The Ashtavakra Gita Satsang would meet twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays. Before Robert talked, we would have 20 minutes or so of chanting. Since no one knew or was willing to play any Indian musical instruments, I played various chanting tapes, with my wife leading the chanting. Generally, chanting was a dud as only she, Robert and I seemed to like it. Just before Robert talked, he had me read two or three chapters from the Ashtavakra Gita, as elegantly translated by Dr. Thomas Byrom and published by Shambala Publications. The psychological impact of this reading was extraordinary on the group and even moreso on me, because I felt every word's truth.  Read it for yourself. It is the essense of Advaita Vedanta, and therefore of Robert and Ramana. After Robert completed his talk, and after a question and answer period, there would be a long silent meditation, some softer kirtan music for ten minutes or so, then a second reading from the Ashtavakra Gita. Therefore, we would cycle through the Gita every two to three weeks, for at least five years. Robert considered it that important. The title of the Shambala book is, "The Heart of Awareness." Three times in five or six years of reading it aloud, when I was not paying attention, I called it the Heart of Darkness. Robert was not amused. I have never found anything in the Buddhist Sutras that combines the depth of understanding with the sheer beauty of Byrom's translation. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing more profound than the Heart Sutra, they cover the same subject matter from a different perspective. But no translation of the Heart Sutra or any other of the Wisdom Sutras, touches the heart-moving, poetic elegance of the Ashtavakra Gita. Just reading this text would be a great meditation. I have included only three of the twenty chapters, so as to give you a  taste. I strongly urge you to get your own copy through a bookstore or from Shambala directly.

The Self   O Master,                                                                    Tell me how to find Detachment, wisdom, and freedom! Child,                                                                            If you wish to be free, Shun the poison of the senses.   Seek the nectar of truth, Of love and forgiveness, Simplicity and happiness. Earth, fire and water,                                                  The wind and the sky - You are none of these. If you wish to be free, Know you are the Self, The witness of all these, The heart of awareness. Set your body aside.                                                  Sit in your own awareness. You will at once be happy, Forever still, Forever free. You have no caste.                                                     No duties bind you. Formless and free, Beyond the reach of the senses, The witness of all things. So be happy! Right or wrong,                                                            Joy and sorrow, These are of the mind only. They are not yours. It is not really you Who acts or enjoys. You are everywhere, Forever free. Forever and truly free,                                                 The single witness of all things. But if you see yourself as separate, Then you are bound. "I do this.  I do that."                                                   The big black snake of selfishness Has bitten you! "I do nothing." This is the nectar of faith, So drink and be happy! Know you are one,                                                        Pure awareness. With the fire of this conviction, Burn down the forest of ignorance. Free yourself from sorrow, And be happy. Be happy!                                                                        For you are joy, unbounded joy. You are awareness itself. Just as a coil of rope Is mistaken for a snake, So you are mistaken for the world. If you think you are free,                                               You are free. If you think you are bound, You are bound. For the saying is true: You are what you think. The Self looks like the world.                                        But this is just an illusion. The Self is everywhere. One. Still. Free. Perfect. The witness of all things, Awareness Without action, clinging or desire. Meditate on the Self.                                                                 One without two, Exalted awareness. Give up the illusion Of the separate self. Give up the feeling, Within or without, That you are this or that. My child,                                                                                    Because you think you are the body, For a long time you have been bound. Know you are pure awareness. With this knowledge as your sword Cut through your chains. And be happy! For you are already free,                                                      Without action or flaw, Luminous and bright. You are bound Only by the habit of meditation. Your nature is pure awareness.                                        You are flowing in all things, And all things are flowing in you. But beware The narrowness of the mind! You are always the same,                                                 Unfathomable awareness, Limitless and free, Serene and unperturbed. Desire only your own awareness. Whatever takes form is false.                                             Only the formless endures. When you understand The truth of this teaching, You will not be born again. For God is infinite,                                                                   Within the body and without, Like a mirror, And the image in a mirror. As the air is everywhere,                                                       Flowing around a pot And filling it, So God is everywhere, Filling all things And flowing through them forever.

