Vivekachudamani

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The famous Sanskrit poem Vivekachudamani ( Sanskrit विवेकचूडामणि vivekacūḍāmaṇi ) dates from the 8th century and is ascribed to Adi Shankara . In 580 verses with Shardula Vikridita metric , it explains the monistic philosophy of Advaita Vedanta .

introduction

Adi Shankara

The Vivekachudamani describes the development of Viveka - the human ability to distinguish between the real (unchangeable and eternal) and the unreal (changeable and temporary). Achieving this ability is considered a central task in the spiritual life. Under the essential prerequisites for final liberation ( Moksha ), it is considered the crown jewel (Chudamani). The title of the poem Vivekachudamani can thus be rendered as the crown jewel of distinction . Over the centuries since its inception, the Vivekachudamani has been translated into several languages ​​and has been the subject of numerous commentaries and explanations.

author

The authorship and origin of the poem remain controversial, although the general consensus, according to John Grimes and other peer-reviewed authors, is to recognize Adi Shankara as the author.

content

Swans ( Cygnus olor ) - symbols of purity and transcendence in Vedanta

The Vivekachudamani consists of 580 Sanskrit verses ( sutras ), which are built up in the form of a dialogue between teacher and student. The teacher explains to the student the nature of the Atman and methods of approaching it. In a step-by-step instruction, the student is introduced to the knowledge of Brahman . According to the Vivekachudamani, the ultimate truth consists of Brahman, the impersonal aspect of God - attributeless, eternally blissful and completely self -realized ( Sat-Chit-Ananda ) and metaphysical substratum of all being. The manifested creation is nothing more than a mental projection, an illusion. This does exist, but paradoxically also not at the same time , whereby this non-being is a purely metaphysical view. From an empirical point of view, it is the imagination of the mind that makes creation worth striving for and thus generates the visual cognition of the manifested world.

The sufferings of people with subsequent transmigration of souls are consequently triggered by a wrong idea of ​​reality. Submerged in the world of phenomena ( samsara ), the test person forgets his true universal identity and instead identifies with his physical vehicle.

In order to make these ideas easier to understand, Shankara uses a simple comparison a little further in the text - the jug and the air it contains. The air in the jug can be equated with the surrounding outside air. There is no fundamental qualitative difference between the two, just as there is no difference between the individual and the universal soul. Out of illusion or metaphysical ignorance alone there arises self- awareness ( Ahamkara ) and isolation. Because it is only the sound of the jug that separates the air inside from the outside. As soon as the jug breaks, the air in it can mix with the outside air in an inseparable way. In this way, the original state of inseparable unity is restored - a completeness that has no separate components, comparable to the integral consciousness of the self. The air in the jug does not become a "part" of the outside air, but rather combines with it completely and is completely absorbed in it. This process is similar to liberation, in which the individual consciousness gives way to an expanded consciousness which is in no way different from Brahman, becomes equal with him and his creation and unites with everything and everyone.

A metaphor used later is that of the rope mistakenly mistaken for a snake.

The text begins with greetings to Govinda , meaning either the god Krishna or the guru of Adi Shankara, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada .

"सर्ववेदान्तसिद्धान्तगोचरं तमगोचरम्
गोविन्दं परमानन्दं सद्गुरुं प्रणतोऽस्म्यहम्"

"Sarvavedāntasiddhāntagocaraṁ tamagocaram
govindaṁ paramānandaṁ sadguruṁ praṇato'smyaham"

“I bow to Govinda, whose eternal nature is absolute bliss. He is the knowing teacher who can only be recognized through knowledge of the entire Vedanta, but not through discourses and rational arguments. "

This is followed by explanations about self-realization and its practice as well as an illustration of the characteristics of a guru. Body attachment and the anatman , which, in addition to the senses, is built up from various coverings of the atman such as the shariras , koshas , gunas and pranas , are criticized . The Kośas are a total of five and consist of the covering of the gross body by food, the three coverings of the subtle body by vital force, by the spirit and by the intellect, and the covering of the causal or spiritual body by bliss. The Gunas are influences of material nature that act on the Atman in three different ways. In addition, the universal law of cause and effect ( karma ) is always present.

The student also learns meditation methods ( Dhyana ) and introspection (introspection) for the goal of self-knowledge. In addition, the Vivekachudamani uses the Bhagavad Gita to describe the essential characteristics of an enlightened person ( Jivanmukta ) and a steadfast sage ( Sthitaprajna ).

warning

Already after the first verse, Shankara warns the reader against false hopes for calming words, since the Advaita Vedanta is not a philosophy that can offer insecure people confidence and psychological security. On the contrary, the aim of Advaita Vedanta is to deprive the individual of any supportive function. The study of Vivekachudamani with the accompanying acceptance and understanding of its truthfulness can therefore have a destabilizing effect on spiritually immature readers and possibly even be dangerous for them.

