The Hidden Lives of Brahman: Sankara's Vedanta through His Upanisad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice

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The Hidden Lives of Brahman SUNY series in Religious Studies Harold Coward, editor The Hidden Lives of Brahman Śaṅkara’s Vedānta through His Upāniṣad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice Joël André-Michel Dubois Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple Cover Illustration: A brāhmaṇa boy venerates the sun at midday across the river from Śṛṅgeri’s temples (photograph by Prashant Sringeri). Published by State University of New York Press, Albany© 2013 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dubois, Joël André-Michel. The hidden lives of Brahman : Śaṅkara’s Vedānta through his Upāniṣad commentaries , in light of contemporary practice/Joël André-Michel Dubois; Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple. pages cm.—(SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references. Summary: “Using both textual and ethnographic sources, demonstrates that in Sankara’s vedanta brahman is an active force as well as a transcendent ultimate”— Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-1-4384-4805-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Brahman. 2. Upānishads— Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Sankaracarya. 4. Vedanta. I. Title. BL1124.57.D83 2013 294.5’2113—dc23 20 1 2 0 4 6 1 8 7 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 yair ime gurubhiḥ pūrvaṁ pada-vākya-pramāṇataḥ / vyākhyātāḥ sarva-vedāntā tān nityaṁ pranato ’smy aham // The elders who, by [paying attention to] word, utterance, and [accurate] measures [of reality], fully explained all vedāntas—before those [elders] I am perpetually prostrate. —Śaṅkara’s invocation to the Taittirīya Upāniṣad Bhāṣya In Memory of My Father, André Dubois (1939–2012) and Father William Cenkner, O.P. (1930–2003) ...