Deciphering the Hidden Meaning

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between language and liberation in early Advaita Vedānta, focusing on Śaṅkara (early eighth century ce) as a key figure. Challenging modern portrayals of Śaṅkara as a mystic, the work presents him as a “theologian of liberation” who argued that the liberation from embodiment as the highest human good (paraṁ śreyas) is attained not through ritual or meditation, but through immediate intellectual understanding of Upaniṣadic identity statements. The analysis attributes the development of this soteriological model to Śaṅkara’s intervention against Vedic theologians who viewed scripture as prescriptive rather than informative. Śaṅkara’s focus on the identity statements would eventually lead to the appearance of the idea of mahā-vākyas or “great statements” such as tat tvam asi, “You are That.” While often attributed to Śaṅkara, the formal mahā-vākya doctrine was systematized by Sarvajñātman in the tenth century ce using Mīmāṁsā models of language hierarchy.