| Vivekacūḍāmaṇi | |
|---|---|
| Written | 8th century or later |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject | Hindu philosophy |
| Meter | Varies |
| Publication date | 1910 (first print edition)[1] |
| Part of a series on |
| Advaita |
|---|
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Concepts Classical Advaita Vedanta
Kashmir Shaivism |
Texts Advaita Vedanta
Gaudapada Adi Shankara
Advaita-Yoga Nath Kashmir Shaivism Neo-Vedanta Inchegeri Sampradaya |
Teachers Classical Advaita Vedanta
Contemporary
Shaivism/Tantra/Nath |
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 Hindu philosophy |
TheVivekachudamani (Sanskrit:विवेकचूडामणि,romanized: vivekacūḍāmaṇi,lit. 'Crest-jewel of discernment') is a philosophical treatise within theAdvaita Vedanta tradition ofHinduism, traditionally attributed to the Vedāntic philosopherAdi Shankara,[2] though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by scholarship.[3][4][5][6][7][2][8] It is in the form of a poem in theShardula Vikridita metre.[9]
The text discusses key concepts such as theviveka (discrimination ordiscernment) between real (unchanging, eternal) and unreal (changing, temporal),Prakriti andAtman, the oneness of Atman andBrahman, and self-knowledge as the central task of spiritual life and forMoksha.[10][3][11] It expounds theAdvaita Vedanta philosophy in the form of a self-teaching manual, with many verses in the form of a dialogue between a student and a spiritual teacher.
The authorship of theVivekachudamani has been questioned.[3] According to Reza Shah-Kazemi the authorship of Shankara is doubtful,[4] though it is "so closely interwoven into the spiritual heritage of Shankara that any analysis of his perspective which fails to consider [this work] would be incomplete".[4][note 1] According to Michael Comans, a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, though the Hindu tradition popularly believes that Adi Shankara authored theVivekachudamani, this is "most probably erroneous".[5] Comans gives the following reasons for his doubts: the highly poetic style of theVivekachudamani is not found in other genuine works of Adi Shankara; there is a lack of extensive commentaries (bhasya) on theVivekachudamani which is unusual given the extensive commentaries on his other works; and unlike Shankara's other genuine works which give minimal importance tonirvikalpasamadhi practices, theVivekachudamani gives special importance to it.[5] Though theVivekachudamani is a popular manual on Vedanta, it is probably the work of a later Shankara, and not Adi Shankara, states Comans.[5] Yet another theory, states Berger, is that "rather than simply having been written or not written by [Adi] Shankara, the Crown Jewel of Discrimination may be a corporately authored work [of Advaita monasteries] that went through revisions".[2]
According to Natalia Isayeva, a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, it is "far less probable" that Adi Shankara authored theVivekachudamani.[6] Sengaku Mayeda, another scholar of Indian Philosophy and Advaita Vedanta, states that though widely accepted as Shankara's work, theVivekachudamani is likely not his work.[7]
Paul Hacker, an Indologist and scholar of Advaita, set out a methodology for ascertaining authorship of Advaita texts and he concluded that though theVivekachudmani is unusual in parts, it was likely authored by Adi Shankara.[2][8] Hacker stated that the definitions of the key concepts, premises and ideas found in theVivekachudmani match with those in Shankara's established authentic works.[2]Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr., another influential Indologist, rejected Hacker's conclusion by accepting Hacker's methodology and presenting evidence from its manuscripts that some of the ideas in the text do not fully agree with those of Adi Shankara.[2][8]
According toJohn Grimes, a professor ofHinduism andBuddhism known for his translation of theVivekachudamani, "modern scholars tend to reject that Adi Shankara composed Vivekachudamani, while traditionalists tend to accept it", and there is an unending "arguments and counter-arguments" about its authorship.[12] Grimes states that his work strengthens the case that "there is still a likelihood that Śaṅkara is the author of theVivekacūḍāmaṇi,"[12] noting that "a strong case can be made that theVivekacūḍāmaṇi is a genuine work of Shankara's and that it differs in certain respects from his other works in that it addresses itself to a different audience and has a different emphasis and purpose."[13][2]
Irrespective of the attribution, theVivekachudmani is a significant work of Advaita. According toSwami Dayananda Saraswati, aVedanta teacher, "I do not think we lose anything even if the authorship is attributed to any otherSankaracharya of one of the various Sankara-mathas."[14]
Many historic manuscripts of theVivekachudamani have been found in different monasteries of Advaita Vedanta. These have minor variations, and a critical edition of these has not been published yet.[1] The earliest original Sanskrit manuscript of theVivekachudamani was published from Srirangam (Tamil Nadu) by T.K. Balasubramania Iyer in 1910.[1] This edition has attracted much of 20th- and 21st-century scholarship, and has been republished in 1983 after some revision and re-arrangement to reflect studies on it since 1910. Other editions have been the basis of a few Indian translations. The five most referred to manuscripts in Advaita scholarship have been published by Samata (Chennai), Advaita Ashrama (Kolkata), Sri Ramakrishna Math (Chennai), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Mumbai), Chinmayananda Ashrama (Mumbai).[1]
TheVivekachudamani consists of 580 verses inSanskrit. These cover a range of spiritual topics and their answers according to the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism.
