Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Brahman is real; the world is a deceptive appearance; the individual self is not different from Brahman.”
Ādi Śaṅkara · Advaita Vedānta · Medieval · verse likely later than the 8th century
What does it mean?
Non-dual Vedanta, as this verse is usually taught, says that Brahman alone is finally real, that the world of many things is not real as it appears, and that the deepest self is not other than Brahman. A rival reading inside the tradition hears a coarser dismissal of ordinary life than the commentaries licence, as if the world were a simple mistake rather than a dependent appearance. The sentence is a later capsule hung on Sankara, not a line in the Brahma-sutra commentary, so the doctrine may be the school's while authorship of the verse stays doubtful.
Did Ādi Śaṅkara really say this?
The library’s label is Questionable. This Sanskrit verse is a later capsule of Advaita, traditionally hung on Sankara. It is not a securely authored sentence from his major commentaries. The doctrine belongs to his tradition. The verse's authorship is doubtful, and the badge stays Questionable.
Where it comes from
Traditional Advaita summary verse, often attributed to Śaṅkara
Approximate date: verse likely later than the 8th century.
How to use it
A poster in a yoga studio in Hackney prints the three clauses as a calm for the commute. The sentence is a metaphysical claim that most of what is called the world is not the final truth, which is a poor substitute for a breathing exercise and a bad citation besides. If the line is used at all, the doubtful authorship belongs in the same breath as the doctrine.
A mindset reading
A school summary can teach, and it is still not a quotation, which is what the badge is for. Treating a later capsule as the author's own sentence is a habit that will mishandle other traditions with the same false precision. The philosophy can be studied without inventing a page number for a verse that does not have one.
Understand the philosophy
Sankara's real labour is commentary, reading the Upanishads as teaching non-difference. The key term is Brahman, the non-dual reality, with the world called mithya, a dependent or deceptive appearance, and the individual self said not to be other than that reality. The summary verse is how later tradition put the conclusion into one breath. It should not be confused with a securely authored sentence.
- knowledge
- self
- meaning
FAQ
What does it mean?
Non-dual Vedanta, as this verse is usually taught, says that Brahman alone is finally real, that the world of many things is not real as it appears, and that the deepest self is not other than Brahman. A rival reading inside the tradition hears a coarser dismissal of ordinary life than the commentaries licence, as if the world were a simple mistake rather than a dependent appearance. The sentence is a later capsule hung on Sankara, not a line in the Brahma-sutra commentary, so the doctrine may be the school's while authorship of the verse stays doubtful.
Did Ādi Śaṅkara really say this?
Questionable. This Sanskrit verse is a later capsule of Advaita, traditionally hung on Sankara. It is not a securely authored sentence from his major commentaries. The doctrine belongs to his tradition. The verse's authorship is doubtful, and the badge stays Questionable.
Which work is it in?
Traditional Advaita summary verse, often attributed to Śaṅkara Approximate date: verse likely later than the 8th century.