The Sword of Discernment (Vivekacūḍāmaṇi)

Without this one quality, you will not be able to progress on your spiritual path and ultimately realize who you truly are.

The quality I want to discuss here is discernment.

The Sanskrit term for discernment is viveka, and it describes the ability to discern between the false and the real, the transient and the eternal, the Self and what’s not Self.

Lately, I’ve been reading a book by Adi Shankara, a true spiritual master and someone who has been very influential in the teachings of Advaita Vedanta.

The book is called Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, and it’s all about discernment.

I don’t want to go too far into its teachings and concepts, but I want to present the main idea here, which is to develop a proper ability to discern what you are and what you are not.

In his book, Shankara describes the five layers that make up our relative sense of identity and how to recognize and transcend each of them until only the Absolute Truth remains — the Absolute Truth being Brahman, the Ultimate Reality beyond all limitations.

The five layers that make up our relative sense of being are the following:

1. The physical layer
2. The energetic layer
3. The mental layer
4. The wisdom layer
5. The bliss layer

Beyond them, there is the lone witness — the Atman, our True Self.

With discrimination, we peel away each layer until only our True Self remains.

By peeling away layers, I mean recognizing each layer as an object in our awareness. Whenever we recognize anything, it means it is an object in our awareness, and we are the subject.

Usually, we identify with the objects that appear within us. We identify with our body, our feelings, our thoughts, and even the feeling of “I am.” Simply said, whatever you become aware of is an object in your mind and therefore not you, not your True Self.

With the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, and the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, you will learn to identify the layers that make up your relative experience, and let go of them.

So, what you can do in your meditation is this:

First, you become aware of your body — how it is moving through space or sitting in a meditation posture.

You then say to yourself: I am not my body, so what am I?

Then, you become aware of the second layer, the energetic layer, where the life force energy resides, which is basically the lived experience of feeling the energy in your body — of feeling alive.

Then you say to yourself: I am not the energy that makes up the experience of my body, so what am I?

After that, you get to the third layer, which is the mental layer — the thinking layer. You’ll probably identify this one very easily since our thoughts can’t be overlooked.

So whatever you think, you are not that. It’s only an object within your awareness. Therefore, you don’t expect your thoughts or your mental layer to provide the ultimate answer to the question of who you are. You can let go of any thought, and ask yourself: Who is the witness of my thoughts? Who am I?

Then, you’ll approach the fourth layer, the wisdom layer, and here it gets a bit tricky because we are talking about higher intuition. This isn’t easily graspable for many people, and one has to develop a certain degree of mindfulness or one-pointedness of mind in order to recognize this one.

This layer is basically where the ability to discern resides. If we cultivate discernment, we’ll become more and more aware of this layer. It’s like a sword that cuts through the illusions of identification and prepares the way for the ultimate realization of who we are.

So, this layer primarily discerns what’s true and what’s not true, it distinguishes the real from the unreal.

When you have prepared yourself enough, you’ll identify this layer. It’s less dense than any previous layer — like a sword that cuts through the identification with what you are not.

Last but not least, there is the bliss layer. It’s the most subtle of the five layers and can be compared to what you experience during deep sleep or profound contentment. It’s the feeling you get when your mind becomes completely still. This is where the pleasant samadhi states happen during deep meditation.

However, this layer is not the end. It’s still just a reflection of our True Self, and we have to go further in order to realize who we really are.

So, whenever you get there, recognize it as a layer that hides your True Nature, and let it go. Don’t identify with it.

Also, don’t rush to replace it with another idea or thought, but simply remain as the witness. Just stay with the simple recognition: “I am the awareness that sees all of this.” Also see that this does not come and go. It is not impacted by any of the layers I just described. It is like the sun — it does not need anything else in order to light itself up.

There is also no effort needed to bring about this simple recognition. Effort only belongs to the previous layers. Here, you touch upon what’s always and already here — what you truly are.

Now, you simply rest in this subtle recognition, and the more you do it, the more stable it becomes, until finally, the realization dawns of what you really are.

Last but not least, I want to share a few remarks on how I think this compares to Zen.

Most importantly, don’t waste your time comparing these two traditions trying to figure out which one is better. They are both just fingers pointing to the moon, and it’s not about the finger but about looking at the moon — looking at the truth of who you are.

When you practice Zen, you’ll see that it has elements of what I just described. It’s about recognizing what you identify with and letting it go.

In Zen, and Buddhism in general, there are also various types of descriptions that can be compared to the layers I just described. For example, there is the teaching of the five skandhas. However, especially in Zen, it’s not so much about learning the different layers and discarding them one by one; it’s a more radical teaching style that aims to point you to the Real You beyond all of them immediately.

Zen employs a lot of shocking techniques that aim to break you out of each identification and let you recognize who you truly are.

Obviously, almost nobody gets it the first time, and they probably have to practice for many lifetimes until they suddenly realize their True Self. Again and again, you return to your True Self, to the thing that’s beyond each layer, until you suddenly “get it.”

For me personally, both traditions play a very important role in my spiritual practice. I do find the Vedanta teachings more helpful in explaining the whole cosmology or structure of reality, but when it comes to spiritual practice, I approach it from this relentless Zen point of view — not getting attached to anything, cutting right through the matter, and getting to the heart of it.

Alright, I hope this was helpful.

If you are curious and want to get the book, I can only recommend the version I have presented here, since I haven’t read any other version, and I am sure you’ll appreciate the comments made by the author, who was a relatively unknown but legendary Advaita master himself. Reading this book and meditating on its contents is already an advanced spiritual practice.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I wish you all the best — your friend of the way. Bye.

Book recommendation:

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (english version): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931406766/

Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (german version): https://www.amazon.de/dp/3748107730/ 

*These are NOT affiliate links. I don’t have any benefit whether you decide to buy it or not.