Adi Shankara (788-820 A.D.) is regarded as the most important Indian spiritual philosopher and reformer of Hinduism. His famous major work was "Viveka Chudamani" (Jewel of Distinction). It is considered the "crown jewel" of Ancient Indian wisdom. The present edition offers the reader a modern translation of the "Jewel" and a careful selection from the originally 580 Sanskrit verses. The author has left out numerous repetitive passages as well as statements not in keeping with our modern zeitgeist. Explanations have been added to many verses by Bernd Helge Fritsch, a spiritual teacher himself. They serve to clarify the meaning of Shankara's text which is now approximately 1200 years old. This book deals with the central questions of our life: What constitutes the meaning of my life? How do we explain our destiny? How do we liberate ourselves from worries, illness and suffering? How can we connect ourselves with the everlasting beauty, love and bliss at the fundamental basis of Being?