x
Home
Search
Topics
Almanac
Science
Nature
People
History
Society
Signup
Login
HOME
TOPICS
ALMANAC
SCIENCE
NATURE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
SOCIETY
PHILOSOPHY
Avadhuta Gita
Topic Home
Discussion
0
Encyclopedia
Avadhuta Gita is a Hindu text based on the principles of Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...

 (nondualism
Nondualism
Nondualism is a term used to denote affinity, or unity, rather than duality or separateness or multiplicity. In reference to the universe it may be used to denote the idea that things appear distinct while not being separate. The term "nondual" can refer to a belief, condition, theory, practice,...

). The singer of the Avadhuta Gita is Dattatreya
Dattatreya
Dattatreya or Datta is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his physical father.Various Hindu sects worship him differently...

, an Avadhuta, and according to the Nath
Nath
The Sanskrit word nāthá or नाथ, is the proper name of a Hindu initiatory tradition and the word itself literally means "lord, protector, refuge"...

 Sampradaya
Sampradaya
In Hinduism, a sampradaya can be translated as ‘tradition’ or a ‘religious system’, although the word commands much more respect and power in the Indian context than its translations in English does...

, the work was heard and transcribed by two of Dattatreya's disciples—Swami and Kartika. Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was Swami-in-charge of the from 1932 until his death in December 1969 at the age of 76.-Life:...

 (1893–1969) in Katz (2007: p. 47) holds that "[t]he Avadhuta Gita is a text of Vedanta representing extreme Advaita or Nondualism...", that is Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...

 with an emphasis on "extreme". As such, this text may also be considered a forerunner of Tantric literature as the themes, motif and orientation of this 'song' (Sanskrit: gita) are common to Shaivite Tantras, Buddhist Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...

 and Vaishnava Agamas (which are also tantric literature) and ancient Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

 philosophy.

Orthography

'Avadhuta Gita' is also orthographically rendered as 'Avadhoota Gita' in English as this spelling realizes a natural intuitive approximation of the phonemes of the Sanskrit.

Etymology

'ava' (Devanagari: अव):
  1. [masculine gender] favour (as per usage in ऋग्-वेद i , 128 , 5)
  2. [indeclinable] (as a prefix to verbs and verbal nouns expresses) and holds the semantic field
    Semantic field
    A semantic field is a technical term in the discipline of linguistics to describe a set of words grouped by meaning in a certain way. The term is also used in other academic disciplines, such as anthropology and computational semiotics.-Definition and usage:...

    : off , away , down.

'dhUta' (Devanagari: धूत):
  1. [masculine, feminine and neuter; or adjective] shaken , stirred , agitated (सोम = धौत "rinsed" as in the text साम-वेद)
  2. fanned , kindled
  3. shaken off, removed, destroyed
  4. judged
  5. reproached
  6. [neutral gender] morality (Buddhist literature)

'avadhUta' (Devanagari: अवधूत):
  1. अव-धूत "shaken off (as evil spirits)" as in the text वाजसनेयि-संहिता
  2. removed , shaken away
  3. discarded , expelled , excluded
  4. disregarded , neglected , rejected
  5. touched
  6. shaken , agitated (especially as plants or the dust by the wind), fanned
  7. that upon which anything unclean has been shaken out or off
  8. unclean
  9. one who has shaken, off from themselves worldly feeling and obligation, a philosopher
  10. [neuter gender] rejecting , repudiating

'gItA' (Devanagari: गीता):
  1. [masculine, feminine and neuter; or adjective] ( √ गै) sung , chanted , praised in songs (as in the texts मनु-स्मृति ix; and महाभारत 42)
  2. [neuter gender] singing, song as in the texts: वाजसनेयि-संहिता xxx; तैत्तिरीय-ब्राह्मण iii; शतपथ-ब्राह्मण iii , vi आपस्तम्ब-धर्म-सूत्र
  3. [feminine] a song, sacred song or poem, religious doctrines declared in metrical form by an inspired sage
  4. [neuter gender] name of a metre (poetic literature)

Date of work

Abhayananda (1992, 2007: p. 10) opines as to the dating of the Avadhuta Gita through its terminology and style and importantly implies that it may be the subject if not product of an oral lineage:
"The actual date of authorship of the Avadhut Gita is unknown, but, judging by its terminology and style, it appears to have been written, not in the millennia prior to the Current Era, as legend would have it, but sometime around the 9th or 10th centuries of our Current Era. This does not, of course, preclude the possibility of an oral transmission to that point in time."

English discourse

Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...

 (1863–1902) held the Avadhuta Gita in esteem and introduced it to his Western students and he translated aspects of it in the following talk he gave on July 28, 1895, transcribed by his disciple Waldo:

"He who has filled the universe, He who is Self in self, how shall I salute Him!"
To know the Atman as my nature is both knowledge and realisation. "I am He, there is not the least doubt of it."
"No thought, no word, no deed, creates a bondage for me. I am beyond the senses, I am knowledge and bliss."
There is neither existence nor non-existence, all is Atman. Shake off all ideas of relativity; shake off all superstitions; let caste and birth and Devas and all else vanish. Why talk of being and becoming? Give up talking of dualism and Advaitism! When were you two, that you talk of two or one? The universe is this Holy One and He alone. Talk not of Yoga to make you pure; you are pure by your very nature. None can teach you.

