In the canon of vedanta litarature, the Brahma Sutram occupies a unique position as the oldest systematic commentary on the Upanishads. Of commentaries on the Brahma Sutram, Shankara’s commentary stands pre-eminent in elaborating advaita vedanta according to his tradition, or sampradaya.
Shankara’s adhyAsa bhASyam fully serves the purpose of an introduction. He succintly managesto summarise all the key points that will unfold in his Brahma Sutra Bhashyam, and connects them to the central underlying theme.
Shankara clarifies for us that the obstacle to enlightenment is a misconception on our part, which superimposes (mixes up) up the real and non-real, which drives an empirical view of the world as an apparent duality of subjects, objects, and means of knowing these objects.
