The Life and Teachings of Adi Shankaracharya, by Mahendra Mathur
Introduction
The greatest saint ever born in the history of mankind, the sage Shankara probably lived around 800 A.D. His teachings can be summed up in half a verse: “Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah—Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.” This is the quintessence of his philosophy.
The Advaita taught by Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.
Brahman—The One Without A Second
The Atman is self-evident (Svatah-siddha). It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny the Atman, because It is the very essence of the one who denies It. The Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions and proofs. Self is within, Self is without; Self is before, Self is behind; Self is on the right, Self is on the left; Self is above and Self is below.
Brahman is not an object, as It is Adrisya, beyond the reach of the eyes. Hence the Upanishads declare: “Neti Neti—not this, not this….” This does not mean that Brahman is a negative concept, or a metaphysical abstraction, or a nonentity, or a void. It is not another. It is all-full, infinite, changeless, self-existent, self-delight, self-knowledge and self-bliss. It is Svarupa, essence. It is the essence of the knower. It is the Seer (Drashta), Transcendent (Turiya) and Silent Witness (Sakshi).
Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as It is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside It. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not the distinction of substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitute the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes.
The Nirguna Brahman of Sankara is impersonal. It becomes a personal God or Saguna Brahman only through Its association with Maya.
Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman are not two different Brahmans. Nirguna Brahman is not the contrast, antithesis or opposite of Saguna Brahman. The same Nirguna Brahman appears as Saguna Brahman for the pious worship of devotees. It is the same Truth from two different points of view. Nirguna Brahman is the higher Brahman, the Brahman from the transcendental viewpoint (Paramarthika); Saguna Brahman is the lower Brahman, the Brahman from the relative viewpoint (Vyavaharika).
The World—A Relative Reality
The world is not an illusion according to Sankara. The world is relatively real (Vyavaharika Satta), while Brahman is absolutely real (Paramarthika Satta). The world is the product of Maya or Avidya. The unchanging Brahman appears as the changing world through Maya. Maya is a mysterious indescribable power of the Lord which hides the real and manifests itself as the unreal: Maya is not real, because it vanishes when you attain knowledge of the Eternal. It is not unreal also, because it exists till knowledge dawns in you. The superimposition of the world on Brahman is due to Avidya or ignorance.
Nature Of The Jiva And The Means To Moksha
To Sankara, the Jiva or the individual soul is only relatively real. Its individuality lasts only so long as it is subject to unreal Upadhis or limiting conditions due to Avidya. The Jiva identifies itself with the body, mind and the senses, when it is deluded by Avidya or ignorance. It thinks, it acts and enjoys, on account of Avidya. In reality it is not different from Brahman or the Absolute. The Upanishads declare emphatically: “Tat Tvam ASI—That Thou Art.” Just as the bubble becomes one with the ocean when it bursts, just as the pot-ether becomes one with the universal ether when the pot is broken, so also the Jiva or the empirical self becomes one with Brahman when it gets knowledge of Brahman. When knowledge dawns in it through annihilation of Avidya, it is freed from its individuality and finitude and realises its essential Satchidananda nature. It merges itself in the ocean of bliss. The river of life joins the ocean of existence. This is the Truth.
The release from Samsara means, according to Sankara, the absolute merging of the individual soul in Brahman due to dismissal of the erroneous notion that the soul is distinct from Brahman. According to Sankara, Karma and Bhakti are means to Jnana which is Moksha.
Vivarta Vada Or The Theory Of Superimposition
To Sankara the world is only relatively real (Vyavaharika Satta). He advocated Vivarta-Vada or the theory of appearance or superimposition (Adhyasa). Just as snake is superimposed on the rope in twilight, this world and body are superimposed on Brahman or the Supreme Self. If you get knowledge of the rope, the illusion of snake in the rope will vanish. Even so, if you get knowledge of Brahman or the Imperishable, the illusion of body and world will disappear. In Vivarta-Vada, the cause produces the effect without undergoing any change in itself. Snake is only an appearance on the rope. The rope has not transformed itself into a snake, like milk into curd. Brahman is immutable and eternal. Therefore, It cannot change Itself into the world. Brahman becomes the cause of the world through Maya, which is Its inscrutable mysterious power or Sakti.
When you come to know that it is only a rope, your fear disappears. You do not run away from it. Even so, when you realise the eternal immutable Brahman, you are not affected by the phenomena or the names and forms of this world. When Avidya or the veil of ignorance is destroyed through knowledge of the Eternal, when Mithya Jnana or false knowledge is removed by real knowledge of the Imperishable or the living Reality, you shine in your true, pristine, divine splendour and glory.
