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The Vedanta Philosophy of Sankaracharya: Crest-Jewel of Wisdom, Atma Bodha, Tattva Bodha, Vakhya Sudha, Atmanatma-viveka, with Articles and Commentaries
"Sankaracharya is, for me, the greatest of all Masters of the Mind; he has, indeed, conquered and circumvented the mind at every turning, making a slave, nay, even a most effective servant and ally of that power which, for so many teachers, has bee ceaselessly reprobated, as the Slayer of the Real. Sankara has shown how to draw the grains of gold from the matrix of the mind, to make the mind the door-keeper of the soul."-Charles Johnston
This is a taste of the high praise which Charles Johnston gives to the great Sankaracharya. He did not merely view him as a religious reformer, but as a high philosopher, as one who studied and revealed the science of Mind, to a degree, perhaps, as no other has done before or after. For Johnston, Sankara represents the mind and soul of Vedanta-the culmination of a work of centuries, through the efforts of countless sages. In his own words:
"By the Vedanta, we mean, I think, the sum of the rivers of wisdom which rise in the Upanishads, and flow through books like the Bhagavad Gita into the reservoir of the Brahma Sutras, made level and water-tight by the Commentary of Sankaracharya."
Of the value and importance of Sankara's works, Johnston has much to say throughout his commentaries and in the articles included in this volume. To him, the texts translated here teach "quite plainly and lucidly, the first steps on the path of wisdom." They offer us not only a high intellectual understanding of the Vedanta philosophy, but a high moral foundation as well.
The works translated and commented upon in this volume are drawn from several sources, and passed through more than one rendition each. Johnston first began his translation of these works in 1894 on behalf of the Oriental Department of the Theosophical Society. Therein he completed a translation of the Atma Bodha, Tattva Bodha, Vakya Sudha, Siddhanta-Tattva-Vindu and the famous Crest-Jewel of Wisdom (Vivekachudamani). These translations were later compiled and published by the same society as The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom and other Writings of Sankaracharya (Theosophical University Press, First Edition, 1946). These, however, are not the same translations that appear in the present volume.
Several years after his work for the Oriental Department, Johnston revisited his translations of each of these works, with the exception of the Siddhanta-Tattva-Vindu, revising and refining his terminology, greatly enhancing his clarity and, in our opinion, improving upon the poetry of each translation. These later translations appeared in a small periodical magazine call the Theosophical Quarterly, between the years 1913 and 1925. It is these, with their accompanying commentaries, that appear in this volume.
Several articles are also included in the work, both to introduce and to supplement the translations. These are are drawn from several sources, and provide many details of Johnston's approach to Vedanta not covered in his commentaries. A second appendix provides a translation of the Atmanatma-Viveka by the theosophist Mohini Chatterji, along with an article by the same author.
Johnston's Vedanta is, we feel, a faithful representation of Sankara's thought and intent, translated not only from one language to another, but from one culture to another. He makes Sankara's works accessible to the western mind, giving us a foothold into the nature of eastern wisdom in a way few others have done.
This is a taste of the high praise which Charles Johnston gives to the great Sankaracharya. He did not merely view him as a religious reformer, but as a high philosopher, as one who studied and revealed the science of Mind, to a degree, perhaps, as no other has done before or after. For Johnston, Sankara represents the mind and soul of Vedanta-the culmination of a work of centuries, through the efforts of countless sages. In his own words:
"By the Vedanta, we mean, I think, the sum of the rivers of wisdom which rise in the Upanishads, and flow through books like the Bhagavad Gita into the reservoir of the Brahma Sutras, made level and water-tight by the Commentary of Sankaracharya."
Of the value and importance of Sankara's works, Johnston has much to say throughout his commentaries and in the articles included in this volume. To him, the texts translated here teach "quite plainly and lucidly, the first steps on the path of wisdom." They offer us not only a high intellectual understanding of the Vedanta philosophy, but a high moral foundation as well.
The works translated and commented upon in this volume are drawn from several sources, and passed through more than one rendition each. Johnston first began his translation of these works in 1894 on behalf of the Oriental Department of the Theosophical Society. Therein he completed a translation of the Atma Bodha, Tattva Bodha, Vakya Sudha, Siddhanta-Tattva-Vindu and the famous Crest-Jewel of Wisdom (Vivekachudamani). These translations were later compiled and published by the same society as The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom and other Writings of Sankaracharya (Theosophical University Press, First Edition, 1946). These, however, are not the same translations that appear in the present volume.
