Abstract

The nature of faith in the Sankaran Advaita Vedanta tradition of Srngeri is explored through a study of various smarta expressions of faith. This religious tradition is conceived as comprehensive of the doctrinal and practical aspects of the faith both of lay smarta house-holders and of ascetics . The main source for this study is a legendary Sanskrit biography of Sankara, Madhava's Sankaradigvijaya, probably compiled in the eighteenth century C.E. ;Faith expresses itself in lay smartas' karman and bhakti Sri Sarada) and in samnyasins' nididhyasana , gurubhakti , and yoga practices.)Sraddha underlies and supports the faith of both lay people and ascetics. The smarta tradition of Srngeri teaches that the ultimate human goal is the attainment of emancipation . Sankara's philosophical works deal mainly with the emancipation of samnyasins, while the devotional hymns traditionally ascribed to Sankara are concerned with the salvation of devotees.)Sankara's philosophy asserts that moksa is unattainable through karman, which should thus be abandoned. Emancipation through jnana is the religious ideal for samnyasins. Having renounced worldly affairs, they accept a life of self-restraint in order to realize brahman. They take Sankara and the jagadgurus as their models in the path to emancipation. By contrast, according to the smarta teachings, the jagadguru, an incarnation of Sankara, and the all-transcendent Mother Goddess, Sri Sarada, could bring the bhaktas to brahma-vidya . Through their faith, however, most of lay people expect alleviation of all forms of distress. ;Whereas samnyasins are typically free to concentrate on the attempt to attain emancipation, lay people cannot exclusively pursue their religious commitments. Lay smartas follow smarta teachings sometimes because they promise the beneficent blessings from the jagadguru or a deity and sometimes because they seem to prescribe the only proper way of life as taught by scripture and the jagadguru