Vivekacudamani of Sri Sankaracarya (Shankaracharya)

A most valuable and lucid compendium of Advaita philosophy describing the transcendental knowledge of Brahman, and the way to achieve it through discrimination and meditation. Being an original production of Shankara's genius, the whole book is instinct with the prophetic vision of a seer, a man of realization, and the expression is so lucid and poetical that quite a new life has been breathed into the dry bones of philosophical discussion, and that too, on this most abstruse subject.

Scarcely any introduction is needed for a book that professess to be, as its title-" Crest-jewel of Discrimination" -shows, a masterpiece on Advaita Vedanta, the cardinal tenet of which is -" Brahman alone is real, the universe is unreal, and the individual soul is no other than the Universal Soul". Being an original production of Sankara genius, the book combines with a searching analysis of our experience an authoritativeness and a depth of sincerity that at once carry conviction into the heart of its reader. The whole book is instinct with the prophetic vision of a Seer, a man of Realization, and the expression is so lucid and poetical that quite a new life has been breathed into the dry bones of philosophical discussion, and that, too, on the most abstruse subject ever known.

In preparing this edition, which is a reprint in book- form from the Prabuddha Bharata, the translator gratefully acknowledges his Indebtedness to the admirable Sanskrit commentary of Swami Keshavacharya of the Munimandal, kankhal, which along with the Hindi translation would be highly useful to those who want a fuller knowledge of this book.

For Facility of reference an Index has been added, and the book, it is hoped, will in its present form be a vademecum to all students of Advaita Philosophy.

In this edition the book has been generally revised, and some improvement has been made as regards printing and other matters. All this, it is hoped, will make the book more acceptable to the public.