Ribhu Gita

Ribhu Gita

Brahma had a son by name Ribhu. Ribhu, by his very nature, possessed a sound knowledge of Brahman. Nidagha, the son of Maharshi Pulastya, was a disciple of Ribhu. Pleased with the good qualities of Nidagha, Ribhu instructed his disciple fully in the knowledge of the Brahman. Ribhu found out that his disciple, though proficient in all the scriptures, was not steady in the knowledge of the Brahman, because he was not able to cognise the one Reality underlying the various objects of the Universe.

Nidagha went and settled himself in Viranagar on the banks of the river Devika and began to lead an ideal life bearing in mind at all times the duties of a true householder. After the lapse of a long time Ribhu went to Viranagar with the object of seeing his disciple Nidagha. Nidagha was waiting at the gate in expectation of a guest after duly performing his daily sacrificial rites. Nidagha welcomed Ribhu warmly and took him inside the house. Nidagha duly worshipped the noble guest and humbly requested him to take his dinner.

Ribhu said, O Brahmin! Please tell me what kind of food you will serve me today. I do not relish unholy foods. Nidagha said, I have got in my house wheat-flour, maize, fruits, roots and loaves of bread. Of these whichever you like I shall be pleased to serve you with.

Ribhu said, I do not want all these useless food-stuffs. Give me good sweets, rice boiled in milk, curds, molasses and other delicious articles.

Then Nidagha said to his wife, O mistress! Soon make ready a very palatable and savoury meal for our guest today with the best of articles available in the house. According to the wishes of her husband, Nidagha’s wife prepared the dinner and he fed Ribhu sumptuously. When Ribhu had just finished his dinner Nidagha humbly requested him thus: O my venerable guest! Was the food tasty? Are you fully satisfied? Where do you live? Where are you proceeding now and wherefrom are you coming?

Ribhu replied, He who is hungry becomes satisfied when he takes a hearty meal. I was never hungry at all and why do you put me this question? When by the constant working of the Jatharagni (digestive fire) the digestive organs get tired, man feels hungry and when the water in the system gets exhausted he feels thirsty. Hunger and thirst are the Dharmas of the body and not mine. Since there is no hunger at all for me, I am always satisfied. Pleasure and satisfaction are the functions of the mind. I am not the mind too. Enquire then about these things whose Dharma is satisfaction, pleasure etc.

Now hearken to me about the other questions ‘Where do you live? Where do you go? And wherefrom are you coming?’ Atman or the Self is all-pervading like the ether and therefore these questions do not at all apply to It. The questions themselves are without basis. I do not go anywhere. I do not come from any place and I do not remain in any one place. These differences of ‘I’, ‘he’ and ‘you’ are in respect of the different bodies and not in reality. The truth is that you are not you. I am not myself nor is he another different from the other two.

A sweet thing is not always sweet. When I requested of you sweet rice etc., my intention was simply to know what you would say. For the really hungry man everything is palatable. The same food which is palatable once begins to give the reverse impression the next moment. When man has taken food to his heart’s content even the most delicious food causes retching. Thus the tasty food becomes non-tasty and vice versa. Further, is there any such food which is uniformly tasty in the beginning, middle and end? This physical body made of earth is kept up by food which is also earth particles in reality. Just as the wall built out of clay is kept strong by coating it with clay now and then, this body also remains healthy and strong by the atoms of food that we take. Barley, wheat, green dhall, oil, milk, curds, sugar, fruits, etc., are all mere atoms of earth only. Then which of these are we to call tasty and which non-tasty? Knowing thus you should educate your differentiating mind and try to see the one underlying thing in all and you should become serene. Serenity is the most important qualification for the attainment of Moksha.

Hearing these words of wisdom Nidagha prostrated before Ribhu and humbly said, O Revered sir! Be gracious unto me. Please reveal thy identity. I think you have come here to bless me with the true knowledge. by hearing your soul-elevating speech I am free from all delusions.

Ribhu replied, O Brahmin! I am your preceptor Ribhu. I came here to give you the knowledge of the Self by which you will be able to distinguish the real from the unreal. I take leave of you now. That which is true and which is fit to be known, I have already told you. Ever meditating on these truths may you find the whole world indwelt by the one Vasudeva! There is not even a grain of difference or duality in it.

Nidagha paid his due respects, worshipped his Guru and lived happily in the true spirit of the teachings of his Guru.

II

After a long number of years had rolled on, Maharshi Ribhu, in order to instruct Nidagha in the knowledge of Self, again went to Viranagar City. When he reached the city he saw that the king of the country had entered the city with a big crowd of followers. He found big crowds of men in every nook and corner of the town busily engaged in the reception of the king. Ribhu noticed Nidagha standing in a secluded place far away from the crowds with Kusa and Samidha in his hands. Nidagha was much afflicted by hunger and thirst but he could not proceed further towards his house due to the huge crowd of men obstructing his way.

Ribhu went near Nidagha and questioned him thus: Dear Brahmin! Why are you standing here alone in quite a solitary corner? Nidagha replied, Today the king of this country has come here and there is much crowd waiting upon him and I cannot push my way through the crowd. Hence I am forced to wait here.

Ribhu said, You seem to know all about this place. Please tell me who is the king and who are the others. Nidagha said, He who is seated on the huge elephant which resembles a big mountain, is the king, and the others are his courtiers who have accompanied him.

Ribhu said, Revered sir, you have described both the elephant and the king jointly and of the two I am at a loss to know who is the king and which is the elephant. You did not definitely point out or give me the description of both distinctly. That I would like to know from you. Nidagha said, Of these that which is below is the elephant and one who sits over it is the king. They have the connection of the carrier and the carried. I do not think that there is anyone who cannot understand even this.

