Prakarana Granthas of Adi Sankara

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Fri, 22 Mar 2002, Srikrishna Ghadiyaram wrote:

> For an Advaitic seeker Sri Sankara is the source to
> refer to. If in due course of time others have
> incorported their thoughts into his writings knowingly
> and unknowlingly, the present day seeker is at a great
> disadvantage.
>

The problem is how do you define "authentic"?  Shankaracharya himself
claims no innovation in what he wrote.  He considers himself to be merely
the latest in an ancient parampara.  I think it is significant that our
sampradaya is called smarta -- followers of tradition as a whole rather
than named after any one God or Guru.  And tradition is like a stream that
doesn't flow in a straight line but meanders along the way, sometimes
forking and sometimes enriched by tributaries.

There can be doubts about certain minor aspects of Shankaracharyas'
thoughts but in the main it is quite clear what he thought about moksha,
vairagya, karma and many other ideas of practical relevance to the
sadhaka.  I think bad translations are the cause of most of the confusion.

> At this point of time as I decide to study Sankara's presentation of
> Advaita, I should be clear of what he really said. My personal
> experience comes later.
>

I encourage you to sit down and learn to read the texts in their Sanskrit
originals then.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/