‘Know yourself as Brahman, And Remain Absolutely Free’ ...... Vedanta Dindima Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya ...... A Clear and Thoughtful Introduction to Advaita Vedanta : Retold by Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

 ‘Know yourself as Brahman, And Remain Absolutely Free’

Vedanta Dindima Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya

A Clear and Thoughtful Introduction to Advaita Vedanta

Retold by Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

(December 15, 2025)

Let me begin my (the retold) article on Vedanta Dindima, authored by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya, with utmost ‘Reverential Acknowledgement’ to Pravachana Kireeti Padma Shri Garikipati Narasimha Rao, whose discourses inspired me to engage deeply with this subject. Listening regularly to his Pravachanas, my wife and I found ourselves drawn into serious reflection and study. What follows is a concise presentation of what I could comprehend with limited knowledge. The scholarship, eloquence, and moral clarity of Garikipati have illumined classical Indian thought for contemporary society.

Garikipati is exquisitely endowed with rare mastery over Sanskrit Scriptures, Telugu Literature both ancient and modern, the Ashtadasha Puranas, Itihasas, Valmiki Ramayana including Telugu renderings, Vedavyasa’s Mahabharata, and Shrimad Bhagavata, with Classical Telugu Translations (Nannaya, Tikkana, Errparagada, Bummera Potanamtya), Prabhandas, and lived cultural wisdom. He stands as a bridge between timeless knowledge and modern understanding.

What distinguishes his exposition is not only merely erudition, but also exceptional contextual sensitivity and the unparalleled ability to communicate subtle metaphysical truths in language accessible to ordinary listeners without sacrificing and diluting philosophical rigor. His Discourses (Pravachanas) on variety of subjects, do not instruct from a distance, but they awaken reflection from within. Through lucid narration and ethical grounding, he presents Vedantic Insight as living wisdom rather than Archived Doctrine.

This article is therefore offered in a spirit of gratitude and reverence, acknowledging that the clarity with which Vedanta Dindima is approached here owes much to his interpretative vision. Any limitations in articulation are entirely my own. The initial spark of curiosity and confidence to engage with Advaita was lit by his discourse. Such teachers (Acharyas) remind us that knowledge survives not merely through texts, but through enlightened voices that renew meaning for every generation.

The Time-Tested Great Indian philosophy has produced many profound texts, but few are as direct, forceful, and uncompromising in their message as Vedanta Dindima. The word Dindima means a drumbeat or proclamation, and true to its name, the text repeatedly declares a single truth that, Brahman alone is real, the world of multiplicity is appearance, and the individual self is not different from Brahman (the supreme existence or absolute reality, the eternal, conscious, irreducible, infinite, omnipresent, and the spiritual core of the Universe of Finiteness and Change).

The Major Commentary, authored by Adi Shankaracharya for the Advaita tradition, Vedanta Dindima, in the process of reviving and systematizing the Advaita Vedanta, is not a ritual manual or technical and philosophical debate in complex language. It is a teaching text meant to awaken clarity. It cuts through confusion created by rituals, social identities, emotions, and intellectual arguments, and directs the seeker toward self-knowledge (Atma-Jnana) as the sole means of Liberation (Moksha). This article seeks to convey its essence in accessible English while preserving its spiritual seriousness and intellectual depth.

At the heart of Vedanta Dindima lies the Advaita vision of Non-Dual Reality. According to it, Reality is not divided into God, Soul, and World as separate entities. There is only one Existence-Consciousness-Bliss called Brahman. Distinctions such as knower and known, cause and effect, belong to the level of appearance, not to ultimate truth. The text repeatedly contrasts bondage and liberation (pairs of opposites), pleasure and pain, knowledge, and ignorance, only to declare that Brahman alone transcends all such dualities. From the standpoint of truth, there is neither real bondage nor real liberation. Liberation is simply the removal of ignorance about one’s true nature. Hence the bold assertion that, ‘Brahman is the knower and the world is the known. In truth, only Brahman exists.’

One of the strongest messages of Vedanta Dindima is that ‘Knowledge and not Action, Alone Brings Liberation.’ Rituals, worship, charity, pilgrimages, yoga, and moral action have value, but they cannot directly produce freedom. Actions belong to the body and mind, which are themselves objects of knowledge. Liberation is freedom from false identification with them, and only knowledge can remove ignorance.

The text clarifies that karma purifies the mind, Upasana (devotional practices) steadies it, and Brahma-Jnana alone destroys ignorance and grants Moksha. Even sacred scriptures, mantras, and philosophical systems are provisional. They are useful only until direct realization arises, much like a lamp that is unnecessary after sunrise. Vedanta Dindima is radically inward and universal. Liberation does not depend on caste, social status, religious role, or lifestyle. Neither householder (Grihastha) nor renunciate (Sanyasi), neither yogi nor pleasure-seeker, is assured freedom without self-knowledge. True Brahmin-Hood, the text insists, arises not from birth or ritual learning, but from realization of Brahman. Spiritual authority is thus relocated from external labels to direct understanding.

