The Eighth Century teacher of non-duality, Adi Shankaracharya.
Although his works enjoy the same status as the Upanishads,he considered himself only a 'link' in the teaching tradition. His exposition of Vedanta is particularly clear and brilliant, like a sun in a cloudless sky.

 

The Upanishads, Sanskrit texts appended to the ritualistic portion of each Veda, are the definitive source of information on the nature of the Self. There are over one hundred ten of which ten are considered to be 'major' Upanishads. The Upanishads are also known as Vedanta. Vedanta is a means of Self knowledge. The purpose of Self knowledge is to erase ignorance of one's true nature, the Self. It is the desire of all people to be free of limitation and only by understanding that one is the Self can this desire be realized.

Because the mantras that make up the Upanishads are cryptic they need to be explained. A long time ago a great sage, Badarayana, commented on them. His commentaries are also considered source material. Another work, a scripture contained in the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, has also attained the status of the Upanishads in so far as its ideas are primarily drawn from them.

Over time a secondary body of literature developed which can also be considered authoritative and a valid means of Self knowledge. Some of these texts are included here: The Astavakra Gita, the Dakshinamoorthy Stotram, Panchadasi, and Vivekachoodamani, The Crest Jewel of Discrimination by Shankaracharya, the foremost 'modern' i.e. Eighth Century authority of non-dual knowledge. Although there is no need for additional source material people continue to realize Truth and feel inclined to speak about it. Their words, however, can only be accepted if they jibe with the fundamental ideas presented in the Upanishads.

It is only in the last one hundred plus years that Vedanta has been translated into English. The translations are either by intellectuals with no direct knowledge of the Self or sometimes by Self realized beings. Many of the English translations are suspect because they are rendered by intellectuals who often misunderstand the concepts. Even when a Self realized person, particularly an Indian educated in the first half of the twentieth century, translates a text he or she is bound by the language of the time. Unfortunately Indian Victorian English is no longer appreciated and most of the first wave of English translations falls into this category. Therefore the language needs to be updated. With this in mind my primary mission has been to present Upanishadic ideas to a Western audience in a language that is easily understandable while remaining true to the source. It is only out of love for the Truth and the miraculous transformation it has wrought on my life that I have done this. There is no money or glory in it. Therefore I feel qualified to improve existing translations.

Why should Vedanta be trusted? Because it is not the philosophy of an individual nor are its teachings the contentions of a particular religion or a philosophical school of thought. It is revealed truth. Revealed truth is by definition not authored by people; it comes directly from the Self. During revelation the individual's predjucies and personal views are suspended. He or she is 'ecstatic'...outside the small self. Even then the vision must be verified by many others over time before it is to be trusted. The beauty of Vedanta lies in the fact that it is not the result of a single prophet's vision but is the accumulated wisdom of hundreds of thousands of individuals over many thousand years.

Revealed truth usually needs additional revelation because the people who read it or hear it tend to interpret it according to their own tastes. The notion that ‘my truth' is ‘the Truth' does not wash in the Vedanta world. The Self is one and the knowledge of it can only be one. Therefore Vedanta is an impersonal teaching tradition. The truths contained in the texts need to be unfolded by someone established in non-duality, someone who has no doubt about his or her identity as the Self. If you are the Self you will see things as they are. Based on the way the mind works, over time a proven impersonal method for unlocking the meaning of the verses evolved and it is practiced successfully today. It is hoped that if your study of these texts awakens a desire to realize them you will approach someone established in non-duality and request teaching.

It is important that source material be available so that the reader of this site can check its authenticity.