ition
of the Vedanta, of which I treat elsewhere. He based his arguments
unreservedly on the Vedic texts and aimed at being merely
conservative, but those texts and even the ancient commentaries are
obscure and inconsistent, and it was reserved for his genius to
produce from them a system which in consistency, thoroughness and
profundity holds the first place in Indian philosophy. His work did
not consist, as he himself supposed, in harmonizing the Upanishads. In
this department of interpretation he is as uncritical as other
orthodox commentators, but he took the most profound thoughts of the
old literature and boldly constructed with them a great edifice of
speculation. Since his time the Vedanta has been regarded as the
principal philosophy of India--a position which it does not seem to
have held before--and his interpretation of it, though often contested
and not suited to popular religion, still commands the respect and to
some extent the adherence of most educated Hindus.

In practical religion he clearly felt, as every Indian reformer still
must feel, the want of discipline and a common standard, Though the
Buddhism of his day had ceased to satisfy the needs of India, he saw
that its strength lay in its morality, its relative freedom from
superstition and its ecclesiastical organization. Accordingly he
denounced extravagant sects[515] and forbade such practices as
branding. He also instituted an order of ascetics.[516] In doing this
he was not only trying to obtain for Hinduism the disciplinary
advantages of the Buddhist church but also to break through the rule
prescribing that a Brahman must first be a householder and only late
in life devote himself entirely to religion. This rule did the
Brahmans good service in insuring the continuity and respectability of
their class but it tended to drive enthusiasts to other creeds.

It does not seem that any sect can plausibly claim Sankara as founder
or adherent. His real religion was Vedantism and this, though not
incompatible with sectarian worship, is predisposed to be impartial.
The legend says that when summoned to his mother's deathbed, he spoke
to her first of the Vedanta philosophy. But she bade him give her some
consolation which she could understand. So he recited a hymn to Siva,
but when the attendants of that god appeared she was frightened.
Sankara then recited a hymn to Vishnu and when his gentler
messengers came to her bedside, she gave her son her bless