Sri Adi Shankaracharya

the incarnation of Lord Shiva

Shankaracharya Jayanti

History And Significance Of This Day

Shankaracharya Jayanti is one of the most auspicious celebrations in

the Sanatan Dharma.

His birth anniversary is observed on Shukla Paksha Panchami Tithi of

the Vaishakha month.

He was also called as Jagathguru or Bhagavatpada Acharya as he

preached knowledge of Vedas and explained to the people the doctrines
of Advaita Vedanta, which was known to influence the spiritual
realisation of Hinduism. 

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श्रुति-स्मृ ति-पु राणानां आलयं करुणालयं |
नमामि भगवत्पादम शं करं लोकशं करम् |

If you want to meet someone where do you go?

To their house.

So if you want to meet Shri Adi Sankaracharya, where is his house?

Shruti Smruti Puranaam Aalayam.

But what if I go there and he doesn't meet me?

He will, because he is Karunaalayam.

But what if he speaks angrily to me? He won't. He is Shankaram.

Only with me?

With all. Loka Shankaram.

Adi Shankara was born in Kalady, which today is in the Ernakulam

District of Kerala.
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the official record of his birth date is not available.

He was born to Nambudiri Brahmin parents

Nambudiri are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state
of Kerala, India.
His parents were an aged, childless, couple who led a devout life of
service to the poor.
his parents were devotees of Lord Shiva and he is believed to be an
incarnation of the Lord after he was the answer to his parents' prayers for
a child.

They named their child Shankara, meaning "giver of prosperity". His

father died while Shankara was very young.
Shankara's upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, had to be
delayed due to the death of his father, and was then performed by his
mother.

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 Shankara walked about
2000 kilometers— to the banks of the river Narmada, in the central
plains of India, to his Guru— Govindapada. Govinda Bhagavadpada, He

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stayed there serving his Guru for four years. Under his teacher’s
compassionate guidance, the young Shankaracharya mastered all the
Vedic scriptures.

At the age of twelve, his Guru deemed that Shankara was ready to write
commentaries on major scriptural texts. At his Guru’s command
Shankara 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.

(read all associated legends on last page)

From the age of sixteen to thirty-two Shankaracharya went forth,

travelling across the length and breadth of ancient India bringing to the
hearts of the masses the life-giving message of the Vedas.
The doctrine he penned writing about the importance of Hinduism and
wherein he has explained the Vedas is called Advaita Vedanata. 

“Brahman, Pure Consciousness, is the Absolute Reality. The world is

unreal. In essence the individual is not different from Brahman.” Thus
by the statement “Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva Na
Para“, he condensed the essence of the voluminous scriptures.
he passed away when he was 32-years-old.

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The Dakshinamurti Stotra is the most important small verse to be
attributed to Adi Shankara

a Sanskrit religious hymn (stotra) to Shiva

It explains the metaphysics of the universe in the frame of the tradition

of Advaita Vedanta.

Dakshinamurti is an aspect of Shiva as a guru of all types of knowledge,

and bestower of jnana.

most known for his systematic reviews and commentaries (Bhasyas) on

ancient Indian texts.
masterpiece of commentary is the Brahmasutrabhasya
His commentaries on ten Mukhya (principal) Upanishads are also
considered authentic by scholars
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

Shankara's publications criticised the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā school

of Hinduism.

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 He also explained the key difference between Hinduism and Buddhism,
stating that Hinduism asserts "Ātman (Soul, Self) exists", while
Buddhism asserts that there is "no Soul, no Self".

Aside from his commentaries and hymns, he also wrote many prakarana
granthas, including Vivekacudamani, Atma Bodha and Upadesa
Saahasri. His mastery of Sanskrit was unparalleled. Unraveling the
twists and turns of his poetic slokas is simply exhilarating. His verses are
not only majestic and multi-faceted, but also of unfathomable depth.

Among the Stotra (poetic works), the Daksinamurti Stotra, the

Bhajagovinda Stotra, the Sivanandalahari, the Carpata-panjarika, the
Visnu-satpadi, the Harimide, the Dasa-shloki, and the Krishna-staka are
likely to be authentic

he was a great poet.

He composed several devotional prayers in his lifespan as well. 

Nirvana Shatakam is a wonderful creation

Soundarya Lahari and  Sivananda Lahari are some of his notable and
most popular compositions.

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Upadesasahasri (Upadeśasāhasri), which literally means "a thousand
teachings", is a Sanskrit text of Adi Shankara.This work is part
of Prakaraṇa grantha, and is considered Shankara's most important
authentic non-commentarial work.

Upadesasahasri is divided into two parts – one is in metric verse and

another is in prose. There are nineteen chapters (prakarana) in the verse
(or Metrical Part (Padyabandha). The manuscript of this work indicates
that the two parts (prose and verse) were regarded as independent works
and studied or commented upon separately. Manuscript also suggests the
possibility that any single chapter could be studied differently – apart
from the rest. This means one could/can start reading this work
anywhere.

