Customer Reviews

The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara and Padmapada

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I had been aware of the existence of this book for a number of years but had postponed reading it because I was under the impression that it was of only academic interest, comparing the finer details of various schools or teachers. In fact, although there is a little of this (e.g. in comparing Gaudapada's teaching to aspects of Buddhism), its strength for me is in its detailed examination of some particular aspects of traditional advaita. Topics specifically addressed are Ishvara, jIva, upAdhi, nAma rUpa, avidyA, adhyAsa, lakShaNa, immediate versus mediate knowledge and experience, jIvanmukti, saMnyAsa, anvaya vyatireka - and their treatment is extremely clear and informative.

The chapters on Sureshvara and PadmapAda were also very enlightening for me personally, since I had not previously investigated them. In the case of the former, he provides an analysis of the naiShkarmya siddhi which is so interesting that I was prompted to order the translation by A. J. Alston (`Realization of the Absolute') immediately. In the case of the PadmapAda, he presents a valuable analysis of his commentary on Shankara's adhyAsa bhAShya.

All in all, this is an excellent book, which is highly recommended for anyone who, though already familiar with the topics in a general way, wants to understand them in greater depth. It does seem that, as soon as you look in greater detail into something that you thought you understood, you discover that there is much more to it than you had thought and perhaps you didn't understand it properly after all. Michael Comans' book takes you deep into the undergrowth but guides you carefully out the other side.
Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

The author shows that he grasps the subtleties and nuances of not only Advaita Vedanta and it's commentaries, but also of Madhyamaka and Yogacara buddhism. He unpacks the meanings of these profound teachings in a precise, coherent and unpretensious manner without losing or overplaying his obvious scholarly expertise. Highly recomended for those intersted in understanding the knowledge revealed by Advaita Vedanta of the "first waters," as opposed to the subjecive experiential prattlings of neo-advaita in the current satsang culture.