Focus: GS I- Ancient History
Why in News?
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya on his birth anniversary.
Life and Works of Adi Sankaracharya:
Birth and Background
- Adi Sankaracharya was born in Kaladi, Kerala in 788 CE.
Philosophy and Writings
- He propounded the Doctrine of Advaita (Monism).
- He wrote many commentaries on the Vedic canon (Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita) in Sanskrit.
- His major work is Brahmasutrabhasya (Bhashya or commentary on the Brahma Sutra).
Travels and Contributions
- He travelled the length and breadth of India spreading Advaita Vedanta.
- He was responsible for reviving Hinduism in India to a great extent when Buddhism was gaining popularity.
- He was a devotee of Shiva.
- He criticised the Mimamsa School of philosophy and explained a major point of deviance between Hinduism and Buddhism.
Legacy
- Shankaracharya established four Mathas in the four corners of India and the tradition continues to this day.
- He preached renunciation and adoption of the knowledge path to realize Brahman.
What is Advaita Vedanta?
- Advaita Vedanta articulates a philosophical position of radical nondualism, a revisionary worldview which it derives from the ancient Upanishadic texts.
- According to Advaita Vedantins, the Upanishads reveal a fundamental principle of nonduality termed ‘brahman’, which is the reality of all things.
- The basic theme of Advaita is that the one unchanging entity (Brahman) alone is real while changing entities do not have absolute existence. The world is Maya or illusion and only the Self is real. A person who realises this attains moksha (liberation of the soul).
- The doctrine says that there is no difference between the Atman and the Brahman. The individual soul is not different from Brahman. Hence, its name Advaita meaning non-duality.
