Gaudapada

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gaudapada

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who was Gaudapada?Gaudapada was a very smart thinker from long ago who helped start the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy.
2. What is the Mandukya Karika?The Mandukya Karika is his main book that explains how everything is one and shows how to see the real truth.

Advaita Vedanta: A school of Hindu philosophy that posits the ultimate reality is non-dual, meaning all existence is fundamentally one.
Mandukya Karika: Gaudapada's seminal work, which systematically expounds the principles of Advaita Vedanta, particularly concerning consciousness and reality.
Maya: The concept of cosmic illusion or phenomenal appearance that conceals the true, non-dual nature of reality (Brahman).
Brahman: The ultimate, unchanging, all-pervading reality or supreme cosmic spirit in Hindu philosophy.