It is said that whenever Dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, a divine being takes birth and saves Dharma. It was true in the case of Shankaracharya also. It was a superhuman effort from Shankaracharya in reviving the Sanathan Dharma at that time. In addition to reviving Hinduism, he also gave new meaning to the Vedas and Upanishads.

Role of Shankarahcarya

Adi Shankaracharaya played a key role in unifying Hinduism. In his time, the Sanatan Dharma had been disintegrated into various sects such as shaiva, vaishnava, shakta etc. And there were frequent conflicts between these sampradayas. And sometimes, it was going to the level of violence also. Because of these inconsistencies and conflicts, Hinduism was facing the onslaught of other religions, especially Buddhism. At that time, tantrik Buddhism (Vajrayana) was very popular. Because of this, a general sense of pessimism was built among the masses. On top of that, there was large-scale political instability and social unrest in the country.

Also, religion was reduced to a mere ritualistic process. There was a widespread misunderstanding of the Hindu scriptures. The religion was reduced to mere tantrik and superstitious beliefs. There was a spiritual emptiness in society. The lack of direction and guiding force enchouraged people to start following other religions like Buddhism and Jainism.

Shankaracharya tried to unite all the groups within Hinduism and also encouraged the Bhakti movement by establishing various temples across Bharat. He debated with various religious leaders of different sampradayas and also with Buddhist religious leaders and defeated them. Through Advaitha (Non-dualism) philosophy, he was able to convince everyone that God and all beings are one and the same.

Early Life of Shankaracharya

Shankara was born into a traditional Namboodiri Brahmin family in a village called Kaladi in the southern Indian state of Kerala. His father's name was Shivaguru and his mother was Aryamba.

He was an extraordinary and brilliant child. It is believed that at the age of 3, he was fluent in Sanskrit language and he could recite all the Vedas at the age of 4. His mother played a key role in teaching Vedas and Upanishads.

However, at the age of 3, he lost his father and was raised by his mother. Later, the mother performed Upanayanam to Shankara and sent him to Gurukul to for education. He was so fast in grasping things that he finished his studies in 2 years, which otherwise would take more than 20 years for other students. After finishing his education, he came to his native place, Kaladi.

Shankara was intended to renounce the materialistic world and take up sanyas. But his mother never approved of his wish. Without his mother’s permission, Shankara did not want to become a sanyasi. At that time a miracle happened.

One day Shankara while taking bath in the river, a crocodile caught hold of his leg and started dragging him. While his mother helplessly watched, Shankara asked her permission to become sanyasi at least during the last moments of his life. She reluctantly permitted and miraculously the crocodile let go of him. She approved with a promise that he would be there with her at the time of her death. This is what happens. When your intention is pure and clear, the universe will guide you in the right direction.

Finding a Guru

After his mother’s approval, he started his journey of finding his Guru. He walked about 2000 kilometers before meeting his guru, Govindapada, at the banks of the river Narmada, in the central plains of India. Under the guidance of his guru, Shankara mastered all the Vedas and Upanishads. Also, he learned the Advaita philosophy from Govindapada. After a rigorous education, his Guru gave the title of Acharya to Shankara and thus became Shankaracharya.

After all the learning, Shankara traveled north to Varanasi. In Varanasi, he started writing commentaries (Bhashya) on various scriptures. He wrote commentaries on Vishnu Sahasranama, Brahma Sutra and other Upanishads.

Shasthrarth (Debates) of Shankaracharya

From the age of sixteen, Shankaracharya traveled across the length and breadth of the country with the sole mission of reviving Sanatan Dharma. He challenged eminent scholars of different schools of thought in debates. It was a common practice in ancient times of having philosophical and religious debates on various topics. He was so well-versed in every scripture that he was able to convince everyone with his knowledge. It is interesting to note that he never lost a debate in his entire life. These scholars then accepted Shankaracharya as their Guru.

