The Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyava (meaning, "The great elder") was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Mahaperiyava dedicated his life to the deity Kamakshi in the premises where he was the spiritual head, Kamakshi Amman temple.
Throughout his life, Mahaperiyava practiced the Advaita philosophy of his guru, Adi Shankaracharya, the great Hindu philosopher and reformist. Mahaperiyava renovated multiple temples across India and increased the recitals of sacred texts like the Vishnu Sahasranāma (which was not allowed by women at the time).
Mahaperiyava helped Vedic priests on their pronunciation of the holy Sanskrit texts and implemented rigorous Agama Sastra teachings describing cosmology, epistemology, philosophical doctrines, precepts on meditation and other topics. He made radical social changes by allowing devotees inside the temple premises. The day India became independent, he gave a speech on the significance of the flag and the Dharma chakra in it.
Through out his lifetime a numbers of miracles have been associated with Mahaperiyava, whom many of his devotees described as a living God.
