A Shankaracharya Identikit

In today's Indian Express, a guide to the spiritual descendents of Adi Shankaracharya, founder of advaita Hinduism. The Kanchi Shankaracharya (based in Kanchipuram, near Chennai) has been in the news a lot lately, advising politicians and giving his views. I saw him on a news program last night, 'Walk the Talk,' where an interviewer converses with someone newsworthy as they walk awkwardly across some expanse of scenery or the other. The Shankaracharya, wearing his traditional robes, looked odder than most interviewees in this context.

EVERY few months, India swings into Ayodhya season and Jayendra Saraswathi, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, swings into action, trying to find a solution. To those not quite in the loop, the multitude of Shankaracharyas — five at last count — only translates to multiple confusion....

BEGIN the shankaracharya story at, well, the very beginning, with Adi Shankaracharya, revered as the ‘Saviour of Hinduism’, tidying up the post-Buddhist morass of ginger groups and sub-sects into six broad cults under the umbrella of Advaita (‘non-quarrel’, the principle of ‘God is One’). The Kanchi Mutt dates him to 477 BC. Everyone else says he was either 8th, 9th or 10th century AD — take your pick...(more)