Overview

The brief introduction with attendant English translation of the Avadhuta Gita by Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was Swami-in-charge of the from 1932 until his death in December 1969 at the age of 76.-Life:...

 (1893–1969) from the Sanskrit is reproduced in Katz (2007: p. 48) and Ashokananda with a flair of hyperbole provides an overview of the Avadhuta Gita a song of the "experience of Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...

" which he invests with metaphorical language of 'lifebreath' ("spirited"; "breathes") metonymic of Prana
Prana
Prana is the Sanskrit word for "vital life" .It is one of the five organs of vitality or sensation, viz. prana "breath", vac "speech", chakshus "sight", shrotra "hearing", and manas "thought" Prana is the Sanskrit word for "vital life" (from the root "to fill", cognate to Latin plenus...

 and Vayu
Vayu
Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

 and the Air 'process' of the Mahabhuta
Mahabhuta
Mahābhūta is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element." In Buddhism, the "four great elements" are earth, water, fire and air...

:
"The Avadhuta Gita is a small book of only eight chapters and is written in spirited Sanskrit verse, which breathes the atmosphere of the highest experience of Brahman. It goes into no philosophical argument to prove oneness of reality, but is content to make the most startling statements, leaving the seeker of truth to imbibe them and be lifted from illusion into the blazing light of Knowledge (jnana)."

Chapter One

The opening verse of Chapter One 1.1 ventures that the inspiration for the nondual view arises within the mind of the wise due to the divine grace of Ishvara
Ishvara
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a theistic school of thought or the Supreme Being, or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.-Etymology:...

.

The term 'svabhāva
Svabhava
Svabhava Pāli: sabhāva; Chinese: 自性 zìxìng; ) is intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence.The concept and term svabhāva are frequently encountered in Dharmic traditions such as Advaita Vedānta , Mahāyāna Buddhism Svabhava (Sanskrit: स्वभाव; IAST: svabhāva) Pāli: sabhāva; Chinese: 自性 zìxìng; )...

' is mentioned in six verses of Chapter One: 1.5, 1.6, 1.44, 1.54, 1.58, 1.76.

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8ro-8reHVgoC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=%C4%AB%C5%9Bvar%C4%81nugrah%C4%81deva&source=bl&ots=Aq0c6GL5qq&sig=RIsmdBy0uQAtStSxIVyy8AvN2D0&hl=en&ei=0VRxS4fhJ8mekQXgwtmHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false
The hymn is addressed to 'Īśvarā
Ishvara
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a theistic school of thought or the Supreme Being, or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.-Etymology:...

' (ईश्वरा) 'the controller', 'the Lord'.
Shaktipat
Shaktipat
Shaktipat or Śaktipāta refers in Hinduism to the conferring of spiritual "energy" upon one person by another...


Chapter Two

Shloka
Shloka
A ' is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anuṣṭubh. It is the basis for Indian Epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, for...

 15 and 16 discuss 'contemplation
Contemplation
The word contemplation comes from the Latin word contemplatio. Its root is also that of the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship, derived either from Proto-Indo-European base *tem- "to cut", and so a "place reserved or cut out" or...

' (Sanskrit: ?).
2.17 binds 'sahaja
Sahaja
Sahaja is a term of some importance in Indian spirituality, particularly in circles influenced by the Tantric Movement...

' to 'amrita
Amrita
Amrit is a Sanskrit word that literally means "immortality", and is often referred to in texts as nectar. The word's earliest occurrence is in the Rigveda where it is one of several synonyms of soma, the drink which confers immortality upon the gods. It is related etymologically to the Greek...

' with what Rigopoulos (1998: p. 203) glosses "sahaja amṛitam" 'nectar of naturalness'.
Rigopoulos (1998: p. 203) proffers that the Avadhuta Gita 2.26 may be usefully compared to Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

 8.5.

Gita, as class of literature

The Avadhuta Gita text is only one gita amidst a class of Gita literature; the most well known and the gita having received the most attention and treatment in English discourse and Western scholarship even if not the premier example of the class, is unarguably the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

.

Primary sources: Sanskrit and English translations


Exegetical tradition and commentaries

  • Yogiraj Sri Sri Lahiri Mahasaya (composition in Sanskrit); Yoga Niketan Team (English translation (2006). Avadhuta Gita: Spiritual Commentary. Kriya Yoga Shrine and Library. [Free PDF downloadable from online library once an affirmation has been made to respect copyright] Source: Yoga Niketan: Online Kriya Yoga Library and Shrine (accessed: Tuesday February 23, 2010)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
Silverdale Interactive © 2024. All Rights Reserved.
 
x
OK