Viveka Chudamani India in the eighth century AD was a honeycomb of conflicting sects. At this critical juncture, Shankara appeared on the scene and provided the needed leadership and inspiration to resurrect the Vedic culture of the land and re-establish the supremacy of the Non-dualistic Vedanta. While traversing the country, discoursing and establishing monastic centers, he took the time to write commentaries, compose treatises and hymns. His written work serves as the foundation rock upon which rest the present-day Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion of India. One of Shankaras major philosophical works is his Viveka-Chudamani (The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination). Not too long after Sri Ramana Maharshi arrived at Arunachala as a boy-sage he was shown this text by one of his disciples, who, in all likelihood, asked him to elucidate certain points not understood. The Maharshi found the text so much agreed with his own experience that he made a Tamil prose rendering of the Viveka-Chudamanis 580 Sanskrit verses. The English translation of this work can be found in the Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi. Most of the serious students of the Maharshis teachings are aware of this fact. What is not so well-known, is that out of the 580 verses in the Viveka-Chudamani the Maharshi selected ten that appealed to him most. These he translated and reset. They clearly mirror the Maharshis own experience and provide direct guidance to mature seekers. Verses From Sri Sankaras Viveka-Chudamani Selected and Reset by Sri Ramana Maharishi Among all the means for Liberation pre-eminent is Devotion: and the quest for ones own Reality (the Self is called Devotion.) The Supreme Self, the eternal, indivisible, non-dual Consciousness, the Witness of buddhi and the rest, is other than Sat and asat, and is the ultimate significance of the notion conveyed by the term I. It is the immediate Reality, the Bliss Incarnate. The Supreme Self of pure Consciousness, different from prakriti and its modifications, shines as the I-I, the direct Witness of buddhi during the wakeful and other states, and lights up this entire manifestation of Sat and asat. That which clearly manifests itself within during the wakeful, dreaming and sleep states, which is directly perceived within as the I-I of continuous awareness, which perceives the ego, buddhi, etc., that are of diverse forms and modifications, and which reveals itself as the Atman of Eternal Consciousness-Bliss - know thou this, thine own Self, within the Heart. By direct experience know thou this, thine own Self within thyself, as This is I, with the mind regulated and the intellect pure and clear; (thereby) cross the boundless ocean of samsara of which the waves are the (succession of) births and deaths: thy aim thus fulfilled, be established as the Absolute. In the sheath of intelligence shines eternally Atman, the self-effulgent Witness of all. Making that thy lakshya, which is quite different from the unreal - enjoy it by experience, through unbroken awareness, as thy own Self. Extremely subtle is the Truth of the Self Supreme, and it is not discernible to the gross vision (of the mind). It is knowable to the noble minded of perfectly pure intellect, through very subtle Self-awareness during Samadhi (the State of Transcendental Peace). When the mind, qualified thus through incessant practice, is merged in Brahman, then the Samadhi getting rid of its savikalpa character leads of its own accord to the Experience of Bliss of Oneness (i.e., of Nirvikalpa Samadhi). By the Samadhi are destroyed all the knots of vasanas and all karma is destroyed. There remains, within and without, everywhere and at all times, the effortless manifestation of ones Swaroopa, the Self. In the cave of the buddhi is the Supreme Brahman, one without a second, distinct from Sat and asat. For him who abides in this cave as verily that Self, there is no rebirth.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:52:01 +0000
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