Ashtavakra The Vedic Sage

Who was the creator of Ashtavakra Gita? What is Yudhishtra’s Curse on Womanhood? How first Naga Prathistta was created? Why Hanuman turned red? These are the few exciting tales you will read in this book along with other stories. Bharat (India) is the beautiful country with full of wonders and surprises. This country has many religion, languages, festival, states, and unusual tales as well. This book is the collection of 22 unusual tales and first book of the series “The unusual tales of country called Bharat”. All these stories are different and not related to each other, hence readers will get to know new tales in every chapter. There is always something special about short stories, especially mythological as it always sticks to the traditional rules of the craft. These stories are vibrant and for all ages from children to grandparents. This book is an effort to reach out to more readers and spread the stories of the great land Bharat.

There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment.The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi, while Radhakrishnan always refers to it with great respect. Apart from that the work speaks for itself. It presents the traditional teachings of Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. Little is known about the life or century in which Ashtavakra actually lived, except for the accounts found in the major Indian Epics (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata) and the Puranas. The legends state that sage Aruni, mentioned in the Chandogya Upaniṣad, ran a school (Asrama) teaching the Vedas. Kahoḍa was one of his students, along with Aruni's daughter Sujata. Aruni's daughter married Kahoḍa. She got pregnant, and during her pregnancy, the developing baby heard the chanting of the Vedas and learnt the correct recitation. According to one version of the legends surrounding Ashtavakra, his father was once reciting the Vedas, but erred in correct intonation. The fetus spoke from the womb and told his father about the limited knowledge he was aware of from the Vedic books, there is much more to know apart from these books. The father got angry and cursed him to be born with eight deformities, hence the name 'Ashtavakra'.

This Book is based on Ashtavakra Gita, the classic of Vedanta philosophy composed by Ashtavakra. Consolidating the highest flights of Vedic thoughts this work discusses the unity of the individual Self and the Supreme-Self through lucid, poetical language. It is presented as a dialogue between sage Ashtavakra and Janak, the king of Mithila. The book discusses the nature of Self and Reality. According to Ashtavakra, Brahama (the Supreme-Self) is the only self-existent Reality; and the Self of all, at the very essence, is nothing but Brahama. Ashtavakra asserts that there exists a self-existent ever-enduring entity which persists as the eternal abiding substratum of the consciousness of egoism: the 'I' sense; and that is the Atma, our Self. As opposed to Shankaracharya, Ashtavakra offers a more radical view on Vedanta. Ashtavakra insists on the absolute oneness of existence and complete unreality of external world. He does not seem to give much credence to morality and duties. He dismisses names and forms as unreal and signs of Ignorance. An ignorant person's vision is shrouded by names and forms, but the wise one sees only the Self. Acording to Ashtavakra we are already perfect and pure, unfettered and actionless, self-illuminated and taintless. We are not the mind -- and the cause of our bondage is that we are still resorting to making that mind still. Besides the original Sanskrit text, transliteration and translation of the verses is provided.

The story of a sage Ashtavakra and his disciple King Janaka is one of the most gripping yet unknown episodes from the Ramayana. A young boy Ashtavakra goes to King Janaka's court to debate the kingdom's most learned sages but is ridiculed by the courtiers for his deformed body. After the boy triumphs in the debate, King Janaka realizes the boy is extraordinary and becomes his disciple. While Janaka becomes obsessed in his quest for spiritual liberation, inside the secretive world of the palace, a treacherous plan unfolds. Very soon war clouds gather on the horizons of Mithila, but Janaka devotes more and more time with the young sage. Even though the whole world believes a calamity is imminent, Janaka stays on the spiritual path. With Rishi Ashtavakra's guidance, the king enters the realms of a new world that alters the reality for him and his kingdom. This novel is rooted in ancient Indian spiritual wisdom and philosophy, but with new interpretations of the concepts of liberation, enlightenment, consciousness and the absolute realities of life. It invokes the question of whether what we see is indeed an illusion. This compelling story sheds light on the modern reader's own existential questions, leading oneself to relate to the king and his struggles.

The Ashtavakra Gita, or the Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes called, is a very ancient Sanskrit text. Nothing seems to be known about the author, though tradition ascribes it to the sage Ashtavakra; hence the name. There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment. The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi, while Radha­krishnan always refers to it with great respect. Apart from that the work speaks for itself. It presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The Reverend John Henry Richards, MA, BD, was an Anglican priest born in 1934 who was ordained a deacon in Llandaff in 1977 and a priest there in 1978. He served in Maesteg, Cardiff, Penmark, and Stackpile Elidor until his retirement in 1999, and died in 2017. He is known for his English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita, the Dhammapada, and the Vivekachudamani, which he put in the public domain and distributed on the Internet in 1994. The text used here is the one revised in 1996.

Do you know who you are? Really? Perhaps not.Are you on this planet because of Karma Or because of something else?Was it your choice to be in your current form Or have you been forced to be like this? Free will or Destiny?Explore the depths and grandeur of your real self with this unique book.Highly enlightening commentary on Ashtavakra Gita.A must for everybody to find the way to liberation and peace.Poetic yet precise translation of original Sanskrit verses into English.Commentary in 'Doubt/Answer' format.Feel the peace coming from the existence while reading this book.For more , Please Visit : ajatsrishti.com

Authored By Maharishi Vyasa, This Lucid Dialogue Between Rajarshi Janak And Ashtavakra Systematically Deals With Mystical Experiences Of The Spiritual Reality. It Is Addressed To Advanced Students Of Meditation.

This spiritual scripture contains words of wisdom that can be contemplated over and over again, leading to a deeper and deeper understanding of the Self. The Ashtavakra Gita, or the Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes called, is an ancient Sanskrit text. Nothing seems to be known about the author, though tradition ascribes it to the Sage Ashtavakra - hence the name.

The "Ashtavakra Gita" conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.

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