Vāchaspati Misra
Indian Hindu philosopher
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Biography
Vāchaspati Misra was born into a Maithil Brahmin family in Andhra Tharhi, Madhubani, Bihar. Little is known about Vāchaspati Miśra's life, and the earliest text that has been dated with certainty is from 840 CE, and he was at least one generation younger than Adi Śaṅkara. However, an alternate date for the same text may be 976 CE, according to some scholars; a confusion that is based on whether Hindu Śaka or Vikrama era calendar is used for dating purposes.
He was a student of Maṇḍana Miśra, who was his main inspirator. He harmonised Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra. According to Advaita tradition, Shankara reincarnated as Vachaspati Miśra "to popularise the Advaita System through his Bhamati."
He wrote so broadly on various branches of Indian philosophy that later Indian scholars called him the "one for whom all systems are his own", or in Sanskrit, a sarva-tantra-sva-tantra.
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Bhamati school
The Bhamati school, or Bhāmatī-Prasthāna, is named after Vāchaspati Miśra's commentary on Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya, but several distinctive can be traced back to Maṇḍana Miśra's Brahmasiddhi. It sees the Jiva as the source or locus of avidya. According to the Bhamati School, while "Brahman is the object of Avidya." In the beginning of the Bhamati Tika, Vachaspati Mishra refers two kinds of Avidya. There are as many ignorances (Avidya ) as living beings. This school accepts Avchedavada (Excluding Distinction) regarding the nature of soul and God. Vachaspati Mishra considered that the Brahman bound by Maya (illusion) or Avidya is the living being, while the Brahman beyond Maya is God.
It sees meditation as the main factor in the acquirement of liberation, while the study of the Vedas and reflection are additional factors. Vachaspati Mishra belonged to a tradition of Advaita Vedanta known as Prasankhyanavada which believed in the "Dhyana Theory". It is the theory of continuous meditation. According to this theory, unlike the theory propounded by the Samuccayavādins, the performance of Karmas does not contribute to the attainment of "Brahman-Knowledge". According to this theory one should renounce performances of all the Karmas before going to start the practice of meditation. The practice of meditation is on the meaning of the mahavakya(great sentence) "Tat Tvam Asi" of Upanishad text. Vachaspati Mishra similar to Mandan Mishra believed that there should be no injunction during the practice of meditation because right knowledge of Vedantic teaching may be sublated by incorrect knowledge during the ordinary life.
Commemoration
His birthplace has been designated as a historical place known as Vachaspati Mishra Dih, where his statue was installed, and later a library was built in 2012. Vachaspati Sangrahālaya, a museum of antiquities, was established in Andhra Tharhi and was named after him.
In 2019, the Department of Arts, Culture and Youth of Bihar Government had announced to celebrate two-day State Vachaspati Smriti Parva. The Brahmins of the village have a tradition of starting their children's letters with the soil of the ground at the Dih.