Adi Shankaracharya was a complete incarnation and thus knowledgeable. After his initiation, he realized that he had to undertake the work of spreading religion and protecting the Vedas. He understood the necessity of taking sannyasa (renunciation). Shankaracharya made Govindacharya his guru, who gave him sannyasa initiation and accepted him as a disciple. The original guru of this tradition is Lord Shiva, and Srimad Adi Shankaracharya belongs to the same tradition. He was born to protect the Vedas. His power was immense, and his competence and intelligence were great. At that time, he discussed with many scholars how the Vedas are supreme and how studying the Vedas leads to spiritual attainment and the creation of science. He convinced people that intelligent individuals would be born, and India's condition would become excellent. This thought could only belong to God Himself. Shankaracharya deeply explained that religion is superior to materialism. Adi Shankaracharya was not just a supreme soul but is still considered the supreme soul today. It is believed that every acharya seated on the acharya throne is a part of Lord Shiva, and devotees still experience this today.

Shankaracharya was also devout. Initially, he followed the path of devotion. Considering his life, when his father asked him to worship Jagadamba, he did so with heartfelt devotion. After worshipping Jagadamba, he cried out for Jagadamba to drink the milk. Jagadamba drank all the milk. This was not Shankaracharya's obstinacy but a pinnacle of devotion. Moreover, he lay down and cried out for the prasadam of the milk that was drunk, which was also a manifestation of devotion. Even at a young age, devotion done with faith is accepted by God. Without following the path of devotion, philosophy cannot be explained or understood.

Shankaracharya worshipped the Shiva Lingam. In reality, he was an incarnation of Shiva, worshipping himself. This worship was in the form of Sadashiva worshipping Shiva. Shankaracharya was a devotee of the guru, so this worship was not dualistic but non-dualistic. Later, non-dualistic worship was included in the Lingam and presented to people in the form of devotion.

Sadashiva samarambham Shankaracharya madhyamam | 

Asmadacharya paryantam vande guruparamparam ||

|| shree gurudev datta ||