Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless Teachings on Nonduality - The Vivekachudamani

by Shankara, Christopher Isherwood (Translator), Prabhavananda (Translator)

A classic text on the path to God through knowledge. The basic teaching is that God alone is the all-pervading reality; the individual soul is none other than the universal soul. According to Shankara, it is the ignorance of our real nature that causes suffering and pain. The desire for happiness is essentially a longing to awaken to who and what we truly are. Through the path of self-knowledge, Shankara clearly teaches how to awaken from ignornce created by the mind, and abide in the peace of our true nature.

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, Hinduism, Religion, India, Nonfiction, Eastern Philosophy

139 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1924

Reviews

[mahesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adi Shankaracharya was born in or around the year 686 A.D.(Researchers do claim different timelines) of learned Brahmin parents, at Kaladi, Kerala in southern India. By the age of ten, he was already read and memorized all the scriptures, and had held discussions with famous scholars who came to him from every part of the country. Since the society, he lived in was materialistic and pleasure-seeking, India is on the path of spiritual decline. He went on to renounce everything in his search for the meaning of existence and the truth behind it. Though he has not preached new doctrine, added a new blaze to the spiritual volcano. He has produced rich commentaries on Upanishad, Bhagavadgita, and Vedanta sutras. and he has also produced major Advaita philosophical works like "Viveka Chudamani" and "Upadesashasri".

This is not a review of this book and I do not have direct experience to comment on this philosophical work. This review is only about my understanding of Adavith's philosophy. So anyone can refer to it before reading this work.

Adi Shankara sees Brahman or Govinda as the state of bliss or the ultimate truth. Obtaining human birth is not easier. However, even if we get human birth with body and mental strength, Most humans waste their life by clinging to unreal projected as real through our ego. Only when we realize we are part of Atman, will be liberated. According to Shankar renunciation and self-discipline by giving upon on external pleasure is the path to realization. By approaching the right guru, Under their guidance through the discriminatory mind and self-disciplined nature, one can be in a union with brahman.

Below shloka sums up the entire Advaitha philosophy of Shankaracharya.

'' BRAHMAN-the absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss are real. The universe is not real. Brahman and Atman (man's inner Self) are one."

Shankara also layout four qualifications for attainment.
===============================================
1. Discrimination between real and unreal
2. Renunciation from the enjoyment of fruits of action
3. Tranquility(detachment from an unreal thing, directing attention towards brahman is the pathway to attainment), self-control, self-surrender, forbearance.
4. Intense Longing for liberation

Now let's understand the core Advaita philosophy explained in Viveka Chudamani.

1. The spirit of Shankara's philosophy
According to Shankara, reality is something that is permanent and does not cease to exist. Anything that is prone to change is not real for Shankara. Deep consciousness is the reality in Advaita, once we attain that mystical experience everything that is shadowed by mind and matter can be negated as unreal.

2. The word appearance
Shankara is not rejecting the world and thoughts as nonexistent. He is saying they cease to exist when you realize the brahman. Humans experience the personal illusion and worldly illusion, but when they realize the Brahman it will become nonexistent.

3. Maya
If we believe the finite as the absolute reality of its own or it emerged from infinite, Then infinite cease to exist. If we think god transforms himself into something, ceases to exist. If something is prone to change, It is not absolute reality. So universe we believe is a superimposition on brahman like layers of a soap bubble. The inside space is an absolute reality that is infinite, not prone to change. The outer layer is our ignorance.
Maya is a collection of memory superimposed on our inner self and it finds an expression outside later on. Maya is an ego ideal. For example, if we do not have the memory of a snake, we will not perceive a rope as a snake in distress. Maya is like a tree and brahman is the seed. It always exists, but it ceases to exist when we realize higher consciousness

4. Brahman and Ishwara
Brahman cant create or destroy. So it amalgamates with Maya to become Ishwara of attributes. He is the creator, one who is liberated will have all power the Ishwara possess except the creation of the universe. Each liberated soul will have individual consciousness and will, but all will be under the control of Ishwara.

5. The problem of evil
In an absolute sense, There is no existence of evil and goodness. Both are the illusion of Maya. Mays is the ego-ideal that we impose on brahman. Even ethical goodness, It's driven by selfish motives.

