Svatma Prakashika of Shankara: An Illuminator Of My 'Self' - Paperback

When the clouds block the vision of our eyes, we cannot see the sun, even though it is self-luminous. Ironically, clouds themselves are visible to us due to the presence of the sun. Moreover, the sun itself creates these clouds by absorbing the water. When these clouds disperse, the sun becomes visible to us automatically. The existence of the sun is independent and unchanged by these external disturbances.

If our soul is likewise self-luminous and not visible to us, there must be a veil blocking our view. Like clouds, only this veil, which we call ignorance, is to be removed to experience it. We have to find a way to remove this veil. With this removal, whatever false notions we carry about ourselves will also disintegrate, and the self alone will shine in its unbound blessedness. This text can help us drop these false notions to be what we truly are.