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Thread: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

  1. #1

    The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    CAUTION: If you do not like these posts, then please ignore them. Ribhu Gita is ultimate form of Advaita Vedanta and it may not suite everyone. One's qualification can be judged more by one's inclination to think or see in those terms. If I dislike or look at these posts as hurting my sentiments, its most likely because of lack of qualification. I , as a student present what is taught in the text and not what I feel. My own feelings have no place ... its the vision that matters. My sentiments, my attachments etc are insignificant in comparison to the vision of the scriptures. So please excuse me for being harsh on ideas ... Advaita invariably involves rejection of some ideas.

    Friends,
    Namaasthe!

    Through this thread I would like to share with you all a few (randomly selected) verses from Ribhu Gita. I would welcome one and all to use these pointers and abide as the Self - here and now !

    Ribhu Gita is very direct in pointing out the truth. I think one of the main reasons for this is the following question by Nidagha. Nidagha does not ask for a knowledge that can liberate him later. He does not seek for a practice. He says , tell me that hearing which i may be liberated here and now. So thats how direct the teaching is. Ribhu Gita, at various places suggests that liberation is possible here and now. It is left to the students to verify this ... whether or not this knowledge can leave us liberated here and now.

    Chapter 4: Verse 34,

    nidaaghaH -

    bhagavan ko bhavaan ko nu vada me vadataa.N vara |
    yacChrutvaa tatxaNaanmucyet mahaasa.Nsaarasa.NkaTaat ||

    निदाघः -
    भगवन् को भवान् को नु वद मे वदताँ वर।
    यच्छ्रुत्वा तत्क्षणान्मुच्येत् महासँसारसँकटात्॥

    Who , in truth, are you Lord ? Tell me O best among the eloquent; by hearing which one is liberated from that very moment on, from the great trammels of transmigration.
    Often students seek practices or methods to lull the mind. The teacher teaches as per the preparedness of the student. When a student is eager enough to ask "i want to be liberated NOW", please tell me that which can liberate, the teaching is direct Self Knowledge as we shall see! Ribhu presents the teaching so well that there is no doubt that if we can listen to this and see what the teacher is presenting , we revel as Self here and now!


    Love!
    Silence
    Last edited by silence_speaks; 05 November 2014 at 12:31 AM.
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  2. #2

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi would often say that the recitation of Ribhu Gita is as good as Samadhi and he would himself take part in the recitation.

    That is how wonderful it is. So what is it about Ribhu Gita that makes it into such an extraordinary text ? Even as I pointed out in my previous post, it is "Direct" ... if one is ready to be open and "See" as it shows, one discovers that one automatically revels as the Self - without a choice. Thats the beauty of this text.

    How should I study this text ? As the teaching is presented, I should "see" the world as it "Shows". It is like ... suppose there is a poet. The poet gives a description of the nature. He might say, the leaves are "as if holding each other's hands" ...etc. What is he doing ? He is presenting a "Particular way of looking at what is before". If I have to appreciate the poetry, i should see as he shows. The same way, if i can "see" through the vision presented by Ribhu Gita, i see myself as a liberated person. That is the picture it is presenting. You are the Whole... this is the vision. If we simply chant or read these verses and look at the world and ourselves through what is said, we stand free and liberated here and now!!


    Many times, a little logic and understanding of our vedanta is needed to be able to look at the world through these verses. Once these are in place, liberated living is effortless. It is indeed our good fortune that there is a text like Ribhu Gita!

    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  3. #3

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    To Nidagha's question: "Who are you", Ribhu says "Aham Chaitanyam eva asmi" I am consciousness Alone! Ribhu elaborates the rest of the whole 4rth chapter to just say he is the Self ...

    Ribhu Gita is full of repetition. Repeatedly (Punah, Punah) contemplating on the Truth is very essential to live it in reality. Contemplation, in this context, is to "See" with the vision that is provided. This is really beautiful because the vision is : You are Purnah, you are Complete, Fulfilled. So the practice is also to See that... Look at ourselves as Complete. Some times if we have the tendency to look at ourselves as lacking individuals, we might have to repeat this procedure. Thats why this entire text, from beginning to end ... only keeps repeating "You are Purnah, Complete, Self"... and it repeats it again and again ... The teaching has to be taken in and we should again and again look at ourselves as Purnah... This is how one lives it. We should stop believing in our apurnatvam [being a lacking individual.] and for that a whole lot of logic and assertions are presented.


    WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS KNOWLEDGE ?

    Having asked for the knowledge , Nidhaga next asks "Who is fit for this knowledge" ? Here is the question...

    eva.N sthite R^ibho ko vai brahmabhaavaaya kalpate |
    tanme vada visheSheNa GYaana.N sha~Nkaravaakyajam ||
    एवँ स्थिते ऋभो को वै ब्रह्मभावाय कल्पते।
    तन्मे वद विशेषेण ज्ञानँ शङ्करवाक्यजम्॥
    In this situation, O Ribhu, who is fit for getting the Vision of Brahman ?
    Please explain in detail that knowledge revealed through the wors of Sankara.
    Ribhu Learnt this knowledge from Kumara who in turn learnt from Shankara. So this knowledge is shankara-vakya born. Ribhu asks for this knowledge. Before that he asks "Who is fit to get this vision of Brahman" ?

