Guest guest Report post Posted May 2, 2010 Greetings all, This is the article from this month's Anam Cara Newsletter. A really good word about discrimination and detachment, so I'm passing it on to you. Love, dhyana Greetings and Namaste! There's an ancient saying that " peace follows renunciation " which is often quoted in support of cultivating detachment. However, their is a more fundamental quality to be cultivated that allows for true renunciation and detachment to arise instead of mere repression. That quality is viveka - discrimination - the ability to know and see the difference between the true and untrue, to know the emptiness, the ephemeral quality of all forms, which naturally gives rise to detachment, dispassion and renunciation. The ancient saying in it's entirety is " peace follows renunciation and renunciation follows discrimination. " The latter part is most often left out even though it is absolutely essential for developing right understanding and effortless detachment, the peace of which is undisturbed by desires born from a lack of discrimination. The great 7th century saint, sage and poet, Shankaracharya, wrote Viveka Chudamani, The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination. This extraordinary work belongs in the library of every serious spiritual aspirant. It is a profound exploration of the power of discrimination and how it is honed and developed through one's practices and contemplations. Shankaracharya writes from the perspective of Advaita Vedanta and his works contain gems for everyone. Viveka Shankaracharya's Viveka Chudamani Shankara's Viveka Chudamani Cease to find fulfillment of your cravings in the objective world and you will stop dwelling on sense-objects. Stop dwelling on sense objects and your craving will be destroyed. When all craving has disappeared, that is liberation. It is called liberation-while-living. As the thick darkness melts utterly away before the radiant glow of the rising sun, so the thirst for life in the ego is entirely removed when longing for knowledge of the Reality becomes intense. When the lord of day ascends, darkness vanishes, with its net of evil. So, when the absolute bliss is experienced, there is no more bondage, nor any trace of sorrow. Let this objective world vanish from your thoughts. Let your mind dwell in the Reality which is full of joy. No matter whether you are regarding external appearances or meditating within yourself, be intently absorbed in Brahman. That is how you must pass your time until the residues of your past karmas is worked out. Vedanta Press, 1975; p. 85 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted May 2, 2010 Dhyana, Thank you for posting this - it's one of my favorite books, Viveka Chudamani (The Crest Jewel of Discrimination). Love, David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
