Aparoksanubhuti belongs to the "specific treatises" by Sankara concerning basic points of Vedanta teaching. Aparoksanubhuti means "direct perception or knowledge of the Self" and by extension the action or practice actualized to realize oneself as atman-Self, and therefore "Self-realization."

Sankaracharya of the 8th century A.D is considered the greatest philosopher of India up to this day. His teaching of the one and only self has become the most prestigeous expression of the Hindu spirit. Sankara is the author of the Brahmasutrabhasya, the most important text of the school known as Advaita-Vedanta. Sankara teaches of the self by dialogues between a winning exponent and a losing opponent. Up to this day, Sankara's teaching has been invariably identified with the exponent's doctrines. In this book a distinction between the invisible authon and his alleged exponent is offered. Sankara the author is a new intellectual hero different from his exponent. Thus, due to the aforementioned distinction, a new philosophy and theory of freedom emerges, the teaching of Sankara, the author distinguished from his apparent exponent.

This is volume two of the six-volume Shankara Source Book, which contains writings by Shri Shankara, arranged systematically by subject. Shri Shankara was a great philosopher-sage who expressed the non-dual teachings in such a complete and satisfactory way that his formulation has been followed by authentic teachers of the non-dual tradition ever since. Most of his writings are in the form of commentaries on revealed texts such as the principle Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras, so what he said was placed around those texts, which are far from systematic. His aim was to demonstrate that underlying the apparent contradictions and differences on the surface, all the great revealed scriptures in fact point ultimately to one Supreme Truth. He wished to do this in order to overcome the confusion that was causing hardship to the people at large, and creating difficulties for dedicated seekers. Shankara probably lived in the 8th century, and died in his early 30s.Shankara considered other views in great detail, sometimes provisionally accepting elements of their arguments, and then pointing out where those views lead to difficulties. One of the great qualities of the non-dual teachings as formulated by Shankara is that they are able to recognise and incorporate what is valid and useful in other views. All this can make it difficult to find what Shankara said on particular subjects. To meet this difficulty, in the Source Book, the writings have been freshly translated, and brought together under subject headings. These in turn have been arranged in six volumes each covering one broad topic. These are: Volume 1 Shankara on the Absolute, Volume 2 Shankara on the Creation, Volume 3 Shankara on the Soul, Volume 4 Shankara on Rival Views, Volume 5 Shankara on Discipleship, Volume 6 Shankara on Enlightenment.

In the context of the writings of Śaṅkarācārya.

ABOUT THE BOOK:The present work is based on a critical study of all the available sources in the original and attempts a historical reconstruction of Sankara`s life and work.The ideas of Sankara have been generally interpreted in the light of later

This is the best introduction to Vedanta and to Śaṅkara's philosophy. The Upadeśasāhasrī, or A Thousand Teachings consists of a metrical part and a prose part. In the metrical part, Sankara discusses the basic philosophical problems of non-dualism, at the same time refuting the teachings of other philosophical schools. In the prose part, he explains how to teach the way to self realization--to enlightenment. Śaṅkara and the great Abhinavagupta are generally regarded as the two greatest thinkers in the long history of Indian philosophy. Sankara represented Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic view of ultimate reality. Most of his works are commentaries on classics of Indian thought. A Thousand Teachings is the only non-commentarial work that can be attributed to him; the other independent writings ascribed to him are probably spurious.

The best introduction to Vedanta and to Sankara's philosophy. This edition, translated and edited by Sengaku Mayeda, was originally published by the U. of Tokyo Press in 1979, and is here reprinted with a new foreword by John M. Koller. Paper edition (unseen), $12.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR