Forty-five Key Verses From The Ribhu Gita

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Preface

 

“The ego or separate soul is a concept(idea). God, the world, the mind

desires,action, sorrow and all other things are all conceptsâ€.

 

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, a famous Sage of modern India, attributed

unique value to this lucid exposition of Supreme Truth. He often referred to

it in his talks with devotees and seekers, and he is reported to have said

that is one repeatedly read Chapter 26 of the Ribhu Gita one could pass

spontaneously into samadhi, or the natural state of Self-realization.

 

The Ribhu Gita, literally “Ribhu’s Songâ€, is Part Six of the Shiva

Rahasya,a

legendary mystical text of India. The whole of the Ribhu Gita is said to

represent the teaching given to the Sage Ribhu by God himself in the form of

Lord Shiva, the formless aspect of the Divine activity, in whom all beings

and things are always already absorbed. The Sage in turn gave the teaching

to his reluctant disciple Nidagha.

 

 

The Heart of the Ribhu Gita

 

1. I shall now expound to you the method of inhering in the All-inclusive

and undifferentiated Reality. This teaching is secret and difficult to

understand even with the help of the various Scriptures. Even celestial

beings and practitioners of spiritual discipline who hold it dear acquire it

only with great difficulty. Follow what I say and, inhering in Reality,be

happy.

 

2. My son! Realized sages say that absolute inherence in Reality means

becoming one with the immutable, tranquil, non-dual Absolute Supreme Being

which is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss and the Self of all, and making the

wandering mind one with it like the proverbial milk and water, absolutely

free from all concepts.

 

3. When one scrutinizes this variety of manifestation one realizes that it

does not really exist and that everything is the undifferentiated Absolute

Supreme Being which is not different from the Self and oneself. Let this

knowledge become firm with you by constant practice. Then,discarding

everything, become one with the Supreme Absolute Reality and, remaining as

that, be happy.

 

4. Abide as That which does not, when scrutinized, show any duality in the

form of these various objects or the least trace of cause and effect, That

in which, when the mind is absorbed in It, there is not fear of duality at

all – and be always happy, unshakable and free the fear arising from

duality.

 

5. Abide as That in which there are neither thoughts nor fancies, neither

peace nor self-control, neither the mind nor the intellect, neither

confusion nor certainly, neither being nor non-being, and no perception of

duality – and be always happy, unshakable and absolutely free from the fear

arising from duality.

 

6. Abide as That in which there is neither any defect nor good

quality,neither pleasure nor pain, neither thought nor silence, neither

misery nor austerities practiced for getting rid of misery, no

“I-am-the-body†idea, no objects of perception whatsoever – and be always

happy, free from all traces of thought.

 

7. Abide as That in which there is no work, physical, mental, verbal or of

any other kind, neither sin nor virtue, neither attachment nor its

consequences – and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.

 

8. Abide as That in which there are neither thoughts nor a thinker, neither

the arising nor the preservation nor the dissolution of the world,nothing

whatsoever at any time – and be always happy, free from all traces of

thought.

 

9. Abide as That in which there is neither the Self-limiting Power of

Illusion nor its effects, neither knowledge nor ignorance, neither separate

soul nor Lord of Creation, neither being nor non-being,neither world nor God

– and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.

 

10. Abide as That in which there are no gods and their worship, none of the

three Divine aspects of Creator, Preserver and Destroyer or meditation on

them no Supreme Formless God nor meditation on Him – and be always happy,

without the least trace of thought.

 

11. Abide as That in which there is neither maturing bondage to the way of

good works nor searching devotion to the Divine nor self-knowing wisdom, no

fruit of action to be enjoyed, no supreme state separate from it, no means

of attainment or object to be attained and be always happy, free from all

traces of though.

 

12. Abide as That in which there is neither body nor senses nor vital

forces,neither mind nor intellect nor fancy, neither ego nor ignorance, nor

anyone who identifies himself with them, neither the macrocosm nor the

microcosm and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.

 

13. Abide as That in which there is neither desire nor anger, neither greed

nor delusion, neither ill-will nor pride, no impurities of mind and no false

notions of bondage and liberation – and be always happy, free from all

traces of thought.

