This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Chancemill (talk | contribs) at 10:17, 19 November 2003 (seemed like a POV. I hope mine looks better.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 10:17, 19 November 2003 by Chancemill (talk | contribs) (seemed like a POV. I hope mine looks better.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Bhagwadpada Acharya Sankara (approximately 788-820 CE) was the most famous Advaitin philosopher who had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism through his philosophy. He vigorously opposed Buddhism, because it rejected the Vedas. He was born in Kaladi, a small village in Kerala, India.
At the time Hinduism had lost some of its appeal, because of the influence of Buddhism. Sankara stressed the importance of the Vedas and his work helped Hinduism regain strength and popularity.
His teachers include: Gaudapada and Govinda.
Although he had a short-lived lifespan, he had single handedly walked around India to restore the knowledge of the vedas and show once again their greatness. It is because of this man that a country almost entirely Buddhist became once again almost entirely Hindu. It may be to his credit that at least some of the Vedas survive to today.
Sankara's theology maintains that spiritual ignorance (Avidya) is caused by seeing the self (Atman) where self is not. Discrimination needs to be developed in order to true from false and knowledge (jnana) from ignorance (avidya).
Books written by Sankara for certain are:
- The commentary Bhasya on the Brahma Sutra
- The commentary on the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
- The commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad
- The Thousand Teachings or Upadesasahasri
Books he probably wrote are:
- The commentary on Gaudapada's Karika to the Mandukya Upanishad
- The commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, though there is no scholarly agreement on this.
- A hymn to the Goddess, Saundaryalahari.
He is said to have founded four mathas (a matha is a monastery or religious order) which are important to this day. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka, in the south; Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west; Puri in Orissa in the east; and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttaranchal in the north. The heads of the mathas trace their authority back to him.