SHANKARA people often associate this name with the deity Shiva. How often have we heard this name? With regard to the deity a kabillion times but how frequent in context with the intellectual giant who changed the course of this culture? Who is Shankara? Why should we know him? This write-up follows up with the same. People know him often by the name ADI SHANKARACHARYA but Shankara is his name, Adi means 'FIRST' Acharya means ' TEACHER' but the way he lived bestowed upon him the title of JAGADGURU-" THE TEACHER OF THE WORLD' what makes one so phenomenal? Shankaracharya was the master of linguistics, a spiritual light, above all the pride of this nation. Shankara was born in a Brahmin family, his father Shivaguru, a priest and Aryamba, mother was a delicate lady who looked after the chores, but the void in their life was the absence of a progeny, the legend has it said that Shankara's mother dreamt of Shiva, who answered her desire for a child, but it came at a condition, the couple could either have a genius who'd die at a young age or a fool who lived long, the couple chose the former. Unlike Aryamba, Shivaguru being a priest noticed unusual characteristics in Shankara, the child smiled at birth and in his palm, the line of head curved downward, symbolic to achieve greatness in life. What baffled Shivaguru was the extraordinary sense of passion Shankara displayed at a young age to learn the Vedantic Scriptures following which, Shankara could orate the Vedantic scriptures eloquently at the age of 8 which put the priests of the town to shame. While Shankara's mother was overwhelmed by the birth of the boy, she was ignorant of what he was destined for. Aryamba being a mother had plans for Shankara to get married, so she decided to confront him with this but it shattered her when he projected the desire to be an ascetic. Aryamba being a mother tried to keep Shankara away from the mystical and philosophical but the legend has it said that while Aryamba fetched water next to the sea and Shankara taking a bath in it a crocodile is said to have caught his leg to which Shankara pleads to his mother that the amphibian won't leave until she agreed to Shankara's plea to be an ascetic, being a mother drenched by emotion she agreed to his plea and his leg was freed by the creature, whether it is true or not , the symbolism is that the affairs of marriage and progeny represented the crocodile which would keep him rooted to the physical world keeping him distant from the divine, from there on Shankara took unto the journey of ascetic and disappeared into the woods. Lost in his realm of mysticism, after a long period of contemplation and meditation , Shankara became a shining receptacle , he found his guru GAUDAPADA who nurtured him further and bestowed upon him the responsibility to spread the word further. Shankara was not one who could be shaken from his resolve. Shankara took on to the journey on foot and traveled all over India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari establishing the four Shakti Peethas. Shankara propounded the philosophy of Advaita which essentially means all is one. An interesting story that narrates what he meant when he said Advaita is that Shankara went all over India debating with the teachers of various schools of thought because let alone Shankara at the time of Buddha there were 1800 different schools of full-fledged Yoga. Shankara had an exchange of word with Kumarilla Bhatta, who was a staunch supporter of Purva Mimamsa but he could not convince Kumarilla regarding the Advaita doctrine since he was half burnt when Shankara met as he was self-immolating himself for the sins he had committed which were known by him alone but before he left the body he requested Shankara to meet his student Mandana Mishra, who was a great scholar and who thought the chief aim of life was Karmakanda. Mandana Mishra agreed to Shankara's request for a debate only on condition that whosoever proves their authenticity the other would adopt their school of thought. What would impress the readers that wife of Mandana Mishra, Ubhaya Bharati was the judge of the verbal feud between the two intellectuals which was appreciated by Shankara, this signifies that respect and dignity women are an integral part of this culture. Mandana Mishra questioned Shankara that how is all one? HAPPINESS AND SADNESS, JOY AND MISERY all these are two polarities how can they be one ? To which Shankara picked six glasses of water naming each by the name of a river and poured them into a big vessel and asked Mandana Mishra to pour the water separately in each glass according to the waters of the river, this took Mandana Mishra by a blow. The argument continued for days, finally resulting in Mishra's defeat. Mandana Mishra accepted his defeat gracefully and became a disciple of Shankara and becoming the first guru of Sringeri Shakti Peetham after Shankaracharya and later came to be known by the name of