Adi Shankara
Adi Shankaracharya
c. 700-750 • Indian
Vedanta
8th-century Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated Advaita Vedanta — the doctrine of non-duality. His commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras remain the canonical exposition of 'Brahman alone is real.'
Key Works
- Vivekachudamani
- Atma Bodha
- Tattva Bodha
- Aparokshanubhuti
107
quotes in library
Quotes by Adi Shankara
107 quotes“As long as the man is held by ignorance, just so long he is in bondage.”
ignoranceVivekachudamani
“Self-realization is the cure for ignorance.”
realizationAtma Bodha 8
“There is no work for him who has realized the Self.”
completionVivekachudamani
“He has nothing left to attain.”
completionVivekachudamani
“He whose desires are extinguished is the truly fortunate one.”
desireVivekachudamani
“Wherever there is desire, there is sorrow.”
desireVivekachudamani
“The Self is one without a second; there is no other beside it.”
non-dualityAtma Bodha 21
“Like the rope mistaken for a snake in dim light — so the world is mistaken for separate from the Self.”
illusionVivekachudamani
“When the rope is seen, the snake disappears. When the Self is known, the world's separateness vanishes.”
realizationAtma Bodha 7
“This is the meaning of the great saying — 'I am Brahman.'”
identityAparokshanubhuti
“All that exists, all that has been, all that will be — is none other than the Self.”
unityVivekachudamani
“To know the Self, one must turn the gaze inward.”
interiorityAparokshanubhuti
“Knowledge of the Self is gained not by external pursuit but by inner inquiry.”
inquiryVivekachudamani
“Who am I? — this is the inquiry that liberates.”
inquiryAparokshanubhuti 11
“By Self-inquiry, the false 'I' dissolves and the true 'I' shines forth.”
inquiryVivekachudamani
“The Self is neither this nor that — neti, neti.”
transcendenceVivekachudamani
“Yet in everything, the Self is the witness.”
witnessVivekachudamani
“As gold is one even when shaped into ornaments of various forms, so the Self is one in all beings.”
unityVivekachudamani
“For God dwells in the heart of all beings.”
omnipresenceVivekachudamani
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