AWAKENINGS

Shankara was born of poor but pious Nambudiri Brahmin couple in the Kaladi village of the Kerala kingdom. He lost his father early. He was the couple’s only child and the mother resisted her son becoming a monk giving up all worldly life. It took great persuasion on Shankara’s part to win her over. He promised attending on her final hour. He went in search of a  guru  for further spiritual guidance and studied under Govinda Bhagavatpada , who was a famous disciple of  the great saint Gowdapadacharya . Gowdapadacharya advocated monism or advaita . All the learning Shankara mastered was put to use through his brilliant eloquence. Dialetics , logic and semantics were the primary areas of scholar hood in those days, and the only means to achieve supremacy was to argue and win debates in august assemblies of scholars.  Shankara argued and won over many great scholars of his time belonging to different faiths. He established that the original teac...