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This begins a serialized commentary on “A Method Of Enlightening A Disciple” from Shankara’s Upadeshasahasri–A Thousand Teachings

The opening verse of Shankara’s Upadeshasahasri–A Thousand Teachings–is: “We shall now explain a method of teaching the means to liberation for the benefit of those aspirants after liberation who are desirous and are possessed of faith.” Shankara then outlines in a section titled “A Method Of Enlightening A Disciple” how the aspirants should receive the first instructions in the inquiry as to the nature of the Self. The texts cited certainly need comment–as Shankara assumed those who used his text would do.

There are very many citations, most being from the upanishads though some are from the Bhagavad Gita and some minor sources. We will look at each one in turn from first till last.

1) “In the beginning this universe was Being [Sat] alone, one only without a second.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)

Brahman is Pure Being, absolute unity, ekam, evam, adwitiyam–one, only, without a second. This is perhaps the purest statement that can be made about Brahman, and also the most accurate–always keeping in mind that nothing can be said about Brahman in the highest sense.

2) “Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else–that is the Infinite. Where one sees something else, hears something else, understands something else–that is the finite. The Infinite is immortal, the finite mortal.”

“In what does the Infinite find Its support?”

“In Its own greatness–or not even in greatness.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:24:1)

When the Infinite is perceived, it alone IS. There is absolutely nothing else. This takes two forms. The highest is the perception of nothing but Pure Being. The other is the perceiving of “others” but at the same time directly seeing that the “others” are mere appearances and that Brahman is manifesting as everything.

But when we believe in “others” as really being “other” in their essential nature, then we are in finite consciousness and subject to all that entails, experiencing ourselves falsely as finite and ever-changing.

The short dialogue about the support of the Infinite is intended to show us that Brahman is Its own support–Its own greatness (mahima.) Besides Its very Being, Brahman neither has nor needs any support at all. For this reason the upanishads usually declare Brahman as supportless, as we will see later.

Read Further installments of A Catechism of Enlightenment.