind was completely lost in the blind performance
of these rituals. Shankar Aharya challenged various eminent scholars and leaders of various
religious sects in vigorous disputes. They championed their own interpretations of the
scriptures but the prodigious boy sage was easily able to overcome all of them and make them
understand the wisdom of his teachings. These men of stature then accepted Shankaracharya
as their guru. They started to practice in accordance with his guidance, and this change in their
lives also brought a change in the lives of their innumerable followers, who came from all
strata of society. He established 4 ashrams in four corners of India and entrusted his four
disciples to teach and propagate Advaita through them . Shankaracharya formulates the six
sect system of worship which brought to the fore the main godheads- Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti,
Muruka, Ganesh and Surya.

The next chapter introduces the philosophical thoughts right from Vedas to Upanishad.
Although the idea of Bhraman is present in various Upanishad, Sankara creates the
philosophy which is logically consistent. Sankara Advaita ontologically explains that the
Bhrammam is the only reality and it is from which all empirical worlds arise. The
consciousness underlying all Jive is one with the Bhrammam. Now Sankara does not deny the
empirical but states that what we observe to be the empirical is due to the veil of our senses
and intellect. Sankara counters this by saying the empirical is not formed out of the Brahman
but it is out Avidya that makes it see Bhrammam as the empirical. To explain simply, Sankara
uses the snake-rope metaphor , like we see a rope in the dark and think it's a snake, unless we
see the rope our brain thinks it's a snake. But rope does not change to a snake. Similarly, we
think of the Brahmam (rope) as the Empirical world(snake) due to our Avidya. Similarly, in
the final chapters, authors compare the philosophy with some of the modern sciences like
Quantum Theory . Quantum theory argues that the world we see is different to the world that
exists, it is our perception of the world that makes it look so. The theories such as the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the experiment like Schrodinger cat completely questions
the objective reality that western science from the days of Newton took for granted. This
theory in a sense baffled even the greatest scientist Einstein who famously said ‘God does not
play dice with the universe’. But in eastern mythology, the god does play dice (Shiva playing
dice with Shakti) . These modern scientific findings make Sankara Philosophy much closer to
the findings of 21 century compared to any other philosophy in the world.
Upanishads

The Upanishads are Vedic Sanskrit Hindu philosophical writings that served as the foundation
for later Hindu philosophy. The purpose of every Upanishad is to "guide the enquirer towards
it" through exploring the nature of Atman (self). We must first have a thorough
comprehension of the definition of Prasthana Trayi in order to better comprehend the
Upanishads. Prasthantrayi is composed of the terms prasthana, which means exit or departure,
and trayi, which means three. Prasthana Trayi essentially states that there are three methods to
approach the paramatma, or Lord. It alludes to the three canonical writings of theology,
particularly those of the Vedanta schools, that have epistemic authority. It consists of Sruti
prasthana, Smriti prasthana and Nyaya prasthana. Sruti is centered on the wisdom that is
heard, Smriti refers to the knowledge that is remembered and Nyaya is knowledge that is
founded on logic and reasoning. All Upanishads come under Sruti prasthan. Vedas are
divided into 2 parts : Karma kanda and Gyan kaanda and Upanishads come under the Gyan
kaanda of the Vedas. In Sruti prasthan, there are 11 principal Upanishads. Similarly, Bhagavad
gita comes under Smriti prasthana. The Bhagavad Gita is one of Hinduism's most
fundamental holy scriptures. It is also recognized as one of humanity's most important
scriptures. The substance of the ancient Vedas' knowledge, philosophy, and wisdom are
contained in the Gita. It is divided into 18 chapters and has 700 verses. It is based on Karma
Yoga, Gyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. These are the compositions of sages based on their
understanding of the valuable insights in the Vedas and their ability to remember and recall
these. Brahma Sutra comes under Nyaya prasthana. The 555 verses of the Brahma Sutra are
further broken down into 4 chapters. Veda Vyasa wrote the Brahma Sutra, and Adi
Shankaracharya added commentary to it. The Bhagavad Gita, the Brahma Sutra, the
Upanishads, and the Prasthana Traya texts are all recognized by Vedanta philosophy as
authoritative fundamental sources that provide guidance on how to pursue salvation. Without
considering Prasthantrayi, no Vedantic notion can be deemed complete.