The Advaita—A Philosophy Without A Parallel
The Advaita philosophy of Sri Sankaracharya is lofty, sublime and unique. It is a system of bold philosophy and logical subtlety. It is highly interesting, inspiring and elevating. No other philosophy can stand before it in boldness, depth and subtle thinking. Sankara’s philosophy is complete and perfect.
Sri Sankara was a mighty, marvellous genius. He was a master of logic. He was a profound thinker of the first rank. He was a sage of the highest realisation. He was an Avatara of Lord Siva. His philosophy has brought solace, peace and illumination to countless persons in the East and the West. The Western thinkers bow their heads at the lotus-feet of Sri Sankara. His philosophy has soothed the sorrows and afflictions of the most forlorn persons, and brought hope, joy, wisdom, perfection, freedom and calmness to many. His system of philosophy commands the admiration of the whole world. Says he in ‘Bhajgovindam’:
The company of the good weans one away from false attachments; when attachment is lost, delusion ends; when delusion ends; the mind becomes unwavering and steady. An unwavering and steady mind is merited for Jeevan Mukti (liberation even in this life).
Don’t identify with wealth, relatives, your youth or your physical beauty – all those can be lost in a second. Knowing that all those are maya, may you realize Brahman.
One may have bathed in the holy Ganges or even in the Ganga Sagar; he may have performed many charities and observed many vows; yet unless one has understood the Brahman (Truth), he will not gain Moksha even after a hundred lives.
Who can disturb the peace and happiness of a man, if he has the true spirit of renunciation and has controlled his desires, even if he be the poorest, sleeping only in the temple halls or under trees or on the bare ground and just with a deer skin to cover.
Summary of Shankara’s teachings
When Shankaracharya decided to enter ‘samadhi,’ Sudhanva, the foremost disciple of Shankara, requested that the essentials of his teaching may be summarized and given to them. Shankaracharya then said the Dasa Shlokas, or Ten Verses, which elaborated the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of Brahman – the core concept of Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma).
1. The five elements do no express my real nature; I am changeless and persist forever.
2. I am above castes and creeds. I am seen when ‘maya’ is removed, and do not need concentration or worship as shown in Yoga Sutras.
3. I have no parents, I need no Vedas as proclaimed in the scriptures, no sacrifices, no pilgrimages. I am the eternal witness.
4. All the teachings of various religions and philosophies do no reveal my true nature and are but shallow views of my deep being.
5. I pervade the whole universe and am above, in the middle and below, in all directions.
6. I am colourless, formless, light being my form.
7. I have no teacher, scripture or any disciples, nor do I recognize Thou or I, or even the universe and am changeless and the absolute knowledge.
8. I am neither awake, in deep sleep nor dreaming, but above consciousness with which the three are associated. All these are due to ignorance and I am beyond that.
9. I pervade everything, everywhere and the eternal reality and self-existent. The whole universe depends on me and become nothing without me.
10. I cannot be called one, for that implies two, which is not. I am neither isolated nor non-isolated, neither am I empty or full.
Eckhart Tolle
One modern spiritual teacher whose teachings echo Sankara’s is Eckhart Tolle. Eckhart Tolle is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of 29 after suffering long periods of depression, dissolving his old identity and radically changing the course of his life. Tolle’s non-fiction bestseller, The Power of Now, emphasizes the importance of being aware of the present moment as a way of not being lost in thought. In Tolle’s view, the present is the gateway to a heightened sense of peace and aliveness. “Being in the now” also brings about an awareness that is beyond the mind. This awareness helps in transcending “the pain-body” that is created by the identification of the mind and ego with the body. The aim of Tolle’s teachings is the transformation of individual and collective human consciousness–a global spiritual awakening.
Core teachings that arise from his works are:
1. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind the thoughts. Thoughts are often negative and painful, yearning for or fearing something in the future, complaining about something in the present or fearing a matter from the past. However, the thoughts are not you; they are a construct of the ego. Awareness of your thoughts without being caught up in them is the first step to freedom.
2. Only the present moment exists. That is where life is (indeed it is the only place life can truly be found). Becoming aware of the ‘now’ has the added benefit that it will draw your attention away from your (negative) thoughts. Use mindfulness techniques to fully appreciate your surroundings and everything you are experiencing. Look and listen intently. Give full attention to the smallest details.
