Atma bodha
| Author | Attributed to Adi Shankara |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject | Hindu philosophy |
| Genre | Advaita Vedanta |
| Publisher | Original: 8th century AD; Reprinted in 1947 by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai |
|
Published in English
|
First publication in 1812 translated by J. Taylor |
Ātma-bōdha (Sanskrit: आत्मबोधः ) is a short Sanskrit text attributed to Adi Shankara of Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. The text in sixty-eight verses describes the path to Self-knowledge or the awareness of Atman.
The Vedanta tradition states that the text was written by Shankara for his disciple, Sanandana, also known as Padmapāda. However, recent scholarship doubts that the text was written by Shankara.
Atmabodha is also the title of an Upanishad attached to the Atharvaveda.
Atmabodha means "Self-knowledge", self-awareness, or one with the "possession of a knowledge of soul or the supreme spirit".
The authorship of Ātma-bōdha, written in Sanskrit language, is traditionally ascribed to Adi Shankara who is believed to have lived in the 8th century A.D. Even though the authenticity of this work is doubted by present day scholars, it does not contradict the Advaita system which it advocates.
The original text consists of sixty-eight verses and describes the way to the attainment of the knowledge of the Atman. As in Vivekachudamani, Shankara teaches that the Ultimate Reality or Brahman, the foundation of all, is beyond name and form, is of the nature of Pure Consciousness, but who can be realized by pursuing the Path of Knowledge, not by worship.
For the Wisdom of Self is the one way to Freedom,
leading beyond all other paths,
As cooking cannot be accomplished without fire,
so Freedom cannot be attained without wisdom.
Atmabodha text reiterates that the Path of Knowledge consists in shravana (hearing the instructions of a teacher), manana (reflecting on what is heard) and nididhyasana (meditating on Truth with single-minded devotion); viveka (philosophical discrimination) and vairagya (renunciation of all that which is unreal) are the basic disciplines required to be followed and that it is not possible for religious actions (Karma, fasting, vows, pilgrimage) to destroy ignorance (avidya) and cause liberation (moksha) –
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