Philosopher

Śaṅkara

fl. 700–800 CE

Also known as Shankara, Śaṅkarācārya, Adi Shankara

The pre-eminent teacher of Advaita Vedānta, who taught that the self (ātman) is identical with brahman, the one reality, and that plurality is not ultimately real.

Colourful painting of a saffron-robed teacher seated beneath a tree, with four disciples — Raja Ravi Varma, Adi Shankara with his disciples, about 1904, an imagined scene.Raja Ravi Varma · Public domain · See the original

It is a matter not requiring any proof that the object and the subject … which are opposed to each other as much as darkness and light are, cannot be identified.

Commentary on the Brahmasūtra, introduction, translated by George Thibaut

Śaṅkara is the most important early exponent of Advaita Vedānta, the school of “non-dualism” grounded in the Upaniṣads. Scholars date him variously, from the late seventh century to the early ninth; he is usually said to have flourished in the eighth century CE.

Advaita holds that there is a single reality, brahman, and that the essential core of each person’s self (ātman) is identical with it. The plurality of individuals and objects we experience is not ultimately real, and our sense of being separate selves is a form of ignorance. Liberation comes through knowledge that removes this ignorance, which Śaṅkara taught in commentaries on the Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad Gītā and the Brahmasūtra, and in independent works such as A Thousand Teachings.

Key ideas

The self is brahman: The core of one’s self (ātman) is pure consciousness, “one without a second”, and numerically identical with brahman, the nondual reality of all things that the Upaniṣads reveal.
Two levels of reality: The everyday world is real at the conventional level, but only nondual brahman is ultimately real. From one standpoint a pot depends on its clay; from the ultimate standpoint there is only clay.
Superimposition: We mistake the mind and body for the self and the self for the mind and body, as one might mistake a rope for a snake. This ignorance (avidyā) is the root of all existential suffering.
Liberation through knowledge: Understanding the Upaniṣads’ teaching brings the knowledge “I am brahman”. This removes the root ignorance, so suffering, karma and rebirth have nothing left to cling to.

Tradition: Indian
Region: India
Themes: What is ultimately real; The self; Faith and reason

Influences

Influenced by

Śaṅkarafl. 700–800 CE

Influenced

Influenced by

Śaṅkarafl. 700–800 CE

Influenced

Key works

Commentary on the Brahmasūtra (Brahmasūtrabhāṣya)
- Read free at Project Gutenberg (translated by George Thibaut, part 1 of 2)
A Thousand Teachings (Upadeśasāhasrī)

Sources

Neil Dalal, Śaṅkara, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy