Avadhuta Gita- the Song of the Avadhuta Read online

  Avadhuta Gita

  The Song of the Avadhuta

  Translated by

  Janki Parikh

  Copyright

  ISBN 978-981-09-7112-0

  Copyright © 2015 Janki Parikh

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

  Publisher contact: [email protected]

  www.jankiparikh.com

  Contents

  Avadhuta Gita

  Copyright

  Introduction

  Chapters

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Introduction

  The Avadhuta Gita is a majestically lofty masterpiece of an Advaitic Sanskrit song… as ancient as it is lyrically eloquent, as profound as it is elevating, as undeniably compelling as it is sublime!

  Advaita Explained

  Who or what is God? Would you be surprised to know that in spite of reference to thousands of ‘gods’ in Hinduism, the highest and final conception of “God” is not a figure with multiple heads and a thousand arms bearing weapons, it is not Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva or their avatars, it is not even a He or a She! God in the highest sense of the term is a formless, genderless, inanimate principle! God is, in fact, the Supreme Universal Principle, or the Ultimate Universal Reality. In other words, God is Brahman, also known as the Absolute, the One Universal Consciousness, Supreme Reality, Sat-Chit-Ananda (Truth, Consciousness-Bliss). Brahman is the all-pervasive, infinite, unchangeable, indestructible, eternal Reality, the single binding unity behind all the diversity that seems to exist in the universe.

  If God is Brahman, then who are you? The other major metaphysical concept in Hinduism is Atman, or the Self. Narrowly seen, Atman may be taken to mean the individual soul, but in Hindu Vedanta, Atman is the very foundation, the first principle, the essence of an individual, the true Self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena.

  Advaita (“not-two” in Sanskrit) refers to the recognition that the true Self, Atman, is the same as the highest Reality, or Brahman.

  Advaita posits everything there is, is Brahman, and nothing but Brahman. (“Brahmaiva Kevalam Sarvam.”) And this Brahman is the same as Atman, or the Self. There is no difference between Brahman and Atman, and no real existence of, or division amongst the myriad characters, objects, emotions, ideas, places and concepts that make up the universe. All these things that seem to exist separately, are in fact, illusions that are spontaneously but very temporarily projected within Brahman. All projections ultimately end, what remains is always Brahman – never-ending, eternal, imperishable, all-pervading, all-knowing, supreme, always pure, always beyond all forms and dualities!

  The three principle source texts of Hindu Vedanta – the Upanishads, the Gita and the Brahma Sutras – all present Advaita as their central, unifying philosophy in multi-faceted ways. For example, the bold, audacious, supreme spiritual philosophy of Advaita is characterized in several Mahavakyas, or the Great Sayings of the Upanishads…

  Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad of the Yajurveda)

  Prajnanam Brahma – Consciousness is Brahman (Aitareya Upanishad of the Rigveda)

  Tat Tvam Asi – Thou art That (Chandogya Upanishad of the Samaveda)

  Ayam Atma Brahma – This Atman is Brahman (Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharvaveda)

  So ‘ham – I am That (Isha Upanishad of the Yajurveda)

  The idea of the non-duality of Atman and Brahman is the very fabric and the soul of Vedanta, and it has been expressed in myriad ways for thousands of years!

  The Goal of Life and the Process…

  According to Vedanta, realization of the absolute oneness of Atman and Brahman through direct, independent, cognitive experience (Anubhuti) is the final goal of all human life, the climax of man’s spiritual evolution! This self-realization is what leads to Moksha (liberation), it is what frees mankind from rebirth, karma, misery and every kind of bondage, and leads man to eternal bliss.

  How does one achieve independent self-realization?

  The thousands of Hindu scriptures that are available talk about very scientific, logical, rational, sequential methods of achieving self-realization. Though not necessarily written by those who have direct experiential awareness, these writings serve the noblest purpose of making Brahman or God available to mankind…

  BUT THEN…

  There are those writings that flower (I cannot think of any other word but flower) straight from the writer’s direct experience of the truth, from his own blissful awareness of Advaita or Non-Duality! And how tremendous the difference between these writings and those based on logic and process! What a wonderful taste of bliss these give us! What a glorious, uplifting glimpse into the realms of the writer’s exalted state!

  The Avadhuta Gita…

  The Avadhuta Gita is not only a text flowering from the writer’s direct experience – it is the most beautiful, the most profoundly poetic piece of Sanskrit writing I have ever come across! The sheer qualitative height of its Sanskrit vocabulary is matched only by the depth of the ideas it expresses; the final result is eloquent Sanskrit poetry that rolls off the tongue like butter, depositing deep within the reader a powerful series of ideas that are unbelievably rich, lofty, uplifting, freeing, ecstatic, blissful, FINAL!

