Product Description

SHANKARA 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #780550 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-21
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

Review
In Svami Nikhilananda's words: «This work, which contains only forty-six sloka is an excellent vade mecum (handbook) for students of advanced courses in Advaita philosophy». --Svami Nikhilananda's quotation is from: «How to Discriminate the Spectator from the spectacle», Appendix II, Adrien Maisonneuve, Paris. (French edition)

About the Author
SHANKARA has been one of the greatest philosophers of India. He dedicated his brief and intense life (788-820) to re-establish the authority of the Shruti, to codify the Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine of Non-duality, and to anchor the Metaphysical Tradition of the Veda through the foundation of monasteries (matha) and monastic orders. With his bhashya (commentary) to the Upanishad, the Brahmas¥tra, and the Bhagavadgita, and with his own writings, Shankara has profoundly influenced not only India s philosophical development, but that of the entire world. RAPHAEL (Comments and edition) is an author and a Master in the Western Metaphysical Tradition as well as the Vedanta. For over 35 years, he has written several books on the pathway of Non-duality (Advaita). He has also translated and commented a number of key Vedånta texts from the original Sanskrit. His entire work is a conscious reunification of Western and Eastern Traditions into Unity of Tradition. Founder of the Ashram Vidya Order, Raphael is now dedicating himself entirely to the spiritual practice. He lives in a hermitage connected to the ashram and devotes himself completely to a vow of silence.