6. The supreme goal
The supreme goal in Advaita Vedanta is the realization of Brahman. The direct experience of brahman is possible with spiritual practice and discrimination practices of what is real and unreal. Through discrimination, we try to remove the layer of ignorance from the divine nature of ourselves. Freeing ourselves from the Maya. We are divine.

7. Method and means
According to Shankara Jnana yoga is the supreme path to remove ignorance. However he also acknowledges Karma, Raja, devotional yoga is the alternative path to enlightenment

These are the notes and my understanding of Advaita based on commentaries and shlokas.
Must read for everyone if you are on a spiritual path.

mano buddhi ahankara chittani naaham
na cha shrotravjihve na cha ghraana netre
na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vaayuhu
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego, or the memory,
I am not the ears, the skin, the nose, or the eyes,
I am not space, not earth, not fire, water, or wind,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

na cha prana sangyo na vai pancha vayuhu
na va sapta dhatur na va pancha koshah
na vak pani-padam na chopastha payu
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

I am not the breath, nor the five elements,
I am not the matter, nor the 5 sheaths of consciousness
Nor am I the speech, the hands, or the feet,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

na me dvesha ragau na me lobha mohau
na me vai mado naiva matsarya bhavaha
na dharmo na chartho na kamo na mokshaha
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

There is no like or dislike in me, no greed or delusion,
I know not pride or jealousy,
I have no duty, no desire for wealth, lust, or liberation,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

na punyam na papam na saukhyam na duhkham
na mantro na tirtham na veda na yajnah
aham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhokta
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

No virtue or vice, no pleasure or pain,
I need no mantras, no pilgrimage, no scriptures or rituals,
I am not the experienced, nor the experience itself,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

na me mrtyu shanka na mejati bhedaha
pita naiva me naiva mataa na janmaha
na bandhur na mitram gurur naiva shishyaha
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

I have no fear of death, no caste or creed,
I have no father, no mother, for I was never born,
I am not a relative, nor a friend, nor a teacher nor a student,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

aham nirvikalpo nirakara rupo
vibhut vatcha sarvatra sarvendriyanam
na cha sangatham naiva muktir na meyaha
chidananda rupah shivo'ham shivo'ham

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a required book in a class I took around 1970 at Cal Tech in Pasadena, California. Little did I realize that later, meditating on Shankara's words, I would come closer than I had ever come to mystical union with the Infinite Ocean of Absolute Truth. I knew in an instant that I would never forget that experience, and that has remained true to this day. Shankara wrote so many words, but the things that stay with me whenever I wish to recall his wisdom are "Atman is Brahman" (the self is the Self) and his definition of Maya as both "illusion" and "the creative force", as well as likening Maya to a perceived snake which is later, in illumination, seen as a mere rope. I've found the work itself for free at these addresses:

Crest Jewel of Wisdom translated by John Richards
The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom translated by Charles Johnston

[Harish Challapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I know sufficient words to write a review about this book!!

I can simply say its A great book!!

[Sanjay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives the aphorism to reach non duality by the greatest advaita vedanta teacher.

[Jason Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shankara's Vivekachudamani (Crest-Jewel of Discrimination) is a pure transmission of the nondual teachings of Vedanta. In some sense, Shankara lays out the nondual teachings of Advaita Vedanta more clearly for everybody than the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras. This is because not everybody can grasp the mystical depth of the three main texts of Vedanta. But even though the three main texts of Vedanta are more more important to read and contemplate long-term, the Vivekachudmani is an extension of them and a great explanation of them, especially for people new to Vedanta. Shankara had a wonderful ability to see into the heart of Vedanta and bring back this jewel of wisdom from the eternal ocean of Brahman to the shores of our world.

[Tammy]

To grasp for happiness in the realm of the sense-pleasures is to grab for a crocodile mistaking it for a log as you cross the river of life!

[Yaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mere words can't express the experience this book gives when contemplating on its wisdom. Now it's time to get to work...

