modern scientist they remain undemonstrated to the outside world. It is
of course impossible for him to develop in a considerable number of
human beings such faculties as would enable them to perceive their
truth; and it is not always practicable to establish them by the
ordinary scientific method unless all the facts and laws on which his
demonstration is to be based have already been ascertained by modern
science. No Adept can be expected to anticipate the discoveries of the
next four or five centuries, and prove some grand scientific truth to
the entire satisfaction of the educated public after having discovered
every fact and law of Nature required for the said purpose by such
process of reasoning as would be accepted by them. They have to
encounter similar difficulties in giving any information regarding the
events of the ancient history of India.
However, before giving the exact date assigned to Sankaracharya by the
Indian and Tibetan initiates, we shall indicate a few circumstances by
which his date may be approximately determined. It is our humble opinion
that the Sankara Vijayams hitherto published can be relied upon as far
as they are consistent with each other regarding the general outlines of
Sankara's life. We cannot, however, place any reliance whatever upon
Anandagiri's Sankara Vijaya published at Calcutta. The Calcutta edition
not only differs in some very material points from the manuscript copies
of the same work found in Southern India, but is opposed to every other
Sankara Vijayam hitherto examined. It is quite clear from its style and
some of the statements contained therein, that it was not the production
of Anandagiri, one of the four chief disciples of Sankara and the
commentator on his Upanishad Bhashyam. For instance, it represents
Sankara as the author of a certain verse which is to be found in
Vidyaranya's Adhikaranaratnamala, written in the fourteenth century. It
represents Sankara as giving orders to two of his disciples to preach
the Visishtadwaitee and the Dwaitee doctrines, which are directly
opposed to his own doctrine. The book under consideration says that
Sankara went to conquer Mandanamisra in debate, followed by
Sureswaracharya, though Mandanamisra assumed the latter name at the time
of initiation. It is unnecessary for us here to point out all the
blunders and absurdities of this book. It will be sufficient to say
that in our opinion it was not written by Anandagiri, and that it was
the introduction of an unknown author who does not appear to have been
even tolerably well acquainted with the history of the Adwaitee
doctrine. Vidyaranya's (otherwise Sayanachary, the great commentator of
the Vedas) Sankara Vijaya is decidedly the most reliable source of
information as regards the main features of Sankara's biography. Its
authorship has been universally accepted, and the information contained
therein was derived by its author, as may be seen from his own
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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