Spiritual discernment
by Monica Dascălu
Spiritual discernment has a great importance in the yogic tradition and is considered to be an essential superior intellectual faculty for the spiritual progress in general and for ascension on the yogic path in particular.
The VEDANTA philosophy, for example, shows that spiritual discernment (VIVEKA) is the first of the four essential qualities necessary for achieving the state of spiritual liberation, the other three being the abandonment of the transient joys brought by the fruits of our actions, the cultivation of essential virtues and the aspiration towards spiritual liberation. The fundamental YOGA treaty, SHIVA SAMHITA, in its turn, enumerates the spiritual discernment among the most important qualities which are necessary in the yoga practice and which the aspirant should aim to develop.
Generally speaking, the spiritual discernment or VIVEKA allows us to distinguish the essential aspects from the non-essential ones, which are transient, illusory, and unreal; for example, it helps us be able to difference the individual Supreme Self ATMAN, the immortal essence of human being from the other aspects which relate to the mind, personality, ego, through intuition and direct perception. Spiritual discernment, when is awaked and amplified in our being, allows us to perceive things from the light of God and not from our limited perspective, according to our own opinions, expectations, desires or preconceived ideas.
The developing of spiritual discernment allows us to directly, instantaneously infer what is good from what is wrong, to know in advance the consequence of certain decisions we make and thus helps us make the proper decisions in each moment of our life. It helps us to give the right importance to the spiritual, divine, essential aspects and spiritual practice, but at the same time it helps us in our daily life, so that we live our life in accordance and harmony with the deepest aspirations of our soul. Spiritual discernment is of great help when we deal with temptations or insidious, demonic doubts, helping us to firmly, promptly and strongly reject all the negative suggestions, the poison of doubts and various temptations which naturally appear on the spiritual path.
In JNANA YOGA, the yoga of knowledge, spiritual discernment is of great importance for spiritual knowledge. Understanding of certain esoteric aspects is here the starting point of the spiritual practice, which later aims at the effective experience of those certain aspects in our being through deep meditation upon them.
The great wise Shankara states in his work VIVEKA CHUDAMANI that: “The error of identifying ATMAN with non ATMAN is the cause of man’s birth and rebirth. This false identification is done by the mind”.
“The proper discernment reveals the true nature of rope which is taken for a snake and removes the painful fear caused by the confusion that it might be a snake.”
“Through devotion and love of the Divine Supreme, at the same time developing the genuine spiritual discernment, human being will gradually rise to the Supreme level of merging with BRAHMAN. Through the power of individual Supreme Self the human being is saving her own soul fallen in the immense ocean of illusory world.”
In difficult situations, spiritual discernment is absolutely essential in order to make the right decision, in harmony with the divine wisdom. The manifestation of discernment through the processes of self-observation and self-analysis must be oriented both upon the ideas and spiritual states, as well as the complex effects that arise from them.
According to Sri Aurobindo, VIVEKA, spiritual discernment is an essential feature of unified superior intelligence; it is not only the concentration of the mental process that knows, but especially the concentration of the mental process which decides and persists in its decision. Therefore we can affirm that spiritual discernment is a reliable guide on our spiritual path, because this discriminative ability is the one helping us in each successive stage of the spiritual path to discern between ego and soul, then between soul and Self and finally between the Individual Supreme Self ATMAN and the Universal Supreme Self PARAMATMAN, thus helping us to travel though the path until the end. Acting this way, we no longer let in the danger of stagnation or deviation, which might occur in the case of the spiritual seeker who lacks this discriminative faculty and might easily get lost in the jungle of delusive temptations of the inferior mind which is unable to recognize the Ultimate Divine Truth.
So the one that is able to know ATMAN is perfectly practicing the spiritual discernment, but still according to Shankara, “in order to reach this state one should become close to a Spiritual Guide who is a perfect connoisseur of BRAHMAN and whose wisdom is as vast as the ocean itself.”
yogaesoteric
