There are many questions behind the life of the Great Shankaracharya. He was and is said to have been a great Avatar. An avatar is a descent, a down-coming (from the verb tri, to cross over, attain, save, with the prefix ava, down; and so ava-tri descend into, appear, become incarnate). Can humans prove his existence as a divine incarnation, and if so how does it change human existence? It has been said that Sankara …showed first 75 words of 2627 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2627 total…belief. However they have spoken much more often and spontaneously of the divine manifestation in visible form to men. Ultimately when it comes down to it, belief in Avatars is a question of faith. Not every one of the twelve characteristics of Avatars fit with Sankara's life, but humans are not qualified to make a distinction between men and Gods. For the scriptures say that the wisdom of God is unsearchable and past finding out.