Vivekachudamani - Crest Jewel of Wisdom

About Vivekachudamani - Crest Jewel of Wisdom

Swami Tattwamayananda will begin a new scripture, Vivekachudamani of Shankaracharya, on Friday November 15 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Temple. Vivekachudamani, which means "The Crest Jewel of Discrimination,"  is a poem by Shankaracharya that summarizes Advaita Vedanta philosophy and is one of the its important introductory texts. For up to date schedule: sfvedanta.org Web: www.sfvedanta.org Livestream: https://livestream.com/sfvedanta All Original Content © Vedanta Society of Northern California

Publisher

Vedanta Society, San Francisco

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Nov 2024

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

42 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Vivekachudamani 42 Recapitulation of Previous Classes By Swami Tattwamayananda

   The entire text is built around answering seven questions from the student in the 51st verse. The seven questions are: (1) What is this bondage? (2) How does it come about? (3) How does it exist and what sustains it? (4) How do we come out of it? (5) What is anatman? (6) What is the supreme Atman? (7) How do we differentiate between atman and anatman? The teacher begins to answer with the fifth question posed by the student: “What is anatman?”. The Absolute Reality cannot be defined. After discussing what is unreal, whatever is left out (undefined) is Absolute Reality. In answer to the 5th question, the teacher discusses the three sariras: Sthula sarira (gross body), sukhshma sarira (subtle body, the personality behind the gross body) and karana sarira (lack of understanding of our true nature). Shankaracharya begins the text in the 1st verse with obeisance to his teacher: Govinda Bhagavatpada. “The one who understands the meaning of great vedantic statements, who understands the truth of the vedas, who is a knower of vedantic wisdom, to that Guru, I pay my respects.” The 2nd and 3rd verses celebrate human life as a rare gift from God. 2nd verse: “Human birth is a rare gift from God. Ever harder to obtain is an aspiration for spiritual truth. Understanding of scriptures is harder. Hardest of all is discrimination between Atman and non-Atman. Without a huge stockpile of spiritual merits from many life cycles, this cannot happen.” The 3rd verse says: “Only through God’s grace, we get these three rare gifts: (1) Being born as a human being (2) Desire for liberation (3) Coming in contact with a great holy person.” The ability to come out of the empirical pleasures of life with an aspiration for liberation and coming in contact with someone who makes us think of higher ideas is a great gift from God. We find a great example in Buddha who renounced his kingdom and took a strong vow to realize the truth. The 16th verse describes who is fit for spiritual enquiry. It says: “He should have proper intelligence. He should be able to listen and understand what he listens to. He should be able to retain in his mind what he studies. He should be an expert in the following two qualities: (1) Uha, the ability to accept what is to be accepted (2) Apoha, the ability to reject what is to be rejected. Spiritual life needs a lot of alertness to prevent the mind from taking us away from the spiritual path. For example, a single click on the internet can be the beginning of such a downward journey. Shankaracharya illustrates this in the 326th verse: “Imagine a child playing with a ball at the top of a staircase. If the ball falls, it does not stop until it reaches the bottom. Similarly, in spiritual life, we should be very vigilant not to make mistakes.” Bhartihari says in the Niti-Shatakam: “In good times, such as when we have a lot of wealth, our mind should remain soft, beautiful and fragrant like a lotus. During difficult times, we should be strong and firm like the rocky mountain.”

2. 

   26 Jun 2026

   Vivekachudamani 41 Getting Out of Samsrtih By Swami Tattwamayananda

   181st verse: Adhyasa means superimposition of the absolute reality on things that are not the absolute reality, the superimposition of permanence on what is inherently impermanent. Such superimposition causes us to stay in Samsrtih (Samsara) – the cyclic rotation of birth, death and rebirth. Samsara is not a desirable state for someone who is evolved. We can counteract this superimposition with viveka – realizing that the body and worldly enjoyments are impermanent. Intellectually, we understand the impermanence of worldly experiences. However, we are not able to apply it in our daily life experiences. An evolved soul like Buddha is aware of this truth all the time. Enjoyment of worldly pleasures is inherently painful. We cannot have a succession of only happy experiences. At some point, when happy experiences end, it becomes painful. Even an experience of less happiness becomes an experience of unhappiness. Hindu scriptures say that the thought at the time of death influences our next life. Some people may think: let me enjoy all the worldly pleasures – at time of death I will have pure, holy thoughts. The problem with this line of thinking is that the mind does not play diplomacy. Our natural tendencies will come to surface at the last moment – we cannot fake it. The preparation has to be done during the entire lifetime to leave the body with a smile on the face. Bhagavata Purana is the story of King Parikshit who has seven days left to live because of a curse. The entire Purana is a response to his question to Sage Suka – “What should a dying man do? How should he live the rest of his life?” Suka says: “One should be able to live life in such a way that he can leave the body with a smile on his face and with holy thought in his mind.” One is able to depart in such a manner only if sattva guna predominates in him, through lifetime of spiritual practices. When this happens, Samsrtih comes to an end. Buddha taught the world how to get out of Samsara by following the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. 185th verse: “The mind cannot be the Atman. The mind can be experienced as an object – we know when the mind is happy or unhappy. Atman (as the seer) cannot be the object of any experiences. Mind changes from waking state to dream state to deep sleep state – it if were to be Atman and absolutely real, it needs to be the same in the past, present and future and in the three states of consciousness (which it is not). Mind has a beginning and an end – Atman has neither of these. Therefore, mind cannot be Atman.” In this section of the book, the teacher explains the five sheaths of the body-mind-complex. The five sheaths are: Anamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha. He establishes that Atman, the Absolute Reality, is beyond the five sheaths. In the last several verses, he establishes that Atman is beyond the Manomaya Kosha. In the 186th verse onwards, he establishes that Atman is beyond the Vijnanamaya Kosha. 186th verse: “The Vijnanamaya Kosha (together with Manomaya Kosha), is the reason for our transmigratory journey. We collect samskaras in our Antahkarana (constituted by mind, intellect, chittam and ahamkara) through actions involving the senses and the mind. We are born again with the Antahkarana in a new body and with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies).

3. 

   12 Jun 2026

   Vivekachudamani 40 The Mind: From Bondage to Liberation By Swami Tattwamayananda

   178th verse: This verse compares the mind to a mighty tiger, an enemy. This mighty tiger wanders about in the forest of sense objects – filled with ambitions, desires, extreme likes and dislikes. Spiritual seekers, desirous of liberation, should not go near such a negative mind. Mind can be our friend or enemy. It does not remain quiet. Therefore, it should be directed towards something positive, by having a higher ideal in life. It should not be allowed to choose its own focus. When we feel inner joy from our activities, it is a sign that the mind is becoming our friend. Bondage is the creation of the mind. Liberation is also a function of the mind. Vedanta prescribes Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti as the four disciplines to turn the mind into our best friend (19th  verse of Vivekachudamani). First, we must use our discerning wisdom to determine what is real (nitya) and what is unreal (anitya). Second, we must hold on to what is real and disregard what is unreal. Third is Śamādi ṣatka Sampatti. It lists six traits: Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksa, Shraddha, Samadhana. Fourth is Mumukṣutvam, a strong desire for spiritual liberation. 179th verse: “The mind creates different types of objects of enjoyments in the waking and dream states. Objects in waking state are gross. Objects in dream state are subtle. What we experience depends on various factors: bodies (example, animal vs human), our profession and position in society (varnas and asrama. For example, the experience of a musician may be different from that of a doctor in dreams.” The seeds for what we experience in dream state are sown in the waking state. Dream state experiences cannot be completely disconnected from waking state. The differences between waking and dream state are with respect to time, space and gross vs subtle. 180th verse: “Our real identity is not the physical body or the mind or the intellect. However, we often identify with these when we use the word “I” or “Mine”. Our true identity is the spiritual reality that is present everywhere and in everything.” There are two chains that bind us. (1) Our identity with the physical body when we say, “I am this or that” (2) Our sense of possessiveness by identifying with mine “This is mine”. They both cause the mind to be obsessively attached to worldly enjoyments. To detach, we must realize the impermanence of the physical body and worldly enjoyments. We must evolve further from the body-mind complex. Eventually, we identify with the reality that is beyond all these. When we identify with this reality, we realize that we are neither the enjoyer nor the doer. In that state, our actions and sense objects do not bind us. 181st verse: This verse explains Adhyasa as the reason for the mid-identification in the 180th verse. Adhyasa means superimposition of the absolute reality on things that are not the absolute reality, the superimposition of permanence on what is inherently impermanent. Such superimposition is due to the dominant presence of rajo guna and tamo guna, and causes us to stay in Samsrtih – the cyclic rotation of birth, death and rebirth. Samsrtih is not a desirable state for someone who is evolved. It is caused by superimposition created by the mind. We can counteract this superimposition with viveka – realizing that the body and worldly enjoyments are impermanent. 182nd verse: “Great sages consider the mind as avidya – lack of discerning wisdom. “ Everything in this world is a creation of avidya. According to commentators, mind is avidya. It creates the illusion that worldly enjoyments are permanent. Vidya is the realization that these are impermanent. 183rd verse: This verse is meant for saints such as St. Augustine, just before they embarked in their higher spiritual journey. “This obsession for worldly enjoyments can be destroyed only with a strong desire for spiritual...

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