[Aumprakash Chandran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated, boring and repetitive.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

World Sanskrit Day, 2025:

The Vivekachūḍāmaṇi has often been described as a spiritual manual, a lamp in the darkness, a rope for the drowning. But reading it in the translation of Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, it feels less like a book and more like a conversation in stillness, as if the words are spoken gently into the ear of a restless soul.

This is not a dry scholastic text, nor is it a barrage of metaphysical abstractions; it breathes with compassion, insistence, and above all, with clarity. Attributed to Śrī Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, the eighth-century philosopher-saint who systematized Advaita Vedānta, this text is the “crest-jewel of discrimination,” teaching us to sift through the unreal until we touch the real. The translators have achieved something rare — a work at once faithful and poetic, practical and mystical.

On World Sanskrit Day, to re-read such a text is not merely an act of homage to an ancient language but a recognition of its living pulse in modern seekers.

The opening itself sets the tone of gratitude and urgency:

दुर्लभं त्रयमेवैतद् देवानुग्रहहेतुकम्।
मनुष्यत्वं मुमुक्षुत्वं महापुरुषसंश्रयः॥ (Verse 3)

“Three things are indeed rare and attained only by the grace of God: a human birth, a burning desire for liberation, and the refuge in a great teacher.”

The translators render this not as a distant philosophical pronouncement but as a direct reminder. How often do we squander the rare gift of life in trivial pursuits? The verse shakes us, but the English phrasing softens the blow, allowing reflection rather than guilt. Here lies the strength of Prabhavananda and Isherwood’s method: they do not translate mechanically, but with an ear for rhythm, an eye for the heart’s hunger.

The structure of the Vivekachūḍāmaṇi is deceptively simple — a disciple approaches a master, asks questions, and receives answers that slowly peel away the layers of illusion. The method is pedagogical, but the effect is transformative. For instance, the text urges the seeker to develop viveka (discrimination), to know what is real and what is transient.

ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रं इति वेदान्��डिण्डिमः॥ (Verse 20)

“Brahman is real, the world is unreal; the individual soul is none other than Brahman. This is the proclamation of Vedānta.”

This is the thunderous drumbeat of Advaita, and yet, in translation, it comes across not as a proclamation from a mountaintop but as a gentle unveiling: the real is within you, and the world’s shifting names and forms are but shadows. The translators are not attempting to flatten the radicality of Śaṅkara’s teaching, but they frame it in a way that doesn’t alienate the modern reader unfamiliar with Sanskrit metaphysics.

Isherwood’s literary sensibility and Prabhavananda’s Vedantic grounding combine to create something both accessible and profound.

The emphasis on vairāgya (dispassion) is equally striking. At first, it may seem a stern demand: renounce fleeting pleasures, turn away from the sensory carnival. But Śaṅkara and his translators are not joyless puritans. Rather, they point to the hollowness of chasing what inevitably fades.

यावत्पवनो निःसृत्येहास्ति शरीरं तावत्प्रत्ययः पुरुषस्यास्ति।
तस्मिन्विनष्टे कथं पुरुषस्य स्यात्प्रत्ययः प्राणवियोगे॥ (Verse 66)

“So long as there is breath in the body, a man believes himself to be alive; when that leaves him, how can he continue to believe himself so?”

Here the verse underlines impermanence with stark directness. Yet the English translation folds it into a meditative tone, reminding us not of morbidity but of perspective: why cling to shadows when the sun waits within?

This is not renunciation as negation but as redirection, a liberation of energy toward the eternal.

The six virtues (śatsampat) are introduced not as abstract checklists but as qualities that refine the seeker’s mind into a still pond, capable of reflecting the truth. Calmness, self-control, forbearance, withdrawal, faith, and concentration are not presented as commandments but as tools.

Reading this, one feels less like a student memorizing doctrine and more like a traveler being handed a compass.

But perhaps the most moving passages are those that stress the role of the guru. Śaṅkara never tires of telling us that without a true teacher, liberation is impossible.

To modern readers, conditioned to self-help culture and individualism, this might sound alien. But in translation, it becomes evident that the guru is not a personality cult but a mirror to the self.