 

14. Abide as That in which there is no beginning or end, no top or bottom or

middle, no holy place or god, no gifts or pious acts, no time or space,no

objects of perception – and be always happy, free from all traces of

thought.

 

15. Abide as That in which there is no discrimination between the real and

the unreal, no absence of desire, no possession of virtues, o yearning for

liberation, no competent Master or disciple, no steady knowledge,no realized

stage, no liberation while alive or after death, nothing whatsoever at any

time – and be always happy free from all traces of thought.

 

16. Abide as That in which there are no Holy Scriptures or sacred books,no

one who thinks, no objection or answer to it, no theory to be established,

no theory to be rejected, nothing other than one Self – and be always happy,

free from the least trace of thought.

 

17. Abide as That in which there is no debate, no success or failure, no

word or its meaning, no speech, no difference between the soul and the

Supreme Being, none of the manifold causes and consequences – and be always

happy, without the least trace of thought.

 

18. Abide as That in which there is no need for listening, reflecting and

practicing, no meditation to be practiced, no differences of

sameness,otherness or internal contradictions, no words or their meanings –

and be always happy, free from the least trace of thought.

 

19. Abide as That in which there are no fears of hell, no joys of heaven, no

worlds of the Creator God or the other Gods, nor any object to be gained

from them, no other world, no universe of any kind – and be always happy,

without the least trace of thought.

 

20. Abide as That in which there is nothing of the elements nor even an iota

of their derivatives, no sense of “I†or “mindâ€, no fantasies of the

mind,

no blemish of attachment, no concept whatsoever – and be always happy,

without the least trace of the thought.

 

21. Abide as That in which there are none of the three kinds of bodies

(gross physical, subtle internal, or formless and most subtle), dreaming and

sleeping), none of the three kinds of souls (those who are fully prepared to

advance spiritually, those who are not fully prepared, and those who are not

prepared at all), none of the three kinds afflictions (those of the body,

those caused by the elements, and those caused by subtle beings and powers),

none of the five functional layers of being

(gross physical, vital, emotional-psychic, mental, and that of formless

bliss), no one to identify himself with them – and be always happy,without

the least trace of thought.

 

22. Abide as That in which there is no sentient object, no power to hide

Reality, no difference of any kind, no power of projecting unreal objects,

no power of any other kind, no false notion about the world – and be always

happy, without the least trace of thought.

 

23. Abide as That in which there are no sense organs or anyone to use

the,That in which transcendent bliss is experienced, That which is

absolutely immediate, That by realizing and attaining which one becomes

immortal, That by becoming which one does not return to this cycle of births

and deaths – and be always happy, without the least trace of thought.

 

24. Abide as That, on realizing and experiencing the bliss of which, all

joys appear to be the joys of That, That which, when clearly known to be

oneself, shows there is nothing apart from oneself, and, knowing which,all

kinds of separate souls become liberated – and be always happy,without the

least trace of thought.

 

25. Abide as That, on realizing which to be oneself, there is nothing else

to be known, everything becomes already known and every purpose accomplished

– and be always happy, without the least trace of thought.

 

26. Abide as That which is attained easily when one is convinced that one is

not different from the Supreme Absolute, That which results, when that

conviction becomes firm, in the experience of the Supreme Bliss of the Real,

That which produces a sense of incomparable and complete satisfaction when

the mind is absorbed in It – and be always happy,without the least trace of

thought.

 

27. Abide as That which leads to the complete cessation of misery when the

mind is absorbed in It, and the extinction of all ideas of “I,†“youâ€

and

“another,†and the disappearance of al differences – and be always happy,

without the least trace of thought.

 

28. Abide as That in which, when the mind is absorbed in It, one remains

without a second, nothing other than oneself is seen to exist and

incomparable bliss is experienced – and be always happy, without the least

trace of thought.

 

29. Abide as That which is undifferentiated Existence, undifferentiated

Consciousness, undifferentiated Bliss, absolutely non-dual, the

undifferentiated Absolute Reality – and with the firm conviction that you

are That, be always happy.

 

30. Abide as That which is “I†as well as “you†as well as everyone

else, is

the basis of all, is one without anything else whatsoever, is extremely

pure, the undifferentiated Whole – and with the firmconviction that you are

That, be always happy.

 

31. Abide as That in which there are no concepts or anything else

whatsoever, the ego ceases to exist, all desires disappear, the mind becomes

extinct and all confusions come to an end – and with the firm conviction

that you are That, be always happy.

 

32. Abide as That in which there is no awareness of the body, or the various

functions of manifest existence, no perception of objects, That in which the

mind is dead, the soul become one with the Reality,thoughts dissolved and

even one’s convictions no longer hold – and with the firm conviction that

you are That, be always happy.

 

33. Abide as That in which there is no longer any meditative spiritual

practice or ignorance or knowledge or activities of any kind, that which is

the Supreme Reality – and with the firm conviction that you are That, be

always happy.

 

34. Abide as That in which, when one is completely merged with It, one

experiences pure bliss, never experiences misery, sees nothing, does not

take birth again, never thinks oneself to be a separate individual,becomes

the Supreme Being and with the conviction that you are That,be always happy.

 

35. Abide as That which is truly the Supreme Absolute Reality, the Supreme

Formless God, the absolutely pure Being, the Supreme State, Absolute

Consciousness, the Supreme Truth – and with the conviction that you are

That, be always happy.

 

36. Abide as That which is the absolutely pure Supreme Being, absolute

Bliss, the supremely subtle Being, the Self-Effulgent, non-dual and

undifferentiated One – and with the conviction that you are That, be always

happy.

 

37. Abide as That which is absolute Truth, supreme Tranquility, eternal

Being, absolutely attributeless, the Self, the absolutely undifferentiated

Supreme Being – and with the conviction that you are That, be always happy.

 

38. Abide as That which is everything from the experiential point of view

and nothing from the absolute point of view, Existence –Consciousness-Bliss,

always tranquil, with nothing separate from It, the self-existent Being –and

with the conviction that you are That be always happy.

 

39. I have thus, O Nidagha, clearly explained to you the state of being one

with the Supreme Being. By constantly thinking that you are the

undifferentiated Supreme Being you can attain that state and enjoy constant

bliss. There after, having become the Supreme Absolute Reality, you will

never experience the misery that comes from

identification with birth and death.

 

40. “Everything is the Supreme Being, which is

Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, and I am That†By constantly cultivating this

pure thought, get rid of impure thoughts. Then, my son, discarding even that

thought and always inhering in the State of Fullness, you will become the

non-dual and undifferentiated Supreme Being and attain liberation.

 

41. Pure and impure thoughts are a feature of the mind. There are no

wandering thoughts in the Supreme Being. Therefore, abide as That and, free

from the pure and impure thoughts of the mind, remain still like a stone or

a log of wood. You will then be always happy.

 

42. By constantly thinking of the undifferentiated Supreme Being and

forgetting thereby all thoughts, including the thought of the Supreme Being,

you will become the all-comprehensive Supreme Being. Even a great sinner who

hears and understands this teaching will get rid of all his sins and become

the undifferentiated Supreme Being.

 

43. The endless textbooks of spiritual instruction have already prescribed

meditation for attaining purity of mind. In order that those who have become

pure in mind may easily attain liberation and, realizing that they are

absolute and boundless Bliss, remain still like a stone in the

undifferentiated and all-comprehensive Supreme Formless God, the nature of

this immaculate state has been expounded by me.

 

44. Therefore, attaining purity of mind by constantly thinking that

everything that is known is the Supreme Being and that Supreme Being is

oneself, and thereafter abiding in the state of complete identity with the

Absolute Reality, liberation can be attained here and now. I have spoken the

truth. In this manner, Sage Ribhu expounded the true and full state of being

to Nidagha.

 

45. When one is convinced that one is always That which is

Existence-Consciousness-Bliss and abides as That in a state of complete

identity,one casts off the unreal bondage of identification with birth and

death and attains liberation. This is the significance of the highly

blissful mood and dance of our Supreme and undifferentiated God.

 

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