Drg-Drsya-Viveka: An Inquiry into The Nature of The 'Seer' and The 'Seen' Sanskrit Text, Word-To-Word Meaning, Translation And Detailed Commentary Swami Nikhilananda Foreword By V. Subrahmanyaiyer

by Nikhilananda

This title is known as a prakarana treatise of Vedanta philosophy. The special feature of this book is the detailed description of the various kinds of samadhi. Devanagri text with English translation and notes.

Genres: Spirituality, Philosophy, Hinduism, Religion, Nonfiction, Mysticism

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 800

About the author

Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his death in 1973. An accomplished writer and thinker, Nikhilananda's greatest contribution was the translation of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita from Bengali into English, published under the title The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942).

Reviews

[Viji (Bookish endeavors) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important prakarana written by Adi Sankaracharya for the better understanding of Prasthana-traya. The translation I read was the one by Swami Jnananandasaraswati.
In the text,'drk' means the one who sees(atman) and 'drsya' means what is seen(world). The entire text is dedicated to how maya binds the soul and creates the illusion of the world and how the soul must realize this illusion and realize that he is just a seer and not a participant. He must be like the second bird in the Mundakopanishad.
It is beyond me to review such a book. Read and see for yourself the beauty and truth of the words..

[The Conch · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books, after reading them, one's paradigm shifts forever. This is such type of book which will force one to think about reality of reality. It is very small book, but it takes more than 15 days to complete for implanting each and every 'shloka' of 'Drg-Drshya-Viveka'. Today after works of Dr.Karl Piribam, there is lot of brouhaha about reality, holographic universe etc. however, this book was written on or before 1300 CE and it analysed reality on basis of three states 'Jagrat' (awaking), 'Prativashik' (dream) and 'Susupti' (deep sleep).

If truth is one, then which reality is true or whether real reality is something beyond three stage; Hindu 'Shastra' (scriptures) describe the state as 'Turiya'.

[Malik S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The change that this book has graduated in me is inevitable. Indeed it took much more man-hours than a semester study; with remorse for being late to the party.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic theory of Advaita Vedanta. Very well written.
Read the PDF from http://vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Other...

[Nitin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to Advaita.

[Suneesh Sudhakaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little book. You need a bit of help to understand them. Lot of good youtube videos especially of Swami Sarvapriyananda will help you to have clarity.

[Manuela Ruseva · Rating 5 out of 5]

enlightening. a must point of view for whoever turns to spirituality and self-realisation

[Vismay Agrawal · Rating 2 out of 5]

!

[Aditya Pathak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insights into Advaita Vedanta. A very good introductory text to begin with.

[Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing!

[Sunil Kanojia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: A Profound Exploration of the Seer and the Seen [mind boggling for intellectuals or mind driven folks like me ... WoW! what I'm not]

Dŗg-Dŗśya-Viveka: An Inquiry into the Nature of the 'Seer' and the 'Seen' is a remarkable philosophical treatise that delves deep into the Advaita Vedanta tradition. This concise yet powerful text offers timeless wisdom on discerning the distinction between the perceiver (Dŗg) and the perceived (Dŗśya), guiding readers on a path toward self-realization and spiritual clarity.

The book's analytical approach, often structured in verse form, presents complex metaphysical ideas in a manner that encourages contemplation and introspection. It emphasizes the practice of discriminative inquiry to uncover the true nature of the self, which remains untouched by the ever-changing world of appearances.

One of the text's strengths is its capacity to guide spiritual seekers beyond mere intellectual understanding. The commentary accompanying the original verses offers insightful interpretations, making the profound teachings more accessible to contemporary readers. Each verse unfolds as a meditation, urging readers to experience rather than simply understand the subtle truths presented.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Advaita philosophy or seeking a deeper understanding of the self beyond the illusions of the mind and senses. It challenges conventional perceptions and inspires a transformative journey toward recognizing the eternal, unchanging consciousness within.

[Muni Sreenivas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye sees the world.
Mind sees the eye.
I see the mind.
The world sees me.

Eye sees the world in various states.
Mind sees the eye in various states (blurry, focused, half-open etc).
I see the mind in various states (alert, drowsy, distracted etc).
The world sees me in various states (kid, adult, old etc).

I construct a world in my dream and separate myself from it.
The world constructs me in reality and separates itself from me.
I am dreaming a world.
The world is dreaming me.
A dream within a dream.

