Customer Reviews

Self-Knowledge: Sankara's "Atmabodha".

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Don't be thrown by the fact that the introduction is longer than the text!

The 114 page introduction gives you all of the background information that you need to appreciate and comprehend the original work.

Although I would recommend reading the introduction first, it is not essential. When an item comes up in the text that may not be fully comprehensable (unless one has read the introduction) there is a clear reference to the page where the information can be found.

This book allowed me to get a handle on a lot of the Self-discoveries that I have been making by letting me know that they are, indeed, valid concepts; they have been perceived by others before me and that they have names. I have been reassured that, although I might appear to be alone on my yogic path, many have come this way before me and the path is clearly marked.

'Atmabodha' along with Vivekachudamani are the two best original works of Adi Shankara. Swami Nikhilananda has written a lengthy introduction, which is a summary of both of Veda Dharma (Hinduism) as well as Advaita Vedanta. For this reason, I would recommend anyone new to Advaita Vedanta to follow this reading sequence:
- Read the introduction in this book 'Atmabodha' first.
- Then Read Adi Shankara's 'Vivekachudamani' by Swami Prabhavananda
Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless Teachings on Nonduality - The Vivekachudamani
- Then come back and read the main text of Atmabodha.

While in Vivekachudamani, Adi Shankara deals mainly with the five koshas or sheaths that one needs to overcome for Self-realization, in 'Atmabodha', he deals substantially with the state of Self-realization itself. There are no words to describe the beauty of his description.

These two small books constitute a good summary of the well known Vedantic texts like Upanishads, Brahmasutras etc. They lay the foundation for anyone interested in the path of jnana (path of knowledge) for Self-Realization. These two books should be followed by Sri Ramana Maharishi's books to assist with practice of Self-enquiry.

Great Reading. The introduction is what I consider to be one of the best overviews on the non-dualist Vedanata traditions that is available. The translation and commentary on Shankara's Atmabodha treatise of 68 verses is as good as it gets. Sweet like honey and clear like a mountain stream; refreshing to taste and brilliant like the Sun in a cloudless sky. For a 1946 translation of an 8th Century Text it could not be better.