The Crest Jewel of Discrimination

VIVEKACHUDAMANI
--Acharya Shankara’s Greatest Gift to Humanity

It is natural for every being in the world to be happy at all times and be free from the taint of sorrow and get rid of bodily ailments etc which are not of its nature. Further, everyone cherishes the greatest love for himself and this love is not possible in the absence of happiness. The same person, in a state of deep sleep, though devoid of everything, gets the experience of being happy. Yet, due to the ignorance of one’s real nature which is happiness itself, people flounder in the vast ocean of material experience in search of happiness and believes mistakenly that possessing the pleasures of this material world ushers in happiness.

It is precisely for the purpose of pointing out the straight path to true happiness that Lord Shiva took the Avatara of Acharya Shankara [788-820] and wrote the commentaries on the Prasthana Traya of the Vedanta which extol the excellence of this bliss and demonstrated it by setting up an example in his own life. These commentaries, however, are of little value to a layman who has the intense desire to seek true happiness but does not have the necessary scholarship and intelligence for studying them. It is for this reason that the Acharya revealed the essence of these commentaries in a short treatise
[Called Prakarana Grantha in Sanskrit] popular as “Vivekachudamani” or ‘The Crest Jewel of Discrimination’. In this work Shankara has explained in detail the points that have to be grasped by those who are desirous of Liberation [True Happiness] so that they can follow the right royal road to true happiness.

Shankara says that with a view to realizing Absolute Bliss, one’s own individual and sincere effort is most essential. The most important initial requirements are: a pure mind and a clear sense of discrimination [which he calls as ‘Viveka’]. In the Vivekachudamani, the Acharya repeatedly emphasizes the fact a seeker of Bliss should basically be aware of the fact that this material world is just a passing show. Shelly, the great English poet [1792-1822] and a passionate seeker of truth, emphasizes the same point when he says in one of his popular poems ‘Adonais’ that “The One Remains, the many change and pass”. Even Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, while speaking about God says that zeros have no value as long as 1 is not placed before them. After placing 1, every zero becomes valuable and without it, even a string of zeroes is valueless. God is that 1 that imparts value to the world which is represented by the zeroes. Again, in his commentary on the Ishopanishad, Acharya Shankara says that it is the Self, of the nature of pure consciousness that bestows values to the world without which the world is a big zero. It is just like what the modern physics says that without the Field the Particles are reduced to a zero.

Vivekachudamani underscores the importance of keeping the mind clean and how it is equally important to train and keep the mind under control. These traits are some of the basic requirements for Self-realization. The core teaching highlights the dual role of the human mind as the cause of both bondage and realization. “Mana Eva Manushyanam Karanam Bandha Mokshayoh”. The mind has the power to diffuse or facilitate the individual’s quest for Self-realization. Since the knowledge of one’s True Self alone can liberate one from the shackles of birth and death, all efforts to purify the mind is a basic requirement to reach the Truth. The mind is a powerful instrument which functions from within every human body. It is the instrument that enables the other sense organs such as the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue etc to interact with the worldly objects. The mind is also fickle by nature and flits from object to object without effort. When the attention is concentrated on external objects which bring sensual pleasure, the ability to focus the mind inward and look inward and see the Inner Self is weakened. Instead of beholding the Self as the embodiment of consciousness, bliss and Happiness, the mind is drawn to the world and sees the individual self as limited in nature. By constant and concerted practice, it is possible to train and control the mind to reach a stage where it remains unaffected by external distractions. This, in essence, constitutes the basic teaching of the Vivekachudamani.

The subject is presented in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and a student. Such topics as the qualifications of a student, the nature of spiritual life, obstacles likely to be met on the way to spiritual realization and methods to overcome them, benefits of spiritual life and experience—all these points have been clearly explained by the Master.
Student here does not mean an intelligent academic student but a spirant who is keen on spiritual realization and has the basic qualifications to pursue such philosophical studies. The teacher means a man of spiritual realization. The meeting of such a competent student and an illumined teacher makes the beginning of a momentous event, consuming in the liberation of the student from the bond of birth. Achrya Shankara brings out all these subtle points in chaste Sanskrit in the form of 581 charming shlokas, the beauty and charm of which cannot be adequately conveyed in any other language. Most of these shlokas are quite familiar to students of Vedanta and are being often quoted by scholars and saints all these thousand and odd years.

Vivekachudamani brings home the essence of Vedanta in a nutshell, emphasizing how real happiness is possible only when one is able to distinguish between what is real and what is ephemeral and how this demands ‘Viveka’[ sense of discrimination ] as a pre-requisite for a student. The book is called ‘Vivekachudamani’ or ‘The Crest Jewel of Discrimination’. The word ‘Chuda’ means crest in Sanskrit and ‘Mani’ means jewel and Viveka which means discrimination is the Crest Jewel. Among all the factors leading us to self-realization, Viveka is supreme and most precious. Since we place the most precious jewel on the crest, Shankara calls his work ‘Vivekachudamani’.

As a monumental treatise on Advaita Vedanta, Vivekachudamani retains its importance and popularity even after 1,200 years. Two of the greatest Rishis of the 20th Century namely Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekhar Bharathi of the Sringeri Math have translated Vivekachudamani.
Ramana translated the work into Tamil prose sometime in 1909 while he was staying in the Virupaksha Cave in Tiruvannamalai. The Sringeri Jagadguru felt a compelling need for an authentic commentary in English and wrote a profound commentary in 1973. All of us are aware that His Holiness was a great Tapasvin, a Master of all Tantras and Shastras and more than anything, he was a fully realized Jeevanmuktha. He, however, left a few verses [shlokas from 516-581] uncommented. When this omission was brought to his notice by some close disciples, he said “All that has to be told has been said. My mind is intent on meditation and not on any thing else”. This incompleteness, however, does not in any way affect the greatness of the work.

B.M.N.Murthy



ARTICLE NO--485---Vivekachudamani of Acharya Shankara
Created: Friday, January 23, 2009 8:08 PM