THE WORKS OF SANKARA

¢vvEk    c¥fam¢N - VIVEKA CHUDAMANI

SLOKAS 11 TO 20

     
¢cäOÞy    S¤¼yE    kmI    n       vÞt¥plÖDyE    ,
vÞt¤¢s¢¼¢vIcarEN    n    ¢k|¢cÏkmIkaE¢z¢B:    ,   11   ,  
¢cäOÞy   of the mind
S¤¼yE   purification
kmI   work
n    vÞt¥plÖDyE   not to get the perception of the
vÞt¤¢s¢¼¢vIcarEN    the realization of the Truth is
n   ¢k|¢cÏkmIkaE¢z¢B:   not in the least by ten million
 
11. Work (actions) help  purify  the   mind, but do  not help him  to see Reality.   Reflection will lead to cognisance of reality. Not  even ten   million  acts can help in this.  
sØy¢Âvcart:    ¢s¼a    rÇj¤tt¯ ÏvavDarNa    ,
B#aÓtaE¢dtmhaspIByѤ:K¢vna¢Sn£    ,   12   ,
 
sØy¢Âvcart:   by serious experiments
¢s¼a   the reality
rÇj¤tt¯   ÏvavDarNa   , about the rope is gained
B#aÓtaE¢dtmhaspIByѤ:K¢vna¢Sn£   which puts an end to the great fear and misery caused by the snake worked up in the confused mind.

12. Reasoning  leads one to recognize  the  reality  of  the   rope which  a deluded mind sees as a snake.  
ATIÞy    ¢nàyaE    ¾aE    ¢vcarEN    ¢htaE¢³t:    ,
n    s"anEn    n    danEn    p#aNayamStEn    va    ,   13   ,  
ATIÞy   of the truth
¢này:       firm belief
¾:       is seen
¢vcarEN   from reasoning
¢htaE¢³t:   upon the salutary counsel of the Men
n   s"anEn   not by bathing in the sacred waters
n   danEn   nor by gifts
p#aNayamStEn   va  , nor by a hundred Pranayamas (control

13. Reasoning  and advice of the wise  alone can help in the cognisance of reality, not bathing in   the   sacred   waters, or  acts of charity  or  even a  hundred   physical  self-control practices (breathing).

                   Who is competent ?  
A¢Dka¢rNmaSaÞtE    Pl¢s¢¼¢vISExt:    ,
upaya    dESkalaïa:    sÓÏy¢ÞmÓshka¢rN:    ,   14   ,
 
A¢Dka¢rNmaSaÞtE   on a qualified aspirant
Pl¢s¢¼¢vISExt:   success depends essetially
upaya:   means
dESkalaïa:   time,place and other things
sÓÏy¢ÞmÓshka¢rN:    are but auxiliaries in this regard.
   
14. Success  in this goal depends  on the  aspirant's own fitness; not just on  circumstances of  time,   place  or method which can be only aids.
 
AtaE    ¢vcar:    ktIÛyaE    ¢jåOasaEraÏmvÞt¤n:    ,
smasaï    dya¢sÓD¤|    g¤â|    b#'¢vѤäOmm¯    ,   15   ,  
At:   hence
¢vcar:   the seeker
ktIÛy:   should take to reasoning
¢jåOasaEraÏmvÞt¤n:    after the Reality of the Atman
smasaï   after duly approaching
dya¢sÓD¤|   an ocean of mercy
g¤â|   the Guru
b#'¢vѤäOmm¯   the best of the knowers of Brahman.
 
15. Therefore he who desires to know reality must practice discrimination with the help of  a compassionate teacher  who has that knowledge.  
mEDav£    p¤âxaE    ¢v¹an¥hapaEh¢vcXN:    ,
A¢DkayaIÏm¢vïayam¤³lXNl¢Xt:    ,   16   ,
 
mEDav£   An intelligent and learned
p¤âxaE   man
¢v¹an¥hapaEh¢vcXN:   skilled in arguing in favour
A¢DkayaIÏm¢vïayam¤³lXNl¢Xt:   one who has got the above chara
 
16. An   intelligent   person who can comprehend the teachings and  refute arguments against them, qualifies to be an aspirant. 
 
¢vvE¢knaE    ¢vr³Þy    Sma¢dg¤NSa¢ln:    ,
m¤m¤XaErEv    ¢h    b#'¢jåOasayaEÂyta    mta    ,   17   ,  
¢vvE¢kn:    the man who can distinguish between
¢vr³Þy   whose mind is turned away from the
Sma¢dg¤NSa¢ln:   whi possesses calmness and the allied
m¤m¤XaErEv   ¢h   who is longing for liberation
b#'¢jåOasayaEÂyta  mta   is considered to be qualified to
 
17. To be able to discriminate  between   the   Real   and   the  unreal, to be possessed of   calmness   and  other such attributes, to long  for   liberation,  all      qualify one further to be an  aspirant.

           The four-fold Sadhana
 
saDnaÓyæO    cÏva¢r    k¢Tta¢n    mn£¢x¢B:    ,
yEx¤    st¯ÞvEv    s¢°¿a    ydBavE    n    ¢sÒy¢t    ,   18   ,  
saDnaÓyæO   regarding the attainment
cÏva¢r   of four means
k¢Tta¢n   have spoken
mn£¢x¢B:   sages
yEx¤   st¯ÞvEv   which alone being present
s¢°¿a   the devotion to Brahman
ydBavE   inthe absence of which
n   ¢sÒy¢t   it fails.
 
18. Four  qualifications, the sages say, are necessary and when present, the pursuit of Reality will succeed, otherwise it will fail.
          
AadaW    ¢nÏya¢nÏyvÞt¤¢vvEk:    p¢rgÎytE    ,
iham¤æOPlBaEg¢vragÞtdnÓtrm¯    ,
Sma¢dxzksØp¢äOm¤Im¤X¤Ïv¢m¢t    ÞPzm¯    ,   19   ,  
AadaW   first of all
¢nÏya¢nÏyvÞt¤¢vvEk:    the discrimination between the
p¢rgÎytE   specified
iham¤æOPlBaEg¢vragÞtdnÓtrm¯    next comes the unwillingness
Sma¢dxzksØp¢äOm¤Im¤X¤Ïv¢m¢t    the group of six attributes
ÞPzm¯   is clear for liberation.
 
19. The first  qualification  is  the  discrimination   between   the  Real   and   the   unreal;   next comes  renunciation of all fruits of action of this or other worlds; thereafter tranquillity and the five other virtues (Sama, Dama, Uparadhi, Thithiksha, Sraddha and Samadana);  and  lastly  the longing   for  liberation .
 
b#'    sÏy|    jg¢ÓmÐyEÏyEv|ãpaE    ¢v¢này:    ,
saE{y|    ¢nÏya¢nÏyvÞt¤¢vvEk:    sm¤da¶t:    ,   20   ,  
b#'   sÏy|   Brahman is real
jg¢ÓmÐyEÏyEv|ãpaE   the universe is unreal
¢v¢này:   the firm conviction of the mind
saE{y|   that mind
¢nÏya¢nÏyvÞt¤¢vvEk:    the discrimination (viveka) between
sm¤da¶t:   is specified.
   
20. Discrimination  between   the   Real   and   the   unreal is clearly defined as the conviction that the eternal Brahman and not the transient world is the ultimate Reality.      


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