Awareness   Yesterday                                                                  I lived bewildered, In illusion. But now I am awake, Flawless and serene, Beyond the world. From my light                                                       The body and the world arise. So all things are mine, Or nothing is. Now I have given up                                       The body and the world, I have a special gift. I see the infinite Self. As a wave,                                                                 Seething and foaming, Is only water So all creation, Streaming out of the Self, Is only the Self. Consider a piece of cloth.                           It is only threads! So all creation, When you look closely, Is only the Self. Like the sugar                                                        In the juice of the sugarcane, I am the sweetness In everything I have made. When the Self is unknown                          The world arises, Not when it is known. But you mistake The rope for the snake. When you see the rope, The snake vanishes. My nature is light,                                              Nothing but light. When the world arises I alone am shining. When the world arises in me,                   It is just an illusion: Water shimmering in the sun, A vein of silver in mother-of-pearl, A serpent in a strand of rope. From me the world streams out             And in me it dissolves, As a bracelet melts into gold, A pot crumbles into clay, A wave subsides into water. I adore myself.                                                        How wonderful I am! I can never die. The whole world may perish, From Brahma to a blade of grass, But I am still here. Indeed how wonderful!                                    I adore myself. For I have taken form But I am still one. Neither coming or going, Yet I am still everywhere. How wonderful,                                                      And how great my powers! For I am without form, Yet till the end of time I uphold the universe. Wonderful!                                                                  For nothing is mine, Yet it is all mine, Whatever is thought or spoken. I am not the knower,                                         Nor the known, Nor the knowing. These three are not real. They only seem to be When I am not known. For I am flawless. Two from one!                                                          This is the root of suffering. Only perceive That I am one without two, Pure awareness, pure joy, And all the world is false. There is no other remedy! Through ignorance                                               I once imagined I was bound. But I am pure awareness. I live beyond all distinctions, In unbroken meditation. Indeed,                                                                             I am neither bound nor free. An end to illusion! It is all groundless. For the whole of creation, Though it rests in me, Is without foundation. The body is nothing.                                           The world is nothing. When you understand this fully, How can they be invented? For the Self is pure awareness, Nothing less. The body is false,                                                    And so are its fears, Heaven and hell, freedom and bondage. It is all invention. What can they matter to me? I am awareness itself. I see only one.                                                            Many men, One wilderness. Then to what may I cling? I am not the body.                                                 Nor is the body mine. I am not separate. I am awareness itself, Bound only by my thirst for life. I am the infinite ocean.                                      When thoughts spring up, The wind freshens, and like waves A thousand worlds arise. But when the wind falls,                                    The trader sinks with his ship. On the boundless ocean of my being He founders, And all the worlds with him. But O how wonderful!                                         I am the unbounded deep In whom all living things Naturally arise, Rush against each other playfully, And then subside.

The Clear Space of Awareness The man who is pure of heart                                Is bound to fulfill himself In whatever way he is taught. A worldly man seeks all his life, But is still bewildered. Detached from the senses,                                        You are free. Attached, you are bound. When this is understood, You may live as you please. When this is understood,                                            The man who is bright and busy And full of fine words Falls silent. He does nothing. He is still. No wonder Those who wish to enjoy the world Shun this understanding! You are not your body.                                               Your body is not you. You are not the doer. You are not the enjoyer. You are pure awareness, The witness of all things. You are without expectation, Free. Wherever you go, Be happy! Desire and aversion are of the mind.                 The mind is never yours. You are free of its turmoil. You are awareness itself, Never changing. Wherever you go, Be happy. For see!                                                                                     The Self is in all beings, And all beings are in the Self. Know you are free, Free of "I," Free of "mine." Be happy. In you the worlds arise                                                  Like waves in the sea. It is true! You are awareness itself. So free yourself From the fever of the world. Have faith, my Child, have faith.                          Do not be bewildered. For you are beyond all things, The heart of all knowing. You are the Self. You are God. The body is confined                                                      By its natural properties. It comes, It lingers awhile, It goes. But the Self neither comes nor goes. So why grieve for the body? If the body lasted till the end of time,                Or vanished today, What would you win or lose? You are pure awareness. You are the endless sea                                                 In whom all the worlds like waves Naturally rise and fall. You have nothing to win, Nothing to lose. Child,                                                                                            You are pure awareness, Nothing less. You and the world are one. So who are you to think You can hold on to it, Or let it go? How could you! You are the clear space of awareness,                Pure and still, In whom there is no birth, No activity, No "I." You are one and the same. You cannot change or die. You are in whatever you see.                                     You alone. Just as bracelets and bangles And dancing anklets Are all of the same gold. "I am not this."                                                                     "I am He." Give up such distinctions. Know that everything is the Self. Rid yourself of all purpose. And be happy. The world only arises from ignorance.              You alone are real. There is no one, Not even God, Separate from yourself. You are pure awareness.                                              The world is an illusion, Nothing more. When you understand this fully, Desire falls away. You find peace. For indeed! There is nothing. In the ocean of being                                                       There is only one. There was and there will be Only one. You are already fulfilled. How can you be bound or free? Wherever you go, Be happy. Never upset your mind                                                   With yes and no. Be quiet. You are awareness itself. Live in the happiness Of your own nature, Which is happiness itself. What is the use of thinking?                                        Once and for all, Give up meditation. Hold nothing in your mind. You are the Self, And you are free.