Shankara's Crest-Jewel of Discrimination

171 Pages·1971·5.336 MB·English

by  Shankara, Swami Prabhavananda, Christopher Isherwood

SHANKARA'S
CREST-JEWEL
OF DISCRIMINATION

Shankara's
CREST - JEWEL
OF
DISCRIMINATION
(Vioeka-Chudamani)
with
A Garland
of Questions and Answers
(Prasnottara Malika)
Translated by
SWAMI PRABHAVANANDA
and
CHRISTOPHER !SHERWOOD
Vedanta Press
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA
Copyright, 1947, 1970
by Vedanta Society of Southern California
All rights in this book are reserved. No part of the
book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For information address Vedanta Press, 1946 Vedanta
Place, Hollywood, California 90068.
Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are
invited by the Vedanta Society of Southern California
to correspond with its Secretary, at 1946 Vedanta
Place, Hollywood, California 90068.
Second Edition, with added material, 1971
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA
eontcnts
PAGE
I. SHANK ARA 1
II. INTRODUCTION TO
SHANKARA' S PHILOSOPHY 9
III. CREST-JEWEL OF DISCRIMINATION
(Viveka-Chudamani) 39
IV. A HYMN 151
v.
A GARLAND OF QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 153
(Prasnottara Malika)

SHANKARA'S
CREST-JEWEL
OF DISCRIMINATION

Sltanlar11
BEAUTIFUL and fantastic clouds of legend sur
round the austere, charming, boyish figure of
Shankara-saint, philosopher and poet. But, his
torically speaking, we know very little about the
circumstances of his life.
He was born in or around the year 686 A.D. of
Brahmin parents, at Kaladi, a small village of
Western Malabar, in southern India. By the age
of ten, he was already an academic prodigy. Not
only had he read and memorized all the scriptures,
but he had written commentaries on many of
them, and had held discussions with famous
scholars who came to him from every part of the
country.
Y ct the boy was dissatisfied. At a time when
most children are only beginning to study, he was
already disgusted by the emptiness of book-knowl
edge. He saw that his teachers did not practice the
lofty truths they preached. Indeed, the whole
society in which he lived was materialistic and
pleasure-seeking. India was passing through a
period of spiritual decadence. Shankara, burning
with youthful zeal, resolved to make his own life
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