Adi Shankaracharya was born in the 8th century AD, in
Kaladi,
Kerala. He is considered to be one of India's greatest Hindu saints and a world teacher. Adi Shankaracharya was the founder of Advaita Vedanta (non-dual
Vedanta-a major spiritual tradition).
At the age of eight, Adi Shankaracharya had mastered all four Vedas and six Shastras. He realised that Monism /Advaita was the essence of all knowledge. He took his mother's permission to renounce worldly life so that he could teach his ideas to the world. He was the founder of the Dasnami Sanyasa Tradition (a tradition of ascetics).
Shankaracharya consolidated the various schools of worship and brought them under the Advaita Philosophy principle. The different Shankaracharya Mutts and traditions in India were established by Adi Shankaracharya.
Shankaracharya has written around 50 texts, most of them being hymns, and commentaries on spiritual texts like the Vedas and Upanishads. Some of them are 'Saundarya Lahari', 'Shivananda Lahari', and the famous 'Bhaja Govindam' that extols devotion.
Adi Shankaracharya lived for just 32 years, but could create an unparalleled legacy.
