『Vivekachudamani - Crest Jewel of Wisdom』のカバーアート

Vivekachudamani - Crest Jewel of Wisdom

Vivekachudamani - Crest Jewel of Wisdom

著者： Vedanta Society San Francisco
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今ならプレミアムプランが3カ月 月額99円

2026年5月12日まで。4か月目以降は月額1,500円で自動更新します。

概要

 Swami Tattwamayananda will begin a new scripture, Vivekachudamani of Shankaracharya, on Friday November 15 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Temple.

Vivekachudamani, which means "The Crest Jewel of Discrimination," is a poem by Shankaracharya that summarizes Advaita Vedanta philosophy and is one of the its important introductory texts.

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  • Vivekachudamani 36 Anamaya Kosha: The Outermost Sheath - By Swami Tattwamayananda

    Vivekachudamani 36 Anamaya Kosha: The Outermost Sheath - By Swami Tattwamayananda
    2026/04/17
    151st verse: “A lake has pure water underneath but is covered by moss, grass and leaves at the top. The pure water is hidden. Similarly, our true nature stays hidden by five sheaths. The five sheaths are: Anamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha.”

    153rd verse: “When the five sheaths are taken away, we identify with our true dimension, which is self-effulgent, directly experienced and the source of eternal bliss.”

    155th verse: “There is a type of grass whose core is covered by leaves. When the outer layers of the leaves degenerate, the core comes out. Similarly, we should be able to separate the five sheaths and identify with our inner divinity.”

    The 156th verse describes Anamaya Kosha, the outermost layer.

    156th verse: “The body is the outermost layer and is a result of the food that we eat. It comes into existence by food, lives by food and dies without food. This body is like a skin bag that contains all that we eat. If anything were to come out of this skin bag and touch our hands, we instinctively wash our hands, as we consider the contents of the skin bad as impure. This body is made of skin, flesh, blood and bones. Every cell in the body changes every single moment. Therefore, it cannot be our true identity, Atman, which is unchanging. “

    While there is nothing remarkable about the physical body physically, it is important as it helps us go beyond body consciousness. Having a healthy body is not the goal of life. It is a means for higher realization.

    We often define ourselves with our physical body. This is similar to a billionaire behaving like a beggar. People who only identify with their physical body are quickly forgotten. Many great personalities, such as Lincoln, Gandhi and Stephen Hawking, were not physically remarkable but achieved great things by identifying with higher dimensions of their personality.

    Buddha reflected on the sufferings of the physical body - the miseries of birth, death, sickness and old age. He went to Bodh Gaya, sat under a tree and took a vow to not leave his seat until he realized the spiritual truth.

    Everyone intellectually knows that the physical body will be gone one day. However, at an emotional level, we live in delusion forgetting this truth. Even a crematorium manager, who sees dead bodies every day, lives under similar delusion. Yaksha posed a question to Yudhishthira – “What is the most mysterious fact of life?” In answer, Yudhishthira said – “Every minute and second, we see so many creatures moving towards the abode of death. Still, we believe that we will not have to join this procession. This is the most mysterious fact of life.”

    The 157th verse explains the impermanence of the physical body.
    157th verse: “This body did not exist some time ago, and it will cease to exist some time in the future. It only appears to exist in the present. Every split second, it changes and becomes old. It is like a pot that is insentient. It is not eternal, and therefore, not our true nature, which is Atman.”

    If we become slightly introspective, we can infer the higher dimensions of our personality. When we say: “I am happy” without being aware of it, we identify with the mind, which is beyond the physical body. The body, which is skin bag, cannot be happy or unhappy. That state belongs to the mind.

    Our true nature is as the seer or witness, which is aware of all the changes happening to the body. When we observe our anger or anxiety, we objectify them, thereby reducing their effect on us.

    158th verse; “This body has hands and feet. Even if we lose our hands or feet, we continue to live. This body cannot be our true nature, which is permanent. “

    These physical parts do not define us. Our true nature can only be experienced. It cannot be verbalized. When we remove all wrong notions, what is left behind is our true nature.
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    48 分
  • Vivekachudamani 35 Identifying Ourselves Beyond the Five Sheaths - By Swami Tattwamayananda

    Vivekachudamani 35 Identifying Ourselves Beyond the Five Sheaths - By Swami Tattwamayananda
    2026/04/10
    151st verse: “A lake has pure water underneath but is covered by moss, grass and leaves at the top. The pure water is hidden. Similarly, our true nature stays hidden by five sheaths. The five sheaths are: Anamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha.”

    Anamaya Kosha is the grossest and represents our physical being. Anandamaya Kosha is the most subtle.

    We identify ourselves with what we can connect with through our senses and mind. This is akin to weeds growing on the lake.

    Shankaracharya uses examples from the animal kingdom to explain how one reaches destruction when guided by the senses - Deer (sense of hearing), Elephant (sense of touch). Moth (sense of seeing), Fish (sense of taste), Bee (sense of smell). Each of these creatures reaches death as they are guided by one of their senses. What to speak of humans who have five senses active all the time.

    We often define ourselves with our physical identity. This is similar to a billionaire behaving like a beggar. Many great personalities, such as Lincoln, Gandhi and Stephen Hawking, were not physically remarkable but achieved great things by identifying with higher dimensions of their personality.

