Adi Shankara – Adi believed whole-heartedly in the Vedas simultaneously disputed the need for over-exaggerated associated rituals and religious practices.
Bodhidharma – Thus Bodhidharma became the first Buddhist patriarch in China, as well as master of the Shaolin monks (he supposedly instituted the physical regime that led to their form of Kung Fu).
Confucius – Since the ‘Records of the Historian’ (written some four centuries later) is more myth than fact, virtually nothing is known of Confucius’ early life.
Francis of Assisi – Inspired by a sermon concerning Matthew 10:9, in 1209 he and his followers made a pilgrimage to Rome to seek consent to form a new religious order.
Haji Huud – For 36 years Haji went on the Hajj annually, effectively living in Mecca; he also spent considerable time in Medina (another holy city).
Irenaeus – Irenaeus argued that the only “safe” guide to interpretation of the holy writings came from the bishops, who traced their lineage direct to the first apostles.
John the Baptist – Zachariah, unsure and fearful of the situation before him, was rendered temporarily mute as punishment. Thus the child was born and named John in fulfillment of “God’s will.”
Laozi – Thus began Taoism With that, Laozi departed… and “nobody knows what became of him.” There are stories of him wandering about the state of Qin, writing and teaching about the Tao.
Madhva Acharya – Educated by his father, the boy at the tender age of 11 felt an “inner urge he could not resist” to take holy orders and lead the life of an ascetic.
Martin Luther – Born in Saxony in November 1483, Martin’s parents hoped to educate him for a career as a lawyer.
O no Yasumaro – In the process, it lays out the precepts for the “correctness” of the social hierarchy and the “importance” of orderly living… thus, the political and social agenda of Nippon.
Siddhartha Gautama – He sat under a pipal tree (the now revered Bohdi Tree located at the Mahabodhi Temple), vowing not to rise until the “truth” came to him.
Simon Peter – Nothing is known of his life before he met Jesus, but he and his brother Andrew left everything (including their families) when Jesus pronounced “follow me.”
Songtsan Gampo – Most “great” prophets tend to be more concerned with the spiritual than the practical. Not so Songtsen Gampo – a warrior-king who is credited with bringing Buddhism to Tibet.
Thomas Aquinas – Mostly, he wrote… prolifically, penning some 60 known works spanning a wide range of subjects, from commentaries on the Bible to discussions of Aristotle’s natural philosophy.
Zoroaster – And composed the Gathas, 17 hymns that expounding the divine essences. All this around 600 BC, according to writers such as Plutarch and Diogenes.