शास्त्रं ज्ञापयति प्राज्ञं युक्तिं चोक्तिप्रदर्शनीम्।
आचार्यस्तु तद्विद्वान् स्वात्मस्थं दर्शयत्यपि॥ (Verse 34)

“The scriptures declare the truth, logic explains it, but the teacher alone brings it into direct experience.”

Prabhavananda and Isherwood infuse these lines with warmth, emphasizing the intimacy of the teacher-disciple bond. It is not about dependence but about guidance, a gentle hand leading one out of a labyrinth.

The ultimate teaching, of course, is the identity of Ātman and Brahman. The translation does not shy away from repeating this in different forms, mirroring how the original text insists on hammering the point until it pierces through conceptual resistance. One of the most famous verses crystallizes it:

बन्धमोक्षौ न सत्यानौ विद्यानानावुपाधयः।
न स्वतः सिद्धयोस्तेषां सत्यत्वं नोपपद्यते॥ (Verse 567)

“Bondage and liberation are mere names, arising from ignorance and knowledge. They do not truly exist, for the Self is ever free.”

To encounter such lines is to feel a paradoxical relief — nothing has to be attained, for nothing was ever lost. The translators highlight this with a lyrical simplicity, ensuring the profundity does not get buried under scholastic commentary.

What makes this translation particularly enduring is its accessibility to a Western audience without betraying the Sanskrit’s integrity. Isherwood’s background as a novelist shows in the flow of the English; Prabhavananda’s Vedantic depth ensures fidelity to the philosophy.

This balance prevents the work from becoming either too dense for the lay reader or too diluted for the serious seeker.

The text, read on World Sanskrit Day, also invites reflection on the role of Sanskrit itself. Often dismissed as a dead language, Sanskrit reveals itself here as luminous, supple, and astonishingly precise. Even in translation, one senses its resonance. The shlokas are like chimes struck in the wind, and their English renderings are like the echoes — different in timbre, but carrying the same song.

Reading Vivekachūḍāmaṇi today is not merely a scholarly exercise. It is an act of reclamation — of stillness, of perspective, of spiritual urgency. In a world overwhelmed by distraction and consumption, Śaṅkara’s voice comes through the centuries as startlingly fresh: discriminate the real from the unreal, renounce the trivial, cultivate virtues, seek a teacher, and realize that you are already the infinite. The translators have preserved not just the message but its radiance.

And so the review becomes almost indistinguishable from a meditation. To read the text is to be reminded again and again that liberation is not a distant goal but the recognition of what already is. In the words of Śaṅkara:

मुक्तिः स्वस्वरूपानुसन्धानम्।

“Liberation is the discovery of one’s own true nature.”

This line, terse and luminous, may be the single sentence that captures the entire spirit of the Vivekachūḍāmaṇi. The translation, in its clarity and lyricism, ensures that such a jewel continues to shine across languages, across cultures, across centuries.

[Tanmay Meher · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best. I am not qualified enough to comment on this book. I would just say that it's a master piece and one must read it if Advaita Vedanta is his/her area of interest.

[‎]

Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

[Riken Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever ponder on this, contemplated, reflected, ‘in a world/planet/universe, where we the 7.2+ B people are living is - so full of differences, varieties, variations, and multiplicities, now, if you are given all the tools at the disposal of the most of the most advanced human intellect and reasoning perhaps available, that is through Science and/or Technology, would you be able to come up with the “One” underlying entity, the underlying reality that holds all of these together, including that miraculous tool with which you are to arrive at this underlying reality?’ Would you be able to do that? The answer must be the “One” which utterly and completely shatters and dissolve our illusion- the humanity’s illusion of multiplicity and difference? It- that answer, should not leave any sort of duality whatsoever. And must result in complete unity- the very oneness. Would you be able to come up with such an answer, thus, such truth, a reality? I ask you, sir, madam, with respect, would you?

The seers of Vedas inquired, investigated, went above and beyond, blazed themselves in the fire of this astute flame of self-inquiry, and dedicated their entire lives on this, and meticulously and with great love poured the answers and truths of their discoveries out in the Upanishads.