Works of Adi Shankaracharya

Shankaracharya established four peethams (or education centers) in the 4 directions of the country to spread the knowledge of scriptures. He selected four of the most senior disciples as the head of these institutions.

Shankaracharya composed many devotional hymns like Soundarya Lahari, Sivananda Lahari, Nirvana Shatakam etc, He wrote commentaries on Brahma Sutra, Vishnu Sanhasranama, Bhagavad Geeta and 12 major Upanishads. He also authored many books on Advaita philosophy. One of his important books is Viveka Chudamani, which is the essence of Upanishads and Bhagavadgita.

Why Shankarachaya is a Revolutionary?

These are the three instances that show why Adi Shankaracharya is a revolutionary.

• 1. Story of chandal

  When Shankara was on a spiritual journey, he met an outcaste chandala who was ordered by his disciples to move out of the path of their Guru. The man just stood there and asked, “Who are you to ask me to move aside? Are you referring to me or my body?” If Shankara was an egoistic person, he could have gotten offended. He was so moved by the question of chandala that he proclaimed the chandala to be his guru.

• 2. mother‘s last rites

  While Shankaracharya was on a mission of reviving Dharma, one day he realized his mother is not well. As promised, he immediately rushed to his mother’s place to be with her in her final moments. After a few days, his mother died and he performed her last rites. The villagers and relatives refused to help him in the funeral process on the grounds that a sanyasi is not permitted to perform the last rites.This is the result of half understanding of the scriptures. Unperturbed by the obstacles, he performed all the rituals by himself.

• 3. Debate with Mandan Mishra

  Mandan Mishra was a great mimansaka scholar at that time who lived in Mahishmati, in present-day Bihar. He was a staunch believer in Karma Siddhanta and emphasized on the importance of rituals. Shankara went to mandan mishra’s place and invited him for the debate. Mandan mishra agreed and both fixed a time for the debate. It was agreed that, if Shankara loses the debate, he would renounce sanyasa and become the disciple of Mandan mishra. And if Mandan mishra loses, he would become sanyasi and a disciple of Shankara. The debate went on for several days. But finally, Mandan mishra accepted defeat. Now Shankara had to argue with Mandan mishra’s wife, Ubhayabarati, who was also a scholar. When she is about to lose the argument, she started asking questions related to sexuality (Kama Shastra). Being celibate, Shankaracharya had no experience in this regard. He requested a one-month break and she agreed.

  Shankaracharya decided to study Kama Shastra. So, he ordered his disciples to preserve his body till he returns and gave up the body temporarily by his yogic powers. Then, he entered the dead body of a king who had just passed away a few hours earlier. He studied everything about the subject through the body of the king and again came back to the original body. It's important to remember that he did not perform any miracle, he simply used science and yogic powers. Post this, he answered all the questions of Ubhaya Bharati and defeated her in the debate.

Teachings of Advaita Siddhanta

First thing, Advaita Vedanta is not created by Shankaracharya. This knowledge was present in this land from time immemorial. He just re-established and propagated this knowledge in his time.

The principal theme of Shankaracharya’s Advaita Vedanta is that non-dual supreme reality, which is Brahman - Pure Consciousness. The only truth that matters is brahman. He says Brahman is the absolute reality, without any qualities or characteristics and an individual is not different from Brahman.

Shankara says, because of ignorance or Maya, the individual cannot experience that ultimate reality. But it is always there. In the state of mukti, the individual is absorbed in the brahman. Just as all rivers flow into the ocean and lose identity, so does the individual merge with brahman and lose his identity. Therefore, Moksha is nothing but the ultimate unity of Atman-Brahman.

Having said this, Shankaracharya never rejected the dvaitic concepts such as Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Murti puja, Mantra japa, morality, etc. In fact, he established temples and ashrams across India to worship the divine. He even formulated panchayatana puja to worship the five primary deities of Hinduism. Because these are the preparatory steps needed in order to purify the mind.