3. Accept the present moment. It is resistance to the present moment that creates most of the difficulties in your life. However, acceptance does not mean that you cannot take action to rectify the situation you are in. What is important is to drop resistance so that you let the moment be, and that any action arises from deeper awareness rather than from resistance. The vast majority of pain in a person’s life comes from resistance to what is.
4. Observe the pain-body. Years of conditioned thought patterns, individually and collectively, have resulted in habitual emotional reactions with an apparent personality of their own. During ‘pain-body attacks’ we become completely identified with this ‘pain identity’ and respond from its agenda–which is to create more pain for ourselves and others. Observing the pain-body is awareness itself arising–as it allows humans to separate from this unconscious identification with pain.
5. Everything that exists has Being, has God essence, has some degree of consciousness. Even a stone has a rudimentary consciousness; otherwise it would not be, and its atoms and molecules would disperse. Everything is alive. The sun, the earth, plants, animals, and humans – all are expressions of consciousness in varying degrees, consciousness manifesting as form. The world arises when consciousness takes on shapes and forms, thought forms and material forms. The ancient seers of India saw the world as lila, a kind of game that God is playing. You don’t truly know that until you realize your own God-essence as pure consciousness. When we talk about watching the mind we are personalizing an event that is truly of cosmic significance: through you, consciousness is awakening out of the dream of identification with form and withdrawing from form. This foreshadows, but is already part of, an event that is probably still in the distant future as far as chronological time is concerned. That event is called – the end of the world.
When consciousness frees itself from its identification with physical and mental forms, it becomes what may be called pure or enlightened consciousness or presence.
Conclusion
Is it practical for thr Hindu youth to try to follow the philosophy of Shankara? Yes, it is a thing to be practised and not only to be read as an intellectual exercise. This way of life is consistent with our duties as citizens. Shankara enjoins that we discharge our duties as well and cheerfully as we can. It is a way for the self-reliant and for the seekers. Yet we should endeavour to realize the Supreme Being as he did: “My mind fell like a hailstone into the vast expanse of Brahman’s ocean. Touching one drop of it. I melted away and became one with Brahman. This is wonderful indeed! Here is the ocean of Brahman, full of endless joy.”
Colonel Mahendra Mathur prematurely retired from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army in 1975 to build a highway in Tobago. Subsequently he was appointed Director of National Emergency Management Agency of Trinidad and Tobago before retiring in 1998. You can contact him at mmathur@tstt.net.tt.
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November 1st, 2008 20:17
[...] Credit: The Life and Teachings of Adi Shankaracharya, by Mahendra Mathur … [...]
November 2nd, 2008 03:24
Note that as per the original records kept in kanchi, badrinath, puri, etc. Adi Shankaracharya’s date is considered 509 BCE and not 788 CE or or 800 CE. The British have played havoc with our dates. Rest of the article has presented a nice summary. :-)
January 9th, 2009 04:22
Dear Colonel Mathur,
I loved your article at http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/11/adi-shankaracharya/ on Adi Shankaracharya. I wanted to find the exact methodology suggested by Shankaracharya to find the real self. Franklin Merrell-Wolff used and achieved self-realization using Shankaracharya’s methodology but does not provide any details in his book Pathways Through to Space.
http://www.om-guru.com/html/saints/wolff.html
Best Regards,
Sandip Patel, Ph.D.
January 10th, 2009 14:08
Thank you for the great query about the exact methodology suggested by Shankara for self-realization.
For the follower of Shankara the highest good of man’s existence is nothing more or less than the realization of identity with Brahman. Only the sense of “I”-ness identified with the body, and ‘mine’-ness identified with its surroundings, stand between man and the happinesss of that realization.
Brahman can be realized only through perfect knowledge or wisdom. Shankara did not lay down a methodology for attaining self-realization. But, amazingly, it (self-realization) sounds easy, simple and doable once you imbibe his philosophy which has been condensed in the passages that follow.
This finite, mortal, ever-changing world that we see around us, is born out of Maya alone. Due to the non-apprehension of Reality, Man recognizes the world of objects, emotions and thoughts. Through the body, mind and intellect he contacts the world and creates more and more vasanas. These vasanas make one act more and more, and in the end, man becomes co-cooned in them and gets permanently for himself the sense of a separate individuality. All these are created by non-apprehension of Reality. The supreme Reality functioning through Maya is called Ishwar or God.
The wise man should discriminate between the Self and the not-Self in order to remove the bondage and dock himself in everlasting happiness. Thereafter there is no strife, no stress and no strain for him.
