Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 128 pages
- Published by: Shambhala November 13, 2001
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1570628971
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1570628979
-
Book Dimensions:
8.8 x 5.7 x 0.2 inches
- Weighs: 2.4 ounces
From Library Journal
This is a gorgeous rendering of Advaita Vedanta teachings written by a follower of Shankara probably working in either the 8th or the 14th century C.E. The text sees duality as the root of evil, asserts the importance of belief in sharing one's world as limited or unbounded, and confidently proclaims radical monism. This book can increase understanding of the most important Hindu philosophical system and provide practical wisdom not only for Hindus but also for those inspired by the lyrical and ecstatic mysticism it conveys.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Review
"This is an extraordinarily fine rendering of the
Ashtavakra Gita , a book of unadorned compassion. As water wears away stone, so these profoundly simple truths wear away illusion."—Ram Dass "Byrom's exquisitely clean and untroubled rendering of this spiritual classic irresistibly invites us to listen for what cannot be heard and to search for what cannot be seen."—Jacob Needleman, author of
The Heart of Philosophy and
Lost Christianity "There have been English translations of the
Ashtavakra Gita before, this is not only new and elegant but also the first to capture the spirit of the original in its freshness and directness. I warmly recommend it."—J. L. Brockington, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit, Edinburgh University
Reader ReviewsDoing a review of The Heart of the Ribhu Gita tonight, it occurred to me that I should do a review of this book as well, since the two are tied in my mind as the most sublime of all Hindu writings. I have had an old copy of the root text of this book (The Ashtavakra Gita/Samhita), translated and printed in India in 1981, that I have always dearly loved. I used to take it with me wherever I went and was reading it constantly. I recall one morning early when I was reading it on the shuttle back to the San Francisco airport from Santa Rosa where I had travelled the night before from New Mexico at somebody's insistence to attend an all-night ayahuasca ceremony, back when such things seemed important, probably the late 1980s. So, in rather an altered state still, and high on these beautiful verses, suddenly someone yells out from the back of the shuttle, "The Ashtavakra Samhita?!!!" Turns out I'm sharing the shuttle with a couple of Da Free John devotees, so we had a good old time the whole way to the airport discussing the Samhita, as well as the Tripura Rahasya, the Avadhuta Gita and other such esoteric lore. Perhaps, only in California, and perhaps, for me, only back then! When this rendition by Thomas Byrom came out a few years later I was hesitant to even look at it, loving my old one so, and having become rather jaded by the many poorly written renditions of the Hindu and Buddhist classics that were hitting the market. But I was most pleasantly surprised: turns out I was, and remain, very deeply impressed with Mr. Byrom's fresh and modern translation. It is outstanding in every sense. So open. So light. Capturing in its tone just the sort of liberating outlook these verses are talking about. See the difference from these two approaches to the same verse: OLD: He who has realized that change in the form of existence and destruction is in the nature of things, easily finds repose, being unperturbed and free from pain. NEW: All things arise, Suffer change, And pass away. This is their nature. When you know this, Nothing perturbs you, Nothing hurts you. You become still. It is easy. Or, see the difference in the last verse of the work, my favorite: OLD: Where is existence, where is non-existence; where is unity, where is duality? What need is there to say more? Nothing emanates from me. NEW: For I have no bounds. I am Shiva. Nothing arises in me, In whom nothing is single, Nothing is double. Nothing is, Nothing is not. What more is there to say? Granted, there is a bit of creative license at play here in Mr. Byrom's translation, since, for example, in this instance there is no mention or even suggestion of Shiva in the original verse. But such liberties on his part actually seem to enhance the work in just the right way, and I believe he captures the spirit of the work beautifully, and the spirit of the work is beyond my capacity to praise. Highly recommended. Read it. What more is there to say?
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