Page 12 - TheJoyOfOneness_Demo

laying down a workable schedule for daily living
incorporating the ideas from the Vedic corpus.

Śaṅkarācārya composed several works to explain the basic
tenets of Advaita Siddhānta using simple words and
illustrations. Some of these works run to several hundred
verses while others are short with a few verses.
Notwithstanding the size of the composition,
Śaṅkarācārya has unambiguously communicated key
messages of Ātma Vidyā.

This book is a commentary on one of the short works of
Śaṅkarācārya, Manīṣā Pañcakam, which is known to be
profound. With just five verses the Ācārya has
communicated that the inherent nature of everyone is to
discover and experience the joy of oneness. As a concept,
it may seem appealing, but understanding it thoroughly
and putting it into practice requires convincing examples
and implementable ideas. The Ācārya has considered all
these while composing this work, which urges everyone to
pursue the goal of oneness. This will lead us to ultimate
liberation and provide us with limitless joy.

The work has a preamble in the form of two beautiful
ślokas purportedly uttered by a Caṇḍāla, who the Ācārya
encountered one day on the streets of Kāśi. This preamble
is an ideal setting to take us through the concept of
oneness.

The introductory chapter of the book establishes the
importance of oneness in a world characterised by
discrimination, differentiation, and selfish tendencies. The
rest of the book is organised chapter-wise with each śloka
forming the base for a chapter.

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