DISCRIMINATION 1

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

43. DISCRIMINATION
One of the basic ways to begin the study of Vedanta is with the Vivekachudamani, the Crest
Jewel of Discrimination, by Sri Sankara, in which he sought to introduce the sadhaka to the
Vedantic method of discrimination between the Reality and the appearance, the eternal and the
non-eternal, the permanent and the fleeting, the Spirit and that which is non-Spirit.
In the field of spiritual sadhana we must also be vivekis. We must not only discriminate
between the one undivided Brahman and the many—which is fleeting, temporary, subject to decay
and dissolution in time, and limited in space—but we must constantly exercise, in an active manner,
this supreme quality of viveka or discrimination in our daily lives.
We live for an ideal. We have adopted certain principles of life. We must, therefore, at every
step, at every moment discriminate: “Will this thought, this sentiment or emotion, this word, this
action, take me towards the ideal, or will it take me in a wrong direction? Is this helpful to me in
making me centred in God, or is it something that will make me forget God? If it will make me
forget God, I reject it. If it will help me to abide in God, I welcome it; I shall give a place to it in my
life.”
The great lord of dharma, Yamadharmaraja, teaches this to the brilliant, young seeker,
Nachiketas, in the Kathopanishad: “Two paths open up before each individual soul at every step, O
Nachiketas, that which is merely pleasant, which attracts, beguiles and is likely to tempt and divert
one away, and that which is good, which will uplift us, enhance our spirituality and lead us to
glory.”
He speaks, therefore, of the preyo marga which is merely pleasant and the sreyo marga
which may appear hard but wherein lies our highest good. And the wise sadhaka, endowed with
viveka, always discriminates between the two. He rejects the merely pleasant which will lead
nowhere or perhaps lead to grief; and, even though seemingly difficult, not so attractive, chooses

the direction that will take him upward, Godward, towards the fruition and successful attainment of
the spiritual Goal.
Discrimination is not something that you just do in your meditation room or your study. In
your room you may learn the art and science, the necessity, nature and method of right
discrimination—reading works like the Vivekachudamani, the Bhagavad Gita and Gurudev’s
practical spiritual books—but discrimination itself is an internal state that has to be constantly ever
active from the moment of waking up into this outer world until the moment of sleeping once again.
Discrimination is the first of the fourfold indispensable sadhanas (sadhana chatushtaya)
our ancient spiritual masters have suggested and prescribed for us: viveka, vairagya, shat sampat
and mumukshutva—discrimination, dispassion, the sixfold virtues and a burning desire for
liberation. It is first because all other sadhanas depend upon a cultivated discipline of
discrimination or viveka.
Without viveka, vairagya (dispassion) is not possible. It will only be sentiment, a passing,
bubbling emotion or a mood. It is only through a constant exercise of viveka that vairagya gradually
becomes a permanent state within your antahkarana. There have been cases where a sudden blow
has become the turning point in one’s life and launched one upon the spiritual quest. The person by
that very experience becomes possessed by great vairagya. It becomes permanent, not a passing
mood. But these are more the rare exceptions; they are not the rule.
On the contrary, in spite of repeated knocks and blows and bitter experiences, the human
mind is so inveterately foolish, so inveterately bound up in delusion, that it soon returns to its
previous ruts and grooves. Again and again it goes back to its age-old pattern of behaviour. It is only
in rare cases that vairagya becomes like an ignition, and a blaze issues out of it. By and large the
mind does not easily change its nature.
However, if by a constant, actively exercised viveka, we can change the very nature, the
pattern, of the mind’s thinking and relating itself to the outer world and its understanding of
sense-objects, then gradually the mind can become an asset. Instead of becoming the net in which
one is caught, our bondage, it becomes an asset.
And it is to this end that we have to try to understand the mind, train the mind, and keep the
mind constantly guided by an awakened intellect, constantly giving it a correct direction, constantly
guiding it in the direction of God. It is a never-ending process whether you are a bhakta, a jnani, a
yogi or a karmi. It is an indispensable, hidden, inner sadhana that takes place no matter where you
are and whether you are a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Parsi or Jain.
Therefore, if upon this plane we discriminate and act wisely, and if we take all the help we
can from satsanga, svadhyaya and sad-vichara, then gradually our consciousness can be made
aware of the other plane, the higher plane of a spiritual awareness within our own being. And it is to
the degree and the measure of your ability to lift up your interior onto that spiritual plane that the
speed, the success and the fulfilment of your spiritual quest will depend.

That temptation is part of spiritual life was declared long ago by Yamadharmaraja to young
Nachiketas in the Kathopanishad: Attractions always try to divert our attention, draw us away from
the path and make us forget the Goal. Therefore, you must be vigilant and alert. You must steel
yourself to resist the blandishments of this attractive world-appearance in which you have to live
and through which you have to move towards the Goal Supreme.
You must exercise your discrimination. Be intelligent, be wise. Do not be puerile. In the
ascent of the spirit towards total perfection and liberation, every step is assailed with attractions and
temptations to take the easy path, the pleasant path that leads to darkness and bondage. You must
show maturity and resolutely choose the path that leads to your highest good, your supreme
welfare.
Therefore, the call is to wisdom. The call is to be wise, to be your own friend, your own
well-wisher. Do not bring harm upon yourself. Do not court sorrow. Do not go after darkness and
bondage when you are on the path that leads to light, to reality, to immortality and supreme
liberation. Therefore, arise, awake, and until you reach the Supreme Goal, be aware and beware of
these hurdles on the way.