SHORT WORKS IBD

Sinopsis

ÅÜaá¹àkara is one of those great souls who - like Parmenides, Plato, Plotinus and others - appear on this planet from time to time, to propound Principles of a universal order and to act as precise and steadfast reference points. ÅÜaá¹àkara dedicated his short but intense life (788-820) to the noble aim of revivifying the Vedic tradition in a time of confusion and crisis, and he achieved the greatest synthesis and harmonisation of the whole of Indian philosophical thought.áInápresentingáthisábook,áShortáWorks,áthatááincludeáásomeáofátheáámanyáprakaraá¹ças (Treatises) and stotras (Hymns) composed by ÅÜaá¹àkara or attributed to him, our decision was to let the verses speak for themselves.áHowever, we have left those commentaries which present aspects of the Teaching that might be unknown to the readers who meet ÅÜaá¹àkara for the first time.áThe Treatises explain, from a philosophical and metaphysical perspective, some of the expressions found in the Upaniá¹úads. A good example is the Äütmabodha, a significant text which comprises the fundamental principles of Advaita (Non-duality) and constitutes an introduction for all who wish to comprehend this Teaching. In this work ÅÜaá¹àkara shows how knowledge/vidyÄü of a metaphysical order is the means par excellence for freeing us from the ignorance/avidyÄü concerning the nature of Being.Noteworthy is the âÇÖIntroductionâÇÖ to VÄükyavá¹ótti, in which are expounded, with a terminology appropriate to Western Philosophy, the principles of traditional Metaphysics, so as to provide a âÇÖreading keyâÇÖ for understanding the essential teaching of Non-duality, the foundation of all ÅÜaá¹àkara work.The best-known Hymns in the collection include ÅÜivoâÇÖham, in which ÅÜaá¹àkara, following the manner of the Sages of the Upaniá¹úads in using the form of negation (neti neti), points to oneâÇÖs identity with ÅÜiva, Daká¹úiá¹çÄümÅ«rti, in which ÅÜiva, wearing the garments of a meditating young ascetic, transmits the teaching in silence, and Bhaja Govindam, which is one of the most celebrated lyric poems dedicated to Ká¹óá¹úá¹ça. But all the Works presented here are - in their philosophical content - beautiful and incisive.