Shankara

shankara (sankara) is probably the best known and influential philosopher of India. More than 300 written pieces of works are attributed to him. His commentary on the Brahma-sutra is celebrated as his masterpiece and is now school text as an introduction to Vedanta.

Shankara became an ascetic very early in life. He was influenced by Gaudapada who wrote a major piece on Vedanta. Shankara, in accordance with the philosophy of Vedanta, teaches that there is only one Reality, one God (Brahman). Everything else is subjected to change and no more than an expression of Reality. When seen as Reality, the world is an illusion (this notion is now becoming popular with quantum physicists). The philosophy of non-dualism is called Advaita and Shankara's philosophy is sometimes called Atmadvaita. Since common folks prefer a simple belief system, he taught his philosophy mainly to Brahmins and intellectuals, who had no problems understanding Brahman as the omnipresent, eternal, Consciousness. They understood this Awareness as the essential Self within and everything else as a phenomenona mere appearance. His reasoning was resting on logic, the interpretation of the scriptures, but also on direct knowledge.

To read one of Shankara's short compositions, see: Self-Knowledge: Shankara's Treatise

Vedanta is the philosophy that developed out of Vedic oral traditions and scriptures. It is translated as the "conclusion" of the Vedas, which includes texts like the Upanishads, the Brahma-sutras, and the Bhagavad-Gita.
According to Vedanta philosophy, the human soul is part of All-awareness (Brahman). The human soul got involved with mental activity and is reborn until this circle is broken through remembrance of clear Awareness or Consciousness. It compares with a dream: We are reborn into the dream-state again and again unless we would find a way to stay awake. As all scripture and sage teaches, waking up from our mortal dream is indeed possible.

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