The Image of Shankara in Bhaktivedanta’s Purports

The article deals with the hermeneutic setting of the famous Vaishnava thinker A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, which was called ambivalent. In accordance with it, the majority of both Vaishnava and non-Vaishnava Indian philosophers are accepted in two ways. On the one hand, Prabhupada obviously uses their intellectual know-how, on the other hand, critically examines their heritage. As a characteristic example in this article, an analysis of the ambivalent attitude of Prabhupada to the personality and teachings of the great thinker of the early Indian Middle Ages – Shankara. The conclusions are confirmed by Prabhupada's rootedness in his own religious and philosophical tradition and his connection with such Vaishnava thinkers as Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Madhva.