A Thousand Teachings: The Upadeśasāhasrī of Śaṅkara - Paperbackby Sengaku Mayeda (Other), John M. Koller (Other) This is the best introduction to Vedanta and to akara's philosophy. The Upadeashasr, or A Thousand Teachings consists of a metrical part and a prose part. In the metrical part, Sankara discusses the basic philosophical problems of non dualism, at the same time refuting the teachings of other philosophical schools. In the prose part, he explains how to teach the way to self realization to enlightenment.