Shankaracharya birth anniversary: This is how Kerala saint influenced unity in thinking

Bengaluru: May 9 marks the Jayanti or birth anniversary of Sri Shankaracharya, the proponent of the Advaita philosophy. The philosophy deals with the oneness of the world, which effectively means that no two objects are different. Shankaracharya took sanyasa or embraced monkhood at a very young age of nine years and after having finished his earthly mission of promulgating spirituality of the divinity of the soul, passed away at the young age of 32.

Shankaracharya has written commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagawad Gita and the Brahmasutras. However, he is most famously known for the hymn ‘Bhaja Govindam’ which, in essence, talks about the privations and ephemerality of the world, and therefore, prods everyone to move towards God or immortality.