In the Light of the Self

Adi Shankara was a South Indian sage and the foremost teacher of Advaita Vedanta, the perennial philosophy that lies at the heart of all religions. Such is his stature that even Ramana Maharshi, probably the best-known modern exponent of Advaita, referred to him simply as Acharya – ‘The Teacher’ – and translated some of his works from Sanskrit for his own devotees.

Advaita offers a vision of life as the manifestation of an absolute, non-dual consciousness transcending all time, space and causation, and it provides the direct means to experience this divine ground of all being as our own Self.

1. from being some dry and dusty ‘Indian philosophy’, Advaita is a system of practical psychology, based on meditation and insight, that draws the practitioner into the deepest consideration of their own status and what it means to be a human being. As such, it is of immediate relevance to us today, torn as we are by questions of identity and purpose, and the struggle to resolve the age-old problems of ignorance, suffering and inequality.

This book presents the teachings of Adi Shankara in a highly approachable form through modern translations of his original writings, set in the lively context of his life and mission.

The author, Alistair Shearer, is well-known for his translations of Sanskrit classics: Selections from the Upanishads and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He is a long-time teacher of meditation in the lineage of Shankara.

Previous critical acclaim:

The Upanishads:

‘A lovely decanting of this very old wine into a sparkling new bottle.’ John Updike

‘This is the kind of text that one keeps close at hand like an old, wise and compassionate friend.’ Ram Dass

‘An elegant and valuable contribution to the growing corpus of Upanishadic texts in English.’ Dr. Karan Singh

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:

‘A wonderful translation, full of contemporary insight yet luminous with eternal truth.’ Jacob Needleman