    In the vision of God, no one can be excluded. But there are a few who are not yet ready for the knowledge ... how do we identify ? They do not find interest in the knowledge. Such people are naturally excluded. The rest who are excluded, Knowledge itself serves to purify them. Knowledge itself would release them from their bondage. All bondage is due to ignorance and as knowledge settles in, it removes the ignorance and leaves one free.

    This knowledge is available for anyone who seeks it. The maturity of a sadhaka becomes clear from the fact that they stop seeking. For example if a scripture says : dont eat mangos, anyone who has attachment for mangos would not agree with it. so such a person would keep away from that scripture. So if you are able to appreciate the content of this scripture ... it automatically means you are ready for it ! And its such a good fortune since we shall discover our own liberation through this !!


    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  4. #4

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    Since Nidagha had some doubts as to who is fit to revel as Brahman, Ribhu starts by asserting : "Hey you are Brahman himself !"!!
    "Therefore the question of your not being fit does not arise at all."...

    He says :

    Verse 2, chapter 5:

    tvameva brahma evaasi tvameva paramo guruH |
    tvamevaakaasharuupo.asi tvam brahmaasi na sa.NshayaH ||

    त्वमेव ब्रह्म एवासि त्वमेव परमो गुरुः।
    त्वमेवाकाशरूपोऽसि त्वम् ब्रह्मासि न सँशयः॥

    You are Brahman indeed. You alone are the supreme Guru. You are the form of the space alone. Without doubt you are Brahman.
    One should have that kind of conviction that "I AM BRAHMAN", because conviction leads to realization. Conviction may not be possible, in many cases, without some logical appreciation. Thats why, often logic is provided for aid to mananam.

    The teacher appears to be outside, but when a student sees his own true nature he realizes that he himself is the Guru. Infact he realizes that he is Dakshinamurthi himself. Thus for a student of advaita vedanta, its important to never look down upon oneself as not qualified. Every time i look down upon myself as not qualified or not ready for "Brahma-Atma-Aikyam", I am actually asserting what is exactly opposite to the vedantic teaching. This assertion is like poison, because the moment i say i am not Brahman, i am identifying with something jada... a dead entity!!

    Thus, a Vedanta student is supposed to nurture conviction and clarity. Clarity to be able to maintain the conviction when doubts arise.


    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  5. #5

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    SIVA's Teaching:

    So what was the teaching of Lord Siva, which can lead to immediate liberation ? Here is how he starts :

    eeshvaraH -
    vrataani mithyaa bhuvanaani mithyaa
    bhaavaadi mithyaa bhavanaani mithya |
    bhaya.N ca mithyaa bharaNaadi mithyaa
    bhukta.N ca mithyaa bahubandhamithyaa ||

    एश्वरः -
    व्रतानि मिथ्या भुवनानि मिथ्या
    भावादि मिथ्या भवनानि मिथ्य।
    भयँ च मिथ्या भरणादि मिथ्या
    भुक्तँ च मिथ्या बहुबन्धमिथ्या॥

    Religious rituals are mithya, the worlds are all mithya. The diverse attitudes are all mithya, mansions are all mithya. Fear is mithya, all supports are mithya. All things experienced are mithya, various attachments that we experience are mithya!
    I have used the word mithya without changing it because it is a very technical term . Lets see what it means.

    There are three categories into which every object can be categorized: SAT, ASAT and MITHYA.
    SAT means what IS, and remains changeless in all three periods of time.
    ASAT means what IS NOT and does not come to experience in all three periods of time.
    For example the horns of a hare. One never experiences them in waking, sleep or deep sleep.
    these are not experienced by us and do not exist.
    MITHYA: This is class of objects that "Appear" to be there ... but are actually not there. In short they seem to be SAT, but actually are ASAT! Like a mirage. A mirage seems to be a water body .... but in reality is not. The water body i see in a mirage is what ? IT is ASAT seen to be SAT.

    They are illusions ... they are seen when we see... like the blueness of a sky... it is seen ... apparent ... not real ... really ASAT ! They are not any different from the horns of the hare ... the only difference being ... they appear to be there and hence create an illusion that they are there !!


    So Siva starts by saying what all fall under the category of mithya... he says ... all religious rituals are mithya ... that is, they have a meaning as long as we give them that kind of an attention ... as long as we stay with them they appear real... like this forum ... it is there as long as we give it attention and participate ... what happens if i stop participating, or am kicked out ? The entire world that i created around this forum in my mind ... what is it ? Mithya!

