Liturgy of Liberation: A Christian Commentary on Shankara’s Upadesasahasri

The Upadesasahasri or Thousand Teachings of the great eighthcentury sage Adi Shankaracharya is a distillation of the ancient Upanishads, intended for use by teachers and seekers in the Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedanta. It has been variously interpreted as a major theological treatise, an elevated philosophical exposition, or a guidebook to mystical experience.

Liturgy of Liberation offers a fresh reading of and commentary on the Upadesasahasri in terms of oral performance and sacramental practice, placing its sacred, scripted dialogues into conversation with the Apostle Paul and other witnesses from the Christian tradition. What results is not merely new appreciation for Shankara and his radical message of non-duality, but also a renewed sense of the scandal of the cross, the subversive power of the word, and the mystery of Christian discipleship.