Jagadguru adi shankaracharya biography of michael

Religious title in the Advaita tradition

This article is about a title used in the Advaita traditions.

Jagadguru adi shankaracharya biography of michael

For the philosopher, see Adi Shankara.

Shankaracharya (Sanskrit: शङ्कराचार्य, IAST: Śaṅkarācārya, "Shankara-acharya") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism.

The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of teachers retrospectively dated back to him are known as Shankaracharyas.

Etymology

The word Shankaracharya is composed of two parts, Shankara and Acharya.

Acharya is a Sanskrit word meaning "teacher", so Shankaracharya means "teacher of the way of Shankara".^[1]

Establishment of the tradition

According to a tradition developed in the 16th century, Adi Shankara set up four monasteries known as Mathas or Peethams, in the North, South, East and West of India, to be held by realised men who would be known as Shankaracharyas.

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