Adi Shankara, then, kept on elaborating this very same answer and the truth of the seers and their Upanishads, that answer which is “Truth- the Oneness- The One and the Only Reality”. That reality is Pure Consciousness and You are That. And this book is a journey into this answer, truth, and reality with the disposition of Master Shankara with utter clarity, punches, razor-sharp Wisdom and analogies, and his self-reflections.

The followings are my big takeaways from this book.

• The approach of discriminating the Real from the Unreal is the essence of living sanely, without limitation, conflicts, and miseries. Real is which can never change and is timeless. Unreal is transitory and subject to change and decay.
• One must break oneself free from the One’s identification with their mind, intellect, ego (subtle bodies), and body (gross matter). Vedanta calls this tendency is the ignorance and the cause of birth and death. As consciousness or awareness or soul or Atman is the subject and body, mind, intellect, and ego are its objects.
• Maya is the cause of illusion of mistaking the reality with illusion and mistaking the illusion as the reality. This is elaborated as a classical rope and snake example. Just like rope appears as a snake when under an illusion and when one illusion breaks one realizes that it was nothing but the rope and it was mistaken as a snake, similarly, our illusion of the Material Universe being the only reality and God or Pure Consciousness being fake (which can be referred as Maya) melts away when Brahman or our true nature as pure consciousness is realized and experienced. Brahman is the cause and the Material Universe is the effect.
• Personal God or the God of one’s choice or Ishwara are of great help to break oneself free of this Maya if one finds it too difficult to break free of illusion and Maya. Ishwara and Maya are both the effects of Brahman and Brahman is the cause. Nothing can touch Brahman for it is beyond everything and anything.
• One must realize their true nature as Atman or Consciousness or awareness or soul which is one with the Brahman- the God or the Truth which is beyond thought and human cognition and intellectual understanding. One can only experience it and the experience of it is- Existence, Consciousness, and bliss.
• The heart and essence of the Vedanta is: One alone is, and it is all there is, was, and ever will be. That One alone is the Pure consciousness (God or Brahman) and You are that.

Enjoy this Masterpiece of the Adi Shankara.

[William Braddell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shankara's Viveka-Chumandi or Crest Jewelof Discrimination is very far from supplying an exhaustive explanation of Advaita Vedanta (although no text in existence probably does provide this) but as far as serving as an introduction to Advaita, Swami Prabhavananda's translation of this text would most likely be my first recommendation. It is small, fairly easy and enjoyable to read (given the complexity of the subject at hand) and the translation focuses on transmitting the meaning of the content rather than staying 100% faithful to the literal Sanskrit rendering which means it isn't borderline inaccessible to Westerners and others who don't speak Sanskrit (unlike some works). If anyone is looking for an introduction to Advaita Vedanta and Shankara but does not want to be overwhelmed then they could certainly do a lot worse than Swami Prabhavananda's translation of the Viveka-Chudamundi.

[Tomaj Javidtash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful instruction, a must have, for the contemplative seeker. I could not put it down and enjoyed reading it very much. It is a short book that contains the highest truths of Advaita Vedanta in their naked essence: Brahman is Real, world is illusory, Atman is Brahman . If you are simply interested in the inner message and essence of nondualism, or above all if you are an aspirant of the path of knowledge, Jnana Yoga, then this book is highly recommended.

[Aravind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is not the version of the book I had studied, I can only sit back and wonder what is it that has prevented me from coming across this piece of 'Jewel', these many years! With just a single read of this, I know for sure that I am not the same person anymore. This is an other-worldly piece of work, both literally and metamorphically!

[Dean Paradiso · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to say? An ancient classic, also serves as a good introduction and overall summary of Advaita Vedanta.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one flew over my head like a fighter jet...lol.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tedious and boring. Over simplifies the complexity of the founder of the school of philosophy. Obviously not written by him.

