Advaita Acharya
Advaita Acharya (IAST: Advaita Ācārya; 1434–1559) (born Kamalaksha Mishra; কমলাক্ষ মিশ্র) was a companion of the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and guru of Haridasa Thakur. He was born in the village of Nabagram in Laud (in present-day Sunamganj District, Bangladesh), in 1434, some fifty years before Chaitanya, and spent most of his adult life in the town of Shantipur in Nadia with his wife and family. Advaita Acharya had six sons, Acyutananda Das (who also became a disciple of Chaitanya), Krisna Mishra, Gopala Das, Balarama Das Mishra (whose lineage became the zamindar of Krishna Chandra), Swarupa Das and Jagadisa Mishra.
Śrī Advaita Acharya | |
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Wooden deities of Advaita Acharya and his wife Sita Devi, Sitanath Advaita Mandir, Nabadwip | |
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| Born | Kamalaksha Mishra c. 1434 Nabagram, Laur Kingdom (present-day Badaghat, Tahirpur, Sunamganj District, Bangladesh) |
| Religion | Hinduism Gaudiya Vaisnavism |
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| Known for | Expounded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhakti yoga along with Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Śrī Nityānānda Prabhu |
| Philosophy | Bhakti yoga, Achintya Bheda Abheda |
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| Guru | Madhavendra Puri |
| Associates | Śrī Nityānānda Prabhu, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Śrī Gadadhāra Pandita, Śrīvāsa Thakura, Haridasa Thakur and others |
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Advaita Acharya contributed in two Sanskrit literature, named Yogabashishta-Bhaishta and Geeta Bhaishya. The ancestry and life of Advaita Acharya are narrated in a number of hagiographical works, which include the Balyalila-Sutra (1487?) of Krishnadasa in Sanskrit and the Advaitasutrakadacha of Krishnadasa, the Advaitamangala of Haricharanadasa, the Advaitaprakasha of Ishana Nagara and the Advaitavilasa of Naraharidasa in Bengali. Many of his activities are described in the Chaitanya Charitamrta, the Chaitanya Mangala and the Chaitanya Bhagavata.