In this book, the great author has made clear the idea of the distinction
between oneself and one's body, mind, etc. and is able to convince one
that one is not other than the Unlimited Bliss untouched by hunger and
thirst, grief and delusion, old age and death, the only real Existence, the
Goal of all human beings to be realized in life.

As also expounded by Sri Ramakrishna Dev

BUT …..

there are fundamental differences between Adi Shankara and Bhagwan

Sri Ramakrishna on Advaita Vedanta.

Shankara considers Saguna Brahman (Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva, Shakti,

Ganesha, Shaki ,Surya) to be ultimately ‘mithya’ (false) and only reality

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according to Shankara is Nirguna Brahman (Brahman without form,
quality, name, attributes, infinite).
Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna Dev considers both Saguna Brahman and
Nirguna Brahman to be real but Shankara considers Saguna Brahman to
be false, unreal.
Also, Shankara considers this universe to be false.
Suppose there’s is a rope but you might mistake the rope to be a snake-
but the snake does not exist really. Similarly, Shankara considers
Nirguna Brahman to be the rope and the universe to be snake. There’s
no snake, and thus there’s no universe, we mistaken Brahman to be
universe- that’s Shankara’s point.
BUT, Ramakrishna Dev does not consider the universe to false.
Ramakrishna says that Brahman became this universe and he accepts
both Brahman’s and universe’s reality but Shankara does not.
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Adi Shankaracharya has pointed to the ultimate unity of all faiths.

All spiritual paths ultimately lead to the same goal. This indeed is the
universal appeal of the philosophy of Advaita.”

Precisely this is what Sri Ramakrishna Dev also taught

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Dasnami Sampradaya One of the major achievements of Acharya
Shankaracharya was to organize the Hindu monasticism.

He divided the Hindu monks into ten sects called "Dasnami" and

organized them under four heads

These became the four sacred "Dhams", "Holy Places" of the Hindus.

He also enumerated other details of the order of Hindu monks grouped

under these heads for their identity.

Although there are today a number of Hindu monastic sects, the most
authentic are the ten established by Acharya Shankaracharya .

Sri Sankara had four Sannyasin disciples, viz., Suresvara, Padmapada,

Hastamalaka and Totaka.

Suresvara was in charge of Sringeri Math,

Padmapada was in charge of Puri Math,

Hastamalaka was in charge of Dvarka Math and

Totaka was in charge of Joshi Math.

The Sannyasins of Sringeri Math, the spiritual descendants of Sri

Sankara and Suresvacharya, have three names, viz., Sarasvati, Puri and
Bharati.

The Sannyasins of the Dvaraka Math have two names, viz., Tirtha and
Asrama.

The Sannyasins of the Puri Math have two names, viz., Vana and
Aranya.

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The Sannyasins of the Joshi Math have three names, viz., Giri, Parvata
and Sagara.

The Dasanamis worship Lord Siva or Lord Vishnu, and meditate on

Nirguna Brahman.

The Dandi Sannyasins, who hold staff in their hands, belong to the
order of Sri Sankara.

Paramhansa Sannyasins do not hold staff. They freely move about as

itinerant monks.

Avadhutas are naked Sannyasins. They do not keep any property with
them.

The Sannyasins of the Ramakrishna Mission belong to the order of Sri

Sankara. They have the name Puri.

Then, there are Akhada Sannyasins, viz., Niranjana Akhada and Jhuni
Akhda. They belong to the order of Sri Sankara. They are Dasanamis.
They are found in the Uttar Pradesh State only.Rishikesh and Haridwar
are colonies for Sannyasins. Varanasi also is among the chief abodes of
Sannyasins.

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From Prabuddha Bharata, November, 1977 – The Math
belonging to the Guru of Srimat Totapuri

-by Swami Alokananda

According Swami Alokananda,

Totapuri was a dasanami monk of the naga sect .

His Marhi started with Bhagavan Puri. Siddha Baba Rajpuri built an
ashram at Baba Ladana near Kaithal where from Totapuri went out for
parivrajana and came to Dakshineswar wandering at various places.

The lineage is

Bhagavan Puri >Jagmohan Puri > Janged Puri > Haridwar Puri >
Manasa Puri > Saraswati Puri > Raj Puri > Siddha Puri > Bhandar Puri >
Dalel Puri > Jnan Puri > Tota Puri > Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa

Above details and publication can be read in RKM Delhi web site as
follows

https://rkmdelhi.org/articles/srimat-totapuris-origins-in-ladana-haryana/

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 Legends of Shankaracharya

Shower of Gold

Before he was eight, as a young Brahmachari, the young Shankara went

to a house to beg for his daily food. The hostess was a kind but very
poor lady. All she could give him was a small amalaka fruit. Shankara
was deeply touched by the sincerity of this poor lady and he invoked
Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth) by singing spontaneously the
Kanakadhara Stotra The legend has it that the Goddess showered golden
amalaka fruits into the house.

Changing the course of the Purna river

Shankara’s mother used to go a long way everyday to take her bath in

the Purna river. One day the young Shankara found her lying
unconscious, due to exhaustion. He prayed to the Lord and the next
morning the river started flowing by the side of his house.

