Aparokṣānubūthi belongs to the series of works by Ṡaṅkara known as prakaraṇagrantha, i.e., "specific treaties" in verse and prose concerning basic points of the Vedānta teaching that examine the "great sentences" (mahāvākya) contained in the Upaniṣads. In this series of treaties by Ṡaṅkara, other works fundamental for the understanding of the Advaita-vāda or the "path of Non-duality" include Vivekacūḍāmani, Ātmabodha, Upadeśasahāsrī and Laghuvākyavṛtti.
Aparokṣānubūthi means "direct perception or knowledge of the Self," and, by extension, the action or practice actualized to realize oneself as ātman-Self, thus "Self-realization." To realize means to "translate into reality," which implies bringing into actuality that which is virtual, manifesting something that already exists. That one who wants to find the "fullness" and the "beatitude" of Being must simply rediscover himself, must capture his own true and profound nature and ardently realize it. This does not mean "rejecting" life, "opposing" the sphere of perishable things, "abandoning" the world, rather, it means comprehending what one is, and resolving what one is not. "Tat tvam asi: That thou art", to which Śaṅkara refers in his is sūtras, is the "great sentence" (mahāvākya) that corresponds to the highest possible attainment and that Advaita Vedānta propounds for those individuals who are in conflict as their true nature has been "forgotten."To achieve this Comprehension-realization, Aparokṣānubūthi presents fifteen steps or means (some of which are also found in Yogadarśana or Rajayoga of Patañjali) focusing especially on vicāra-discrimination or discernment. Vicāra is a method of philosophical inquiry, a process of pure searching for the universals, but, unlike what one may think, this method is "experimental"; it is not a mental process for constructing a theory of knowledge or of reality, rather, it leads to the direct experience of Reality. Because Aparokṣānubūti is, based on jñāna Realization (Knowledge), a text that appears as Śaṅkara's Preface to the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad has been included in the appendix because it promotes the right consciential position for one, who wants to walk the "Path of Knowledge." The translation and commentary by Raphael adhere to the Advaita Tradition and offer a conceptual methodology appropriate to the Western mind, moreover, they adequately and properly, stimulate the reader's consciousness to living a real metaphysical life.
