Ashtavakra Gita

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The Ashtavakra Gita (Song of Ashtavakra), also known by the name Ashtavakra Samhita is an influential nondualist Vedic scripture traditionally said[attribution needed] to have been spoken by the Sage Ashtavakra, though its authorship is not known with certainty.

There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment.

The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi. Radhakrishnan refers to it with great respect, while even Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has given a commentary on the scripture. Apart from that, the work speaks for itself. It presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched.

The Ashtavakra Gita does not date itself or brand itself to any region, culture, or peoples, although it does contain Hindu-specific references, especially in the final chapter entitled 'I am Shiva' where it is proclaimed in the final verse that the author is in truth one with God. The essence of the Ashtavakra Gita is that there is no such thing as existence or non existence, right or wrong, or moral or immoral. In the eyes of the sage Ashtavakra who is the ostensible author of this text, one's true identity can be found by simply recognizing oneself as Pure Existence and that as individuals we are the Awareness of all things.

The Ashtavakra Gita teaches that one is already free once one realises they are free. It advocates non-action (similar to the Daoist concept of Wu Wei), the loss of desire and severing of worldly attachments. To free oneself from the cycle of life and death one should withdraw from all Earthly desires, worries and cares. To continue induldging in Earthly things even after one has realised their true nature is said to be foolish and time wasting. Instead it paints a picture of The Master as someone who continues to keep up their responsibilities in the world, not because they believe they have to or due to any worldy attachments, but simply that it is in their nature to do so. It is important to avoid misinterpretation in this regard, and to that end teachers traditionally recommend that Ashtavakra Gita be pursued by only those who have already advanced on the spiritual path. Ashtavakra teaches that emotion, thought and even meditation can lead to further bondage and that religious practice itself is of no meaning to the enlightened.

Contents

[edit] External links

[edit] Original text (Sanskrit)

[edit] Translations (English)

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[edit] Commentaries

  • A modern commentary of the text is available at vedanta.org in the monthly article section under October 2005. This text is deceptively simple and, like most scripture, requires a commentary to clarify the details.
  • Another commentary is by Shri Rajneesh aka Osho. In six volumes in Hindi, Osho goes into a verse-by-verse distillation of the essence of Ashtavakra's master text.

http://oshoworld.com/audio/audio_hindi.asp?cat=M (Find and Download Mahageeta)

more vedic topics visit http://www.dkonline.tk

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