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Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination)

Adi Shankara

A didactic poem of some 580 verses in the form of a dialogue between teacher and pupil, probably the most widely read Advaita manual in the world. It sets out discrimination between the eternal and the transient, the four qualifications of the aspirant, the five sheaths and the figure of the one liberated in life. Its verse 20 contains the formula "brahma satyaṃ jagan mithyā". Ramana Maharshi translated it into Tamil prose.

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English

Translated by Charles Johnston · 16 chapters · 2 h reading

  1. 1Preface2′
  2. 2Introductory by Charles Johnston4′
  3. 3First Steps on the Path8′
  4. 4Self, Potencies, Vestures · 14′
  5. 5Self, Potencies, Vestures · 25′
  6. 6Self, Potencies, Vestures · 35′
  7. 7Self, Potencies, Vestures · 44′
  8. 8Self, Potencies, Vestures · 52′
  9. 9The Witness11′
  10. 10Finding the Real Self4′
  11. 11The Power of Mind-Images13′
  12. 12Free Even in Life9′
  13. 13The Three Kinds of Works4′
  14. 14Master and Pupil7′
  15. 15The Perfect Sage5′
  16. 16For Ever Free5′
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination) by Adi Shankara — full text · The Conscious Library