Sri Sankaracharya, also known as
Adi Sankara was a phenomenon who unfortunately is not as widely known as he
should be in India and the world at large. His single biggest achievement has
been to traverse the length and breadth of India by foot, a whopping 18000 Km
by very conservative estimates, writing up contemporary commentaries on the
scriptures that dictated the way of life in bhArat, conquering in controversies,
establishment of centers of excellence and creating a legacy that is alive
today and by virtue of all those ensuring a spiritual integration of bhArat.
Talking of Sankara’s legacy, what
is his most lasting legacy? Is it the number of treatises and commentaries that
he has written, viz. commentaries on brahma sUtras, upanishads, bhagavadgIta ;
hymns that are both poetic and philosophical such as saundarya lahari or
SivAnanda lahari or bhajagOvindam; or are they the large number of eulogies he has
composed on almost all gods; or is it the conquests against those who
controverted with him; is it the establishment of centers of excellence for
practice of sanAtana dharma aka mutts;
is it giving jnAna the highest place? This list of course is just the tip of the
iceberg of his extraordinary accomplishments in course of a life that lasted
but 32 years. Arguably, his most lasting legacy has been his approach to the goal of spiritual
integration of bhArat.
His mission of the spiritual
integration of bhArat involved the following key aspects, viz. Expertise,
Communication, Listening, Influencing, Transforming and Creating – all key aspects
of leadership that we think of today.
Expertise
Sankara’s prodigious talent saw
him mastering everything he came across in no time. He mastered the scriptures
at a very young age. Perhaps a very early testimony of his command over
language and learning is the spontaneous eulogy of goddess Lakshmi in the form
of the kanakadhAra stOtram – a eulogy
that showered gold in the house of a poor lady. The versatility he displayed in
his genius at a very early age was an ample demonstration of his expertise.
This reflected amply during his stay with the guru gOvinda bhagavatapAda for whom he was a privilege to teach!
Communication
His guru clearly saw that Sankara
was made for higher accomplishments and that his power of articulation should
not be wasted upon. He also seems to have recognized that an able person should
be in an ecosystem where his talents are appreciated and also provides him with
a stage to test his ideas. Hence guru gOvinda directed Sankara to go to kASi
which was a center of learning brimming with scholars and also urged him to
write commentaries on the brahma sUtras and upanishads. Thus kASi became the
center in launching Sankara to the national scene. There was a fertile ground
of seekers available here and Sankara excelled in communicating his thoughts on
the scriptures in a succinct manner which brought him many a disciple. vyAsa
himself had a duel with Sankara here in form of an old man from whom Sankara
faced the severest test of authenticity of his interpretations and he graduated
successfully in this test. Thus this period of stay in kASi where Sankara
communicated vEdic philosophy to humanity in a contemporary manner was the key not
only to hand over these works to posterity but also to gather the human
resource needed in further stages of his mission.
Listening
Authoring impactful and authentic
treatises on scriptures resulted in several scholars surrendering to him as his
disciples. It was now time for Sankara to travel the farther lands and bring
people into the fold of sanAtana
dharma. He met with leaders of diverse faiths in this sojourn. He controverted
with them and in the process he listened to their view point carefully before
calling their bluff. It is never possible to refute another argument
convincingly unless one listens well. The tradition of debate that Sankara
brought forth in his conquests far outshines any other conquest in the history
of mankind. There was no imposition on a view point but logical discussions on
view points with both sides listening honestly. Their commitment to pursuit of
truth is really admirable and is a necessity of the times today.
Influence
That Sankara heard diverse
viewpoints ranging from materialism to ritualism to nihilism but ultimately won
them over and helped each one identify other as a pilgrim in the journey is
Sankara’s greatest achievement. These people were no pushovers and were deeply
steeped in their pursuits. The amount of influence that he could create with
his precise articulation to achieve this is indeed stunning.
