Ribhu Gita. - Ch 26 <http://www.nonduality.com/pieter.htm>

[Guest guest]

All practice should start with the inherent intuition that one is

already the Self. As the Self cannot be thought about or understood

intellectually, the Self Itself must awaken, which happens through

practices that still the mind, and reading and listening to the

Truth, until the True "I," That which enlightens the body/mind

recognizes Itself being referred to and a spontaneous intuition of

the Heart (Hrdayam) occurs, manifesting as a Singularity that Itself

dissolves the mind and outshines the body. An example of a text that

Ramana Maharshi said would cause such a spontaneous awakening is the

Ribhu Gita, Chapter 26. Others are the Avadhut Gita and the

Ashtavakara Gita, Self Knowledge of Sri Shankaracharis, as well as

Faith Mind by the Third Zen Patriarch, and others. -

THE HEART OF

THE RIBHU GITA

Inhering in the Undifferentiated

And Non-Dual Reality

Preface:

"The ego or separate soul is a concept. God, the world, the mind

desires, action, sorrow and all other things are all concepts".

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 Song", 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

iota of their derivatives, no sense of "I" or "mind", no fantasies of

the mind, no blemish of attachment, no concept whatsoever – and

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

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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", "you"

and "another," and the disappearance of al differences – and be

always happy, without the least trace of thought.

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.

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.

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 firm

conviction that you are That, be always happy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Gold.