Surveshacharya. Shankara continued his journey to accomplish his task of being a peripatetic teacher(traveling teachers) and establishing the four Shakti Peethas. Shankaracharya established the first matha (Sanctum) at Sringeri because he witnessed something that may be considered astonishingly beautiful, he saw a snake giving shelter to a birth giving frog which made Shankara wonder the divinity of the place where the predator protected the prey. The other three Mathas are at PURI(ORISSA), DWARKA, JYOTIRMATH. Shankara's trip to Srinagar had a profound impact on him for he realized and experienced the nature of existence which included both Shiva and Shakti for without Shakti this world could never be materialized, masculine and feminine are two different aspects of same existence but most confuse it and view it as two different entities for the Shiva and Shakti can be defined as thoughts in Mind and things, The thoughts in mind can never be accomplished without the use of material things, for this reason, being Shankara established the four mathas in regard of Devi , for this culture has more Devi than Deva temples. Shankara in Srinagar meditated in a cave for several days where he propounded highly regarded texts to understand the life beyond physical such as Saundarya Lahiri. In Srinagar there is a temple established in the name of Shankaracharya which is believed to be not touched even by the persecutors who were famously known for destroying the temples and shrines of this culture, such is the divinity of this temple. This temple stands even today known as The Jyestheswara Temple. What Shankara is highly regarded for is his explanation of MAYA, MAYA today is understood that which isn't there , which is completely contradictory in nature , Maya essentially means that it exists but the way it is being perceived is illusory, for an instance in a matter of few days each cell is replaced by a new one the interaction of the body with various kinds of foods causes alternations in the very chemistry of the body but to us it appears to be same this is Maya, an illusion. Nevertheless, the sages and seers of yore have been telling the same but we owe it to Shankara for he put forward it with utmost clarity. As time went by Shankara's consciousness started to expand rapidly and one day in the Sringeri peetham with all the sages and rishis present in the courtyard of the sanctum appeared Goddess Sharada for she questioned Shankara, she questioned Shankara as to why he misused his yogic prowess to experience sensual pleasures despite being an ascetic. OH WAIT WHAT? SENSUAL PLEASURES BY SHANKARA? Yes , you read that right , in the course of debate between Mishra and Shankara , Mishra decided to surrender much earlier than it took for him to accept his defeat for his wife being the other half of him had to be satisfied also for she was an integral part of him ,(for shiva and shakti, masculine and feminine are one) his wife Ubhaya Bharati questioned him regarding Kamashastra , matters of eroticism and sensuality, being an ascetic and a sage Shankara knew nothing about the science and pleaded for a period of one month to answer her question, Ubhaya agreed, with the help of his yogic powers he entered into a dead king's body which still had life left in it for he was just hunted down by a tiger, the recovery of the king was to considered a miracle , Shankara began to enjoy sensual pleasures inside the body of the king so much that he had to be awakened by invocation of hymns and reciations narrated by his students , Shankara quickly realized his true purpose and left the body of the king and approached Ubhaya Bharati and answered her that the purpose of intercourse is still advaita for whle mating the two people try to be one for the Hindu philosophy offers four paths to salvation , DHARMA:ARHTA:KAMA: MOKSHA, the four ways can lead to salvation, but this is the path for those who are weak willed who cannot observe brahmcharya and stringent practices of a yogi, ubhaya was satisfied and surrendered. To the question of GODDESS Shankara responded that it was not the misuse of his yogic powers for he did so to prove and verify the authenticity of the four ways that could still lead to salvation for those who are stuck in the material world which are established by the cosmic order. GODDESS SHARADA was impressed by the righteousness and divinity of Shankara. At the young age of 32 having established the right order and reviving the culture, JAGADGURU attained perfection and entered SAMADHI.FOR WE NEED TO KNOW THE SAGES AND SEERS OF OUR CULTURE FOR THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PRESERVED THIS CULTURE, FOR THEY ARE THE PRIDE OF OUR NATION ,FOR THEY BROUGHT UP TO THE WORLD WHAT SPIRITUALITY IS, WHO DUG BEYOND THE PHYSICAL, TO SEEK THE UNKNOWN ,TO BREAK THE LIMITATIONS, TO FIND THE LIMITLESS: FOR WHAT IS LIMITLESS CANNOT BE RESTRICTED IN PHYSICALITY.
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