The
early death of his father delayed his Thread ceremony (vedic education) till
the age 5. But by the age of 8, Sankara had mastered the Vedas and was ready
for the life of an ascetic.
Legend
had it that the supreme lord Shiva had offered Sankara’s parents the choice of
a pious, intelligent son who would die young or a idiot who would stay for a
long time. They had chosen the intelligent son and Sankara was born. The legend
continues that one day he was out taking a bath in the local river – Poorna,
when a crocodile caught his leg and he was going to die. His mother rushed
outside. Sankara told her that this life of his was over and the only way he
could continue to live is to move to the ‘next’ life – the one of an ascetic.
Grudgingly she agreed and Sankara became an ascetic at the tender age of 8. The
river Poorna in Kaladi in the state of Kerala has never seen a crocodile since.
So it is often said in local folklore that it was god who had come in the form
of a crocodile to let Sankara become an ascetic, the reason for which he was
born in this world. He went from the being a ‘Bramachari’ (student) to a
‘Sanyasin’ (ascetic) skipping ‘Grihastam’ (family man).
He left the south of India and went North in search of a Guru. There are many stories surrounding how he found a guru. Govinda Bhagavadpada who became his guru eventually was already in the process of beginning to revitalize Vedanta under the guidance of his guru, Gaudapada.
One
legend has it that Sankara met his guru Govindapada on the banks of river
Narmada. He noticed that the river was in spate of floods. Govindapada managed
to control the floods by pulling the floods into his Kamandalu (the small jar
vessel that sages carry). Sankara was amazed and sought him as his guru and
Govindapada accepted. Another legend has
it that Govindapada asked Sanakara for his personal introduction and Sankara
broke into a terse beautiful poetic verse that elucidated his knowledge of
Advaita Vedanta. Govindapada was impressed and accepted him as a ‘shishya’.
(disciple)
Our
current knowledge of the rest of Sankara’s life revolves around his
revitalization of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
As
he traversed the length and breadth of the country expounding Vedanta, his
followership also steadily grew. Along with some of his travelers, he found
himself once to the holy city of Kasi or modern day Varanasi. He was on his way
to worship at the Shiva temple of Vishwanath. Being an era where the caste
system was strictly adhered to in India, he and his disciples came across a
person from the ‘Shudhra’ caste (an untouchable). The person and his four dogs
were in the way. Sankara’s disciples were trying to argue with the man to move
out of the way. When Sankara reached that spot and asked the man to move aside,
the man responded by asking Sankara a question. “You claim to be a man of
Advaita Vedanta wherein you teach non-duality or that the Brahman is supreme
and the Jevatha is but a part of the Brahman. If that is the case, what part of
me should step aside? The atman or the body created by maya?” Sankara knew
immediately that this was no ordinary man – it was the Lord Shiva himself. He
had no reply and immediately prostrated at the feet of this ‘untouchable’ and
broke into the beautiful slokas of ‘Manisha Panchakam’. The lord blessed him. The
four dogs that were the knowledge of the four vedas were bestowed upon him.
After
this incident, Sankara continued his travels through the country explaining the
philosophy behind Vedanta and Advaita. Because of the fact that he was the most
prolific philosopher of Vedanta and had the unique skill of making it simple
and understandable to the common man, today, many incorrectly attribute the creation
of the doctrine of Advaita to Sankara.
This
is not true. Vedanta and the philosophy of Advaita existed from about 1500BC.
Between the 6-8th century CE, it faced a lot of threats both from
within India (Buddhism) and from outside. Adi Sankaracharya lead the
rejuvenation and revitalization of the Advaita Vedanta in India and the surrounding
regions.
He
explained, expounded and elucidated on all the three pillars of Vedanta –
Brahmasutras, the Upanishads and the Gita.
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