The Ashtavakra Gita (Sanskrit in Devanagari: अष्टावक्रगीता; IAST:
aṣṭāvakragītā)[1] or the Song of Ashtavakra, also known as Ashtavakra
Samhita is an Advaita Vedanta scripture which documents a dialogue
between the Perfect Master Ashtavakra and Janaka, the King of Mithila.
Significance
Ashtavakra Gita presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta
with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The work was known,
appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as
well as by Ramana Maharshi, Osho and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Radhakrishnan
refers to it with great respect. s:Ashtavakra Gita#Translator's Notes
Overview
Ashtavakra Gita states that there is no such thing as existence or non
existence, right or wrong, or moral or immoral. In the eyes of the
Ashtavakra, 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
one is free.[citation needed] 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
indulging 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. To avoid misinterpretation in this regard teachers traditionally
recommend that Ashtavakra Gita be pursued by only those who have already
advanced on the spiritual path.
There is a wonderful commentary of "Ashtavakra Gita" by Osho (also known
as Bhagwan Rajneesh) and by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with
applications to contemporary life and philosophy in Hindi. It is
available as audios and books (5 volumes).
[edit] English discourse
Nath (1907) opened the discourse of this Gita into the English
language.[2] Mukerjee (1889–1968) continued the discourse into English
with his posthumous work published in 1971.[3] Stroud (2004) wrote on
the Astavakra Gita as a work of multivalent narrative.[4] |
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