Sankara's Vivek Chudamani: First Steps on the Spiritual Path

Spiritual Journey:First Steps on the Path - (Verses 1—13)  GLORY OF SPIRITUAL LIFE जन्तूनां नरजन्म दुर्लभमतः पुन्स्त्वम् ततो विप्रता तस्मद्वैदिकधर्ममर्गप्रता विदवत्तवंसमत्परं   l    आत्मनात्म्विवेचनं  स्वनुभवो ब्रह्मात्मना  संस्थिमुक्तिर्नो  शत्जन्मकोतित्सुक्रितै पु न्यैर्विना    लभ्यते ll     (मन्त्र 2)                              For all living creatures, a human birth is indeed  rare; much  more  difficult it  is to  attain full manhood ;rarer  is  sattvic attitude in  life;  still  rarer is  to have  steadfastness on  the  path of spiritual  activity, as explained  in Vedic literature ;  stll  rarer is  to have  correct  knowledge  of  the  deep  significance  of  the  scriptures;; Discrimination between the Real and the unreal and a personal experience of  spiritual glory and  being  fully  established   in  the living consciousness (that  the Self in me is the Self in all)  for ultimate liberation  comes  still later on.,after living   many  many  years  of lives lived  intelligently.(Verse 2) Sankara, the  Great Teacher, in the  very beginning of  Viveka chudamani ,has emphasised   the  difficulty of awakening  ourselves to the real communion  of the divine to us.   Manhood, burning  desire  for  liberation, the  capacity to surrender completely to a  man  of  wisdom---these  three  things  are rare  indeed, and whereever  they  are  found,  they are  due  totheLord'sown Grace.(Verse 3) Miseries  of the UnspiritualMan(4-7) Is there a man who,having somehow gained human ,andtherehaving a masculine  embodimentt and masculine temperament  and   also having a   complete knowledge of the scriptiures,  is foolish enough not to strive hard for  self-realisation?  He  verily commits suicide,clinging to things unreal.(4)   Is there a  greater  fool than  the  man who, having  got the  rare chance   of a human  birth and  there too,  the  masculine qualities  of  the  head  and  heart,  falls short   in  his  efforts to  rediscover himself ?(5) Let  erudite scholars quote all the scriptures, let gods be  involved through sacrifices, let  elaborate  rituals be  performed,  let  personal  gods be  propitiated... yet without the  experience  of one's  identity with  the  Self, thereshall benoliberation  for  the  individual, not  in  the life  time  of ahundredBrahamas  put  together.(6)ü   Let them declare the laws, let them offer to the gods, let them perform all rites, let them love the gods; without knowing the oneness with the Self,' Freedom/libration(moksha) is not won even in a hundred years of the Evolver. It is a fact that liberation canot be the effect of  good works,for Struti  herself declares that there  is no hope for immortality by  means  of wealth.(7) "There is no hope of immortality through riches," says the scripture.ü    It is clear from this that rites cannot lead to Freedom.(moksha). Means of  Wisdom(8-13) Therefore, the learned seeker,who  is  striving  to  gain  this freedom within and  who has  renouncwed  all his desires for  pleasures in  the  sense objects, should duly  approach a good and geneerous Master and  must live attuned to the true significance  of the  words of the Master(8) let the wise one strive after Freedom (Moksha), [ giving up   all longing for sensual self-indulgence; approaching the good, great Teacher (the Higher Self), with soul intent on the object of the teaching. (8) ü   Having  attained the state of Yogarudha through  continuous and well-established discrimination,  one should lift oneself  from the ocean  of change  and finitude,wherein  one has come to be drowned.  (9) Let him by the Self raise the Self, sunk in the ocean of the world, following the path of union through complete recognition of oneness. (9) ü    May   the wise and the learned man  giveup all actionswhich  aremotivatedby  desires and  startthe  practice of rediscovering the Self and  thereby  attain freedom from the bondage of birth and death(10) ü   Selfless work  and charitable acts help to  purify  the mindbut they  donotby  themselves, contributeto the perceptionofReality. The discovery  of Self is brought about only by  discriminative analysis and never by any  number  of actions(11) ü    The  fear  and sorrow  created by  the delusory serpent  on  the  rope can  be  ended only after  fully  ascertaining the  truth  of the  rope which  is available for recognition only  through  steady and balanced  recognition. When one steadily examines and clearly sees a rope, the fear that it is a serpent is destroyed. (12) Neither sacred  baths nor  any  amount  of charity nor  even hyndreds  of  pranayamas can  give  us  the  knowledge about  our  own Self, but a  firm  experience of the  nature  of Self can be  gained when we  send  oyr  thoughts along  the  rails of argument laid  down in  the salutory advices  of the wise.Knowledge is gained by discernment, by examining, by instruction, but not by bathing, nor gifts, nor a hundred holdings of the breath(13) Ved  Prakash