Acharya Shankara Bhagavathpada has written a thoughtful book titled VIVEKACHOODAMANI which means CREST JEWEL OF DESCRIMINATION. Here Descrimination should be understood as the unique quality of Human beings to differentiate between the real and unreal, truth and untruth, senseful and senseless etc., etc.,

In one of the beginning verses, Acharya tells us about three fortunes. These are described as MANUSHYATHWAM, MUMUKSHWATHWAM and
MAHAPURUSHASAMSRAYAM.

These three fortunes are the result of God's Grace.

MANUSHYATHWAM means to be born as Human being. Acharya in one of his another work called PRABODHA SUDHAKARAM tells us that one gets human birth after passing through 84 lakhs other lives. So just imagine the fortune of Humanhood!! Human beings only has the rare power of descrimination. They have the power of thought. They have the special quality of Intuition and Contemplation. So definitely it is fortunate to be born as human beings. Even in the sensual plane human beings enjoy the world with all 5 senses better than any other living being. Just imagine.

MUMUKSHWATHWAM is the craving for God, Internal peace and everything above sensual experiences. It literally means aspiration for Liberation from the myriad cycle of births and deaths.Very few get this thought. So it is the fortunate few who develop this great thought. Because most of us are enthralled by the marvellous charm of sense pleasures and are entangled in life.

MAHAPURUSHASAMSRAYAM is the rarest fortune which means association with great personalities who have experienced GOD. The irony is that first of all it is very difficult to identify Mahatmas. Secondly even if we hear about Great personalities, to get faith in them and to follow their teachings is difficult. Because the doubt in us surfaces and prevents us from following such Mahatmas. Above all there are several gullible people also whose main aim is to cheat, attain popularity and prosperity at the expense of the followers. People with other ulterior motives also thrive because we have blind followers who believe without checking the credentials and motives of the so called "GURUS".

I am not talking about such people. But the personalities like RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA, SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, BHAGAVAN RAMANA MAHARSHI, SREE NARAYANA GURU, SHIRDI SAI BABA, SATHYA SAI BABA, MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI etc who has helped the real and sincere seekers to tread the path of sincere spirituality.

But the interesting thing is that world at large refuses to believe them,charge them with baseless criticism.

Anyway just think about the fortune of those people who are endowed with all these three things. Acharya Shankara is great in telling this magnificent truth.

May god bless all.