Who does not know him
Living in India, it's hard to not know about Adi Shankara
or at least never hear his name. He is famous like a modern-day politician but
is worshiped for his scholarly work and devotion to Lord Shiva.
Scholar and a theologian
Adi Shankara was an Indian philosopher and theologian. He
is the most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy.
Major works
His works in Sanskrit discuss the unity of the ātman and
Nirguna Brahman "brahman without attributes". These assertions are
hard to digest for a common man, but these have stood the deepest enquiries of
countless spiritual seekers and also the test of time.
A brilliant quote
I was yesterday reading through a document when I came
across a beautiful verse. It translated like this: I am without attributes and
actions, eternal, without any desire and thought, without any taint, without
any change, without any form, every liberated and ever without impurity.
Isn't this beautiful and
absolute truth?
I sometimes wonder how can somebody come so close to the
absolute truth. It is often hard to put the nature of truth in words but Adi
Shankara seems to have done exactly same.
Knowledge of Brahma
Adi Shankara systematized the works of preceding
philosophers. His system marks a turn from realism to idealism. His Advaita
("non-dualism") interpretation of the sruti postulates the identity
of the Self. Without doubt, he was a God-sent to guide the mankind on the path
of non-dualism.
What is real?
According to Adi Shankara, the one unchanging entity (Brahman)
alone is real, while changing entities do not have absolute existence. The key
source texts for this interpretation, as for all schools of Vedānta, are the
Prasthanatrayi–the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad
Gita and the Brahma Sutras.
His major works
Adi Shankara is most known for his systematic reviews and
commentaries (Bhasyas) on ancient Indian texts. Among his commentaries,
Shankara's masterpiece work is Brahmasutrabhasya (literally, commentary on
Brahma Sutra).
10 Primary Upanishads
His commentaries on ten early Primary Upanishads are also
considered authentic by scholars. These are: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the
Chandogya Upanishad, the Aitareya Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Kena
Upanishad, the Isha Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Mundaka Upanishad, the
Prashna Upanishad, and the Mandukya Upanishad.
Commentaries on other
texts
Other authentic works of Shankara include commentaries on
the Bhagavad Gita (part of his Prasthana Trayi Bhasya). 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 Adi Shankara.
Composing poetry
He composed many verses of poetic calibre including the
Daksinamurti Stotra, the Bhajagovinda Stotra, the Sivanandalahari, the
Carpata-panjarika, the Visnu-satpadi, the Harimide, the Dasa-shloki, and the
Krishnastaka.
Oldest surviving
commentary on Brahma Sutras
He composed the commentary on the Brahma Sutras, which
happens to be the oldest surviving text of this category. However, in that
commentary, he mentions older commentaries like those of Dravida, Bhartrprapancha
and others which are either lost or yet to be found.
Isn't phenomenonal
It's hard to imagine that somebody did so much of work
apart from traveling and educating various disciples. He was the Polymath of
Indian thought.
He was criticized too
A lot of people criticized him for leading the masses
astray due to his belief in Advait philosophy. However, once you begin to understand
the beauty of this philosophy, you can't but admire him.
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