Great Teachers of Vedanta

Add as a preferred source on Google

We often hear people saying, "the message is important, not the messenger." That may be true of impersonal or material sciences like chemistry or engineering where the life of the teacher has no direct link to what is taught. However, in the field of humanities and particularly in spirituality, the message is conveyed effectively only through the life of a teacher who lives what he teaches. Therefore, even though the Vedas are considered apaurusheya (impersonal), the Vedic tradition lays great emphasis on the role of the Guru in spiritual life.

So, when we set out to learn Vedanta, it is important for us to know the life of some great masters who shaped the Vedantic teaching tradition over several millennia. The lives of great Rishis like Uddalaka, Shevtaketu, Yajnavalkya etc., who form the central characters of the Upanishads, are shrouded in the mists of the past and nothing much is known about them except for the few significant incidents from their lives which become the central themes of some of the Upanishads.

However, there were three great teachers who appeared in historical times who put the Vedantic teaching tradition on a strong footing. Their lives have been well recorded by their followers and provide a good insight into how the three main schools of Vedanta developed - Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita and Advaita.

Chronologically, Adi Sankara of Kalady came first and left behind a dazzling trail, which continues to shine even today. His irrefutable logic has withstood the test of time and His sharp intellect is appreciated even today by academicians, scholars and spiritual seekers all over the world. Then came Sri Ramanujacharya who with his large heart touched the masses and 'democratised' the knowledge of Vedanta by giving discourses in Tamil. And finally, Sri Madhvacharya of Udipi captured the spirit of both the teachers who came before him with his vast erudition and sweet devotion to Krishna .

There are incidents of superhuman power and strength recorded in their lives that fill us with awe and admiration for their physical strength, intellectual prowess and spiritual power. The teachings of Vedanta come alive through the lives of these great masters. Reading their lives is a meditation on Vedantic thought.

This is not to exclude other great personalities like Vallabhacharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or more recent teachers like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Maharshi and also Swami Ranganathananda Swami Dayananda of our times. But an exhaustive coverage of all these teachers will be beyond the scope of this column and some of them are already well known to the public.

We will make a small beginning by gaining a glimpse into the lives of the Trinity. The next three articles will be focussed on their life and message.