Gaudapada Quotes

Gaudapada was an Indian philosopher of the early medieval period, traditionally regarded as the paramaguru, the teacher's teacher, of Adi Shankara, and the first systematic exponent of Advaita Vedanta. His Mandukya Karika, a verse commentary on the brief Mandukya Upanishad, introduced the doctrine of ajativada, the non-origination of the world, arguing that nothing has ever truly come into being and that what appears as the manifold of experience is, like a dream, a non-dual awareness mistaking itself for plurality. The quotes below are attributed to Gaudapada, organized by topic.