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INTRODUCTION

Here follows a translation into English of the first of three sections of Svātmanirūpaṇam, one of the longer treatises or ‘prakaraṇagrantha’ attributed to the philosopher Śrī Śaṅkara Ācārya, comprising one hundred and fiſty-four verses. This section deals with six topics, culminating in the realisation ‘Only non-duality is real’:

1.Knowing ‘I am’ (verses 1 to 6)

2.The five veils (verses 7 to 15)

3.Self cannot be experienced as an object (verses 16 to 20)

4.Reflection (verses 21 to 24)

5.Investigation of ‘You are That’ (verses 25 to 38)

6.The Veda and the Teacher (verses 39 to 51)

The title of the work, ‘Svātmanirūpaṇam’, can be interpreted in several ways. For this first section of the text, ‘Self Discovery’ has been chosen as a translation in view of the two most prominent themes, the removing of the five veils to discover the true Self and the revealing of the true Self through the sentence ‘You are That’.

Several versions of the Sanskrit text have been consulted, and the best readings adopted. The Sanskrit verses have been analysed so that those readers who wish to access the original may do so.