Shankaracharya (title)
Shankaracharya denotes a title and the associated office of spiritual leaders and abbots in India .
Shankaracharyas are heads of one of the four great Shankaracharya orders, whose tradition goes back to Adi Shankara (around 788-820), the great innovator of the Vedic tradition of Sanatana Dharma .
Adi Shankara, also called Shankaracharya ("Master Shankara"), had four important disciples, Padma-Pada, Hasta-Malaka, Vartika-Kara and Trotaka, each of whom had a monastery ( Matha ) in the north ( Jyotir Math ), east ( Puri ), South ( Sringeri ) and west ( Dwaraka ) of India. Their successors in office, who bear the title Shankaracharya, preserve the tradition and knowledge of Shankara to this day.
Well-known spiritual masters of modern times also come from the traditions of the Shankaracharya-Mathas, such as Ramakrishna (Puri Math) or Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Jyotir Math).
See also
- Meaning of the Veda
- Hindu order
- Brahmananda Saraswati (former Shankaracharya)