As per many of the scholars Sankaracharya lived between 788 and 820 AD for a period of just 32 years. His biography isinterlaced with legend and lore and cannot be historically supported. Whatevermay have been the events of his life, he has championed the cause of Advaita and hisbrilliance has few equals amongst the Indian philosophers.
Sankara was born at Kaladi in Kerala.According to tradition and lore, his parents had been childless for many yearsand prayed in a Shiva temple at Thrissur for a child.
Shiva later appeared to both the husband and wife in their dreams and asked them to choose between a mediocre son with along life and an extraordinary son who would live for a short time. They chose the latter and when the son was born to them whom they named him Sankara.
His father died when Sankara was very young and his Upanayanam was performed by his mother. As a child Sankara showed remarkable scholarship by mastering the 4 Vedas by the age of 8.
Sankara was attracted towards sanyasa at theage of 8 itself but his mother gave her consent for that only after much persuasion. Legend says that once when he was bathing in the Poorna river, acrocodile caught hold of his leg and it appeared that it would kill him.Sankara then requested his mother to give him consent for sanyasa at least before his death. His mother consented and the crocodile left Sankara and disappeared.
Sankara, then traveled to North India in search of a Guru. On the banks of river Narmada at Omkareswar (MP) he met Govinda Bhagavatpada. When the latter questioned about Sankara’s identity,Sankara came out with a wonderful verse that brought out the Advaita philosophy. Govinda was impressed by Sankara and accepted as his disciple.
Theguru instructed Sankara to write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and propagate theAdvaita philosophy. Sankara travelled to Kashi,where a young man named Sanandana,hailing from Chola territory in South India,became his first disciple.
Accordingto legend, while on his way to the Vishwanath Temple atKasi, an untouchable accompanied by fourdogs came in the way of Sankara. When asked to move aside by Sankara'sdisciples, the untouchable replied: "Do you wish that I move my everlasting Ātman or this body made of flesh?"
Realizingthat the untouchable was none other than god Shiva himself, and his dogs the four Vedas,Sankara prostrated himself before him, composing five shlokas.
At Badari he wrote his famous Bhashyas (commentaries).
Oneof the most famous debates of Sankara was with Maṇḍana Miśra. Sankara sought a debate with Kumārila Bhaṭṭa and met him in Prayag where he had buried himself in a slow burning pyre to repent for sins committed against his guru. Kumārila Bhaṭṭa then asked Sankara to proceed to Mahiṣhmati tomeet Maṇḍana Miśra and debate with him instead.
Maṇḍana Miśra held the view that the life of a householder was far superior to that of a monk. This view was widely shared and respected throughout India at that time.
This is totally against what Sankara believed and therefore it is important for Sankara to debate with Mandana.
After debating for over fifteen days, with Maṇḍana Misra'swife Ubhaya Bhāratī acting as referee, Maṇḍana Misra accepted defeat.
Ubhaya Bhāratī then challenged Sankara to have a debate with her in order to'complete' the victory. She asked him questions related to sexual union between man and woman – a subject in which Sankara had no knowledge, since he was a true celibate and sanyasi.
Sankara asked for a "recess" of 15 days. As per legend, he used the art of "para-kaya pravesa" (the spirit leavingone's own body and entering another's) and exited his own body, which he asked his disciples to look after, and psychically entered the dead body of a king and learnt the art of love from the Kings 2 wives. Later, Sankara entered his own body and regained consciousness and he answered all questions put to him by Ubhaya Bhāratī and defeated her.
After this, Sankara began a tour of conquest for thepropagation of the Advaita philosophy by controverting all philosophies opposedto it. He travelled throughout India, from South India to Kashmir and Nepal, preaching to the local populace and debating philosophy with Hindu, Buddhist and other scholars and monks along the way.
This was no mean feat as in those times India is heavily forested and the roads and forests are fully infested with robbers and bandits.Despite this Sankara traveled fearlessly to the 4 corners of India and founded the 4 peethams at Sringeri, Dwaraka, Badrinath and Puri.
He died at the age of 32, a young age but by that time itself, his brilliance has established him as a great philosopher.
Now, what is thephilosophy of Sankara? I try to put it very briefly below.
Ultimate reality according to Sankara is Atman or Brahman which is pure consciousness devoid of all attributes (nirguna) and all categories of the intellect (nirvisesha).
Brahman associated with its potency Maya appears as the qualified Brahman or the lord who is the creator, preserver and destroyer of this world which is his appearance.
Jiva or the individual self is a subject object complex.
Its subject element is pure consciousness and is called Sakhsin.
Its object element is the internal organ called Antahkarana. The source of this internal organ is Avidya which causes individuality.
In liberation Avidya is destroyed by Jnana and Sakshi is realized as the Brahman which it always is.
Maya or Avidya is not pure illusion. It is not only absence of knowledge but also positive wrong knowledge. It is a cross of the real and the unreal. In fact, it is indescribable. It is neither existent, nor nonexistence nor both.
Sankara emphasizes that from the phenomenal point of view,the world is quite real. It is not an illusion. It is the creation of Ishwara. Jiva is ignorant of the essential unity and takes only diversity as true and wrongly regards himself as the agent and the enjoyer. Avidya conceals the unity and projects names and forms. When Jiva realizes this Avidya, Moksha is attained and the final release is attained after death.
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