Life and Thought of Sankaracharya

by Govind Chandra Pande

This book seeks to understand the ideas and achievements of Sankara in the context of his life and times as also in the context of perennial spiritual seeking and philosophical enquiry. It seeks to bring out the role of Sankara in the evolution of Indian culture and philosophy and to highlight the logical and spiritual, traditional and original components of his philosophical, religious and social ideas.

It is based on a critical study of all the available sources in the original and attempts a historical reconstruction of Sankara's life and work. The ideas of Sankara have been generally interpreted in the light of later Advaitic and monastic tradition. The present work, following the lead of recent critical scholarship, seeks to discover the original ideas of Sankara on the basis of his genuine works and discusses them in the light of his relationship to his predecessors, the social and cultural ethos of his times and his own mission, presuppositions and methodology.

The present work, thus, seeks to understand the ideas and achievements of Sankara in the context of perennial spiritual seeking and philosophical enquiry. It seeks to bring out the role of Sankara in the evolution of Indian culture and philosophy and to highlight the logical and spiritual, traditional and original components of his philosophical, religious and social ideas.

About the Author:

Govind Chandra Pande is a historian by profession but a philosopher, poet and linguist by inclination. He has authored many books on Indian History and Culture, Buddhism, and the philosophy of Values and Culture. He has also published three volumes of poems, travelled widely the world over, and has been the member of numerous national bodies and committees. He is currently engaged in the ICPR Project of the History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture.

Review:

"Pande's work is an exception to this approach and is a refreshing attempt to situate Sankara in history. This study is quite broad in scope. The author uses his skills of historical criticism to evaluate many of the popular legends of Sankara's biography, but combines this with lucid and insightful discussion of Sankara's metaphysics and his debates with leading orthodox and heterodox schools...His balanced approach and his attentiveness to history make this work an excellent reference for the life and thought of Sankara." - Anantanand Rambachan