Transform
Sankara however didn’t make his
opponents change their pursuits but only made changes which helped them to
relate to the ultimate goal through that path which they gladly adopted and
accepted him as their guru. Sankara seems to have influenced and integrated
them using what is known as a “merger and acquisition” strategy well known in
the contemporary parlance today. This helped him to achieve far more than what
32 years on earth could afford! The transformation he caused can be further
gauged from the devout followers he commands millennia after his withdrawal
from the physical world.
Create
All the above leadership
qualities enabled Sankara to create institutions for eternity. He created
institutions in various parts of the country, seemingly keeping geography in
mind. These mutts served as local powerhouses radiating his teachings and
helping people in course correction from time to time. Even more than building
the institutions he institutionalized the ways of worship with a clear view of
the goal of life which is still the guiding light for seekers of the sanAtana
dharma. Thus every home became a torchbearer of sanAtana dharma.
His achievement
The sanAtana dharma defines self-realization
as the goal of life. As life evolved and population became more diverse the
paths of self-realization also got diverse. From this diversification emerged
several ways of attaining salvation, viz. karma kAnDam – ritualism, patanjala –
practice of yOga and pranayama, sAnkhya – enumerativism, charvaka –
materialism, SUnyavAda – nihilism to name
a few, by the process of reductionism.
The reductionistic practices got so deep rooted over a period of time that they
lost sight of the ultimate aim for which the path was laid down. This led to
conflicts and claims of superiority over one another as is common in any
society with multiple ways of life. This was threatening the very fabric of
sanAtana dharma which is when Sankara was born.
The dating of his advent is
highly variable and historians differ in their assignment of the period widely.
But by conservative estimates Sankara reigned on this land no less than 1200
years ago. He was born in kAlaDi near the present day Ernakulam in kEraLa. His
legend reconstructed through hagiographic accounts of his conquests is much of
the basis to know about his birth and life. But a lot more comprehensive
glimpse of his personality can only be gleaned through his works.
Coming back to the society of those
days - torn with diverse practices arising out of a common goal of life,
Sankara’s mission was the spiritual reunification of the faiths and people. He
noticed that various faiths differed in practice but forgot the reason for the
practice. It was akin to forgetting that it is actually the light of the same
Sun that enables us to see the various objects in the world.
Sankara emphasized that it is the
same Sun that is shining in the pot, puddle, pond as well as the river.
Therefore, the different water bodies share the commonality of reflecting the
same Object of illumination. If you want to see the Sun, you could see him in any
one of them equally well. The same is true with the ultimate purpose of life
which can be attained through any of the different practices provided the goal
is clear.
Difference is seen when we
concentrate on the waterbody but oneness is seen when we concentrate on the
same Sun that is reflected. This practice of perceiving this oneness in the
creation is advaita or non-dualism.
The back-to-the-drawing-board
approach of Sankara was refreshing. With this conviction, he set forth on his
conquests with proponents of the diverse faiths and won them over in vAdas - debates. The greatness of the
debates is that the “loser” didn’t lose the debate, rather he was elevated to a
higher purpose in the pursuit of his faith. No one feared a loss in this duel
but it was an honest enquiry of truth which if it was convincingly different from
one’s views was not only welcomed but embraced.
Sankara’s advaitavAda concentrated on the essence and goal of myriad
practices and therefore gave each its own place in the pursuit of the truth. Thus
no faith was coerced into sanAtana dharma by enticement or enforcement. They
just re-assumed their pristine forms in the light of the conviction of the goal
that Sankara shined upon them. Thus Sankara achieved the spiritual unification
of the various faiths of this land and that of bhArat and established harmony
in the society.
This achievement of reunification
of bhArat by Sankara must rank among the greatest efforts in the world for it
was not done by use of any force but by sheer vAda (debate and logic) and an honest pursuit of truth. This way of
resolving conflicts by debate is the greatest gift of bhArat to the world. This
is what marks as an ancient and intellectual civilization. And we owe much to
Sankara for that.
In the second and concluding part
of this article I will attempt to outline what modern day scientists and pursuers
of truth can learn from Sankara. Coming soon. Stay tuned.
