The Hidden Lives of Brahman

Finalist for the 2014 Best First Book in the History of Religions presented by the American Academy of Religion

Śaṅkara's thought, advaita vedānta or non-dual vedānta, is a tradition focused onbrahman, the ultimate reality transcending all particular manifestations, words, and ideas. It is generally considered that the transcendent brahman cannot be attained through any effort or activity. While this conception is technically correct, inThe Hidden Lives of Brahman, Joël André-Michel Dubois contends that it is misleading.

Hidden lives of brahman become visible when analysis of Śaṅkara's seminal commentaries is combined with ethnographic descriptions of contemporary Brāhmin students and teachers of vedānta, a group largely ignored in most studies of this tradition. Du bois demonstrates that for Śaṅkara, as for Brāhmin tradition in general, brahman is just as much an active force, fully connected to the dynamic power of words and imagination, as it is a transcendent ultimate.

Illustrations
Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words
Foreword
Preface
Abbreviations

1. Introducing Brahman: The Hidden Lives of Śaṅkara’s Vedānta Teaching

Part 1: Envisioning Brahman

2. Attending to Brahman: Upāsana Practice Past and Present

3. Learning Brahman: The Daily Life of the Brahmacārin

4. Envisioning Veda: First-Person Declarations in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries

Part 2: Imagining Brahman

5. Conditioning the Mind for Brahman: Saṁskṛta Training Past and Present

6. Perfecting the Life of Brahman: The Training of Saṁskṛta Paṇḍita

7. Perfecting the Vedic Imagination: Imagery and Rhetoric in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries

Part 3: Perceiving Brahman

8. Thinking Deeply About Brahman: The Two Mīmāṁsās, the Lost Art of Yajña, and the Hidden Structure of Brahman

9. Giving Up the Inconstant Brahman: Contemporary Saṁnyāsins and Aspiring Renouncers

10. Discerning the Paradox of Veda: Ritual Activity and Insight in Śaṅkara’s Upaniṣad Commentaries

Conclusion: Brahman as Centerand Periphery

Appendix: Diagrams of Key Concepts

Notes
Bibliography
Index