[Advaita-l] Did Adi Shankara and his followers persecute others?

[Varun Sud]

One Gaudiya Vaishnava I am discussing an issue with
(the issue of Gaudiyas using strong words like
rascals, offenders, etc for advaitins) claims the
following:

" Sankaracharya himself used very harsh language for
opponents, and often had losers put through fire,
literally. Sankara was politically the most vigorous
of all Vedantin acharyas, and his pretty harsh
rherotic and methods of dealing with opponents are
unprecedented and well-known, documented in Advaitin
hagiographies. Have you read about the treatment of
Jainas and Buddhists during and after Sankara's
lifetime? In fact, the stuff about the burning of
Buddhists is in Advaitin hagiographies, not those
written by others. In Kanchi, they celebrate every
year an occasion of the massacre of Buddhist students
by the Advaitin establishment. And ask any Jain about
the physical persecution they faced at the hands of
Sankarites, both, during and after his lifetime. "


I wanted to ask knowledgeable advaitin members if this
is true - did Adi Shankara and his followers resort to
such tactics?


~Varun 



 
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