VIVEKA

VIVEKA

 

 It is the first step in Saadhna Chatushthaya.   Saadhana Chatushthaya includes Viveka, Vairagya, Shath-sampat, Mumukshatva.  Viveka is  considered the first and foremost requirement for the seeker who is ready to embark on the path.  It is something that needs to be there before the journey begins but it continues to  develop as the journey is progressing and when the true VIveka has been realized the goal is not far. 

  

 

 Viveka is that which helps you understand the difference between: 

 

What is Permanent or Transient

 

What is Pure and Impure

 

What is Self and Non Self

 

What is Mine and Not Mine

 

What is Truth and Non Truth

 

What will Stay and Not Stay

 

What is Real and Unreal

 

If one lacks Viveka than one will take unreal as real, take this body as permanent and beleive this body to be your real self and be driven by the desire to maintain and preserve it.  Enage in unholy and impure actions.  Will go to  extreme measures to beautify and prolong its existence.  Believe this body to be the only truth, very well seeing others die all the time, not  see that one day this body of yours will die also. Never looks back and reflects that there was a childhood but it is gone, there was youth and it is gone and there was energy of adulthood and it is going away and soon there will be onset of the inevitable old age and disease and death.  But due to the lack of Viveka, one does not see any of this and blindly keeps running after the material gains.

 

Vivekachudamani by Adi Sankara has called Viveka as the Crest Jewel of Spirituality.  Viveka is the most important faculty that a seeker needs to develop to be able to achieve realization.

 

 

He is a suicide who has somehow achieved human birth and even manhood and full knowledge of the scriptures but does not strive for self-liberation, for he destroys himself by clinging to the unreal.  verse 4
Some of the links to commentaries on Vivekachudamani:
Translation by Swami Madhavananda
http://www.celextel.org/adisankara/vivekachudamani.html
Translation by John Richards
http://www.realization.org/page/namedoc0/vc/vc_0.htm