Vivekachudamani of Sri Sankaracarya

This is the best of Sankara's original works. Sankara wrote commentaries on all three canons of Vedanta (i.e., Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita). However, to summarize the teachings for the layman, he wrote a few original books and the most important of these are: 1. Vivekachudamani 2. Atma Bodha (Self-Knowledge) 3. Drg-Drisya-Viveka Vivekachudamani is in the form of a conversation between a Guru and his disciple. First, Shankara lays down the four qualifications for attainment of Self-Knowledge. Then he discusses 'the five sheaths' that one needs to overcome to attain Self-Knowledge. This is a methodical and logical discussion, yet very simple and easy to grasp. Swami Prabhavananda, who was a dedicated monk, has captured the spirit of Shankara's sanskrit work. Christopher Isherwood seems to have polished the English. The end result is an excellent product. P.S.: I recommend the hardcover edition of this book as most people will store this book for their life. This book is to be followed up by: - Self-Knowledge: Sankara's "Atmabodha". - Drg-Drsya-Viveka: An Inquiry Into the Nature of the Seer and the Seen

Adi Shankaracharya was born about 2500 years ago. He propagated the ancient Vedic Dharma in the form of Advaita or the philosophy of non-duality. He lived only for 32 years but he gave so much more than anyone could in a hundred lives. The Sanskrit verses within this book do make a difficult read but the essence remains the same. Shankara's use of logic is inexorable, and in depth. For instance, suppose that a man thinks that there is a snake in the wood, but in fact it is simply a rope. In this case, as far as he continues to superimpose the false image of a snake on the rope, he will never be able to know that it is a rope. But as soon as he drops the false knowledge, he can experience the reality as it is. Similarly, because of the false knowledge about our real identity, we misunderstand that there is a phenomenal world "out there", which is different from us. It is those who can get rid of this false "superimposition", who will know instantaneously that we are one with the whole world, and that we are "enlightened" already here, at this very moment. If you understand what does and doesn't matter, you can devote your energies to the former and shield yourself from concern for the latter. Discriminating between the Real and the Unreal is the key to understanding our True Self.

This book is very rough going for the modern Western reader. The teachings are timeless, but the writing style and context are extremely dated (it was written at least 1300 years ago). I would not recommend this to anyone who is not already very advanced in knowledge of Hinduism and Advaita Vedanta, unless you're simply looking for an unusual reading experience. There are many books just as 'enlightening' (see "I Am That" by Nisargadatta Maharaj), and written in a modern context that makes far more sense to the reader of today.