    155th verse: “There is a type of grass whose core is covered by leaves. When the outer layers of the leaves degenerate, the core comes out. Similarly, we should be able to separate the five sheaths and identify with our inner divinity.”

    Swami Vivekananda said: “Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man.” We can manifest this divinity by being good human beings.

    Vedanta prescribes Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti as the disciplines to manifest this divinity. We have to have the right sense of priorities. First, we must use our discerning wisdom to determine what is real and what is unreal. Second, we must hold on to what is real and disregard what is unreal. Third is Śamādi ṣatka Sampatti. It lists six traits: Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksa, Shraddha, Samadhana. Fourth is Mumukṣutvam, a strong desire for spiritual liberation.

    Divine discontent is the feeling of incompleteness or imperfection in life that any cultured, evolved, human being feels. Great personalities such as Buddha felt this discontent and sought higher meaning of life.

    Shankaracharya emphasizes the importance of restraining the mind in the 326th verse. “Imagine a child playing with a ball at the top of a staircase. If the ball falls, it does not stop until it reaches the bottom. Similarly, in spiritual life, we should be very vigilant not to make mistakes. We should give our mind proper direction.”

    153rd verse: “When the five sheaths are taken away, we identify with our true dimension, which is self-effulgent, directly experienced and the source of eternal bliss.”

    Body is not supposed to remain intact for a very long time. We should not be unhappy when we get old or sick. The body is designed by God to become dysfunctional after a while.

    We spent most of our lifetime confronting the problem of death – we may be able to postpone it, but we cannot avoid it. Yaksha posed a question to Yudhishthira – “What is the most mysterious fact of life?” In answer, Yudhishthira said – “Every minute and second, we see so many creatures moving towards the abode of death. Still, we believe that we will not have to join this procession. This is the most mysterious fact of life.”
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    1 時間 8 分
  • Vivekachudamani 34 Bondage to Freedom Through Viveka - By Swami Tattwamayananda

    Vivekachudamani 34 Bondage to Freedom Through Viveka - By Swami Tattwamayananda
    2026/04/03
    Living a life of pleasures in this world is not the ultimate goal of human life. A higher transcendental value should guide us.

    Divine discontent is the feeling of incompleteness or imperfection in life that any cultured, evolved, human being feels. Great personalities such as Buddha sought higher meaning of life. Without a transcendental outlook, this is not possible.

    The 147th verse answers the question: “How is this bondage sustained?” with a description of the tree of samsara.

    147th verse: “Ine the tree of samsara, our ignorance of our true nature is the seed. The idea that we are the body is the shoot, which becomes a tender sprout. Our actions to go after desires are represented by water. The body is represented by the trunk. The senses are the branches. Sense objects are flowers. Suffering from different actions is represented by the fruits. Our experience in the world is represented by the bird.”

    The 149th verse answers the 4th question from the student: “How do we come out of bondage?”
    149th verse: “This bondage cannot be destroyed by any means other than Viveka – the discrimination between what is real and what is unreal. This Viveka is compared to a sword that cuts the chains of bondage. Weapons, fire, water, cannot destroy this bondage.”

    Viveka is higher wisdom that helps us understand that wealth, power and life itself is not eternal. With this wisdom, we can discriminate between the transient and the eternal. The benefit of this wisdom is that we can observe our own life as a witness, as if we are seeing a drama. The ups and downs of life won’t affect us.

    When we objectify our anger, anxiety and unhappiness, we don’t identify with them and, therefore, they don’t affect us.

    150th verse: “What comes to our rescue are the teachings of the sages. Our mind should be purified by the thoughts and teachings of the great sages who have laid out the road for us to follow. The proper adherence to our sacred duty comes from dedicated study and adherence of the teachings of these sages, which has been passed down by the Guru-Shishya Parampara.”

    Without mental purity, we cannot understand the subtle, higher truth. Per Vedanta, the method to purify the mind is Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti. We have to have the right sense of priorities.

    First, we must use our discerning wisdom to determine what is real and what is unreal. Second, we must hold on to what is real and disregard what is unreal. Third is Śamādi ṣatka Sampatti. It lists six traits: Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksa, Shraddha, Samadhana. Fourth is Mumukṣutvam, a strong desire for spiritual liberation.

    Mind should control the senses and not the other way around. Shankaracharya uses examples from the animal kingdom to explain how one reaches destruction when guided by the senses - Deer (sense of hearing), Elephant (sense of touch). Moth (sense of seeing), Fish (sense of taste), Bee (sense of smell). Each of these creatures reaches death as they are guided by one of their senses. What to speak of humans who have five senses active all the time.

    When we have Viveka, the higher wisdom, we develop the ability to restrain the senses. The difference between a wise and unwise person is the following: suppose both are in the market and the senses develop a desire to buy something. The higher wisdom in the wise person reminds him that he may have no need for the item he is considering buying.

    151st verse: “A lake has pure water underneath but is covered by moss, grass and leaves at the top. The pure water is hidden. Similarly, our true nature stays hidden by five sheaths. The five sheaths are: Anamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha.”

    Anamaya Kosha is the grossest and represents our physical being. Anandamaya Kosha is the most subtle.
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    59 分
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