Advaita Bodha Deepika

Wisdom texts of Hindu philosophy, specifically the Vedas, date back to the first millennium BCE. Starting in the 6th century, Vedanta scholars began to compile and comment on the religious-philosophical wisdom that had been orally transmitted and developed over many centuries, documenting it in writing. Sri Karapatra Swami (1907-1980) created a condensed version of these wisdom texts in the first half of the 20th century, known as Advaita Bodha Deepika, which was written in Sanskrit. This text has been translated into Tamil and then into English.

The present teaching text, Advaita Bodha Deepika – Light of Non-Dual Wisdom, is typically framed as a dialogue between a student (seeker) and a spiritual master and is associated with Advaitavedanta, one of the main schools of Vedanta. The content focuses on the understanding of Brahman as the all-encompassing, undivided, and indivisible single reality, and on penetrating the veils or coverings of Atman, the inherent divinity within humans. Due to its clarity and simplicity, this text of supreme wisdom is also suitable for individuals with limited knowledge of Hindu philosophy. The high quality of this work has led Sri Ramana Maharshi, the most well-known representative of Advaita in the West, to recommend it as one of the very few works for study.