Ribhu Gita

Chapter 26^[a]

Inhering in the Undifferentiated and Non-dual Reality

1.1 shall now expound to you the method of inhering in the all-inclusive and undifferentiated Reality. This teaching is secret and difficult to understand with the help of the Vedas and other scriptures. Even devas md yogis who hold it dear acquire it only with great difficulty. Follow what I say and, inhering in Reality, be happy.

2. My son! Realised sages say that absolute inherence in Reality means becoming one with the immutable, tranquil and non-dual Brahman 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 scrutinises this variety of manifestation one realizes that it does not really exist and that everything is the undifferentiated Supreme Brahman which is not different from the Atman and oneself. Let this knowledge become firm with you by constant practice. Then, discarding everything, become one with the Supreme Brahman 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 no fear of duality at all — and be always happy, unshakeable and free from 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 certainty, neither being nor non-being and no perception of duality — and be always happy, unshakeable 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, no 'I am the body' idea, no objects of perception whatsoever — and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.^[1]

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 maya nor its effects, neither knowledge, nor ignorance, neither jiva nor Isvara, 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 gods^[2] or meditation on them, no Supreme Siva nor meditation on Him — and be always happy, without the least trace of thought.

11. Abide as That in which there is neither maturing karma nor bhakti nor jnana, 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 thought.

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 are none of the four spiritual qualifications^[3], no competent guru or disciple, no steady knowledge, no realized stage, no liberation of either kind^[4], nothing whatsoever at any time — and be always happy, free from all traces of thought.

16. Abide as That in which there are no Vedas or other scriptures, 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 (without) 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 jiva and the Supreme Being, none of the manifold adjuncts — and be always happy, without the least trace of thought. 18. Abide as That in which there is no need for hearing, etc^[5]., no samadhi to be practised, no differences of the same kind (sajatiya) or of a different kind (vijatiya) or within itself (pragata), no words or their meanings — and be always happy, free from the least trace of thought. 5 19. Abide as That in which there is no fear of hell (naraka), no joys of heaven (svarga), no worlds of Brahma 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 T or 'mine', no fantasies of the mind, no blemish of attachment, no concept whatsoever — and be always happy, without the least trace of thought. 21. Abide as That in which there are none of the three kinds of bodies^[6], none of the three kinds of states^[7], none of the three kinds of jivas^[8], none of the three kinds of afflictions^[9], none of the five kinds of sheaths^[10], 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^[11], no difference of any kind, no power of projecting unreal objects,^[12] 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 them, 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 which and experiencing the bliss of which, all joys appear to be the joys of That, that, on clearly knowing which to be oneself, there is nothing apart from oneself, and all kinds of jivas 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 Brahman, that which results, when that conviction becomes firm, in the experience of the supreme bliss of Brahman, 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 T , 'you' and 'he' and the disappearance of all 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 Brahman and with the firm conviction that you are That, be always happy.

30. Abide as That which is T 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.

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 etc. and no perception of objects, that in which the mind is dead, the jiva becomes one with the Reality, thoughts are 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 dhyana or yoga 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 Brahman, the Supreme Siva, 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 tranquillity, 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 empirical 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. Thereafter, having become Brahman, you will never experience the misery of samsara.

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 Brahman. 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 Vedas 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 Siva; 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 Siva and that that Siva is oneself, and thereafter abiding in the state of complete identity with Brahman, liberation can be attained here and now. I have spoken the truth. In this manner, Sage Ribhu expounded the state of being all 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 samsara and attains liberation. This is the significance of the highly blissful dance of our Supreme and undifferentiated Lord.

[2] Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Siva the Destroyer

[3] (a) Discrimination between the real and the unreal, (b) Absence of desire for the joys of this world as well as the next, (c) Possession of the six virtues like sense-control, mind-control etc., (d) Yearning for liberation

[4] Liberation while still alive and liberation after death

[5] Hearing (sravana), reflecting (manana) and practising (nididhyasana)

[6] The physical, the mental and the causal

[7] Waking, dreaming and sleeping

[8] Those who are fully eligible to advance spiritually, those who are not so eligible and those who are not at all eligible

[9] Afflictions of the body, afflictions caused by the gods and afflictions caused by the elements

[10] The physical, the vital, the mental, the intellectual and the blissful

[11] Avar ana Sakti

[12] Vikshepa Sakti

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