Shankara

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Shankara with disciples (painting by Raja Ravi Varma , 1904)

Adi Shankara ( Sanskrit , शंकर, śankara, adi = "beginning, origin") called Shankaracharya ( acharya = "master") (* around 788 in Kalady in Kerala ; † around 820; this information is controversial) was a religious teacher and philosopher of Hinduism . He systematized the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta . According to a legend that emerged later, he or his students founded four monasteries in India. He was the son of a Nambudiri - Brahmins and wandered all over India. Much of what has been written about his life ( Shankara Vijayams ) is more of a hagiographic nature, but contains a historical core. Shankara had many arguments with the Buddhists and wrote his main work Brahma Sutra Bhasya (Commentary on the Brahma Sutra ) in Benares .

Teaching

One of his most important works is called Viveka Chudamani ("jewel of distinction"). By distinction, Shankara means the distinction between reality and non-reality: " Correct distinction allows us to recognize the true nature of a rope and dispels the agonizing fear that our mistaken assumption that it is a snake evokes ". By surrendering to right discernment, man will attain the highest level of union with Brahman . "In this way he may save his own soul, which is sunk in the floods of life and death ( samsara ) ".

Shankara evaluates the outer world with its appearances as an illusion: " Only those who have discernment and turn their thoughts away from all earthly joys, who have equanimity and the related virtues, who furthermore demand liberation ( mukti ), are able to seek Brahman ". According to Shankara, the first requirement is the distinction between the eternal and the non-eternal. Brahman is real, the universe is unreal. One way to knowledge is to withdraw consciousness from all objects; H. to detach the sensory organs of perception and activity from the objects and to withdraw them into their center.

On the way to salvation Shankara gives the highest priority to spiritual knowledge: “ One may recite the holy scriptures and make sacrifices to the holy spirits, one may perform the rites and worship deities, but as long as man does not recognize his identity with the atman awakened, he can never find liberation - even after hundreds of ages ”.

Shankara emphasizes human responsibility and the ability to redeem: " The chains that bind us through our ignorance, through lustful desires and the fruits of our karma , cannot be broken by anyone except ourselves ." He also points out that intellectual pursuit is insufficient without a spiritual dimension: " The study of the scriptures is fruitless unless Brahman is experienced ".

Again and again Shankara points out the importance of overcoming the senses: " Whoever has killed the shark of lust with the sword of true desirelessness, crosses the sea of ​​this world without hindrance ". He regards the attachment to bodies, objects or people as fatal for those who strive for liberation.

The subtle body is seen as the seat of human desires. Human ignorance covers this subtle body through the Atman. The Atman remains hidden under the five covers that his own Maya weaves, " like the water in a pond that is densely overgrown with algae ". When all five envelopes are removed, according to Shankara, the “ pure atman that dwells within, as never-ending, unmixed bliss ( ananda ), as the highest, self-illuminating being ( sat ) ”.

To simplify matters, it can be said that Shankara summarized the narrative of the Vedas and Upanishads in three sentences:

meaning

Shankara was the most important Indian philosopher who succeeded in renewing Hinduism on the basis of the Upanishad philosophy. According to Sivananda, his success was based on his clear, pictorial language, with which he succeeded in making complex issues accessible not only to intellectuals but also to laypeople.

Although Shankara did not agree with the dualistic Samkhya philosophy, he adapted various suggestions, such as the anthropological understanding or the teaching of the Gunas . In general, he knew the philosophical currents of his time down to the last detail, which is reflected in his works.

The Shankaracharya orders that exist up to the present day go back to Shankara's four most important disciples. Their leaders bear the title Shankaracharya and enjoy great respect in India.

expenditure

  • Shankara: The jewel of distinction . Otto Wilhelm Barth Verlag, Munich 1957; exp. New edition 1981, ISBN 3-502-65561-8 .
  • Emanuel Meyer, Christoph Rentsch: Shankaracharya. Crown jewel of distinction . Heinrich Schwab Verlag, Argenbühl-Eglofstal 2002, ISBN 978-3-7964-0172-5 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Adi Shankara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The attempts to date Shankara's life range from the sixth century BC to the ninth century of our time. Kuno Lorenz presents some alternatives and, following Hajime Nakamura, considers the life dates 700–750 to be probable; see. Kuno Lorenz: Indian thinkers . C. H. Beck, 1998, pp. 169-164 .
  2. ^ Monastic Institutions (Mathas) established by Sri Sankaracharya
  3. ^ History of Sringeri
personal data
SURNAME Shankara
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shankaracharya; Adi Shankara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian philosopher of Hinduism
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: around 788
PLACE OF BIRTH Kalady, Kerala
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: around 820