[Advaita-l] Tattvabodha of Adi Sankaracharya - 1

[S Jayanarayanan]

https://svbf.org/tattvabodha
 
http://svbf.org/wp-content/uploads/tattvabodha/1_Tattvabodha_Intro.pdf
 
Tattvabodha of Adi Sankaracharya - A Vedantic Primer : Part I
 
(Lecture Notes compiled by Venkat Ganesan from the series of
SVBF Lectures given by Dr. S. YEGNASUBRAMANIAN)
 
General Introduction
 
Adi Sankara's works can be broadly
classified into three categories: 1) Bhashya
granthas (commentaries); 2) Prakarana granthas
(dealing with fundamental aspects of Vedanta)
and 3) stotra granthas (hymns or meditation
verses).
 
Bhashya Granthas
 
The language of the Upanishads is
"mystic" in style and as such cannot be
understood by a mere translation of the verses
or using a dictionary! For example, a literal
translation of the following mantra:
 
 poorNamada: poorNamidam
 poorNaat poorNamudacyate |
 poorNasya poorNamaadaaya
 poorNameva avaSishyate ||
 
is, "That is whole; this is whole; from the whole
the whole becomes manifest; from the whole
when the whole is taken out what remains is
the whole". This literal translation alone will
not make any sense to the common student
and thus it becomes evident why a great deal
of explanation and commentaries are required
for a proper understanding of the Vedic
scriptures!
 
Sri Sankara wrote commentaries on the
three cannonical works known as prasthana-trayee,
that form the basis of the entire vaidika (sanatana)
dharma. These three are the Upanishads, Brahma
Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Sri Sankara wrote
commentaries on 12 major upanishads the Gita
and Brahma Sutras in addition to a few other
commentaries on sanat sujateeyam, vishnu
sahasranamam etc. (a list of Sankara's works are
provided at the end of this article).
 
Prakarana (or prakriya) Granthas
 
These are works which enable the
student with the fundamental concepts and
definitions of vedantic terms. A proper study of
the scriptures like the Upanishads, the Gita, the
Brahma Sutras etc. which deal with the study
of the Self require a thorough understanding of
the fundamental elements of Vedanta. Tattva
bodha, atma bodha, viveka choodamani etc. are
some of the prakarana granthas of Sri Sankara.
(A list of such works are given at the end of this
article.)
 
Stotra Granthas
 
The greatest appeal to the people at large
are through stotras. Sri Sankara in His infinite
compassion could appreciate the difficulty of
the common people in comprehending the
complex philosophical doctrines of advaita and
thus paved the way to reach the ultimate goal
through bhakti. He composed several lucid
devotional stotras on almost all deities such as
soundarya lahari, kanakadhara stotram etc.
 
In additional to several devotional
hymns, Sri Sankara composed several meditation
verses (Vedanta stotras) for regular recitation
reflection and meditation such as nirvana
shatkam, sadhana pancakam etc. (A list of all
stotras attributed to Sri Sankara are inlcuded at
the end of this article.)
 
The present series of articles will focus
on prakarana granthas especially tattva bodha
which is considered as a primer for any student
desirous of pursuing vedantic studies. Unlike
viveka choodamani - one of Sankara's greatest
works in this subject- tattva bodha is brief and
concise and so is particularly suited for an initial
study.
 
 
(Continued in next post)