Biography
Adi Shankaracharya was an Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, one of the most influential schools of Hindu philosophy. In his brief life of only thirty-two years, he composed extensive commentaries on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras, establishing the philosophical foundation for non-dual understanding.
Born in Kerala, Shankara showed extraordinary intellectual gifts from childhood. He renounced worldly life at a young age and traveled throughout India, engaging in philosophical debates and establishing four monasteries (mathas) that continue to this day. His ability to synthesize complex philosophical ideas while making them accessible earned him a place among the greatest thinkers in human history.
His central teaching—that Brahman (ultimate reality) alone is real, the world is appearance, and the individual self is none other than Brahman—remains the cornerstone of Advaita philosophy and continues to inspire seekers of truth.
Teaching and methods
Shankara taught that liberation comes through jnana (knowledge) rather than action or ritual. Through careful discrimination (viveka) between the real and the unreal, the eternal and the temporary, one recognizes that the individual self (Atman) is identical with the ultimate reality (Brahman). He emphasized the study of scripture, reflection, and meditation as means to remove the ignorance that veils our true nature.
Selected quotes
“ A clear vision of [freedom] may be obtained only through our own eyes, when they have been opened by insight "“ never through the eyes of some other seer. Through our own eyes we learn what the moon looks like: how could we learn this through the eyes of others? ”
— Viveka-Chudamani
“ As gold purified in a furnace loses its impurities and achieves its own true nature, the mind gets rid of the impurities of the attributes of delusion, attachment and purity through meditation and attains Reality. ”
“ Even after the Truth has been realised, there remains that strong, obstinate impression that one is still an ego — the agent and experiencer. This has to be carefully removed by living in a state of constant identification with the supreme non-dual Self. Full Awakening is the eventual ceasing of all the mental impressions of being an ego. ”