This booklet is based on AtmajnAnopadeshavidhi, a short treatise (prakaraNa grantha) of Shankaracharya, much respected within the Advaita tradition. It leads the reader, literally holding his/her hand, from the simple way we observe the objects in the world to the inexpressible “Consciousness principle” (brahman) that is present in all of us and everywhere without any abstruse quotes or indecipherable terminologies. “This translation by Dr. Ramesam Vemuri has made one of the most valuable works on Advaita now accessible to the English speaking public. – Peter Francis Dziuban, author of Consciousness Is All: Now Life Is Completely New “A must-read for all Non-Dual practitioners who want to cut through the illusion and experience the Truth directly for themselves.” – Padma Neppalli, author of Not Two: The Essence of Non-duality “It provides an easy-to-read summary of some of the fundamental concepts of Advaita and, as such, will greatly benefit the beginning student.” – Dennis Waite, author of A-U-M: Awakening to Reality

• Why do we like a particular dish? A dress? A movie? • Why is a live event more engaging to a concert goer or a sports enthusiast than an electronic transmission? • What explains the talent of child prodigies? • What builds countries like USA? And what ails them? • What throws up leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela? • Why does the sight of a baby bring a smile to the lips and warmth to the heart? Embark on the journey which answer these questions. In the process, home into your real purpose as a human being. Become a fuller person, always at peace, by discovering a new perspective to interpret the happenings to, and around, you. Welcome to Advaita!

Thanks to the many seekers for their questions on different concepts of deity, worship and spirituality in Sanatana Dharma, which propelled the author to provide a graded, elaborate response for clarification. The answers herein cover a wide range of topics in copious detail from the most elementary processes to the peaks of Vedanta. Even a random opening of the book can be revelatory.

“This royal path (Advaita), revealed by the sages of yore, is now in danger of being closed. The by-lanes are being taken for the royal path. Our effort now is to make people realize that these diversions from the royal road will lead them nowhere. Life’s real problem is not solved with these shortcuts to spirituality. These shortcuts will only result in endangering the seeker… This is a movement for the propagation of the true Vedantic wisdom, the legacy left behind by Shankara Bhagavathpada, the timeless knowledge that is eminently adaptable to the modern times.” ----Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao What is the Absolute Truth? What is my essential nature? How can I grasp the truth and make it my every-day experience? In this book, Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao, with great insight and clarity, answers questions that intrigue seekers of the truth. Srinivasa Rao’s clear and lucid explanations of the Absolute Truth resonate deeply, and awaken the seeker to a direct experience of the Self as Pure Consciousness. “This book is a very useful addition to the Vedanta texts in English. It is an excellent summarization of Advaita.” --- Dr. Aravinda Rao Karanam, Retired DGP, now teaching at www.advaita-academy.org “Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao imparts a no-frills Advaita that has a high fidelity to Shankara’s core teaching. His unique style of explicating the Knowledge Path captures analytical minds and makes one marvel at the rigor of logic and precision of the ancient Indian Sages. His metaphors are often enthralling and highly instructive. Here is a truly rewarding Advaita text that challenges everyone’s intellect.” ---Dr. Ramesam Vemuri, Author of Religion Demystified, and writer at www.advaita-vision.org.

The Brahma-siddhi, 'The Demonstration of Brahman' is Mandana Misra's largest work, his most important and the sole one dedicated as a whole to Vedanta. The topics occurring in the doctrine of this work which the present author intends to study here in this book are inter-related; they all have to deal with the nature and functioning of error, whether every-day error or the transcendental error, avidya, which makes us see the multiplicity of phenomena where there is nothing but the utter oneness of brahman. Thet also demonstrate the number of different sources upon which Mandana depended in erecting his own system. In spite of the number and variety of these sources Mandana created a system, the closed coherence of whose parts is a cause of admiration, even if one does not always accept his conclusions.Two appendices are also added to give a glimpse of Mandana Misra's date and his order of works. An exhaustive bibliography has been provided to facilitate the curiosity of readers. An index of important words has also been given.

Hinduism, incl. 33 illust.