We are happy to announce the publication of Vivekachudamani The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination For Awakening–A Commentary on Shankara’s Classic on Advaita Vedanta by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke). It is now available at Amazon in paperback and ebook, and the ebook is on sale for 99¢ this week.
Here is an excerpt from Swamiji’s commentary on Shankara’s classic:
[Vivekachudamani verse ] 94. This bondage of the non-Self springs from ignorance, is self-caused, and is described as without beginning and end. It subjects one to the long train of miseries such as birth, death, disease and decrepitude.
“Self-caused” means that by the very nature of ignorance the bondage of the non-Self arises spontaneously without a specific, nameable cause. It is said to have no beginning and end in the sense that the jiva comes into the midst of it through birth, and as long as the jiva remains in ignorance there is no possible end to it.
However, stepping out or above it changes everything, and bondage certainly ends for the yogi–but only a true yogi, not one who mechanically practices yoga but does not consciously and willfully separate himself from the causes and bonds of ignorance. In the case of the ordinary person, he himself is the cause and the continuation of bondage and its “long train of miseries such as birth, death, disease and decrepitude.”
95. This bondage can be destroyed neither by weapons nor by wind, nor by fire, nor by millions of acts–by nothing except the wonderful sword of knowledge that comes of discrimination.
Viveka, the constant intelligent and willful discrimination between the Real and the unreal, between the Self and the non-Self, between the permanent and the impermanent, gives rise to the pure knowledge (jnana) which cuts through both ignorance and its bonds and frees the jnana yogi without fail. That knowledge is perfect vijnana: the highest knowledge, beyond mere theoretical knowledge (jnana)–transcendental knowledge or knowing in which all is seen as manifestations of Brahman, including the yogi’s own Self.
96. One who is passionately devoted to the authority of the shastras [authoritative scriptures such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita] acquires steadiness in his swadharma, which alone conduces to the purity of his mind. The man of pure mind realizes the Supreme Self, and by this alone samsara with its root is destroyed.
Swadharma is a person’s natural, innate duty: dharma based on his personal karma and samskara. Dharma essentially is the righteous way of living, as enjoined by the sacred scriptures and the spiritually illumined. Without this way of life there is no possibility of success in spiritual life, including sadhana.
Knowledge of the shastras is essential for the yogi–not optional. This is why I have written various commentaries on the basic scriptures. And the yogi must have a working vocabulary of Sanskrit terms, too, which is why I compiled A Basic Sanskrit Glossary. Yoga is not superficial. It must pervade the entire being of the yogi.
In The Science of Religion Yogananda wrote a truly remarkable thing:
“Whatever conception we have of God, if it does not influence our daily conduct, if everyday life does not find and inspiration from it, and if it is not found universally necessary, then that conception is useless.
If God is not conceived in such a way that we cannot do without Him in the satisfaction of a want, in our dealings with people, in earning money, in reading a book, in passing an examination, in the doing of the most trifling or the highest duties, then it is plain that we have not felt any connection between God and life.…because we lack a proper conception of them–a conception that can be interwoven with the fabric of daily life.
What we conceive of God should be of daily, nay hourly, guidance to us. The very conception of God should stir us to seek Him in the midst of our daily lives. This is what we mean by a pragmatic and compelling conception of God. We should take religion and God out of the sphere of belief into that of daily life.”
What he recommends is not possible unless we deeply and continually practice yoga sadhana and study the teachings of Sanatana Dharma found in the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras and the words and teachings of the truly wise–the enlightened yogis of India. In their context “the man of pure mind realizes the Supreme Self, and by this alone samsara with its root is destroyed.”
Get Swami Nirmalananda’s new book Vivekachudamani The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination For Awakening for only 99¢ this week.