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Guru Govindapada’s blessings

when Govinda Bhagavadpada asked Sankara for his identity, the child
burst forth with a spontaneous composition of 10 Sanskrit verses (today
referred to as the Dasa Sloki), in which he illustrated the profundity of
his wisdom and inner experience. He was immediately accepted as a
disciple.

During the rainy season, the river Narmada was in spate. The flood
waters rose and were about to enter the cave in which his Guru was
sitting, deeply immersed in Samadhi. His disciples did not dare to
disturb him, though his life was in danger. Then Shankaracharya placed
his kamandalu (water pot) at the entrance of the cave saying that it
would absorb all the waters of the flood. His words came true. The flood
waters could not disturb his Guru’s meditation. Guru Govindapada
blessed him saying “Just as you contained the flood waters in your
kamandalu, you should write commentaries containing the essence of
the Vedantic scriptures. By this work you will gain eternal glory.”

Sannyasa

When Shankara broached the topic of his embracing the Sannyasa way
of life, his mother was reluctant to give him her permission and
blessings. One day, however, when he accompanied his mother for a
bath in the river, a crocodile caught hold of his leg and started dragging
him. His mother could only stand and watch helplessly. Then Shankara
called out to his mother, asking her to permit him to become a Sannyasi
at least during these last moments of his life. She agreed and
miraculously the crocodile let go of Shankara’s leg. To console his
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mother he promised her that he would come back to her at the time of
her death and perform the last rites.

Final rites of his mother

Shankaracharya was some where in North India  when he came to know

of his mother’s impending death.  By using his Yogic powers, travelled
through the air to reach her quickly. At her request he granted her divine
visions.

When he tried to arrange the cremation of his mother’s body, his

relatives refused to help him on the grounds that as a Sannyasi he was
not permitted to perform funeral rites. Normally this would have been a
serious setback as a cremation involves rituals, which would require
physical assistance by a few people. So Shankaracharya performed a
miracle. He made a funeral pyre out of plantain stalks. After placing the
body on the pyre he took some water and after chanting a few mantras
he sprinkled the water on the pyre. Immediately the pyre caught fire.
Thus he was able to complete the funeral rites without help.

Visit to Varanasi

The fragrance of the pristine knowledge soon attracted a bevy of

spiritual seekers. His disciples grew in number. Sanandhyaya, one of the
disciples, was once having the clothes of his preceptor dried on the other
side of river's bank when Sankara called out for them to see an exigency.
Sanandhyaya, got to his feet and started rushing towards the Guru with
clothes oblivious of the fact he may get drowned in the river. Sankara's
grace came to his rescue and wherever the person placed his feet on the
water, a lotus materialized keeping him from drowning. Such implicit

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faith in the grace of Guru earned him the sobriquet 'Padma Padar' or the
lotus feet.

Upon reaching Kasi, Sri Sankara started walking towards the

Vishwanath Temple to pay his obeisance to Lord Shiva. Suddenly, an
untouchable and his consort came across his path. The disciples bristled
at him commanding him to make way for the Guru and stay at a safe
distance. This evoked a snigger from the untouchable who mockingly
said to Sankara 'According to your principle of Advaita, which you
practice, all the souls are same as God. How do you ask me to go? How
am I different from your preceptor? What you say is unreasonable. How
can I go away from myself?' Such illumined language made Sankara
realise that it was Lord Shiva himself accompanied by his consort who
had come to test the depth of his Advaita understanding. He bowed
down before Shiva and started propitiating him with the 'Manisha
Panchakam' sloka. Lord granted him an audience with Devi and blessed
him profusely.

Meeting with Mandana Mishra

(not giving details)

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Adi Shankaracharya is considered to be the ideal Sannyasi.

Sankara demonstrated, both in deed and word, what requires eradication

is not action but the misunderstanding that one is the actor.

Cidananda rupah sivoham sivoham—’

I am consciousness-bliss. I am Siva. I am Siva.’

Bhagwan Adi Shankaracharya did not only pen this composition; he

lived it.

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Mj, nice book to read but not free online

An interpretation of the life & philosophy of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya :

elucidatory & reconciliatory

by Mukhyananda, Swami

Ramakrishna Math.; Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre (London)

Publisher: Kalady, Dist. Ernakulam, Kerala, India : Sri Ramakrishna

Advaita Ashrama, 2005.

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The Linga of Sri Chandramoulishwara crystal linga, radiant like the

moon, representing Jnana and bliss, is the principal idol of worship not
only in Sringeri but also in the other three– Badri, Dwaraka and Puri.
Legend has it that this Sphatika linga, , was handed over by Sri Adi
Shankaracharya to his four disciples. Sri Adi Shankaracharya himself
received the four lingas from Lord Shiva. Since then, the Lingas have
been propitiated by the various Acharyas who have adorned the
Peethams.

Today, the Chandramouleeshwara linga is propitiated thrice a day,

morning and evening with “Shodasha-Upachara” as ordained in the
scriptures.

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