Sri Samkara's Vivekachudamani

by Chandrasekhara Bharati Swaminah

Sri Samkara, reverently adored as Sri Bhagavatpada, wrote illuminating Commentaries on the triple classics of Vedanta Philosophy, the "Upanishads", the "Bhagavad-Gita" and the "Brahma Sutras" to provide knowledge of the scriptural texts, reinforcing them by accordant reasoning and verifying them by personal experience. Out of compassion for those who are incapable of mastering these commentaries and to instruct them in the verities of Vedanta, he wrote a number of minor works known as "Prakarana Granthas". Of these, the "Vivekacudamani" is the best known. It gives the quintessence of spiritual knowledge. Significantly called the Crest Jewel of discrimination: it shows that the ills of life are to be traced to one's inability to discriminate between the eternal and the ephemeral. Mistaking the worldly things, which are the non-atman for one's real atman, one loses oneself pursuit of them, and this prolongs the samsaric cycle. Discrimination between the atman and the anatman is the primordium on which the entire spiritual process for atmasaksatkara which leads to liberation is based. Sri Bhagavatpada charts out this voyage of an afflicted and earnest inquirer across the sea of samsara in the form of a dialogue between a sisya and his guru to whom he has supplicated, and who helps to transmute the textual knowledge of the sisya into a fact of realisation. There was no extant commentary on this work for long. This has now been graciously provided by the celebrated Jivanmukta, His Holiness Jagadguru Sri chandrasekhara Bharati Pujyapadah of revered memoru who adorned the Sarada Pitham at Sringeri as it's thirty fourth pondiff, on the lines of Bhagavatpada's Bhasyas on the Prasthanatraya, ensowing the golden petals of this classic with the fragrance of his masterly exposition. This book is an English rendering of this Commentary by a feeble pen, which is conscious of it's limitations to bring out the spirit of the original with fidelity to content an accuracy of expression.

508 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Venkat Krishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful traditional commentary on Adi Shankara's Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, by one who is part of the unbroken lineage of disciples from Adi Shankara himself.

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi is an enlightening text that contains the essence of all the Upanishads. It is a masterpiece on Advaita Vedanta. It is an original production of Shankara's genius, the prophetic vision of a seer, a man of realization. The language used is very lucid and poetical. It breathes a new life into the philosophical discussion of the most abstruse subject ever known.

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi can be considered as Shankara's magnum opus, his greatest achievement. Anyone studying this book will get new and unique perspectives on Shankara's thought.

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi is not a book to be read once and then stored away. It is a book for continuous reflection and meditation. A portion of the book needs to be studied everyday.