Ribhu Gita

One of Bhagavan Ramana's favourite traditional spiritual works was the

Ribhu Gita. The Ribhu Gita forms the sixth section of the Sanskrit work
known as Siva Rahasya. It is the teachings of Lord Siva in Mount Kailas
to His devotee Ribhu, from whom the Gita derives its name. Bhagavan
Ramana's often referred to the Ribhu Gita in his talks with devotees and
seekers, and he is reported to have said that if one repeatedly read
Chapter 26 of the Ribhu Gita one could pass spontaneously into Samadhi,
or the natural state of Self-realization. Bhagavan Ramana first
attendant, Palaniswami had brought a copy of Ribhu Gita to Bhagavan's
attention. Later in life Bhagavan related how surprised he was at the
time to hear an exact description of his own state recited in the Ribhu
Gita and that it had been experienced by others and was the bliss of the
Self sought after by all true seekers.

The Heart of the Ribhu Gita This Ribhu Gita is an ancient text. It means
literally, “Ribhu’s Song,” and is Part Six of the Shiva Rahasya, a
legendary mystical text in 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. Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi attributed unique value to it as being a lucid exposition of
Supreme Truth. He quite often referred to it in his talks with devotees
and seekers. He even stated that if one would repeatedly study Chapter
26 of the Ribhu Gita one could spontaneously pass into the state of
sahaja samadhi, or the natural state of true Self-realization. This
passage consists of six verses selected by Sri Bhagavan from the whole
text of the original work, which together represents a summation of its
central teaching. It also contains a humorous narrative Sri Bhagavan
once told to his devotees about the Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha.
Although it a humorous tale, it is like one of Jesus’ parables, in
that it discloses the Highest or Supreme Truth.
Sri Ramana gave a copy of Ribhu Gita to Sampurnamma, who worked in the
Ashram kitchen, and asked her to study it. However she considered it to
be a very difficult text, which was accessible only to pandits with
sufficient learning to understand it and therefore asked Bhagavan to
excuse her from it. Bhagavan replied, “It does not matter that you do
not understand. Still it will be of great benefit to you”. Bhagavan
gave another wonderful piece of Bhakti-soaked advice to Sampurnamma,
“You must cover your vegetables when you cook them, then only will
they keep their flavour and be fit for food. It is the same with the
mind. You must put a lid over it and let it simmer quietly. Then only
does a man become food fit for God to eat”.
Six verses from Ribhu Gita:
1) The concept 'I-am-the-body' is the sentient inner organ (i.e. the
mind). It is also the illusory samsara. It is the source of all
groundless fears. If there is no trace of it at all, everything will be
found to be Brahman. (17)
2) The concept 'I-am-the-body' is the primal ignorance. It is known as
the firm knot of the heart (hrdayagranthi). It gives rise to the
concepts of existence and non-existence. If there is no trace of it at
all, everything will be found to be Brahman. (19)
3) Jiva is a concept, God, the world, the mind, desires, action, sorrow
and all other things are all concepts. (25)
4) The mind is unreal. It is like a magic show. It is the son of a
barren woman. It is absolutely non-existent. Since there is no mind
there are no concepts, no Guru, no disciple, no world, no jiva. All
concepts are really Brahman. (36)
5) The body, etc., are only concepts. Hearing, etc. (i.e. hearing,
reasoning and contemplating) are concepts. Self-enquiry is a concept.
All other things are also concepts. Concepts give rise to the world, the
jivas and God. There is nothing whatever except concepts. Everything is
in truth Brahman. (30)
6) Abiding without concepts is the undifferentiated state. It is
inherence (in Brahman). It is wisdom. It is Liberation. It is the
natural state (sahaja). It is Brahman. It is Siva. If there is no
concept at all everything will be found to be Brahman. (26)

Verse 1-8
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 ExistenceConsciousness-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.

Chapter 26 Verse 6-10

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.

Ribhu Gita Chapter 26 Verse 11-15

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 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 is no discrimination between the real

and the unreal, no absence of desire, no possession of virtues, no
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. Chapter 26, Verse 16-20 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, or 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 “mind”, no
fantasies of the mind, no blemish of attachment, no concept whatsoever -
and be always happy, without the least trace of the thought.

Chapter 26, Verse 21-25 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, emotionalpsychic, 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
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 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.

Chapter 26, Verse 26-30 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”,
“you” and “another,” 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 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
firm conviction that you are That, be always happy. Chapter 26, Verse
31-35 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.

Chapter 26, Verse 36-40 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.

Chapter 26, Verse 41-45 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 allcomprehensive 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.