Source Text
Dissolve into Infinity Ashtavakra Gita, also called the Ashtavakra Samhita, is a famous Vedantic text, which imparts the most sublime non-dual truth. When I stayed in the Himalayas, I took along only one book with me, the Ashtavakra Gita.
Reading the Ashtavakra Gita is equal to meditating. If you cannot have nirvikalpa samadhi, you can at least read this book! Reading it for an hour or two is as good as intense meditation. It is the most profound thing that has ever been put into words. I have read the sacred literature of the East and the West, and there is nothing that quite compares to this text. It is like looking straight at the sun, which is uncomfortable.
It is far beyond something that needs to be practised; it is not even something that needs to be realized – it is just something that needs to be noticed.
However, there is a progression too. The first three verses delve into the depths of non-duality, and the fourth one is the consequence of the insight gained in the first three.
You are never attached to anything in this universe, oh pure one, what are you trying to give up? In this way, the body–mind complex dissolves into infinity.
If everything has gone, is going away or will go away, what it means is that nothing sticks to you, you are not attached to anything in this universe. The impermanence of things means you who are experiencing these things that come and go are not attached to anything.
She slips into the unknowingness of deep sleep where the world including her most precious baby is forgotten. She enters this state without any hesitation. She does not think what will happen to my baby if I leave it behind. Notice carefully that Ashtavakra is not asking us to practice detachment. He is categorically saying that non-attachment is already a fact, whether you practice it or not, whether you like it or not!
Beyond the
mind there is the witness consciousness (Sakshi), which is not attached to anything, not to the world, not to the body, not even to the mind.
William Blake once said, ‘He who binds to himself a joy, does the winged life destroy; but he who kisses the joy as it flies, lives in eternity’s sunrise.’
AI Summary
Dissolve Into Infinity by Swami Sarvapriyananda presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.