Ashtavakra Gita

If we tell you this is a famous Sanskrit scripture, you'll probably think ugh, heavy turgid stilted.

But it's none of those things. It's just a guy talking to you, an enlightened guy, telling you what he knows and how to see it for yourself. His words are weightless, airy, transparent -- especially in the remarkable translation by Thomas Byrom.

These are words for eye dancing, for mere awareness, for floating into infinity.

And yet we have to be honest with you. Even though this poem sounds as new as today's email, it really is a classical scripture, infinitely substantial, one of the most beautiful expositions of Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga ever written.

Ashtavakra Gita means "Ashtavakra's Song" in Sanskrit. It's also sometimes called Ashtavakra Samhita, meaning "Ashtavakra's Collection." Ashtavakra was a character in ancient Sanskrit literature, and when the relatively modern author of the Ashtavakra Gita wrote his poem, he pretended that he was recording words spoken by the ancient character. Hence the title.

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