Shankara's Mission: An Historical Perspective part1
Sat, 07/19/2008 - 19:42 — admin
Now, in the Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Shiva is described as the best amongst the Vaishnavas,6 so you may wonder why he preached impersonalism rather than devotional service. The answer is that Shankaracharya’s mission was similar to Lord Buddha’s. In order to assist the people of that day and age he had to delude them. They were steeped in Buddhism, and thus were not prepared to accept the direct meaning of the Vedic scriptures. Therefore, Shankaracharya interpreted the Vedic scriptures in such a manner that the message appeared very similar to Buddhism. Shankara’s position, however, is that he revived widespread study of the Vedic scriptures, even though he preached an indirect rather than a direct interpretation of them. Therefore, since Shankaracharya was acting on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya says he is not to be blamed.7
The chief historical proponent of such “I am God”ism philosophy was Sripad Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya lived and preached throughout India in the eighth century. The preaching of Shankaracharya and his followers was so strong that, practically speaking, it drove Buddhism out of India. Today, throughout India and the world, Shankaracharya’s teachings (or slight variations of them) are still having a tremendous influence on people.Lord Shiva informed the goddess Durga, the superintendent of the material world, “In the age of Kali, I take the form of a brahmin and explain the Vedas through false scriptures in an atheistic way, similar to Buddhist philosophy. “In order to cheat the atheists, I describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be without form and without qualities. Similarly, in explaining Vedanta describe the same Mayavada philosophy in order to mislead the entire population toward atheism by denying the personal form of the Lord. “My dear wife, hear my explanations of how I have spread ignorance through Mayavada philosophy. Simply by hearing it, even an advanced scholar will fall down. In this philosophy, which is certainly very inauspicious for people in general, I have misrepresented the real meaning of the Vedas and recommended that one give up all activities in order to achieve freedom from karma. In this Mayavada philosophy I have described the jivatma and the Paramatma to be one and the same.”4 Similarly, in the Shiva Purana,5 the Personality of Godhead instructs Lord Shiva: In Kaliyuga mislead the people in general by proponding imaginary meanings for the Vedas to bewilder them.
In Calcutta, India, for example, we can see the ridiculous sight of a starving, sore-infested man meditating on the side of the road: “I am God. I am God.” In America and Europe, you’ll find many so-called yogis and gurus who are directly or indirectly in Shankaracharya’s line of “I am God” ism teachers.
~Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
(c) 2007 Science of Identity Foundation
Now, in the Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Shiva is described as the best amongst the Vaishnavas,6 so you may wonder why he preached impersonalism rather than devotional service. The answer is that Shankaracharya’s mission was similar to Lord Buddha’s. In order to assist the people of that day and age he had to delude them. They were steeped in Buddhism, and thus were not prepared to accept the direct meaning of the Vedic scriptures. Therefore, Shankaracharya interpreted the Vedic scriptures in such a manner that the message appeared very similar to Buddhism. Shankara’s position, however, is that he revived widespread study of the Vedic scriptures, even though he preached an indirect rather than a direct interpretation of them. Therefore, since Shankaracharya was acting on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya says he is not to be blamed.7