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''Avadhuta Gita'' (Devanagari: अवधूत गीता, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
whose title means "Song of the free soul". The text's poetry is based on the principles of Advaita and Dvaita schools of
Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...
.Katz, Jerry (2007). ''One: essential writings on nonduality''. Sentient Publications. ,
Source
/ref> The text is attributed to Dattatreya, and extant manuscripts have been dated to approximately the 9th or 10th century CE. It consists of 289 ''shlokas'' (metered verses), divided into eight chapters. The first seven chapters are the text's oldest layer, and the eighth chapter is likely a later interpolation. It may have been composed in the deccan states of India, probably
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. ''Avadhuta Gita'' has been one of the most important texts of the Natha Yogi tradition of Hinduism.


Date

Abhayananda states, "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."


Name

The title of the text, ''Avadhuta'' means "liberated soul", while ''Gita'' means song. The text describes the nature and the state of a person who is spiritually free and liberated. The text is also known as ''Avadhuta Grantha'', ''Dattatreya Gita'', ''Datta Gita Yoga Shastra'' and ''Vedanta Sara''.


Contents

The ''Avadhuta Gita'' is structured in 8 chapters, wherein Dattatreya—the symbol of the highest yogi and monastic life—describes as the divine master and example, the journey of self-realization, thereafter the nature and state of a person who lives in his soul's truth. Dattatreya asserts in the text, that the self-realized person is "by nature, the formless, all pervasive Self". He is in the state of ''sama-rasya'' or ''samata'', which is where there are no differences between anything or anyone, neither one own's body or another person's, neither class nor gender, neither human being nor other living beings, between the abstract and the empirical universe, all is one interconnected reality, it is the unification of the One and the Beyond. His universe, all of the universe, is within his Atman (soul). "There is never any you and I", states verse 6.22. The chapters discuss '
contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the Divinity, divine which Transcendence (religion), transcends the intellect, often in accordance with religious practices such as meditation or contemplative pr ...
', states Rigopoulos, as well as "sahaja amṛitam" 'nectar of naturalness'. Some of its teachings have been compared to the ''
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
''. The term Sahaja, that became important in both Hindu and Buddhist tantric traditions, means "transcendent Reality, or Absolute". It is equated to ''Sunya'' (void) in Buddhism, envisioned as a kind of "unlocated paradise", states Rigopoulos. In Hinduism, it is the interior Guru within the person, the Sadashiva, the all pervading ultimate Reality (Brahman) that is the Atman (Self) within.


Translation

*The Brahmavadin journal published an English translation of the separate chapters of the ''Avadhuta Gita'' in Volumes 9 through 11, in early 20th century. *The brief introduction with attendant English translation of the ''Avadhuta Gita'' by Ashokananda (1893–1969) is reproduced in Katz. * Alexandra David-Néel, translated the text from Sanskrit into French, title ''Avadhuta Gîtâ'', 1958.


Reception

The text has been influential on the Nath tradition of Hinduism, states Rigopoulos, and its teachings form a foundation of their ''Sama-rasya'' doctrine: Passages of the text are found in numerous Hindu texts, such as in the widely translated Bhagavata Purana, which is the most popular Purana, where verses 8.2 to 8.4 of Avadhuta Gita appear as verses 11.11.29-11.11.31 as one example. The text's ''nirguni'' Brahman ideas influenced the poetry of Kabir, states Rigopoulos. Vivekananda (1863–1902) held the ''Avadhuta Gita'' in esteem 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.Vivekananda, Swami (n.d.). ''The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Volume Seven.'' Source: s:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 7/Inspired Talks/Sunday, July 28 (accessed: Monday February 15, 2010


See also

* Bhagawad Gita * Ashtavakra Gita * Bhagavata Purana * The Ganesha Gita * * Self-consciousness (Vedanta) * Uddhava Gita *
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
* Prasthanatrayi * Vyadha Gita


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links

;Sanskrit editions and English translations
Avadhuta Gita English Audio Book

Avadhuta Gita (Sanskrit) in Devanagari, PDF

Avadhuta Gita (multiple scripts and languages), install legacy fonts for viewing
* http://www.aghori.it/avadhut_gita.htm in English and Italian
Avadhuta Gita Free EBook
(English interpretation with Sanskrit Verses) PDF
Avadhuta Gita Free Android App
(English interpretation with Sanskrit Verses)
Avadhut Gita translated into English with an introduction by Hari Prasad Shastri
{{Yoga Vedanta Gita Hindu texts Advaita Vedanta Advaita Vedanta texts