Self Knowledge (Atmabodha)

Life changing book... one shud definitely read this....The introduction is really good... Best Spiritual book....

Am so glad I have found this book. The (very long) introduction clearly explains advaita Vedanta. Having been interested in it for a number of years I found it has drawn the threads together in a very clear way.

I can say that the introduction alone worth the entire book, not to mention the comments to the original text.

Exactly what I was looking for. Nearly half the book is an introduction, but because the concept Brahman is difficult, the commentary is not cumbersome. This book is great for reading in reflection, as well as a great introductory text for someone who wants to work their way into the Upanishads.

'Atmabodha' along with Vivekachudamani are the two best original works of Adi Shankara. Swami Nikhilananda has written a lengthy introduction, which is a summary of both of Veda Dharma (Hinduism) as well as Advaita Vedanta. For this reason, I would recommend anyone new to Advaita Vedanta to follow this reading sequence:- Read the introduction in this book 'Atmabodha' first.- Then Read Adi Shankara's 'Vivekachudamani' by Swami Prabhavananda Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless Teachings on Nonduality - The Vivekachudamani - Then come back and read the main text of Atmabodha.While in Vivekachudamani, Adi Shankara deals mainly with the five koshas or sheaths that one needs to overcome for Self-realization, in 'Atmabodha', he deals substantially with the state of Self-realization itself. There are no words to describe the beauty of his description.These two small books constitute a good summary of the well known Vedantic texts like Upanishads, Brahmasutras etc. They lay the foundation for anyone interested in the path of jnana (path of knowledge) for Self-Realization. These two books should be followed by Sri Ramana Maharishi's books to assist with practice of Self-enquiry. Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless Teachings on Nonduality - The Vivekachudamani

Filled with spiritual wisdom