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Upadesa Sahasri: A Thousand Teachings

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I can't believe this book is out of print, to be perfectly honest. This is Shankaracharya's most readable work, and I would call it a must-read for anyone remotely interested in Advaita Vedanta or, indeed, in Hindu philosophy in general.

The Upadesha Sahasri (or this edition of it, at any rate) is divided into two parts: prose (78 pages, three chapters, consisting of sometimes-lengthy dialogues) and verse (231 pages, 19 chapters, consisting of of shorter, compact teachings). The fact that I have a short attention span means that part two is more dog-eared than part one, and I think most readers will find themselves in a similar condition -- and that's all right, because this book reads very much like an anthology. It doesn't necessarily progress in a linear manner, from postulate one to postulate two to postulate three and so on; it more closely resembles a series of verbal teachings collected over a long period of time.

The English translation remains true to the Sanskrit to the point where it is sometimes very hard to follow (sample passage: "People do not receive Self-knowledge on account of the fear that their duties (according to their castes and orders of life) would be destroyed like Udanka who did not accept genuine nectar which, he thought, was urine."); a shrewd writer really should come along and provide a popular translation or paraphrase of this very important work. Until one does, Swami Jagadananda's rendering is certainly very clear and should meet the needs of most serious readers.