Aparokshanubhuti

The Aparokshanubhuti (Sanskrit: अपरोक्षानुभूतिः) is a work attributed to Adi Shankara, though his authorship is doubtful.^[1][2] It is a popular introductory work (prakarana grantha) that expounds Advaita Vedanta philosophy.

Etymology

Aparokṣānubhūti is a compound consisting of aparokṣa ("perceptible") and anubhūti (अनुभूति)("knowledge"), meaning "direct cognition"^{[web 1][web 2]} or "direct experience of the Absolute."^{[web 3]} Swami Vimuktananda renders it as "Self-realization."^[3]

Contents

• Verse 89-99 deal with prarabdha, the karmic consequences of past deeds in the present life. Whereas Shankara supports the common notion that even a jnani bears those consequences in the present birth after realization, the Aparokshanubhuti argues against this view.^[4]
• Verse 100-129 describe Raja yoga as the means to attain samadhi and dwell in Brahma-consciousness.^[1] The synthesis of Advaita Vedanta with yoga is typical for late medieval Advaita Vedanta, incorporating elements from the yogic tradition and texts like the Yoga Vasistha and the Bhagavata Purana,^[5] and Vidyāraņya's Jivanmuktiviveka (14th century) has been dubbed "yogic Advaita."^[6][7]

Commentaries

The oldest extant commentary on this work is a Sanskrit commentary (Dipika or 'Elucidation') by Sri Vidyaranya (14th century). This work has been repeatedly translated and commented upon in other languages.

References

1. Vimuktananda & (1993), p. ii.
2. Piantelly (1977).
3. Vimuktananda & (1993).
4. Vimuktananda & (1993), p. 47.
5. Madaio 2017, pp. 4–5.
6. Fort 1996, p. 136.
7. Fort 1998, p. 97.

Sources

Printed sources

• Fort, Andrew (1996), "Liberation While Living in the Jivanmuktiviveka: Vidrayana's "Yogic Advaita", in Fort, Andrew O.; Mumme, Patricia Y. (eds.), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, SUNY
• Fort, Andrew (1998), Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791439043
• Madaio, James (24 May 2017). "Rethinking Neo-Vedānta: Swami Vivekananda and the Selective Historiography of Advaita Vedānta1". Religions. 8 (6): 101. doi:10.3390/rel8060101.
• Piantelly, M. (1977), "Sankara e la Renascita del Brahmanesimo", Indian Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Apr. 1977)
• Vimuktananda, Swami (1993). Self-Realization. Advaita Ashrama.

Web-sources

1. Wisdom Library, Aparokshanubhuti, Aparokṣānubhūti, Aparoksha-anubhuti
2. Sanskrit Dictionary, áparaoksha, anubhuti
3. shlokam.org, Aparokshānubhuti

External links

• Translation of Aparokshanubhuti, by Swami Vimuktananda
• Vedanta Society, Swami Sarvapriyananda's lectures on Aprokshanubhuti - 44 Part Series