[Vipin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In meditation, we shift our attention from the ‘seen’ thoughts to the ‘Seer’ of the thoughts. By doing so, the thoughts whether good or bad, cease to affect us. Such a practice has a tremendous effect on us. The mind, when ignored, becomes calm and poised. It concentrates easily and learns to abide in the Self."

[Anchit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book about our lives and the world that we live in! I'm definitely not going to spoil the surprise for everyone but this book was taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda (one of the most amazing teachers IMO). It touches a very deep topic. The deepest topic possible. Your life. Everybody's life. And the truth about it.

[Vivek Shroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on a complex subject.
There are proofing errors especially in Sanskrit shlokas.
It is advisable to read the topic in Hindi. The English translation of technical terms makes their meaning unclear.

[K. BALAKRISHNAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advaitha concept .

This is a nice elaboration of seer in different roles and the seen to match. Enjoyable commentary and translation. The cross referencing is a bit involving going front and back and there are some printing errors in the main manthras in devnagari.

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Swami Sarvapriyananda - Dṛg Dṛśya Viveka
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB...

[Abhas · Rating 5 out of 5]

First step to Non-duality.

[Ritik Gautam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely esoteric. Partially helped me understand the nature of non-dual Self. Looking forward to coming back to the book with more experience in samadhi.

[Chandrashekar BC · Rating 5 out of 5]