Very few in the world know what joy is. All that we know is either sorrow or a slight absence of it; either pain or absence of it. Real joy is nothing but the experience of Brahman. Real homogenous Bliss is the nature of Brahman. We do not experience that. At best we experience only a relative absence of agitations.
It is not the Self, the pure Consciousness, which functions as I, but it is the reflection, otherwise called ego which functions as ‘I-I-I’ at all moments of the waking and dreaming states of our expression. By fully realizing the Self, which is Knowledge Absolute, which is the cause of everything; which is distinct from the gross and subtle, which is Eternal and Omnipresent, All-pervading and supremely subtle, which is without exterior or interior, which is the one Self; one becomes free from sin, blemish, death and grief and becomes ocean of Bliss.
He who gets away from the bonds of vasanas is the liberated one. ‘I am not this assemblage of equipments. I am That, the consciousness, the Witness of equipments and their function’. This idea should be kept alive during the entire period of our waking state.
Through continuous involvement in the contemplation of Brahman, the realized man eliminates vasanas, thoughts and actions.
Man perfected is the free spirit. His reason is turned to light, his heart into love, and his will into service. His demeanour is disciplined and his singleness of spirit is established. Ignorance and craving have lost their hold. He is dead to pride, envy and uncharitableness. The world in which he lives is no more alien to him. This free spirit reaches out towards the warmth in all things. He has that rarest quality in the world, simple goodness, besides which all the intellectual gifts seem a little trivial. He is meek, patient, long suffering. He does not judge others because he does not pretend to understand them. Because of his eager selfless love he has the power to soothe the troubled heart.
The released individual is artist in creative living. With an awareness of the Eternal, he participates in the work of the world. Like one sleepy or like a baby, he perceives the world as one seen in a dream and recognizes it only now and then. The Sanyasi, in whom the sense objects channeled by others are received like flowing rivers into the ocean producing no change because of his absorption in Existence Absolute, is truly liberated.
The man of Realization has to go through the tragedies and comedies of life. He cannot avoid them. But in and through them, he never loses sight of the idea that the objects, emotions and thoughts are, in reality, nothing but Brahman.
In the unbroken Knowledge, the Absolute, the Atman dualistic conceptions are like castles in the air. Therefore, attaining supreme Peace live in silence, identifying yourself with the non-dual Bliss Absolute. Whether going or staying, sitting or lying down, or in any other state, the enlightened sage whose sole pleasure is in Atman, lives ever at ease.
Ever enjoying the Blissful state of wisdom the realized man lives, sometimes a fool, sometimes a sage, sometimes with royal grandeur; sometimes roaming, sometimes like a motionless python; sometimes with a benignant expression, sometimes respected, sometimes insulted and sometimes unknown.
He does not direct the sense organs to their objects, nor does he detach them from these, but he remains like an indifferent onlooker. His mind being drunk with ‘wine’ of bliss of the Self, he holds not the least regard for the fruits of action. He is Siva himself, the best among the knowers of Brahman.
Just as an actor, whether he wears the dress of his role or not, is always a man, so too, the perfect knower of Brahman is always Brahman and nothing else. When a pot is broken the pot-space becomes the limitless space, so too, when the conditionings are destroyed, the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Itself.
Liberation is not an occasion for glorification. That is your Real Nature. All that you say is, ‘What a fool I was! I never knew my own nature.’ There is nothing to be realized. You are that. This is the supreme Truth – at the moment of Realization to be realized.
The final result of such a spiritual Self rediscovery is a total liberation of the mortal individuality from all its physical mental and intellectual entanglements. This is called Liberation, Self-Realisation or God Realisation.
February 11th, 2009 12:16
Does Shankara himself use the terms ‘Vyavaharika Satta’ and ‘Paramarthika Satta’? - if so, can someone please tell me somewhere in his writings I can find these terms. Thank you.
June 9th, 2009 10:22
[...] Here is the original post: The Life and Teachings of Adi Shankaracharya, by Mahendra Mathur [...]
July 10th, 2009 20:11
Swami Shivananda used the terms mentioned by Ju, while explaining Shankara’s philosophy as follows:
The world is relatively real (Vyavaharika Satta), while Brahman is absolutely real (Paramarthika Satta).
July 22nd, 2009 09:32
He is great man.
July 22nd, 2009 09:36
A person like a man not ever seen in the world.
August 18th, 2009 15:15
I always feel that an Atman like Adi Sankara should be reborn again in today’s times to revive the Dharma which is again showing signs of a decline and to also be a guiding light to help us resolve all the conflicts we have in our minds regarding the problems we have in our daily life.