Anam Cara Article

[Guest guest]

Greetings all,

 

This is the article from this month's Anam Cara Newsletter. A really good word

about discrimination and detachment, so I'm passing it on to you.

 

Love, dhyana

 

 

 

Greetings and Namaste!

 

There's an ancient saying that " peace follows renunciation " which is often

quoted in support of cultivating detachment.

 

However, their is a more fundamental quality to be cultivated that allows for

true renunciation and detachment to arise instead of mere repression. That

quality is viveka - discrimination - the ability to know and see the difference

between the true and untrue, to know the emptiness, the ephemeral quality of all

forms, which naturally gives rise to detachment, dispassion and renunciation.

 

The ancient saying in it's entirety is " peace follows renunciation and

renunciation follows discrimination. " The latter part is most often left out

even though it is absolutely essential for developing right understanding and

effortless detachment, the peace of which is undisturbed by desires born from a

lack of discrimination.

 

The great 7th century saint, sage and poet, Shankaracharya, wrote Viveka

Chudamani, The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination. This extraordinary work belongs in

the library of every serious spiritual aspirant. It is a profound exploration of

the power of discrimination and how it is honed and developed through one's

practices and contemplations. Shankaracharya writes from the perspective of

Advaita Vedanta and his works contain gems for everyone.

Viveka

Shankaracharya's Viveka Chudamani

 

Shankara's Viveka Chudamani

 

Cease to find fulfillment of your cravings in the objective world and you will

stop dwelling on sense-objects. Stop dwelling on sense objects and your craving

will be destroyed. When all craving has disappeared, that is liberation. It is

called liberation-while-living.

 

As the thick darkness melts utterly away before the radiant glow of the rising

sun, so the thirst for life in the ego is entirely removed when longing for

knowledge of the Reality becomes intense.

 

When the lord of day ascends, darkness vanishes, with its net of evil. So, when

the absolute bliss is experienced, there is no more bondage, nor any trace of

sorrow.

 

Let this objective world vanish from your thoughts. Let your mind dwell in the

Reality which is full of joy. No matter whether you are regarding external

appearances or meditating within yourself, be intently absorbed in Brahman. That

is how you must pass your time until the residues of your past karmas is worked

out. Vedanta Press, 1975; p. 85

[Guest guest]

Dhyana,

 

Thank you for posting this - it's one of my favorite books, Viveka Chudamani

(The Crest Jewel of Discrimination).

 

Love,

 

David