[Mark David Vinzens · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The illumined seer does not merely know Brahman; he is Brahman, he is Existence, he is Knowledge. Absolute freedom is not something to be attained, absolute knowledge is not something to be gained, Brahman is not something to be found. It is only Maya which has to be pierced, ignorance which has to be overcome. The process of discrimination is a negative process. The positive fact, our real nature, eternally exists. We are Brahman-and only ignorance divides us from this knowledge. Transcendental consciousness, or union with Brahman, can never be investigated by the methods of scientific research, since such research depends ultimately upon sense-perception, and Brahman is beyond the grasp of the senses. But this does not mean that we are doomed to doubt-or to blind trust in the experience of the seers-until we have reached the Supreme Goal for ourselves. Even a little effort in meditation and the spiritual life will reward us with insight and conviction that this is really the way to truth and peace-that we are not simply deceiving or hypnotizing ourselves-that Reality is available. We shall have our ups and downs, of course, and our moments of uncertainty, but we shall always return to this conviction. No spiritual gain, however small, is ever lost or wasted.

There are many paths to the attainment of transcendental consciousness. In Sanskrit, these paths are called Yogas, or ways to union with Brahman. Different Yogas suit different temperaments. Indeed, each individual will approach the Reality in a slightly different manner. Four main Yogas are generally recognized in Hindu religious literature-Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja. Very briefly, their characteristics are as follows:

Karma Yoga, as its name implies, is concerned with work and action. By working selflessly for our neighbors, by regarding all action as a sacramental offering to God, by doing our duty without anxiety or concern for success or failure, praise or blame, we can gradually annihilate the ego-idea. Through Karma we can transcend Karma and experience the Reality which is beyond all action.

Bhakti is the Yoga of devotion-devotion to lswara, the Personal God, or to a great teacher, a Christ, a Buddha, a Ramakrishna. Through this personal devotion, this loving service to an embodied ideal, the devotee will ultimately transcend personality altogether. This is the Yoga of ritual, of worship, of the religious sacraments. Ritual plays an important part in it, as a physical aid to concentration-for the acts of ritual, like the acts of Karma Yoga, bring the mind back repeatedly from its distractions and help to keep it steadily upon its object. For many, it is the easiest path to follow.

Jnana Yoga, on the other hand, is more suited to those whose powerful and austere intellects mistrust the emotional fervour of worship. It is the Yoga of pure discrimination. It transcends the intellect through the intellect. It needs no Iswara, no altar, no image, no ritual. It seeks a more immediate approach to the Impersonal Brahman. This path may perhaps be more direct, but it is also hard and steep, and can be trodden only by the few.

Raja Yoga-the Yoga of meditation - combines. to some extent, the three others. It does not exclude Karma Yoga, and it makes use both of the Bhakti and the Jnana approach-since true meditation is a blend of the devotional and the discriminative.

By temperament, Shankara inclined toward Jnana Yoga, the way of pure discrimination-although, as this book will show, he was capable of great devotion also. Renunciation, discrimination, self-control-these are his watchwords. Some may find his austerity too forbidding, especially in the earlier portion of the dialogue; but it is precisely this severity which supplies a valuable corrective to the dangers of an easy sentimentality, an excess of carefree optimism, a confusion of real devotion with mere emotional self-indulgence. Shankara was under no illusions about this world of Maya; he condemns its apparent pleasures and delights with brutal frankness. For this very reason he was able to describe so powerfully the complete transformation of the universe which takes place before the eyes of the illumined seer. When Brahman is experienced, when all creatures and objects are seen in their real relation to the Absolute, then this world is indeed a paradise; it is nothing but Brahman, nothing but utter consciousness, knowledge and peace.”

― Shankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination: Viveka-Chudamani

[Jef Sneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shank'ara wrote the Crest - Jewel of Discrimination 1300 years ago. At that time the Hindu scriptures were already well established and he emphasizes that a great teacher is "one who is well versed in the scriptures." There are many Hindu scriptures and one has a lifetime to study them. This is best done by cutting ties with one's family and worldly connections.

The translators helpfully point out in the introduction that there are four paths to attain enlightenment. These paths are called Yogas or ways to union with Brahman. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of deeds and action. Working for the good of others we can "annihilate the ego-idea" and allow one to experience the "Reality which is beyond all action." There is Bhakti Yoga, or the Yoga of devotion, devotion to God or gods, to teachers, to great enlightened leaders, to worship and ritual. "The act of ritual, like the acts of Karmic Yoga, can bring the mind back repeatedly back from its distractions." Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of "pure discrimination." This Yoga seeks a direct path to enlightenment. Here there is no god, no ritual, no worship. "The path may be more direct, but it is also hard and steep." The fourth is Raja Yoga, the Yoga of meditation. It includes some elements of both Bhakti and Jnana Yoga.

