Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Adi Shankara's opponents accused him of teaching Buddhism in the garb of Hinduism,
because his non-dualistic ideals seemed rather radical to contemporary Hindu philosophy, and
so he earned the title "pracchannabauddha". He further praised the Buddha as the "emperor of
yogis in the Kali Age."[46] However, although Advaita proposes the theory of Maya, likening the
universe to "a trick of a magician", Adi Shankara and his followers see this as a consequence
of their basic premise that Brahman alone is real. Their theory of Maya emerges from their
belief in experiential reality of the absolute consciousness 'Brahman' (as emphasized in
Upanishads), as opposed to Buddhist doctrine of emptiness, which emerges from the Buddhist
approach of observing the nature of reality.
||
ruti smti purnlaya karulaya|
Nammi Bhagavatpdaakara lokaakara||
I salute the compassionate abode of the Vedas, Smritis and Puranas known as Shankara
Bhagavatpada, who makes the world auspicious.
Adi Shankara begins his Gurustotram or Verses to the Guru with the following Sanskrit Sloka,
that has become a widely sung Bhajan:
Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Deva Maheshwara. Guru Sakshath Parambrahma, Tasmai Shri
Gurave Namaha.
Guru is the creator Brahma, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer Shiva. Guru is
directly the supreme spirit I offer my salutations to this Guru.
The great Indian Muslim Philosopher Muhammad Iqbal considered him to be one of the
greatest thinkers of medieval India and acknowledged influence by him.[52]
Works
For more details on this topic, see Adi Shankara bibliography.
Adi Shankara's works deal with logically establishing the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta as he
saw it in the Upanishads. He formulates the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta by validating his
arguments on the basis of quotations from the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. He gives a
high priority to svnubhava ("personal experience") of the student. His works are
largely polemical in nature. He directs his polemics mostly against
the Sankhya, Buddha, Jaina, Vaisheshika and other non-vedantic Hindu philosophies.
Traditionally, his works are classified under Bhya ("commentary"), Prakaraa
grantha ("philosophical treatise") and Stotra ("devotional hymn"). The commentaries serve to
provide a consistent interpretation of the scriptural texts from the perspective of Advaita
Vedanta. The philosophical treatises provide various methodologies to the student to
understand the doctrine. The devotional hymns are rich in poetry and piety, serving to highlight
the relationship between the devotee and the deity.
Adi Shankara wrote Bhashyas on the ten major Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and
the Bhagavad Gita. In his works, he quotes from Shveshvatara, Kaushitakai, Mahanarayana
and Jabala Upanishads, among others. Bhashyas on Kaushitaki, Nrisimhatapani and
Shveshvatara Upanishads are extant but the authenticity is doubtful.[53] Adi Shankara's is the
earliest extant commentary on the Brahma Sutras. However, he mentions older commentaries
like those of Dravida, Bhartrprapancha and others.[54]
In his Brahma Sutra Bhashya, Adi Shankara cites the examples of Dharmavyadha, Vidura and
others, who were born with the knowledge of Brahman acquired in previous births. He
mentions that the effects cannot be prevented from working on account of their present birth.
He states that the knowledge that arises out of the study of the Vedas could be had through
the Puranas and the Itihasas. In the Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya 2.2, he says:
Sarve cdhikro vidyy ca reya kevalay vidyy veti siddha It has been
established that everyone has the right to the knowledge (of Brahman) and that the supreme
goal is attained by that knowledge alone.[55]
Adi Shankara, in order to bring unity among various Hindu sects of those times, wrote five
pancharathnam stotras for each of the following prime deities. The deities
were Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesh and Surya. The idea was that if you believed in Lord
Shiva, you would chant Shiva pancharathnam stotra by placing Shiva's idol in the center other
four Hindu deities surrounding Him, two on each side. Similarly if you believed in Vishnu, you
would place Vishnu in the center. Those five stotras are Ganesha pancharathnam andLalitha
pancharathnam.
Some western academics consider only the Upadeashasr as an authentic work of Shankara
among the independent philosophical works. There is a difference of opinion among scholars
on the authorship of Viveka Chudamani,[56][57] though it is "so closely interwoven into the spiritual
heritage of Shankara that any analysis of his perspective which fails to consider [this work]
would be incomplete".[56]
Adi Shankara also wrote commentaries on other scriptural works, such as the Vishnu
sahasranma and the Snatsujtiya.[58] Like the Bhagavad Gita, both of these are contained in
the Mahabhrata.