Sankara

Drgdrsyaviveka, Discernment Between Atman and Non-atman Sankara 1000 edition

SANKARA invites us to discern (viveka) between Real and non-real, between atman (Self) and non-atman (non-Self), between Infinite and finite, between Life and death. Man's greatest conflicts stem from his attachment to and his identification with the non-atman, with the finite. Knowledge on the other hand, leads to the unveiling of sat, of True Existence. A star is born, grows, matures, ages and dies, and these events are an uninterrupted flow of change. There is never a moment when the physical world undergoes no change or atomic or molecular transformation. If we are in agreement that the Absolute must be eternally constant , unvarying then we cannot look for it in the world of phenomena, whether objective or subjective. Thus the Drgdrsyaviveka expounds a detailed description of the different kinds of concentration (samadhi), of the three theories empirically concerning jiva, and other questions of vital importance to the Vedanta teaching.