  The Avadhuta Gita is the attempt of an illumined, self-realized sage to describe in words the indescribable experience of the realization of Brahman! His name is Dattatreya, but he calls himself an Avadhuta – one who has seen the truth of the Self-as-Brahman, as a consequence of which, the world has fallen away from him. Imagine the state of the one who is alive in this world but free of all its bondage! He lives in bliss and laughs in bliss, with not even a scrap to call his own! He needs nothing from this world, because he is Brahman! He is ever-eternal, unchanging, ever-blissful, abundant, supreme Reality! He is Absolute Universal Consciousness… what can he need from this flimsy, insubstantial world?

  I hope you really enjoy immersing yourself into this beautiful song, which is so powerful that even a few lines are enough to give you a taste of the nectar of life lived as Brahman! Read the rest at your own risk – there is no coming back from the Avadhuta’s path of freedom and bliss!

  Chapters

  Chapter 1

  Indeed, it is by the grace of God that the understanding of non-duality arises in man, and rescues him from the great fear of birth and death! ||1-1||

  Everything that is, is filled by the Self, and nothing but the Self. How then, do I worship that formless, undivided and limitless Shiva? ||1-2||

  The five elements of which this universe is composed are illusory like water in a mirage. To whom then, shall I bow? I myself am that stainless one! ||1-3||

  The Self alone is everything, it does not know division or unity. How then, can I say whether it exists or not? I can only gaze at it with wonder! ||1-4||

  The final essence of all Vedas, all knowledge and all wisdom is only this – “I am the formless Self, all-pervading by my very nature!” ||1-5||

  That God which comprises everything there is, who is undivided like the sky, who is pure and now that the Self is continuous, one, infinite, everywhere. I am the seeker, but I am also the object sought. Where then, is the division in this one unbroken whole? ||1-12||

  You are neither born nor do you die, nor are you ever the body! It is well-known th
at “Everything is Brahman.” The scriptures have stated this often. ||1-13||

  You are that which is both outside and inside, you are Shiva, eternal and all-pervading. Why then, do you run here and there, wandering around like a ghost? ||1-14||

  There is no union or separation for me or for you. There is no you, no me, no world! There is only the Self everywhere! ||1-15||

  Where are the five senses such as hearing here? You do not belong to them, nor they to you. You are indeed the ultimate Reality! Why then, do you need penance? ||1-16||

  Birth and death have no power to stay in your consciousness, nor do bondage and liberation, nor good and bad. Why then, do you grieve, my child? You and I have no name or form! ||1-17||

  O mind, why do you wander and run around like a ghost? Know the Self as indivisible, abandon your passions, and be happy! ||1-18||

  You are indeed the never-changing essence, immovable unity, totally free and formless! Neither attachment nor aversion are in you. How then, can you let the dictates of passion distress you so? ||1-19||

  All the scriptures say Reality is pure, equanimous, imperishable, bodiless, beyond qualities. Realize this undifferentiated truth beyond doubt! ||1-20||

  Realize that the essence of all forms is that which is formless and eternal! Once this truth is realized, there is no need for rebirth. ||1-21||

  There is only one unequivocal truth, say the wise. Whether you keep or renounce attachments, consciousness remains one, never many! ||1-22||

  Where is deliverance in perceiving everything as external to Self? Where is deliverance in perceiving everything as the form of the Self? Where is deliverance in perceiving the Self as either existing or non-existing? Liberation is only in perceiving everything as One! ||1-23||

  You are pure, undifferentiated Reality, you have no body, no birth and no death. How then, can you believe ‘I know the Self’ or ‘I do not know the Self? ||1-24||

  Sayings such as ‘Thou art That’ explain the nature of your own Self, indeed. Sayings such as ‘Not this, not this’ show the unreality of the five elements. ||1-25||

  The Self itself is the identity of everyone. You are complete and infinite, the differences between thinker and the thought do not belong to your consciousness at all. How then, can you shamelessly go on thinking so! ||1-26||

  I do not know Shiva, how can I speak of him? I do not know Shiva, how can I worship him? I myself am Shiva, the supreme Reality, ever the same, just like the sky! ||1-27||

  ‘I am not Reality’, ‘I am indeed, Reality’ – I am beyond all such fanciful thoughts. I am beyond the perceiver and the perceived. How then, can I be the object of my own perception? ||1-28||

  There is no such thing as ‘the infinite form’, there is no such thing as ‘the real form’. The Self is the only one supreme Reality – it is not a destroyer, and it has no violence. ||1-29||

  You are that pure, unchanging Reality. You have no body, no birth and no death. How then, can delusion exist for the Self? And how can the Self be deluded? ||1-30||

  When a pot is broken, the difference between the inside of the pot and the outside does not exist! Similarly, when the mind is purified in Shiva, there appears no duality to me! ||1-31||

  In reality, there is no pot or space within, no body or soul within! Know that there is only one Brahman, who is beyond both the knower and the known! ||1-32||

