Context:
All four Shankaracharyas will not attend January 22’s Ram temple inauguration.
Shankaracharyas:
- Known as – ‘Teachers of the way of Shankara’
- Who are they? – Religious teachers who belong to a line of teachers going back to Adi Shankaracharya
- Believers of – Advaita Vedanta
- What they do? – Heads the 4 cardinal mathas believed to have been built by philosopher Adi Shankara.
- 4 Mathas – Dwarka (Gujarat), Joshimath (Uttarakhand), Puri (Odisha), and Sringeri (Karnataka)
Advaita Vedanta:
- Propounded by – Adi Shankaracharya
- Belongs to – Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa school of philosophy
- Believes in – Non Dualism
- It states that both the individual self (Atman) and Brahman are the same
- Attainment of knowledge is the path to realise Brahman.
Source: The Indian Express
Previous Year Question
Which one of the following pairs does not form part of the six systems of Indian Philosophy?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2014 Prelims]
(a) Mimamsa and Vedanta
(b) Nyaya and Vaisheshika
(c) Lokayata and Kapalika
(d) Sankhya and Yoga
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Lokayata and Kapalika do not form part of the six systems of Indian Philosophy. The Kapalika tradition was a non-puranic, tantric form of Shaivism in India. The term Lokayata and Charvaka belongs to the philosophical school of Indian Materialism.
