Chapter 1 Upodghatprakaranam
Upadesa sahAsri means A thousand Teachings. Its authorship is attributed to Adi ShankarAchArya. It has two parts- prose and verse with many paragraphs and verses which is a figurative justification of the title. Prose part has 116 paragraphs.  Verse part which has 19 chapters is the focus here. Some of the chapters are small and chapter 18 titled Tat Tvam Asi is the biggest with 233 verses. There are totally 675 verses across all 19 chapters. Upodghat means introduction and prakaranam means chapter. Verse 1 is a prayer and much more. A prayer is generally for successful completion of the objective. Here it contains teachings also. The seeker prays (bows down) to Nirguna Brahman which is of the nature of pure consciousness. It is the Self (essential nature) of a jIva. It resides in the cave (intellect) of everyone and is like a witness of the intellect. It is within and without. It is all-pervading like rope pervading the mithyA snake in rope-snake metaphor. It is omniscient. It is beyond all perceptions and all objects of knowledge.

To grasp the verse 2, a background is necessary. Upanishad has Vedantic knowledge. In the last verse 26, meaning of Upanishad is explained. It is the end portion (Vedanta or jnAna kAnda) of Vedas. There is a prior part called purva-bhAga (karma kAnda)  dealing with rites and rituals which require actions (distinct from knowledge). The two parts have different results and are considered distinct.  A practitioner of karma-kAnda is benefited with three human goals, namely, kAma, artha, and dharma. It is meant for a grihastha (householder) who is married and has installed the sacred fire in the house for performing various rituals. JnAna kAnda is for a seeker of the last human goal, namely, moksha.

Though the two parts differ in their respective end results, karma-kAnda earns a person qualification for taking up jnAna-kAnda. It is considered that by leading a proper grihastha life, a person becomes mature and acquires purity of mind and self-control. He becomes qualified (adhikAri) for jnAna-kAnda which gives knowledge of Brahman for moksha. The author intends to impart the said knowledge to one who has successfully completed grihastha life and has understood the incompleteness of three goals. He seeks liberation. He is now a mumukshu.
Verses 3 to 5
It is instructive to briefly understand why the author wants a grihastha to gain knowledge. It is so because knowledge is the only means of liberation. If there is no liberation, there is rebirth with new body-mind complex which is beset with likes and dislikes impelling a person into action, virtuous and evil. It results in good and bad karmAs. At the time of death, there is accumulated (sanchit) karmAs. A portion of sanchit karmA called prArabdha is ready to give results and is responsible for the next birth. In this way, the transmigratory existence and the wheel of samsAra continues. Therefore, cessation of ignorance by gaining knowledge is desirable. Hence, teaching of Self-knowledge is commenced.

Note: During Shankara’s time, the Indian society was ridden with elaborate and time-consuming rituals. They are hardly performed nowadays and are replaced by new methods of worship. Yet they are based on actions: physical or mental. The message is that action has its origin in ignorance about one’s true nature. Therefore, a seeker has to gradually reduce action and devote more time to knowledge. It is a long path spanning one or more births. But he need not be discouraged as Krishna (in BG) says that gains in one life are carried forward to next life. One does not start from a scratch. 
Contd Part 2