Advaita in Translation 1:
The Knowledge Garland of Reality
Or the Brahmajnanamala
by Adi Shankara
translated from the Sanskrit
by Joshua Nørager
Copyright 2011 all rights reserved
Smashwords Edition
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preface
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The brahmajnanamala is the garland (mala) of brahma-knowledge (brahmajnana). Brahman is a term used throughout the upanisads & other vedic texts to denote the supreme reality. Technically, the term means ''the worshipful'' or the ''laudable''—that is, what is spoken of when the vedic hymns are recited. The brahma or vedanta sutras state, ''(Brahman is that) from which the origin, etc. (i.e. the origin, subsistence, and dissolution) of this (world proceed).'' It's goal is mokshasiddha, which means the culmination or power (siddhi) of freedom (moksha). Freedom, here, is the term moksha—the goal of all systems of Indian philosophy, orthodox & non-, & specifically defined as freedom from the three kinds of pain are that which arises from oneself (adhyatmika), from nature or the elements (adhibhautika) or due to the devas or gods/goddesses & supernatural creatures (adhidaivika). Every thought, word or deed that arises in conscious life is—at its core—an attempt to secure abiding happiness & to flee from the presence of pain. Therefore, the greatest attempt one may make in this life is to end one's own suffering entirely & completely, securing the perpetual joy that one really is & teach others to do the same, if able. No beings are really different in terms of their ultimate motives—it is, rather, their strategies which differ. Donald Trump, for instance, wants to be as happy just as much as a Shiva-worshipper in Nepal, or even a paramecium: yet, due to the varieties of past-life experiences & this-life experiences & situations, each finds a unique expression. In the end, though, happiness is not secure until it is secure in what we are, not what we have or know.