Vivek Chudamani

Author(s): Shankaracharya, Madhavanand Swami
Publisher: Advaita Ashram

Page 15

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VIVEKACHUDAMANI
पतयामन्दता यत्र विरक्तत्वमुमुक्षयोः ।
मरौ सलिलवत्तत्र शमादेर्भानमात्रता ॥ ३० ॥
30. Where (however) this renunciation and yearning for Freedom are torpid, there calmness and the other practices are as mere appearances,1 like water in a desert!
[1Mere appearances &c.-i.e., they are without any stability and may vanish like the mirage any time. For without burning renunciation and desire for Freedom, the other practices may be swept off by a strong impulse of infatuation or some strong blind attachment.]
मोक्षकारणसामग्रयां भक्तिरेव गरीयसी ।com स्वस्वरूपानुसन्धानं भक्तिरित्यभिधीयते ॥ ३१ ॥
31. Among things conducive to Liberation, devotion (Bhakti) alone holds the supreme place. The seeking' after one's real nature is designated as devotion.
[1The seeking &c.-This definition is from the Advaita standpoint. Dualists who substitute Isvara, the Supreme Lord, for the Atman or Supreme Self immanent in being, of course define Bhakti otherwise. For example, Narada defines it as सा कस्मैचित् परमप्रेमरूपा - "It is of the nature of extreme love to some Being," and Sandilya, another authority on the subject, puts it as a geft-"It is extreme attachment to Isvara, the Lord." On reflection it will appear that there is not much difference between the definitions of the two schools.]
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