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TheAdvaita Guru-Paramparā ("Lineage of Gurus in Non-dualism") is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine,Vedic and historical teachers ofAdvaita Vedanta. It begins with theDaiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by theṚṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then theMānava-paramparā, with the historical teachersGaudapada andAdi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils.[1] Of the five contemporaryacharyas, the heads of the five Advaitamathas, fouracharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one toAdi Shankara himself.
From mediaeval times,Advaita Vedanta influenced other Indian religions as well, and since the 19th century it came to be regarded as the centralphilosophy of Indian religion. SeveralNeo-Vedanta movements and teachers, most notably theRamakrishna Order, trace their roots to Advaita Vedanta, while theInchegeri Sampradaya (Nisargadatta Maharaj) andRamana Maharshi are popularly considered as Advaita Vedanta, though rooted in respectively theNath and Tamil folk Saivite religion.
Advaita Vedanta is an Indian religious tradition of textual exegesis and yogic praxis, which states that the knowledge of the unity ofAtman andBrahman is liberating. It is based on the textual exegesis of theUpanishads, theBrahma Sutras, and theBhagavad Gita. It traces its roots back to Vedic times, as described in theAdvaita Guru Paramparā, the Advaita version of theGuru–shishya tradition. Historically,Adi Shankara is regarded as its most influential teacher. This influence goes back to medieval times, when Advaita Vedanta came to be regarded as the central philosophy of the post-Vedic religions, and its philosophy influenced several Indian religious traditions.
In several Indian religious and philosophical traditions, all knowledge is traced back to the Gods and to theRishis who saw theVedas. The successiverishis and teachers of various Indian traditions are honoured inGuru-paramparās, lists of teachers in theGuru–shishya traditions.
The current Acharyas, the heads of the four maṭhas set up by Adi Shankara, trace their authority back to the four main disciples of Shankara.[2] Each of the heads of these four maṭhas takes the title ofShankaracharya ("the learned Shankara") after Adi Shankara.[3] The Advaita guru-paramparā (Lineage of Gurus in Non-dualism) begins with the mythological time of the Daiva-paramparā, followed by the vedic seers of the Ṛṣi-paramparā, and the Mānava-paramparā of historical times and personalities:[2][4][5][note 1]
Traditional sloka lists the essentialAdvaita Guru parampara as follows:[citation needed]
Which translates as :
EachYuga has its own gurus or Acharyas:[6]
According to tradition, Sankara organised a section of theĒkadaṇḍisannyāsins into theVedic dashanami order, establishing four mathas in north, west, east, and south India, to facilitate the teaching of Advaita Vedanta, and maintain the dharma. He entrusted his four disciples to each of these four mathas. Some of the famous and current Mathadhipatis titled 'Sankaracharyas' are listed below:
Works of these Advaita Acharyas are not available now, but were quoted inBrahma Sutras:
Works of the following Acharyas are available and are still being taught and studied:
While strictly speaking only members of theDashanami Sampradaya belong to the Advaita Guru Paramparā, Advaita Vedanta has attracted popular recognition since the 19th century, andNeo-Vedanta movements have developed with roots in, of similarities with, the Advaita tradition.
Mata Amritanandamayi Math, founded bySri Mata Amritanandamayi devi follows Advaita philosophy and traditions. The sanyasis are initiated in the Puri order ofDashanami Sampradaya. According to the tradition set forth by Adi Shankaracharya, the Puri Sannyasa tradition is characterised by the following – formal allegiance to the Shringeri Math
Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri was the first to be initiated as Sanyasin bySri Mata Amritanandamayi devi in this order.[13] Swami Amritatmananda Puri, Swami Ramakrishnananda Puri, Swami Pranavamritananda Puri, Swamini Krishnamrita Prana and Swami Poornamritananda Puri are other few notable sanyasis initiated in this order.
The Inchegeri Sampradaya is rooted in theNath-tradition, but is popularly regarded as Advaita Vedanta.
Ramana Maharshi underwent a profoundreligious experience when he was 16, whereafter he left home to become a sanyassin. While his own (spare) writings reveal his Tamil Saivite background, devotees with a Brahmon and/or Neo-Vedanta background have interpreted him in an Advaita Vedanta framework. His popularisation in the west was initially aided by a Theosophical framework, while his devotee Poonja spawned theNeo-Advaita movement, which was also influenced byBhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
