The Life of Adi Shankaracharya
Bhagavan Adi Shankaracharya is considered to be the ideal Sannyasi. It is commonly accepted that he lived about one thousand two hundred years ago though there are historical sources which indicate that he lived in a earlier period. He was born in Kalady, Kerala and in his short life span of 32 years, his accomplishments seem a marvel even today, with our modern conveyances and other facilities. At the tender age of eight, burning with the desire for Liberation, he left home in search of his Guru. From the southern state of Kerala, the young Shankara walked about 2000 kilometers— to the banks of the river Narmada, in the central plains of India, to his Guru— Govindapada. He stayed there serving his Guru for four years. Under his teacher’s compassionate guidance, the young Shankaracharya mastered all the Vedic scriptures. At the age of twelve, his Guru deemed that Shankara was ready to write commentaries on major scriptural texts. At his Guru’s command Shankara wrote commentaries elucidating the subtle meanings hidden in the teachings of the scriptures. At the age of sixteen, he dropped his pen having completed writing all the major treatises. During his travels across the length and breadth of India, he established four maths (ashrams) to unify the scattered and diverse groups of Sannyasis. Four maths were established, about 700 AD, in four different corners of India. He selected four of his senior most disciples to head each of these maths. Each of these maths was assigned the task of maintaining and preserving for posterity, one of the four Vedas (the main scriptures of Hinduism) and a Maha Vakya. Shankaracharya reorganised all the Sannyasis in India into ten main groups (the Dasanami Sannyasa Tradition) allocated to different maths. Historical and literary evidences also exist which prove that the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt at Kanceepuram, in Tamil Nadu, was also founded by Shankaracharya. Chatur Dhams DIRECTION South India West India North India East India PLACE Sringeri Dwaraka Badrinath Puri MATH NAME Sringeri Math Sarada Math Jyotir Math Govardhan Math ACHARYA Sureswara Hastamalaka Trotaka Padmapada VEDA Yagur Sama Atharva Rik MANTRA Aham brahm?smi Tattvamasi Ayam?tm? brahma Prajñ?nam brahma SANYASA ORDER Saraswati, Bharati, Puri Tirtha, Ashrama Giri, Parvata, Sagara Vanam, Aranyam
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Mason Gray
Many communities in the disease zones have inadequate sanitation that allow frequent trash piles and open sewers to serve as mosquito breeding and feeding grounds, according to the final outcome statement from the Aedes aegypti summit last month.
Johny Elite
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Rog Kelly
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James Warson
Many communities in the disease zones have inadequate sanitation that allow frequent trash piles and open sewers to serve as mosquito breeding and feeding grounds.