SRI SANKARACHARYA : THE DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE NON-SELF

March 27, 2003

VIVEKACADAMUNI of Sri Sankaracharya

71. Now I am going to tell thee fully about what thou oughtst to know--

the discrimination between the Self and the non-Self.

Listen to it and decide it in thy mind.

73. This body, reputed to be the abode of the delusion of 'I and mine',

is designated by sages as the gross body.

The sky, air, fire, water, and earth are subtle elements. They-

Being united with parts of one another and becoming gross, form the

gross body. And their subtle essences form sense-objects---

the group of five--sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight--

which conduce to the happiness of the seeker, the individual soul. (74.)

78. He who is free from the terrible snare of the hankering after

sense-objects, so very difficult to get rid of, is alone fit for liberation,

and none else--even though he be versed in the six Shastras.

79. The shark of hankering catches, by the throat, those seekers after

liberation who have only an apparent dispassion (vairagya), and who are

trying to cross the ocean of Samsara (relative existence),

and violently snatching them, drowns them half way.

80. He who has killed the shark, known as sense-objects, with the sword

of mature dispassion, crosses the ocean of Samsara, free from all obstacles.

Satchitananda

Kathy

81. Know that death quickly overtakes the stupid man who walks along the

dreadful ways of sense-pleasure; whereas one who walks in accordance

with the instructions of a well-wishing and worthy Guru,

as well as with his own reasoning, achieves his end--know this to be true.

The six Shastras are the six schools of Indian Philosophy. They are also known

as the six darsanas :

Samkhya of Kapila

Yoga of Patanjali

Vaiseshika of Kanada

Nyaya of Gautama

Purva Mimamsa of Jaimini

Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa of Vyasa

You are invited to join Sri Sankara's group.

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