Sri.Adi Shankaracharya’s jayanti is celebrated on 23rd of April.One of the greatest philosophers and savants of Bharat. Though he lived for only thirty-two years, his achievement was unparalleled. He propounded the vedantic tenet that Brahman the Supreme and man are of one essence and that all people should strive to cultivate this vision of oneness. He established four spiritual centres in the four corners of the country, thus upholding the underlying unity of the holy land of Bharat.
Shankara was born in a Brahmin family circa 788 AD in a village named Kaladi on the banks of the river Purna (now Periyar) in the Southern Indian coastal state Kerala. His parents, Sivaguru and Aryamba, had been childless for a long time and the birth of Shankara was a joyous and blessed occasion for the couple. Legend has it that Aryamba had a vision of Lord Shiva and promised her that he would incarnate in the form of her first-born child. Shankara was a prodigious child and was hailed as ‘Eka-Sruti-Dara’, one who can retain anything that has been read just once.Shankara mastered all the Vedas and the six Vedangas from the local gurukul and recited extensively from the epics and Puranas. One fine day on the banks of River Narmada he met a man named Govinda Bhagavatpada. Since Shankaracharya was much learned about the Vedas and the Puranas, Govinda Bhagavatpada agreed to be his Guru for attaining spiritual knowledge. Under his guidance, Shankaracharya gained expertise in different forms of Yoga that included Hatha, Raja and Jnana yoga. He then received the knowledge of Brahma. Thereafter he was known as Adi Shankaracharya whose sole purpose of life was to spread the teachings of Brahma Sutras all over the world. Shankara also studied the philosophies of diverse sects and was a storehouse of philosophical knowledge. Sri.Adi Shankaracharya, was not only a great thinker and the noblest of Advaitic philosophers but he was essentially an inspired champion of Hinduism and one of the most rigorous missionary leaders in our country.