A central teaching is the Unreality of the World (Maya) as it appears. This does not deny experience, but denies absolute reality to it. Like a dream, the world appears real until knowledge dawns. That which exists unchanged at the beginning, middle, and end alone is real. Names and forms constantly change and cannot define truth. Brahman alone is the bedrock, upon which the world appears, just as clay alone is real behind many pots.

The text of Vedanta Dindima offers a practical method through the analysis of the Self as witness (Sakshi). The seeker is guided to negate false identifications, and not the body, not the breath, not the mind, not even ignorance, but the witness of all. Through this discrimination, one discovers the Self as ever free, untouched by birth and death, pleasure, and pain. The witness is not an object but the light by which all objects are known.

The difference between the individual (Jiva) and Brahman is emphatically declared unreal, arising only from ignorance and limitation. When these limitations are removed, through knowledge, the identity is evident. The famous Advaita Declaration is reaffirmed that, ‘Brahman is Real, the World is Appearance, and the Individual is not different from Brahman.’ Liberation is not a future event or a journey elsewhere, but it is recognition of what has always been true.

A liberated person according to Vedanta Dindima, continues to live in the world but is no longer bound by it. Action continues without attachment. Because the world is seen as Brahman, there is no fear, no grief, and no sense of loss. Pleasure and pain may arise, but they do not disturb inner fullness. The text states that, infinite happiness belongs to those established in Brahman, while worldly pleasures inevitably carry sorrow.  

In its closing verses, Vedanta Dindima becomes strikingly simple, advising constant remembrance that all is Brahman and encouraging natural living without anxiety over action or inaction. True wisdom culminates in silence, not from absence of knowledge, but from completeness. The final drumbeat is clear that, know yourself as Brahman and remain absolutely free. Vedanta Dindima is not merely philosophy but a declaration of spiritual independence. It cuts through complexity and demands intellectual honesty. Its message is uncompromising yet compassionate, reminding us that suffering persists only because truth is overlooked. This Timeless Drumbeat of Advaita continues to echo.

In a modern world shaped by materialism, identity politics, religious polarization, and mental unrest, Vedanta Dindima remains deeply relevant. By locating suffering in mistaken identity rather than external conditions, it challenges both dogmatism and reductionism, shifting inquiry from belief to direct self-understanding. it invites critics also to reassess their assumptions.

Seen thus, Vedanta Dindima is not an escape from life but a corrective lens for it. It reframes spirituality as disciplined inquiry into experience itself. Over centuries, it has inspired admiration and critique alike, not as conflict, but as a productive dialogue enriching Indian thought. Any intellectually honest engagement with the text must acknowledge this dialogue, not as a conflict, but as a productive tension that has enriched Indian philosophical thought.

Supporters of Advaita Vedanta view Vedanta Dindima as a masterful condensation of Upanishadic Wisdom, praising its clarity and didactic precision. Critics caution against misunderstanding its negations or overlooking ethical maturity. Yet both acknowledge its rigor and coherence. In balance, Vedanta Dindima stands as a precise remedy for a specific confusion that, mistaking the temporary for the eternal. Its uncompromising tone serves those ready for discrimination, ensuring that its philosophical conversation remains open, living, and relevant.

Knowledge alone liberates, for bondage itself is born of ignorance, and this uncompromising truth is the drumbeat of Vedanta Dindima proclaimed by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. His intent was not to construct a belief system, but to shatter confusion and redirect the seeker toward direct self-recognition. In our times, this ancient proclamation finds renewed vitality through the lucid and ethically grounded discourses of Garikipati Narasimha Rao, whose Pravachanas bridge classical Advaita and contemporary life without dilution.

It was through sustained listening to the expositions of Garikipati that, an inner urgency arose in me, a quiet but persistent call to revisit, reassess, and update my own understanding. This engagement with Vedanta Dindima thus became not an academic exercise, but a personal inquiry into identity, freedom, and clarity in a changing world. By asserting awareness as self-evident and irreducible, the text challenges materialist assumptions while remaining firmly rooted in reasoned inquiry, inviting the modern mind to look inward rather than outward for resolution.

Thoughtful critiques of Vedanta Dindima further enrich this engagement. Some caution that its radical emphasis on knowledge and negation may be misread as dismissive of devotion, ethical responsibility, or gradual inner transformation. Such concerns serve as necessary correctives, reminding seekers that maturity, context, and discernment are essential. Yet even critics acknowledge the text’s internal coherence and philosophical rigor. Vedanta Dindima does not deny the empirical world, and instead, it relativizes it.

It does not reject action. It limits action’s scope. Seen in balance, it is not a universal prescription but a precise remedy for a specific confusion, mistaking the temporary for the eternal. Its forceful tone is intentional, meant for those ready for discrimination. In this positive spirit, both reverent exposition and reasoned critique contribute to its living legacy. What emerges is not a dogma, but an ongoing philosophical conversation, one that continues to inspire inner renewal, intellectual honesty, and the courage to know oneself as one truly is.

(The author of the original Sanskrit text Vedanta Dindima is generally attributed to Shri Narasimha Teertha)