For someone unfamiliar with the vocabulary, Hindu scripture can be confusing. One must discriminate between Atman and non-Atman. Between Atman and Brahman, between what is real (Atman) and non-real (Maya). "Just as knowing that a rope is a rope destroys the illusion that it is a snake, so Maya is destroyed by direct experience of Brahman." But the Maya is composed of 3 gunas - forces known as raja, tamas and sattwa. Raja creates attachment and desire within us which can lead to lust and anger. Tamas "has the power of the veiling of the real nature of an object," fooling us into seeing the unreal world as the real, or the rope as a snake. Tamas is ignorance and laziness. Sattwa is purity. Sattwa "reveals the Atman as the sun reveals the objective world."

This complex taxonomy describes the world we see and experience and the transcendent real world of Atman and Brahman which can be attained by discrimination using the Yogas and seeing Maya and the gunas for what they are.

From this explanation I can begin to understand the Hindu devotion to its gurus, the multiple ways to enlightenment leading to multiple gods and the role of meditation in the religion. Shank'ara gets very repetitive after a while, but he uses new allegories, stories and images to make his point. The reader has figured it out already after just a third of the book. Now the reader needs to find a wise master, and to apply oneself to the Yogas, to discriminate real from unreal and not be fooled by the visible world. The goal is enlightenment, the highest state of bliss, to cut the bonds of worldliness, to destroy the misery of worldly life, and to end the cycle of birth and death.

[Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

The text emerges as a sublime dialogue between a spiritual master and his disciple, weaving intricate philosophical insights with profound psychological understanding. Shankaracharya's narrative style is deeply contemplative, inviting readers to journey beyond superficial perceptions of reality and explore the fundamental nature of existence.

Shankaracharya argues that what humans typically perceive as reality is fundamentally an illusion - a complex, multilayered projection that obscures the ultimate truth of universal consciousness. The text meticulously deconstructs human attachments, revealing how emotional and intellectual entanglements prevent genuine spiritual awakening.

The philosophical journey proposed by Shankaracharya is not abstract or detached, but intensely personal and experiential. He emphasizes that spiritual realization is not about acquiring knowledge, but about fundamental transformation of consciousness. The path involves rigorous self-examination, cultivating profound discrimination between eternal consciousness and transient phenomenal experiences.

Shankaracharya's approach is remarkable for its psychological sophistication. He understands human consciousness not as a static entity, but as a dynamic, evolving process. The text provides nuanced insights into mental conditioning, attachment mechanisms, and the subtle barriers that prevent individuals from recognizing their fundamental unity with universal consciousness.

The Crest Jewel of Discrimination is simultaneously a philosophical treatise, a spiritual manual, and a profound psychological exploration. It challenges readers to transcend limited ego-based perceptions and recognize their intrinsic, boundless nature. By doing so, Shankaracharya offers a radical reimagining of human potential - not as limited, fragmented beings, but as expressions of infinite, interconnected consciousness.

Centuries after its composition, the Vivekachudamani continues to inspire spiritual seekers, philosophers, and contemplative practitioners worldwide. Its enduring relevance lies in its universal message: that true liberation comes from understanding the illusory nature of separateness and recognizing the fundamental unity underlying all existence.

[Alok · Rating 5 out of 5]

**A manual for knowing your Real Self**

Vivekchudamani means 'Crest Jewel of Discrimination', and this book is considered to be the masterpiece of Advait Vedanta, written by Adi Shankaracharya.

In this wonderful translation of the Sanskrit Text, you will find the original Sanskrit verses, their translation in simple English, and the explanation of various words and concepts used in the book. It's published by Ramakrishna Mission whose books on Vedanta are wonderful and extremely helpful for spiritual aspirants.

In this book, Shankaracharya suggest us to learn the discrimination between the real and the unreal. The world of senses we are living in is as unreal as the dreams we see while sleeping. But it appears real to us just like the dreams look real to us while we are asleep.

