Viveka Means Learning To Discriminate
Satish K Kapoor
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The `Prashnottara Ratna Malika' by Adi Shankra contains precise, profound answers to equally short, profound questions: “Who is the truly intelligent?“ The sage replies, “Viveka“ one who is endowed with the power of discrimination. The question, “Who is the vigilant?“ evokes the same answer.Viveka is the human faculty that enables one to discriminate between the real and unreal, the eternal and ephemeral, shreya, the good and preya, the pleasant. It is wisdom crystallised by satsang, holy company , and svadhyaya, study of scriptures made possible by contemplation on Brahmn Chintana, Absolute Reality . Viveka comes naturally to a prodigy as the result of prarabdha karma, righteous actions in past life.
The Katha Upanishad compares the Self of man to the Supreme seated in a chariot, with the body as chariot, intellect as charioteer, mind as reins, senses as horses, and sense objects as the road along which the chariot is driven. The unbridled horse can drive the chariot on a perilous journey .However, the one who has discriminative intellect can direct the senses with the reins of the mind, to attain self-control and purify consciousness.
Viveka helps one to find release from the cycle of birth and death. It also cultivates bhakti, reverence for the Supreme Reality which is at the root of the phenomenal world. With discriminative cognition one realises that the objective existence of name and form is maya, a delusion. The sole reality is the witness to the phenomena called Brahmn in its macroscopic form and Atman in its microcosmic manifestation.
Brahmn is eternal, immutable and self-existent. Yet, in its conditioned state, it is mobile and subject to change.Brahmn is unaffected by individual actions, bodily changes, states of mind, time, space and causation.
The growth of viveka in a person undergoes three stages: inquisitiveness, jnanadiptih or inner illumination and viveka-khyati, total awareness of Reality.Without discriminative discernment, the individual entangles himself in mundane pursuits his consciousness gets stuck in the chakras, lower nerve plexuses muladhara, svadhishthana and manipura and fails to move upward towards sahas rara, the cranial psychic force centre, the “thousand-petalled lotus“ signifying illumination.
Muladhara is at the base of the spine; svadhishthana is in the sacral area and manipura in the navel region.
The light of viveka removes the fog of avidya, nescience, annihilates ahamkara, ego, raga-dvesha, feelings of attraction and repulsion and vasana, subtle desires and helps one to get established in one's true divine nature.
With viveka one can perceive the cosmic Self in the individual self, the cosmic mind in the individual mind and cosmic consciousness in individual consciousness. As the spiritual aspirant sheds his finite individuality to be with the infinite being he ceases to do ignoble deeds and is filled with love and compassion for others. He realises the unity of existence and finds the world around as his own Self magnified.
The power of discrimination can be maximised by controlling manomayakosha, mind sheath, and empowering the vijnanamayakosha, the intellect sheath, in the subtle human body . This can be done by cultivating the habit of deep breathing for better control over sense organs, associating with noble people, observing regulation in eating and sleeping, practising silence, and remaining detached.
Sri Ramakrishna said: “By turning the mind within, one aquires discrimination, and then one thinks of truth“.Viveka resurrects man, relieving him of his sorrows, delusions and bondages.
The Katha Upanishad compares the Self of man to the Supreme seated in a chariot, with the body as chariot, intellect as charioteer, mind as reins, senses as horses, and sense objects as the road along which the chariot is driven. The unbridled horse can drive the chariot on a perilous journey .However, the one who has discriminative intellect can direct the senses with the reins of the mind, to attain self-control and purify consciousness.
Viveka helps one to find release from the cycle of birth and death. It also cultivates bhakti, reverence for the Supreme Reality which is at the root of the phenomenal world. With discriminative cognition one realises that the objective existence of name and form is maya, a delusion. The sole reality is the witness to the phenomena called Brahmn in its macroscopic form and Atman in its microcosmic manifestation.
Brahmn is eternal, immutable and self-existent. Yet, in its conditioned state, it is mobile and subject to change.Brahmn is unaffected by individual actions, bodily changes, states of mind, time, space and causation.
The growth of viveka in a person undergoes three stages: inquisitiveness, jnanadiptih or inner illumination and viveka-khyati, total awareness of Reality.Without discriminative discernment, the individual entangles himself in mundane pursuits his consciousness gets stuck in the chakras, lower nerve plexuses muladhara, svadhishthana and manipura and fails to move upward towards sahas rara, the cranial psychic force centre, the “thousand-petalled lotus“ signifying illumination.
Muladhara is at the base of the spine; svadhishthana is in the sacral area and manipura in the navel region.
The light of viveka removes the fog of avidya, nescience, annihilates ahamkara, ego, raga-dvesha, feelings of attraction and repulsion and vasana, subtle desires and helps one to get established in one's true divine nature.
With viveka one can perceive the cosmic Self in the individual self, the cosmic mind in the individual mind and cosmic consciousness in individual consciousness. As the spiritual aspirant sheds his finite individuality to be with the infinite being he ceases to do ignoble deeds and is filled with love and compassion for others. He realises the unity of existence and finds the world around as his own Self magnified.
The power of discrimination can be maximised by controlling manomayakosha, mind sheath, and empowering the vijnanamayakosha, the intellect sheath, in the subtle human body . This can be done by cultivating the habit of deep breathing for better control over sense organs, associating with noble people, observing regulation in eating and sleeping, practising silence, and remaining detached.
Sri Ramakrishna said: “By turning the mind within, one aquires discrimination, and then one thinks of truth“.Viveka resurrects man, relieving him of his sorrows, delusions and bondages.
