Adi shankaracharya birthday

SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR BIRTHDAY: Spiritual leader and Padma Vibhushan recipient Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a Yoga Guru and the founder of the Art of Living Foundation. He was born on May 13, 1956, in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu in a Brahmin family. He has emerged as a popular Yoga guru and spiritual leader with a following across the world in the last four decades. Ravi Shankar uses meditation to nurture compassion and bring peace in the world. On the occasion of his 67 birthday, we look at some interesting facts about his life and share some of his enlightening quotes. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Quotes • “Love is not an emotion. It is your very existence.” • “Faith is realising that you always get what you need.” • “Today is a gift from God - that is why it is called the present.” • “Life is a ball we should play with it !” • “Don’t Fall in love, Rise in Love!” • “But joy is never tomorrow; it is always now.” • “Infinity means it is permeating all the finite things.” • “Your desire for pleasure or happiness makes you unhappy.” • “Rejection itself means the finite.” • “Love is not an emotion, It is your very existence.” Interesting Facts • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s name is inspired by the 8th century Hindu spiritual guru, Adi Shankaracharya. The second half of his name “Shankar” honours the saint. • Ravi Shankar recited Bhagavad Gita when he was merely 4 years old. • Vedic scholar Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi was his first teacher. He is said to have inculcated in Ravi Shankar the ideals of the...

There is little agreement on the birth year and details of shri Adishankaracharya. I have undertaken 2 research efforts on this query. You can find them below - With some research, you will easily discover that it is a very difficult task to arrive at the exact date and time of birth of Shri Adishankaracharya owing to limited and contradictory nature of information provided by various sources (the above link). In fact, it is only after several years of his departure that his birth place discovered to be Kalady. It will be fair to assume that no one can be reasonably certain about Acharya’s birth time unless they have concrete evidence or credible sources to rely on. This research aims to create an understanding of his horoscope from pieces of information available today, spread across various sources. A primitive study of his horoscope will help find newer perspectives to understand his greatness. Several Shankara Vijayams provide details about planetary positions at his time of birth (luckily, the authors do not significantly contradict each other at any point). The authors of these sources are reputed and honorable individuals of great character, apart from being scholars themselves. Lets look at them here: • Madhaviya Sankara Vijayam, Translated by Swami Tapasyananda लग्ने शुभे शुभयुते सुषुवे कुमारं श्रीपार्वतीव सुखिनी शुभवीक्षिते च । जाया सती शिवगुरोर्निजतुङगसंस्थे सूर्ये कुजे रविसुते च गुरौ च केन्द्रे ॥ (२.७२) “The lagna being placed in a Shubha rasi, in conjunction w...

Lord Shiva melted in their devotion and appeared in their dreams and told them “I am extremely happy with your devotion and you will get what you want. But tell me whether you want a number of dull children or a son who is extremely intelligent, who will live for a short period only.” The couple replied the decision could not be theirs as the Lord knows what is good for them. Lord Dakshinamurthy, pleased with the reply, was born to Aryambal in the Vasanta Ritu or the spring season at noon under the star “Thiruvathirai” (Arudhra). As the Lord had already promised that he will be born to do well to this world, the child was named Sankara. All the visitors stood in awe at the divinity of the child and said “This is not an ordinary child”. Sankara was an infant prodigy. The superior genius and the extraordinary intelligence were clearly sprouting in him even when he was a child. This wonder of a child had even by his third year finished reading many books, and by only listening to the readings and chanting of the Vedas, the Vedanta, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas learnt them by heart. The most surprising thing about the boy was that he was a Sruthidhara (a person who can repeat in full, all that he hears just once). Whatever he read or heard got indelibly impressed in his memory. After the bereavement in the family, Aryamba moved to her father’s house for some days. But she did not forget the last wish of her departed husband. As soon as Sankara reached his fift...

“ The mark of a truly civilized man is confidence in the strength and security derived from the inquiring mind,” said Felix Frankfurter , the jurist-philosopher. This belief and dictum has been a cardinal guide in my own personal little quest towards ‘self-evolution’. It has raised many a curious and inquisitive questions, since my young days, that I have asked to myself and am still to reach finality in their answers. The quest continues: “Who am I, where am I going, what is life and its meaning, where did we come from, is there life after death, and is there an explanation to all the woes and troubles?” Later in life, as I flew daily over the mountains of the Western Ghats in the discharge of my duties, looking down upon the verdant Nature in its full bloom (I remember remarking to my co-flyer with me, “The ethereal mountains look like fingers pointing to the heavenly skies…,” until I was woken up from my distractive sojourn to return to the present, by my condescending co-flyer); I was confronted with a duty of another kind: A quest to inquire into all that we call ‘philosophical longings’, in order to imbibe the finality of one’s existence: “What is Brahman? What is its relationship to Atman? What is the path to attain Moksha?” Thus was laid the trajectory for me to understand the Metaphysical World, bringing me closer to the idea of Advaita (non-duality) and its leading proponent, Adi Shankaracharya. To roll back the occurrences of history: in the year 788 CE, a boy w...

Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti: The 1233rd birth anniversary of Adi Shankaracharya is being celebrated today. Adi Shankara, also known as Jagatguru Shankaracharya, was an iconic religious leaderand philosopher. Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti is celebrated every year by his devotees during the Shukla Paksha Panchami Tithi of Vaishakha or the fifth day of the Full Moon lunar fortnight. According to scriptures, Adi Shankaracharya was born at Kalady in Kerala in 788 C.E. Adi Shankaracharya was best known for his the doctrine of Advaita Vedanata. He is believed to have revived Hinduism along with other great religious figures like Madhava and Ramanuja. Since a young age, Adi Shankaracharya travelled across the country spreading the message of the Vedas. Though he died young, his teachings continue to inspire people across generations. Several ministers and others have been posting messages on Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti. Here's a look at a few of them: अद्वैत वेदांत के प्रणेता एवं सनातन संस्कृति के संरक्षक आदि गुरु शंकराचार्य की जयंती पर उन्हें कोटि-कोटि प्रणाम! वे भारतीय ज्ञान परम्परा एवं चिंतन धारा के शिखर पुरुष हैं। उन्होंने जीवात्मा और ब्रह्म के तादात्म्य को "अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि" के सूत्र में व्यक्त किया। अद्वैत वेदांत के प्रणेता, महान आध्यात्मिक गुरु, चार मठों की स्थापना कर सनातन संस्कृति को सूत्रबद्ध तथा शास्त्र मंथन के अमृत से वैदिक चेतना को जागृत करने वाले आदि गुरु शंकराचार्य जी को उनकी पावन जयंती पर कोटि-कोटि नमन।— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath)