One should ever abide in the bedrock bhavana of Sat Chit Ananda

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THE ESSENCE OF RIBHU GITAThe following verses constitute the teachings of Siva to Ribhu,who in turn transmits those teachings to his disciple Nidhaga Rishi.The treatise goes by the name Ribhu Gita.Everything is Sat-Chit-Ananda-Self only49. Whatever is found to exist is Sat (Existence) only. Whateveris pleasurable is Ananda (Bliss) only. One should ever abide in thebedrock bhavana* of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Never for once should oneslip, even inadvertently, into the disastrous bhavana that one is thebody and that the world is real. (Ch.25, v.12)50. One should abide in the rock-firm bhavana that`Everything is only Brahman-Self and I am that Brahman-Self '.By this bhavana all thought movements and nescience willdisappear, resulting in the eternal abidance in the sole Sat-Chit-Ananda-Self. (Ch.25, v.14)51.** By abiding in the Self, the wandering mind is reducedto perfect stillness after being freed from all nescience andthought currents. It gets lost in the Sat-Chit-Ananda-Self in thesame way that water is lost when mixed with milk. This unitarystate of abidance in the Self is called Atma Nishta by the wisewho have attained perfection. (Ch.26, v.2)* In verses 45 to 50 the word `bhavana' means (lit. feeling) the faith based

on the word of the teacher and the scriptures and in the unremitting

abidance in the belief thereof.** Verses 51 to 60 herein deal with practice of `Abedha Nishta or Atma Nishta' —non-dual state or abidance in the Self.