structure

  • First steps on the way - verses 1 through 71
    • Preface - Verses 1-15
    • The four perfections - verses 16 to 34
    • The urge to the higher self - verses 35 to 40
    • Beginning of teaching - verses 41 to 71
  • Self, potentials, coverings - verses 72 to 197
    • The coverings - verses 72 to 107
    • The three potentials - verses 108 to 135
    • Slavery and deliverance - verses 136 to 147
    • Liberation of the self - verses 148-153
    • Covering with food - verses 154-164
    • Covering with the air of life - verses 165 to 166
    • Covering by the spirit - verses 167-183
    • Covering with intelligence - verses 184 to 197
  • The witness - verses 198-268
    • Manifestation and Hidden Self - Verses 198-209
    • Student asks, teacher answers - verses 210-240
    • This is you - verses 241-251
    • Manifestation and Hidden Self - Verses 252-268
  • Finding the true self - verses 269-298
    • Fastening by imagination - verses 269-276
    • Transferring the self to outside the self - verses 277-298
      • Real in unreal
  • The power of thought images - verses 299 to 378
  • Liberation in life - verses 379-438
  • The three kinds of work - verses 439 to 468
  • Teacher and student - verses 469-518
    • Teacher - verses 469 to 481
    • Student - verses 482 to 518
  • The perfect wise man - verses 519-548
    • Student - verses 519-520
    • Teacher - verses 521 to 548
  • Forever free - verses 549-580
    • The snakeskin - verses 549 to 561
    • The self survives - verses 562-574
    • Blessing - verses 575-580

Comments and translations

There are two Sanskrit commentaries on Vivekachudamani. One is from Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrusimha Bharati , the high priest of Sringeri . In his Vivekodaya (Dawn of Discrimination) he deals with the first 7 verses of the poem. His disciple Chandrasekhara Bharathi then wrote a Vyakhya (commentary) on the first 515 verses of Vivekachudamani.

This Vyakhya has been translated repeatedly into different languages, often with a comment in the language of the same name. English translations and commentaries are from Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood , Madhavananda (1921) and Chinmayananda . Transmissions into Tamil (including commentaries) were made by Ramana Maharshi , among others . Jyotihswarupananda translated the Vivekachudamani into Marathi .

Verse examples

The philosophy of Vivekachudamani can best be summarized in the following verse:

"Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparaḥ"

“Brahman is the only truth, the world an illusion. Ultimately, there is no difference between the Brahman and the individual soul "

Verse 20 is very similar:

"ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्येत्येवंरूपो
विनिश्चयः सोऽयं नित्यानित्यवस्तुविवेकः समुदाहृतः"

"Brahma satyaṁ jaganmithyetyevaṁrūpo
viniścayaḥ so'yaṁ nityānityavastuvivekaḥ samudāhṛtaḥ"

Differentiation (viveka) requires a determined mind that knows how to distinguish between the real (Brahman) and the unreal (universe). In verse 13 it is stated:

"अर्थस्य निश्चयो दृष्टो विचारेण हितोक्तितः
न स्नानेन न दानेन प्राणायमशतेन वा"

"Arthasya niścayo drișṭo vicāreṇa hitoktitaḥ
na snānena na danena praṇayamaśatena vā"

“Truth can be fathomed through reflection combined with reasoning and the instructions of the teacher. But not through penances, donations or hundreds of breathing exercises. "

And verse 432:

"अतीताननुसन्धानं भविष्यदविचारणम्
अउदासीन्यमपि प्राप्तं जीवन्मुक्तस्य लक्षणम्"

"Atītānanusandhānaṁ bhaviṣyadavicāraṇam
audāsīnyamapi prāptaṁ jīvanmuktasya lakṣaṇam"

"The following characteristics characterize someone who is liberated in the present life: when facing the now, he does not dwell on the joys of the past, nor does he waste thoughts on the future."

swell

  • Chatterji, Mohini M .: Viveka Chudamani Or Crest Jewel of Wisdom of Sri Sankaracharya . Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 978-1-4179-8207-3 , pp. 212 .
  • Espín, Orlando O. and James B. Nickoloff: An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies . Liturgical Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8146-5856-7 .
  • Ranganathananda, Swami: The Message of Vivekachudamani . Advaita Ashrama 2008, ISBN 81-7505-308-9 , p. 624 .
  • Sri Chandrashekara Bharati and P. Sankaranarayanan: Vivekachudamani (4 ed.) . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1999.
  • Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood: Shankara's crest-jewel of discrimination (3 ed.) . Vedanta Press, 1978, ISBN 978-0-87481-038-7 .
  • Usha, Brahmacharini: A Brief Dictionary of Hinduism . Vedanta Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-87481-048-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Klostermaier: Moksa and Critical Theory . In: Philosophy East and West . Vol. 35, No. 1, 1985, pp. 61-71 .
  2. ↑ Dhiman, S .: Self-Discovery and the Power of Self-Knowledge . In: Business Renaissance Quarterly . tape 6 (4) , 2011.
  3. ↑ John Grimes: The Vivekacudamani of Çaìkaräcärya Bhagavatpada: An Introduction and Translation . 2004, ISBN 978-0-7546-3395-2 .
  4. ↑ Sri Chandrashekara Bharati from Sringeri: Sri Samkara's Vivekacudamani . Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p. xxi .
  5. ↑ Rosen, Steven: Krishna's Song . Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, ISBN 978-0-313-34553-1 , pp. 70 .
  6. ^ D. Datta: Moksha, or the Vedántic Release . In: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, New Series . Vol. 20, No. 4, 1888, p. 513-539 .