  Everywhere, eternally, in everything, only the Self is constant. Everything – nothingness or existence - is only my Self; I know this without doubt. ||1-33||

  There are no Vedas, no people, no gods, no sacrificial rites, no classifications of life (ashramas), neither castes nor creeds, neither smoky, unclear paths nor well-lit paths. There is only Brahman – the one supreme Reality! ||1-34||

  When you know that state of oneness which is beyond both subject and object, how can you believe the Self as either the observer or the observed? ||1-35||

  Some desire non-duality, others desire duality. They do not know the undifferentiated truth which is beyond both duality and non-duality. ||1-36||

  It is beyond colours such as white, it is beyond qualities such as sound. What can one say about the Absolute Reality? It is far beyond both mind and speech. ||1-37||

  When you understand how the body and all else is unreal and empty as the sky, then you know Brahman, and then you disown the entire tradition of duality. ||1-38||

  I perceive the innate nature of the Self as transcendental and undivided. Indeed, it is undivided like space! How, then, can the subject and object of meditation be two? ||1-39||

  What I do, what I eat, what I sacrifice or give, none of this ever exists for me. I am purity itself, beyond birth and death! ||1-40||

  Know this entire universe is formless, know this entire universe is changeless. Know this entire universe is pure, know this entire universe is the singular form of Shiva! ||1-41||

  You are the Absolute Reality, never doubt that or think ‘How can I know it?’ The Self knows the Self! How can you ever believe it is unknowable? ||1-42||

  Delusion or non-delusion? How could that be? Refuge or non-refuge? Those concepts do not exist! The only thing that exists is one, all-pervading, stainless Reality! ||1-43||

  I am free of beginning, middle and end, I have never been bound. My nature is pure and stainless, I know this firmly. ||1-44||

  To me, the great expanse of this universe appears as nothing! Brahman alone is everything! Where then, are the stations or stages of life (ashramas)? ||1-45||

  I always know everything as one, undivided reality. The world, the void, space, and the five elements – they are all One! ||1-46||

  It is neither neuter, nor masculine, nor feminine. It has neither intellect nor imagination. How then, can you believe the Self is blissful or not blissful? ||1-47||

  Practicing six-limbed yoga will not purify you, conquering the mind will not purify you, a guru’s teachings will not purify you. Purity is your very essence, it is your consciousness! ||1-48||

  Neither the physical body consisting of five elements, nor the subtle body exists. The Self alone is everything. Where then, is the fourth state of mind (Samadhi) or the other three states? ||1-49||

  I am neither bound nor free. I am nothing other than Brahman. I am neither the doer, nor the experiencer, I beyond pervading or being pervaded. ||1-50||

  Just as when water is poured on water, there remains no distinction between the two different streams of water, similarly, I see no distinction between nature (Prakriti) and the consciousness (Purusha). ||1-51||

  If its identity is neither ‘liberated’ nor ‘bound’, how can one think that the Self is either manifest or non-manifest? ||1-52||

  I know that supreme One that extends everywhere like the sky. And it is that same supreme One that appears distorted like the water in a mirage. ||1-53||

  I have neither a guru, nor any teachings. I have no disciple and no duty. Know that I am formless like the sky, and pure by my very nature! ||1-54||

  You are pure, you have no body or mind, you are the most supreme of truths! “I am the Self, the supreme Reality!” - say this without shame! ||1-55||

  Why do you weep, O mind? Decide yourself that ‘I am the Self’. O child, drink the supreme nectar of Oneness, which surpasses all! ||1-56||

  You are neither intelligent, nor foolish, nor are you a mixture of the two. See yourself as pure, infinite intelligence, and nothing other than this intelligence! ||1-57||

  I am neither in knowledge, nor in logic, nor in transcendental meditation, nor in any particular place or time, nor in the guru’s teachings. Even though I appear scattered, I am the ultimate Reality, and my nature is innately constant like the sky! ||1-58||

  I have no birth, no death, no duties, and have incurred no good or bad karma. I am pure Brahman, beyond all qualities. How can bondage or liberation exist for me? ||1-59||

  If God is all-pervading, unmoving, complete, constant, then I do not see any division in him at all! How can he be regarded as within o
r without? ||1-60||

  The entire universe shines as an undivided constant! The concept of maya is a great delusion, and duality and non-duality are merely fancies! ||1-61||

  The manifest and the unmanifest – neither ever exist! Forever beyond the realm of union and separation, only Shiva alone exists! ||1-62||

  You have no mother, no father, no relative, no wife, no son or friend. You are neither partial, nor impartial to anything. Why then, do you carry such deep torment in your heart? ||1-63||

  There is neither day and night, nor rising and setting within your consciousness. How then, can the wise one ever imagine the formless as having a body? ||1-64||

  Know the never-changing Self! It is neither undivided nor divided. It experiences neither joy nor sorrow nor anything else. It is not everything, nor is it nothing! ||1-65||