    The religious rituals and their results are there as long as i give them attention and thing in those patterns. The moment i withdraw attention they are really not there for me ... they belong to the category of mithya even because they are time dependent... changing. Anything changing is mithya!

    Then Siva says, The various worlds ... like indra lokha the world of indra , or vaikunta, kailasa ... they are all mithya ... they are all unreal ... dependent on our thoughts ... they do not have any existence of their own ... they are really like the horns of a hare ... but since u think in those terms and because of ur thinking they "seem" to be there !!

    What else does Siva say ? He says all your "Bhavanas" or "convictions" or "ideas" are all mithya! They are all merely the horns of a hare .. you have given them a reality through your thinking ... by your attention.

    Huge palaces are also mithya. This is my kingdom , my palace ... and i feel great pride in it ... and one earthquake ... everything is devastated! How silly it is to build our hopes and attachments around a transitory thing like that !! Our life itself is trifle.

    and what are our fears ? They are totally dependent on our attention. If i doze off ... all fears are no where ! All the associated securities or support mechanisms also dissolve ! The entire world dissolves along with our various experiences and our various attachments!

    When a loved one passes away , we might feel great pain and yet ... if we fall asleep ... the entire world dissolves leaving no one ... total blank! Where is my loved one, where is the separation and where is the associated sorrow!!

    There is a famous quote in Mandukya Karika of Gaudapadacharya:

    verse 31 of alatashanti :

    aadaavante ca yannaasti vartamaane.api tattathaa |
    vitathaiH sadR^ishaaH santo.avitathaa eva laxitaaH ||

    आदावन्ते च यन्नास्ति वर्तमानेऽपि तत्तथा।
    वितथैः सदृशाः सन्तोऽवितथा एव लक्षिताः॥

    That which does not exist in the beginning and the end is equally so in the middle. Though they are similar to the non-existent(ASAT), yet they are seen as though real.
    This is the most accurate description of all that is seen. Everything. Many so called vedanta teachers also allow for some sort of reality to this world ... because they themselves cannot carry out their missions if they do not ! Because they are still attached. What ever little reality we associate with this world is a compromise. While taking the teaching one cannot go with compromises. Ribhu Gita does not allow for compromise !!

    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  6. #6

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita

    So , of what use is this teaching ? Siva says that the entire visible world and all the world we have in our own minds ... everything is mithya... which means it seems to be there, really not there.

    but then we see this world and experience it ... we experience it as real. Just because siva says its unreal, will it become unreal ? How do we take this leap ? Siva is presenting one vision. Our own personal vision is something else. How do we bridge this gap ?

    Lets see. Our scriptures being darshana shastras are presenting a vision. The teaching is incomplete if we miss the vision. When i say "Siva says this, but i see the exact opposite", it means the teaching is incomplete. It means that I did not yet get that vision. The most important part of teaching or learning is to get that vision. How do we get that vision ?

    We have to start seeing from the standpoint of the teacher. When the entire visible world is seen as mithya ... or a figment of imagination .... lets try that. Even for a few minutes imagine ... fake it ... lets imagine it ... and see it as a mere imagination ... when i start looking thus ... i have actually stopped believing it as real... and when I do that .... what happens ? Lets try this as a practical experiement.... for just a few days ... i see everything as if this is a cinema show or a figment of imagination ... something that i have created in my own mind .... or a magic city!

    what happens if we do this for a few days ?

    Lets try this experiment ... we look at the entire universe ... all gods, all our story ... our entire story ... this story of a person who is writing all this, who is married etc ... all this ... as a movie ... an imaginary story ... a magic city ...

    lets start seeing thus and see what happens !! we can shift gears and start giving it some reality later ... for now lets take away all its reality by stopping to believe in its reality ... can we try this experiment for just a few days and see what happens ?

    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

  7. #7

    Re: The Ultimate Repose - Meditation on Selected Verses of Ribhu Gita


    THE EXPERIMENT :


    Let me restate the experiment which I just mentioned above. The text says that this entire universe is mithya! And I suggested that we can try an experiment ... try looking at this entire world as Mithya. Like a dream city or a magic city [gandharva nagari]!

    For this logic and our understanding acts as a great aid. When we look at this world as a temporary dream or a magic city or a cinema show ... we should include our own story. The story of this character as well. What ever is seen ... it belongs to that. So naturally, our anger, fear, worries subside ... albeit temporarily. They subside because we have now stopped giving them the importance we were giving them earlier. We "Fund" them by giving them our energy and attention. When the world is seen as a cinema show or a dream ... we know that this cannot affect us ! For once we are not giving it as much attention as we were giving it earlier. And so, it becomes very weak. Since our attention is not scattered to various things of the world, we are naturally calm and present , here and now !

    This is such a beautiful experiment. Relaxing into the Presence.

    If we are with this experiment, we shall see how Ribhu elaborates the attitude for us in what follows

    Love!
    Silence
    Come up, O Lions, and shake off the delusion that you are a sheep

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