Even though his contribution to the cause of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) is immense, it was his concern for application of the philosophy of Advaita in practice that has ensured a vibrant, living spiritual tradition through a succession of preceptors to this day. Sankara had highlighted the importance of the Upanishads by stating that these spiritual texts were equivalent to a thousand mothers. One can thus understand the concern with which these texts teach the spiritual path, which will be beneficial to humanity.

The Self is of the nature of consciousness and man forgets his true nature due to ignorance. An individual's identity and his interactions with the world begin with this feeling of "Self". The Self is thus identified with the mind due to ignorance, which is the reason for human bondage and suffering. The Upanishads explain that the Self as that which has to be experienced by the seeker by enquiry and not as just a speculative philosophical concept. There is no discrimination as to who can pursue spiritual knowledge and it is for this reason that it is often said that immortality, which this knowledge confers, is the birthright of every individual.

According to tradition, our Bharatadesa was originally divided into 56 kingdoms. Our Acharya traversed on foot all the 56 kingdoms of Bharat and established the Advaita Tatva as the final truth of Vedanta. Prior to him, the Saankhyas propounded the theory of plurality of Atmas and denied a Paramatman. The Nyaaya logicians in their Aarambavaada say that the world and Brahman are both real but seperate. The Meemaamsakas, on the other hand, affirmed the superiority of observing Vedic rituals (vedokta karmaanushtaana) over jnana as the means to moksha. The Buddhists denied both the worlds. The Buddhas said that there was no sayyavastu and promulgated the Soonya Vaada. Even in Buddhistic days, the systems practiced prior to it did not cease to exist.

The Jains advanced the Sapta-bhangi-naya and adopted a shifting criterion of truth. Materialists hold that the world alone is real and the Brahaman does not exist. Chaarvaaka philosophy denying the Vedas and Dharma could not displace the systems of thought before its time. Thus, there were as many as 72 schools of thoughts. When the Aachaarya appeared on the scene, many of them were in conflict with one another. It is worthy of note that Buddhism, Jainism, Saankhya, and Meemaamsa systems of thought were prevalent and popular. In each case, the philosophies that were propounded prior to it were still current. But after the advent of Acharya, all the earlier systems lost their hold on the minds of the people and Advaita Vedanta, taught in the mahaavaakyaas of the Upanishads, gained universal acceptance.