| Section | Verses | Topics[15] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–31 | Man's life and quest, spirituality, liberation: basic aspects |
| 2 | 32–71 | The need for a teacher, characteristics of a good teacher, characteristics of a good student |
| 3 | 72–110 | The physical, the body: discriminating the three essences |
| 4 | 111–135 | Nature and effects: five sheaths, three gunas |
| 5 | 136–146 | The goal of spirituality, the nature of bondage, the nature of confusion, the nature of sorrow |
| 6 | 147–153 | Atma and Anatma: discrimination, self-knowledge and bliss |
| 7 | 154–225 | The path to self-knowledge |
| 154–164 | Annamaya kosha and its negation | |
| 165–166 | Pranamaya kosha and its negation | |
| 167–183 | Manomaya kosha and its negation | |
| 184–188 | Vijnanamaya kosha and its negation | |
| 189–206 | The free soul, what is freedom and liberation, why self-knowledge is necessary | |
| 207–210 | Anandamaya kosha and its negation | |
| 211–225 | Atman, what it is not? what is it? | |
| 8 | 226–240 | The absolute Brahman, the atman, the oneness, and theVedic precepts |
| 9 | 240–249 | That thou art: you are it! |
| 10 | 250–266 | Meditation, its purpose, the method, questions to ponder and reflect on |
| 11 | 267–338 | The method |
| 267–276 | Understand and endvasanas (impressions, inertia, memorized beliefs and behavior) | |
| 277–292 | Understand and endsvadhyasa (superimposed sense of self) | |
| 293–309 | Understand and endahankara (false ego) | |
| 310–319 | Renounce egocentric work, craving and sense objects | |
| 320–329 | Be true to supreme self, be vigilant against delusion | |
| 330–338 | Cherish oneness, there is no duality, no plurality; dwell in the real, not the unreal | |
| 12 | 339–383 | Spiritual growth and nirvikalpa samadhi, the entire universe is you, you are the self of all |
| 13 | 384–406 | Continuous attention to one's true nature |
| 14 | 407–425 | Atma-vichara: self-inquiry |
| 15 | 426–445 | Signs of a realized seer: jivanmukta |
| 16 | 446–471 | The saint without plurality |
| 17 | 472–520 | The disciple of knowledge and the experience of self-hood |
| 18 | 521–575 | Final words of advice from the teacher |
| 576–580 | Epilogue: the liberated disciple and the innermost essence of Vedanta |
The text begins with salutations toGovinda, which can be interpreted either as referring to God or to his guru SriGovinda Bhagavatpada.[16] It then expounds the significance of Self Realisation, ways to reach it, and the characteristics of aGuru. It criticises attachment to the body and goes to explain the various bodies (śarīra),sheaths (kośa),qualities (guṇa),senses, andenergies (prāṇa) which constitute theAnatman.[17] It teaches the disciple the ways to attain Self-realisation, methods ofmeditation (dhyana) and introspection of the Atman. The Vivekachudamani describes the characteristics of an enlightened human being (Jivanmukta)[18] and a person of steady wisdom (Sthitaprajna) on the lines of Bhagavad Gita.[19]
TheVivekachudmani has been celebrated as a lucid introductory treatise toAdvaita Vedanta.[2] It is, states Berger, not a "philosophical or polemical" text. It is primarily a pedagogical treatise, as an aid to an Advaitin's spiritual journey to liberation rather than "philosophy for the sake of philosophy". It is one of the texts of "spiritual sustenance" in the Advaita tradition.[2]
TheVivekachudmani is one of several historic teaching manuals in the Advaita tradition, one of its most popular. Other texts that illustrate Advaita ideas in a manner broadly similar to theVivekachudmani but are neither as comprehensive nor same, includeEkasloki,Svatmaprakasika,Manisapancaka,Nirvanamanjari,Tattvopadesa,Prasnottararatnamalika,Svatmanirupana,Prabodhasudhakara andJivanmuktanandalahari.[20] These texts are not attributed to Adi Shankara.Upadesasahasri, another Advaita teaching manual, is attributed to Adi Shankara.[21][22]
There are two Sanskrit commentaries on this work.Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrusimha Bharati, the pontiff ofSringeri, wrote a commentary titledVivekodaya (Dawn of Discrimination) on the first seven verses of this work. His disciple, SriChandrasekhara Bharathi, has written aVyakhya orcommentary on the first 515 verses of this work.
This work has been translated into various languages, often accompanied by a commentary in the same language. English translations and commentaries include those bySwami Prabhavananda andChristopher Isherwood,Swami Madhavananda, Swami Turiyananda, "Dravidācārya" Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇan Svāmīji[23] andSwami Chinmayananda.Tamil translations and commentaries include those byRamana Maharshi.[24] Swami Jyotihswarupananda has translated theVivekachudamani intoMarathi.[25]
A recent scholarly translation of the text was published in 2004 by John Grimes – a professor of Hinduism and Buddhism. His translation has been reviewed by Douglas Berger, who states, "the [Vivekachudmani] translation itself is a testament to Grimes' surpassing Sanskrit skills and thorough knowledge of Vedantic textual exegesis. The unusually lucid presentation of the Sanskrit slokas is rendered with exactness and eloquent clarity in the English. The accompanying Upanisadic cross-referencing and Sanskrit-English lexicon of key terms will prove themselves enormously helpful to lay readers, students, and scholars."[26]
Hundreds of commentaries in several languages are available on internet in the form of blog articles, videos etc.
Translation: "A firm conviction of the mind to the effect that Brahman is real and the universe unreal, is designated as the discrimination (viveka) between the real and the unreal."[27][28]
Translation: "By reflection, reasoning and instructions of teachers, the truth is known, not by ablutions, not by making donations, nor by performing hundreds of breath control exercises."[28]
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Berger, Douglas L. (2005)."The Vivekacudamani of Sankaracarya Bhagavatpada: An Introduction and Translation (review)".Philosophy East and West.55 (4):616–619.doi:10.1353/pew.2005.0032.ISSN 1529-1898.
