---
type: Concept
title: "Viveka"
description: "The technical discrimination between the eternal (nitya) and the transient (anitya) — not mere discernment."
tags:
  - prerequisites
  - Vedanta
  - Jnana-yoga
  - non-translatable
darshana:
  - Advaita Vedānta
not:
  - term: "Discernment"
    why: "Applies to any domain (wine, character, aesthetics); Viveka has the precise scope of discriminating the eternal from the transient."
    instead: "Keep Viveka untranslated; gloss as discrimination of the eternal from the transient."
  - term: "Good judgment"
    why: "Everyday practical sense; Viveka is the foundational capacity to see through appearance to what is real."
  - term: "Wisdom"
    why: "A broad outcome; Viveka is the specific discriminating faculty, nitya from anitya."
  - term: "Discrimination (everyday)"
    why: "The ordinary sense of telling things apart; Viveka discriminates Ātman from anātman specifically."
related:
  - /concepts/vairagya.md
  - /concepts/atman.md
  - /concepts/brahman.md
  - /concepts/buddhi.md
  - /concepts/moksha.md
timestamp: "2026-06-18"
okf_version: "0.2"
---

# Viveka

**Not:** Discernment, Good judgment, Wisdom, Discrimination (everyday sense)

## What It Actually Means

Viveka is the technical ability to discriminate between *nitya* (eternal, unchanging — [Ātman](/concepts/atman.md)/[Brahman](/concepts/brahman.md)) and *anitya* (transient, changing — everything in [Prakṛti](/concepts/prakriti.md)). It is not everyday good judgment about which job to take or which restaurant to choose. It is the foundational capacity to see through the appearance of reality to what is actually real.

Paired with [Vairāgya](/concepts/vairagya.md) as the two primary prerequisites (*sādhana-catuṣṭaya*) for *Jñāna-yoga* — the path of Self-knowledge. Without Viveka, spiritual study remains intellectual entertainment; with Viveka, it becomes a path to [Mokṣa](/concepts/moksha.md).

## Why "Discernment" Fails

"Discernment" in English applies to any domain — wine, character, aesthetics. Viveka has a precise scope: discriminating specifically between the eternal and the transient, Ātman from anātman, [Brahman](/concepts/brahman.md) from *Mithyā*. No English word carries this specific technical scope.

## Audience Metaphor

Viveka is like having a filter that separates signal from noise — except the "signal" is the one unchanging reality ([Ātman](/concepts/atman.md)) and the "noise" is everything that appears, changes, and disappears. Most people are drowning in noise and can't hear the signal. Viveka is learning to hear it.

## Citations

1. [Vivekacūḍāmaṇi](/references/vivekachudamani.md) of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya (the entire text is about Viveka)
2. Tattvabodha of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya (sādhana-catuṣṭaya)
