Why is it in the News?

Recently, the four Shankaracharyas have said they will not attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Who are the Shankaracharyas?

• The Shankaracharyas are the "supreme authority" in Hinduism and for interpreting Hindu scriptures.
• The shankaracharyas head the four principal monasteries or mutts that were established by the eighth-century Hindu saint Adi Shankara.
  • They are based in Uttarakhand, Odisha, Karnataka and Gujarat.
• Each mutt, called peetha or pitha in Sanskrit, was tasked to serve as the custodian of one Veda each and keep alive Vedic literature.
  • Govardhan Math in Puri is the custodian of the Rig Veda.
  • Dwarka Sharada Peetham in Gujarat is responsible for the Sam Veda.
  • The Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka is responsible for the Yajur Veda and
  • Jyotir Math in Uttarakhand's Joshimath for the Atharva Veda.
• All the peethas are situated in the four cardinal directions and are amongst the most-revered pilgrimages in India.

Who was Adi Shankara?

• The title "Shankaracharya", in fact, is derived from Adi Shankara, a Vedic scholar credited with reforming and reviving Hinduism during a time when Buddhists and Jains wielded influence.
• Adi Shankara was born in Kalady village on the bank of the River Periyar in today Kerala’s Ernakulam district in the month of Vaishakha in 788 CE.
• Also known as Jagadguru, Shankara had a short life (it is believed he died when he was just 32) but he had a big impact on Hindu religion.
• Revered as an avatar of Lord Shiva, it is believed that he mastered the Vedas when he was just 16.
• At a very young age, Shankara started criss-crossing the length and breadth of India to spread his commentaries on Brahama Sutras, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita amid a rise in Jainism and Buddhism.

What is the legacy of Shankara?

• Shankara’s legacy today transcends his contributions to metaphysics and theology.
• His travels across the subcontinent have often been interpreted as a near-nationalistic project where faith, philosophy and geography are yoked together to imagine a Hindu India which transcended the political boundaries of his time.
• And his four mathas, located in the North and South, East and West of India, are seen as the ultimate examples of this project.
  • His mathas are thus also seen as keepers of Hindu faith and traditions.

What is Advaita Vedanta?

• Shankara is most associated with Advaita Vedanta, a school of Hindu philosophy and spiritual discipline.
• Advaita Vedanta articulates an ontological position of radical nondualism — it posits that all that we perceive is ultimately illusory (maya) and that the principle of Brahman (not the caste Brahmin) is the only true reality of all things, transcending empirical plurality.
  • The fundamental thrust of Advaita Vedanta lies in the unity of atman or individual consciousness, and brahman or the ultimate reality.

Four Peethas aren't the four Dhams

• The four peethas established by Adi Shankara should not be confused with the four dhams.
• The four dhams, known as Char Dham, were also established by Adi Shankara.
• The four dhams are at;
  • Badrinath
  • Dwarka
  • Puri and
  • Rameswaram.
• The peethas are basically associated with the preservation and propagation of Hindu philosophy.