There are 4 Vedas ie.Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. There are two parts
to Yajur Veda . They are Shukla and Krishna paksha. Most of us Nepalese are related to Yajur
veda. Among 11 Upanishads that Shankharacharya did commentary on, 5 of them fall under
Yajur Veda. They are Isha Bhasya Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad, Brihada
Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishad. Among these 5 Upanishads, Isha Bhasya
Upanishad and Brihad Upanishad fall under Shukla Yajurveda and the remaining 3 fall under
Krishna Yajurveda. Majority of the people living in Nepal are Shukla Yajurvedi. People who
are shukla yajurvedi must read at least 2 Upanishads of Adhya i.e., Isha Bhasya Upanishad
and Brihad Upanishad.
Isha Upanishad

Purusottam is made up of 2 words : Purush and Uttam but when it is combined as a single
word Purush becomes Puruso. Here , “sa” changes into “so”. In the same way, the name of the
Upanishads also changes. For example: Ken Upanishad becomes Keno Upanishad, prashna
becomes Prashno, Isha Upanishad becomes Ishopanishad. The Ishopanishad, the 40th chapter
of the Yajurveda, serves as the cornerstone for all virtuous worldviews. The Sanskrit shlokas
that are present in upanishads are called mantras. 18 mantras are contained in the
Ishopanishad. According to the first mantra, there are three beings in the world: the Prakriti
(the environment we live in), Ishwar, who resides everywhere, and the Atman (the mantra's
intended addressee). The world around us is not our property. The Ishwor, who entered and
occupied each atom of Prakriti, is the source of all motion that we observe in nature. The
Prakriti is under the control of the Lord, and all the motion we observe in the material world is
a result of the Lord's permeation of it. He is the only free agent and we humans are just tiny
fractions revolving around his wish. Without the Lord, no being in this universe could exist.
We must thus be happy with what the Lord has provided us. God is the owner of the entire
universe. Without him, we have nothing. Additionally, according to the mantras, our body is
composed of five separate substances, namely Prithvi (earth), Jal (water), Bayu (air), Akash
(space), and Agni (fire). The master of the human body is the human soul. The mantras go on
to talk about various gunas. A tattva or component of reality called guna can have an impact
on our mental, emotional, and energy states. These three gunas are referred to as sattva
(goodness), rajas (passion, energetic, confused), and tamas (harmoniousness, constructive, and
harmonious) (darkness, destructive, chaotic).

The sensory organs, referred to as "gyanendriyas" in the Upanishad originate from the sattva
guna. The skin is considered the essence of vayu, for touch; the eye is considered the essence
of fire with qualities to know form; the tongue is considered the essence of water, for taste;
and the nose is considered the essence of earth, for smell. The ear is attributed to space and
both as essential to the sense of sound. The functional organs are referred to in the text as
karmendriyas . These are of two types, external and internal. The mouth ,hands and legs, The
internal organs of action are known as Anṭaḥkaraṇa and they come in four different types:
Manas, or the mind, which is responsible for Sankalpa-vikalpa (free will and doubt); Buddhi,
or the intellect for reasoning and understanding, Ahamkara or the ego for sense of self ; and
Chitta, or the mental faculty, which is responsible for memory.
Adi Shankaracharya has said in his commentary that we humans are like empty vessels. We
have nothing of our own. Without Atman, our external body alone doesn’t have any
purpose. Our life gains meaning only when our soul; “jiva” enters our body.
Learnings

After a day has passed with our mind either dwelling on the present or past and we come back
to another beautiful day which again sways our mind upon thinking about something that
already happened or something that might not happen then our mind is filled with grief,
anxiety and in full anguishes that makes us lambaste our own move and hence we forget to
understand ourselves better. This is the core problem of obtaining inner peace and happiness,
for the generation of today as well as for upcoming ones. But all of this issue which pushes us
away from uniting with Brahman is taught by Adi Shankarachrya in Advaita Vedanta. This
teaches us that all reality experienced in this world has its root in Brahman including all our
sufferings and happiness. So, this suggests to us that everything that we observe in our daily
life is temporary, thus worrying about it only leads to suffering and pain. When we practice
this spiritual practice in our everyday life, we are aware of our surroundings and hence we are
more focussed towards the present rather than past or future and we have less to worry and
more to experience and learn . Likewise, the Isha upanishads also guide us through the same
spiritual wisdom that is Brahman is the entire universe and Atman and Brahman are the same.
And this world belongs to the supreme one and hence we should enjoy every moment without
greed, attachment, lust and anger. When we begin to follow these principles of Upanishads
and teachings of Shankara, we can prosper happiness and manifest all that we are longing for
in life.
References

https://isha.sadhguru.org/us/en/wisdom/article/life-of-adi-shankaracharya-stories-teachings-st
otras

https://www.amritapuri.org/40614/shankaracharya.aum

https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/isavasya/isavasya_8.html

https://shankara.redzambala.com/upanishad/isha-upanishad-shankaras-commentaries.html

https://agniveer.com/ishopanishad-mantra-1/