Jagad Guru Sri Adi Sankaracharya
The greatest teacher of the Vedanta philosophy was Jagad Guru Adi Sankaracharya (AD788-820). By solid reasoning he extracted from the Vedas the truths of Vedanta, and on them built up the wonderful system of knowledge & wisdom that is taught in his commentaries.
He unified all the conflicting descriptions of Brahman and showed that there is only one infinite Reality. He showed that as man can only travel slowly on the upward road, all the varied presentations are needed to suit his varying capacity.
Adi Shankaracharya taught that Three things were the great gifts of God :
[1] Human body.
[2] Thirst after God
[3] A Teacher(Master/Guru) who can show up the light. When these three great gifts are ours, we may know that our redemption is at hand. Only knowledge can free and save us but with knowledge must grow virtue.
Books cannot teach God, but they can destroy ignorance; their action is negative. To hold to the books and at the same time open the way to freedom is Adi Shankara’s great achievement.
…His whole life’s work is nothing but that, the throbbing of the beauty of the Vedas and the Upanishads- All in a matter of just within 32 years & was undoubtedly an incarnation of Supreme.
Yours in Divine Friendship.
J.K
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