Then what's the reality? Reality is a never changing state of consciousness which is full of bliss. We are that state of consciousness, but we cannot see it because of the constant state of illusion we are living in. Shankaracharya makes his point by giving the example of a rope which looks like a snake in the darkness. That rope has always been a rope, but due to our illusion we think it's snake and get scared.

The goal of Advait Vedanta is to help us remove that illusion so that we can know what we really are and we can live in that state of everlasting bliss.

Although this book contains Shankaracharya's philosophy, but he warns against becoming a philosopher again and again. A philosopher is somebody whose knowledge is limited to book-reading and intellectual understanding. Shankaracharya makes a strong suggestion of meditating on the real self which is the only way to realize our true nature. Just like reading the prescription won't help us cure our disease, in the same way merely reading the book won't help us in ralizing our self.

If reading this book inspires you to practice meditation, only then its purpose will be fulfilled.

[Sreena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that offers unparalleled insights into the nature of the self, the path to liberation, and the realization of one's true identity.

Sri Sankaracharya's "Vivekachudamani" unfolds like a radiant lotus, gradually revealing the secrets of Vedanta, the ultimate knowledge of the self. The book begins by emphasizing the importance of discernment (viveka) and the longing for liberation (mumukshutva) as prerequisites for spiritual progress.

Sri Sankaracharya's non-dualistic philosophy emphasizes the oneness of the individual soul (Atman) with the Supreme Reality (Brahman), providing a philosophical framework that resonates with seekers across diverse spiritual traditions.

It also inspires to cultivate (while navigating the challenges of daily life):
- detachment
- discrimination
- compassion .

The book offers valuable insights on self-discipline, meditation, devotion, and the importance of a Guru (spiritual guide) on the path to self-realization.

[Tarun Rattan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivekachudamani or Crest-jewel of Discrimination is a masterpiece of Advaita school of Indian Philosophy written by Adi Shankaracharya, the greatest seer of Hinduism.

The book’s cardinal tenet is
"Brahman (Universal Soul) alone is real, universe is unreal, and the individual soul is no other than the Universal Soul."

The book analyses this tenet from different perspectives in the form of a spiritual teacher and student discourse written in the form of a poem in Shardula Vikridita metre. The poem discusses Viveka (discrimination between real and unreal) which is expounded as the central task of spiritual or philosophical life and then goes on to prove the oneness of Atman and Brahman.

[Naga Arjuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in Advaita Vedanta, even though it is not likely the work of Adi Shankara.
Why is it not considered his work?
1. It has a highly poetic style, not found in other genuine works of Adi Shankara; 2. there is a lack of extensive commentaries on it, which is unusual given the extensive commentaries on his other works; 3. unlike Shankara's other genuine works which give minimal importance to nirvikalpa samadhi, the Vivekachudamani gives special importance to it.

It does not matter much, though, because the wisdom of Advaita is not dependent on Adi Shankara, since he was not even considered the most important thinker of Advaita until the 10th century or so (earlier it was Mandana Mishra, and before that it was Gaudapada).

[John Div · Rating 5 out of 5]

To sum this book up real quick - The outside world is condemned, in way that it simply springs up because of the power of your consciousness and is not to be considered outside. It's you who conjures up the world and if you say something is wrong with it, then something is wrong with you. Because the very notion of the world arises from the belief of 'there is a world'. 'And something is wrong with this world', which is, 'not you' is apparently an insane statement. Such things as ‘not you’ simply do not exist. Adi Sankara is a really wise guy, but quite an angry one.

[Ryan Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly unrefined for someone enlightened, yet full of truth nonetheless. I believe this was a collection of teachings published after the death of the teacher by one or several un-illuminated individuals. A good portion of the work is authentic but reader beware.

[Rewa Rishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am amazed at the knowledge of our ancestors about who I am and from where I have come where I will go after death.

[Cheri Flake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book speaks all knowing and holy truth but not that fun to read. 😂The last ten pages are amazing - five stars.

[Sukanya Viswanathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most precious treasure of a book to be read and reread. Reading from this book is by itself meditative and takes one to stillness, peace and joy in identifying as the Atman.