Great Saints of India

Great Saints of India

M.Venkataraman

Year of Publication-2017

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Copyright - M. Venkataraman

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Written and Published by:

M. Venkataraman

G-10, Innovative Timberleaf,

Somasundarapalaya,

H.S.R. Layout, Sector II,

Bangalore-560102.

Mobile: 8762780047

e-mail: venkalp74@gmail.com

An audio book on this has also been published which is be available with leading audio booksellers.

Contents

1. Adi Sankaracharya

2. Ramanujacharya

3. Madhva Acharya

4. Sri Vallabacharya

5. Shirdi Sai Baba

6. Ramakrishna Parmahamsa

7. Ramana Maharishi

8. Namadeva

9. Dayanand Saraswati (Arya Samaj)

10. Sri Raghavendra Swami

11. Sri Aurobindo

12. Samarth Ramdas

13. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

14. Surdas

15. Swami Rama Tirtha

16. Sant Tukaram

17. Goswamy Tulsidas

18. Swamy Vivekananda

19. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati

1. Adi Sankaracharya

Adi Sankara is one of the greatest philosophers and savants of India. Though he lived for only thirty-two years, his achievement was unparalleled.

Adi Sankara was born in 788 AD in a small town of Kaladi, situated on the banks of River Poorna in the state of Kerala in South India. He was born to a Namboodiri brahmin couple, Sivaguru and Aryamba. The couple had remained childless for a long time. They prayed to Lord Shiva for a child.  It is said that Lord Shiva appeared to the couple in a dream and promised them a choice of either one son who would be short-lived but the most brilliant philosopher, or many sons who would at best be mediocre. The couple opted for a brilliant, but short-lived son. The child so born was thus named Sankara by his parents.

Sivaguru died when Sankara was seven years old. Sankara had none to look after his education. His mother performed his upanayana ceremonies with the help of her relatives. Upanayana is the ceremonial rite in which the young brahmin boy is invested with the sacred thread and becomes eligible to study the Vedas. 

In Hinduism, particularly among the Brahmin community, human life is believed to comprise four stages. These are called ashramas and every man should ideally go through each of these stages: The First Ashrama is- Brahmacharya or the Student Stage. The Second Ashrama is - Grihastha or the Householder Stage. The Third Ashrama is - Vanaprastha or the Hermit Stage. And the Fourth Ashrama is - Sannyasa or the Wandering Ascetic Stage.

Sankara exhibited extraordinary intelligence in his boyhood. He excelled in all branches of traditional vedic learning. When he was only sixteen, he became a master of all the philosophies and theologies. He began to write commentaries on the Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras when he was only sixteen years old.

Even as a child, Sankara created a few miracles. Being a brahmachari, he went about collecting alms from families in the village as per the normal practice. One day he went and asked for alms in a house. The lady of the house being extremely poor did not have anything to offer to the brahmachari boy. She was sad but did not want to send away the boy empty-handed. She found the last piece of a gooseberry fruit she had at home. She offered that fruit to the boy. Sankara, sensing the abject poverty of the lady, composed a hymn called Kanakadhara Stavam to Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, right at her doorstep. Miraculously, there was a shower of golden gooseberries into the house of that poor lady.

When he reached the age of sixteen, Sankara's mother wanted to get him married. But Sankara was filled with the spirit of renunciation. Getting married and settling to the life of a householder was never part of his goal in life. So Sankara decided to renounce the world and become a Sanyasi. Sankara's mother was very much unhappy that there would be no one to perform her funeral rites after her death because a Sanyasi was not supposed to do these rites. Sankara gave full assurance to his mother that he would always be ready to serve her at the death-bed and perform the usual funeral rites. Even then his mother was not satisfied.

One day, Sankara and his mother went to take bath in the river. When he was swimming in the river, a crocodile caught hold of his leg. Sankara sensed that he was destined to die at that moment, and decided to directly enter the fourth ashrama of sanyasa right then. This kind of renunciation is called Apath Sanyasa. He shouted out to his mother at the top of his voice and said that a crocodile was dragging him down and that taking Apath Sanyasa could save his life. Eager to see that he lived, his mother immediately allowed him to take Sanyasa. Sankara took Apath Sanyasa at once. Immediately, the crocodile also let him go unharmed. Sankara came out of the water as a Sanyasi. He again repeated his promise to his mother that he would perform the usual funeral rites for her in spite of becoming a Sanyasi. He left her under the care of his relatives and gave away his little property to them.

Sankara then travelled far and wide in search of a worthy guru who would initiate him and regularize his vow of Sanyasa. He came to the banks of the River Narmada in central India. The Ashrama of Govinda-bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada was there. Govindapada accepted Sankara as his disciple. Sankara learnt all the philosophical tenets from Govindapada. There were different schools of philosophy like Purva Mimasa which were flourshing at that time. Seeing the intellectual acumen of Sankara, Govindapada commanded him to expound the philosophy of Vedanta through commentaries on the principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavat Gita.

After taking leave of his guru, Sankara travelled to various holy places in India, also composing his commentaries in the meantime. In this period, Sankara wrote commentaries on Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, the various Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. These commentaries are called Bhashyas. These Bhashyas are hailed as famous Indian philosophical writings. They have triggered a long tradition of sub-commentaries and spiritual literature. In addition to these, Sankara also wrote independent treatises called Prakarana Granthas, including the Upadesha Sahasri, Atma-bodha, etc.

Sankara spread the tenets of Advaita Vedanta, the supreme philosophy of monism. In addition to writing his own commentaries, Sankara sought out leaders of other schools of philosophy, in order to engage them in debate. According to the accepted philosophical tradition in India, such debates helped to establish a new philosopher, and also to win disciples and converts from other schools. It was also traditional for the loser in the debate to become a disciple of the winner. Sankara debated with Buddhist philosophers, with followers of Sankya philosophy and with the followers of Purva Mimamsa. He defeated all his opponents in debate. Sankara then sought out Kumarila Bhatta, the foremost proponent of the Purva Mimamsa which glorified Vedic Ritualism. But Kumarila Bhatta was on his deathbed and directed Sankara to meet Mandana Misra, another great proponent of Purva