on zankara's date - 2

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> > Notwithstanding Hacker's conclusion about Sankara's Vaishnava
> > identity, I think from the earliest times, there was a substantial > >
>Saiva component among those who followed Sankara's teachings.
> > Perhaps this is also consistent with the fact that it was most
> > often the Vaishnavas who offered other interpretations of the
> > Vedantasutras in post-Sankaran times.
>
>Vidya,
>
>   It seems to me you're overlooking a phenomenon such
>as the Bhagavatapurana which in its philosophical
>position, is known to be closer to advaita than
>anything non-Sankaran.

Not really. I don't claim that Sankara's followers were exclusively Saivas.
I don't doubt that Vaishnava groups also got influenced by Sankaran Advaita.
All I'm saying is that there must have been a significant Saiva orientation
even among Sankara's direct disciples. My real criticism of Hacker in this
regard is that it is impossible to identify Sankara himself or his disciples
as being either Saiva or Vaishnava.

Vidyasankar
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