"ದೃಗ್-ದೃಶ್ಯ ವಿವೇಕ" - ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಪರಿಚಯ
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"ದೃಗ್-ದೃಶ್ಯ ವಿವೇಕ"ವು ಅದ್ವೈತ ಸಿದ್ದಾಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿರುವ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಕರಣ ಗ್ರಂಥ. ಇದನ್ನು ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯರು ಅಥವಾ ವಿದ್ಯಾರಣ್ಯರು ರಚಿಸಿರಬಹುದೆಂದು ಸಂಶೋಧನಾಕಾರರು ಹೇಳಿರುವರು. ಇದನ್ನು ರಾಮಕೃಷ್ಣಮಠದ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ನಿಖಿಲಾನಂದರು ಗ್ರಂಥದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ೪೮ ಶ್ಲೋಕಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅನುವಾದ ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ . ಅದರ ಕನ್ನಡಾನುವಾದವಾದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಗ್ರಂಥವನ್ನೂ ರಾಮಕೃಷ್ಣಮಠವೇ ಪ್ರಕಾಶನಗೊಳಿಸಿದೆ.
ಜಗದ್ವ್ಯವಹಾರವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಭೇದಗ್ರಹಣಪೂರ್ವಕವಾಗಿಯೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಈ ಎಲ್ಲ ಭೇದಗಳಿಗೂ ಮೂಲಭೂರವಾದುದು ವಿಷಯಿ (subject ಅಥವಾ ನೋಡುವ) ವಿಷಯ (object ಅಥವಾ ನೋಡಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ) ಬೇಧ, ದ್ರ್‍ಅಷ್ಟೃ ಹಾಗು ದೃಶ್��ಗಳ ಬೇಧ. ವಿಷಯಿಯನ್ನು ದೃಕ್ ಎಂದು, ವಿಷವನ್ನು ದೃಶ್ಯವೆಂದು ಕರೆದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಚಾರ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆಯನ್ನು ನಡೆಸಿರುವರು. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಶ್ಲೋಕಾರ್ಥವನ್ನು ನೋಡಬಹುದು :
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"ರೂಪಂ ದೃಶ್ಯಂ ಲೋಚನಂ ದೃಕ್ ತದ್ದೃಶ್ಯಂ ದೃಕ್ತು ಮಾನಸಮ್
ದೃಶ್ಯಾ ಧೀವೃತ್ತಯಃ ಸಾಕ್ಷೀ ದೃಗೇವ ನ ತು ದೃಶ್ಯತೆ."
ರೂಪವು ನೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಷಯವು. ಕಣ್ಣು ಅಥವಾ ದೃಗಿಂದ್ರಿಯವು ಅದನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದು. ಆ ದೃಗಿಂದ್ರಿಯವೂ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಗೆ ವಿಷಯವೇ, ಅದನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದು ಮನಸ್ಸು. ಆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ವೃತ್ತಿ ಗಳೂ ವಿಷಯಗಳೇ. ಅವನ್ನು ಅರಿಯುವುದು ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. ಈ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ವಿಷಯವಾಗುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಇದು ನೋಡಲ್ಪಡುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ!!
]
ಇದರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ನಾವು ನೋಡುವ ನೋಟ ವಿಷಯವೆಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಆ ನೋಟವನ್ನು ಅರ್ಥೈಸುವ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ವಿಷಯವೆಂದು ಪರಿಗಣಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನೂ ನೋಡುವ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಸ್ವರೂಪವೆಂದು ತಿಳಿಯಬೇಕು. ಈ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯನ್ನು ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವುದೂ ನೋಡಲ್ಪಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲಾ. ಹೀಗೆ ಅದ್ವೈತ ಸಿದ್ದಾಂತದ ಮೂಲ ತತ್ವಗಳನ್ನು ಈ ಬೇಧಾಭೇದಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ, ವಿಷಯಿ-ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ, ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಕೇವಲ ನಲವತ್ತೆಂಟು ಶ್ಲೋಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವರಿಸಿ ಹೆಳುವ ಈ ಸಣ್ಣ ಗ್ರಂಥದ ಸಾಧನೆಯನ್ನು ಗೌರವಿಸಲೇಬೇಕು. ಅನೇಕ ಪ್ರಾಪಂಚಿಕ ವ್ಯವಹಾರಗಳ ದೃಷ್ಟಾಂತಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣ ವಿಚಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಗ್ರಹಿಸಲು ಸುಲಭಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಕಲ ವಸ್ತುಗಳಲ್ಲಿರಬಹುದಾದ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಸ್ವರೂಪ ( ಸಚ್ಚಿದಾನಂದ ಸ್ವರೂಪ), ಜಗದ್ರೂಪಗಳ ಬೇದಗಳನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಿ, ಅದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಮಾಯೆ ಬೆರೆತಿದೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ತಿಳಿಸಿ, ಆ ಮಾಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿರಬಹುದಾದ ಅನೇಕ ವಿಧಗಳನ್ನು (ವಿಕ್ಷೇಪ, ಆವರಣ) ವಿಚಾರ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಮಾಯೆಯನ್ನು ಮೀರಿ ಭೇದಗಳನ್ನು ದೃಷ್ಟಿಸುವ, ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸುವ ವಿಧಾನಗಳನ್ನು, ಹಾಗೆ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ಕಾರಗೊಂಡಾಗ ತಾಳುವ ಸವಿಕಲ್ಪ, ನಿರ್ವಿಕಲ್ಪ ಸಮಾಧಿಗಳ ಸ್ವರೂಪವನ್ನು ವಿವರವಾಗಿ ವರ್ಣಿಸಿದಾರೆ.
ಇದನ್ನು ಓದುವಾಗ ಒಂದು ಸ್ವಾರಸ್ಯಕರ ಅಂಶವನ್ನು ಗಮನಿದ್ದೇನೆಂದರೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ವಿಚಾರಗಳು ಎಸ್. ಎಲ್ ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಗಳಾದ "ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ" ಹಾಗು "ಆವರಣ" ಗಳ ಅರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಪುನರಾವಲೋಕಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು. ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯು ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾದದ್ದು ಏನು?, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಲೇಖಕರ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗೆ ಆ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವಾಗ ಅವರು ಏನನ್ನು ಯೋಚಿಸಿರಬಹುದು? ಎಂಬಂತ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನೊಳಗೆದ್ದು, ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಗ್ರಂಥದ ವಿಚಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರವನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕುತ್ತವೆ!!

[Shurabhi]

I don't know how I should start reviewing this. I know one fact for sure, whatever I'll say won't do much justice to it, because the knowledge this book offers is something that one must grasp by themselves. And it is not even that you need to force yourself into studying it. No, it's not at all like that. Instead, it is like the knowledge is there; it has always been there, for ages, and you ultimately reach it when your inner self feels prepared for it. Vedanta has always been there for you, and those who were to seek, who were to learn from it, who wanted to cut their bond of ignorance with the sword of their knowledge, come into the light of that knowledge.

The book provides an introduction to the Vedanta philosophy, specifically the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, that explains the non-dual nature of existence. I watched the lectures of Swami Sarvapriyananda on YouTube, and he explained each verse in detail, providing great insights, extraordinary examples, deep explanations, and legendary storytelling in between. I desperately look forward to learning more from him.

And yes, now I do realise that once you get a taste of spirituality, there's no returning back. The more I continue to deliver my thoughts, the more I run out of words. I'll just let the purity of this knowledge absorb me.