THE CREST-JEWEL OF DISCRIMINATION: A modern exposition
Baba Shiva Rudra Balayogi
[Shivabala-Shivarudrabalayogi Mission, 455 pages]
The spiritual teacher Shiva Rudra Balayogi has published a commentary on The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination, a major work by Adi Shankara, India’s 8th-century reviver of Vedic knowledge. It makes this ancient philosophical discourse relevant to us today, and it speaks to us more directly than past commentaries because it refutes the gender and caste biases that have accrued over the centuries.
Balayogi corrects several mistranslations from the original Sanskrit. For instance, the second verse lists the qualities necessary to achieve enlightenment; prominent among them are Purasattvam و Bramanattmana.
The first is usually translated as “being a man” and the second as “being a Brahmin.” The author convincingly explains that a more accurate translation is “having a strong body and will,” and “having mental purity.” Shankara himself revered Shakti, the female life-force, but that was only after a woman saint bested him in a debate on the topic and he had to admit she was right.
The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination, also known as Viveka Choodamani, is a concise explication of Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of unity and non-duality. “Discrimination,” in this context, means the ability to distinguish between truth and illusion, between what supports and what hinders our enlightenment.
Meditation is one of the chief supports. As Shiva Rudra Balayogi writes,
The mature mind, through prolonged practice of meditation, merges with Brahman, the Ultimate Supreme Truth and attains Realization of the One, undivided Self of Supreme Bliss. … By this Realization the mind’s illusory imaginations, which come from the darkness of ignorance, are destroyed. One lives in Bliss, free from all imaginations of the mind.”
This commentary is profoundly written and easy to understand, abstract but never abstruse. It inspires us to seek the unity of consciousness and points the way to it. More information is available about the book and its author here.
Shiva Rudra Balayogi also offers an easy and effective technique of Vedic meditation, Jangama Dhyana, and the opportunity to meditate with him online and ask him questions—you can access all of this for free at jangama.org.
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