vivekacūḍāmaṇiḥ

Scarcely any introduction is needed for a book that professes to be, as its title—‘Crest-jewel of Discrimination’—shows, a masterpiece on Advaita Vedanta, the cardinal tenet of which is: ‘brahma satyam, jaganmithyā jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ’—‘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’s 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 readers. The whole book is instinct with the prophetic vision of a Seer, a man of Realisation, and the expression, too, 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 Kesavacharya 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 vade-mecum to all students of Advaita Philosophy.