Several years after his work for the Oriental Department, Johnston revisited his translations of each of these works, with the exception of the Siddhanta-Tattva-Vindu, revising and refining his terminology, greatly enhancing his clarity and, in our opinion, improving upon the poetry of each translation. These later translations appeared in a small periodical magazine call the Theosophical Quarterly, between the years 1913 and 1925. It is these, with their accompanying commentaries, that appear in this volume.
Several articles are also included in the work, both to introduce and to supplement the translations. These are are drawn from several sources, and provide many details of Johnston's approach to Vedanta not covered in his commentaries. A second appendix provides a translation of the Atmanatma-Viveka by the theosophist Mohini Chatterji, along with an article by the same author.
Johnston's Vedanta is, we feel, a faithful representation of Sankara's thought and intent, translated not only from one language to another, but from one culture to another. He makes Sankara's works accessible to the western mind, giving us a foothold into the nature of eastern wisdom in a way few others have done.
308 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2014
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About the author
Charles Johnston
302 books7 followersCharles Johnston (1867-1931) was steeped in the wisdom of eastern traditions, having translated also the ten Principle Upanishads of the Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Teh King of Lao Tse, and the Crest-Jewel of Wisdom of Sankaracharya. Johnston brings his in-depth understanding of the Vedanta to reveal the core meaning of Patanjali's sutras: the birth of the Spiritual Man.
From Wikipedia: He was born on 17 February 1867 in the small village of Ballykilbeg (in Downpatrick), County Down, Northern Ireland. His father, William Johnston (1829–1902), was an Irish politician, a Member of Parliament from South Belfast, and a member of the Orange Order.
Charles Johnston studied Oriental Studies, and learned Sanskrit, Russian and German. Among his classmates were William Butler Yeats and George William Russell, with whom he shared an interest in the occult.
Later, he worked as a journalist. In 1884, he read Alfred Percy Sinnett's work Occult World and founded, together with Yeats and Russell on 16 June 1885, the Hermetic Society in Dublin. He was responsible for introducing W. B. Yeats to Madame Blavatsky in spring 1887.
After 1885 he also joined the Theosophical Society, and co-founded in April/June 1886 the Theosophical Lodge in Dublin. (Later when the Theosophical Society split in 1895, he followed the direction of William Quan Judge and was a member of the Theosophical Society in America (TGinA).)
On 14 October 1888 he married Vera Vladimirovna de Zhelihovsky (1864-1923) the niece of Helena Blavatsky.
He also entered the Indian Civil Service the same year, and later served in the British Bengal Service.
He translated several works from Sanskrit and Russian. As an author, he devoted himself primarily to philosophical and theosophical topics.
He was president of the Irish Literary Society.
From Wikipedia: He was born on 17 February 1867 in the small village of Ballykilbeg (in Downpatrick), County Down, Northern Ireland. His father, William Johnston (1829–1902), was an Irish politician, a Member of Parliament from South Belfast, and a member of the Orange Order.
Charles Johnston studied Oriental Studies, and learned Sanskrit, Russian and German. Among his classmates were William Butler Yeats and George William Russell, with whom he shared an interest in the occult.
Later, he worked as a journalist. In 1884, he read Alfred Percy Sinnett's work Occult World and founded, together with Yeats and Russell on 16 June 1885, the Hermetic Society in Dublin. He was responsible for introducing W. B. Yeats to Madame Blavatsky in spring 1887.
After 1885 he also joined the Theosophical Society, and co-founded in April/June 1886 the Theosophical Lodge in Dublin. (Later when the Theosophical Society split in 1895, he followed the direction of William Quan Judge and was a member of the Theosophical Society in America (TGinA).)
On 14 October 1888 he married Vera Vladimirovna de Zhelihovsky (1864-1923) the niece of Helena Blavatsky.
He also entered the Indian Civil Service the same year, and later served in the British Bengal Service.
He translated several works from Sanskrit and Russian. As an author, he devoted himself primarily to philosophical and theosophical topics.
He was president of the Irish Literary Society.
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