Ribhu said, Yes, I understood that. But please tell me what the words ‘below’ and ‘above’ mean. How am I to understand which is up and which is down?

Nidagha at once got upon the shoulders of Ribhu and exclaimed, Look here, O Brahmin, hearken to me. I shall reply your query. Now I stand ‘up’ like the king and you stand ‘down’ like the elephant. This illustration I have given you practically to make you thoroughly understand what is ‘up’ and what is ‘down’.

Ribhu said, What is ‘up’ and ‘down’? They are relative terms. ‘Up’ becomes ‘down’ and ‘down’ becomes ‘up’ from different positions or angles of vision. You told me now that you were standing up like the king and that I was standing down like the elephant. Please tell me ‘who are you? who am I?’ I am very eager to know the truth of this. Hearing these words Nidagha prostrated at Ribhu’s feet and said, O Lord! You are none other than Rishi Ribhu, my beloved preceptor. No one else can speak like this. You are very intelligent. You who stand in front of me are no other than Maharshi Ribhu. Pray bless me.

Then Ribhu said, O Nidagha! Once you served me with great faith and devotion and welcomed me in your house. You bestowed on me great honour. So bound by the cords of your affection I, known as Ribhu, have come to you once again to instruct you in the knowledge of the Self. O thou of high intellect! Always behold the one reality of the Self in all objects of the world. May you see oneness everywhere and not duality. Saying thus Ribhu departed.

Nidagha contemplated over the nectar-like words of his Guru and attained union with the Para Brahman. He was never again deluded by the charms of Maya. The world of duality entirely vanished and he saw the one homogeneous essence in every object from a blade of grass to the state of the Brahma.

Ribhu Gita – Non-Dual Wisdom, Self-Knowledge, and Absolute Truth

Ribhu Gita is a profound spiritual text that teaches the highest non-dual wisdom. It presents the truth that the real self is pure consciousness, beyond body, mind, ego, time, space, birth, death, and all limitations. The teaching is direct, powerful, and uncompromising. It does not merely guide the seeker toward moral improvement or devotional feeling, but points straight to the realization of the absolute truth.

The central message of Ribhu Gita is that Brahman alone is real. The world of names, forms, thoughts, objects, and experiences appears through ignorance, but the underlying reality is one, changeless, and infinite. Human beings suffer because they identify with the body and mind and forget their true nature. When this ignorance is removed, the self is known as ever free, ever pure, and ever complete.

Ribhu Gita repeatedly emphasizes that the seeker is not the body. The body is born, grows, changes, becomes old, and dies. It is seen and known as an object. The true self is the witness of the body, not the body itself. Similarly, the seeker is not the mind. Thoughts come and go, emotions rise and fall, desires appear and disappear, but awareness remains. This awareness is the real self.

The teaching also denies the final reality of ego. Ego says, “I am the doer,” “I am the enjoyer,” “This is mine,” and “I am separate.” From ego arise desire, fear, pride, attachment, and sorrow. Ribhu Gita cuts through this false identity by declaring that the real “I” is not the limited personality, but pure Brahman. This realization destroys the root of bondage.

Ribhu Gita is especially important for seekers of Jnana Yoga. It encourages deep discrimination between the real and the unreal. Whatever changes cannot be the ultimate truth. The body changes, the mind changes, the world changes, and all experiences change. The witness of all change alone is steady. That witness is not separate from Brahman.

The text also teaches that liberation is not something newly created. The self is already free. Bondage is only a product of ignorance and false identification. Just as the rope was never truly a snake, the self was never truly bound. When knowledge dawns, the illusion of bondage disappears. This is the essence of non-dual realization.

Ribhu Gita does not ask the seeker to hate the world. It asks them to understand the world correctly. From the practical standpoint, duties, relationships, and actions continue. But from the highest standpoint, all names and forms are appearances in consciousness. The wise person lives in the world without being inwardly bound by it.

Meditation on the truth is an important way to absorb this teaching. The seeker should repeatedly reflect, “I am not the body, not the mind, not the ego. I am pure consciousness, peaceful and complete.” This is not imagination, but a method of removing wrong identification. Through steady contemplation, the mind becomes quiet and the truth becomes clearer.

Ribhu Gita also teaches fearlessness. Fear belongs to the ego and body-consciousness. When a person thinks they are limited, they fear loss, disease, death, insult, and failure. But the self is not touched by these changes. The realization of Brahman brings courage, peace, and inner freedom. The seeker learns to stand as the witness of all experiences.

Purity of mind is necessary to understand such a direct teaching. A restless mind full of anger, greed, pride, jealousy, and desire cannot easily grasp non-dual truth. Truthfulness, self-control, compassion, humility, devotion, meditation, and selfless service prepare the mind. When the mind becomes pure, the words of wisdom become living experience.

Ribhu Gita is not meant for empty repetition or intellectual pride. A person may say, “All is Brahman,” but if ego, anger, and attachment still rule the heart, realization has not become firm. True understanding must show itself as peace, humility, detachment, compassion, and freedom from selfishness. Non-duality should not become an excuse for laziness or moral carelessness.

The teaching is also deeply practical in daily life. When pain comes, remember that pain belongs to the body or mind, not to the true self. When praise comes, do not become proud. When blame comes, do not become broken. When desire arises, observe it as a movement in the mind. Such practice slowly shifts identity from the changing personality to the changeless awareness.

Ribhu Gita finally points to silence beyond words. The highest truth cannot be fully captured by language. Words can guide, negate error, and point the way, but realization is direct inner knowledge. When the mind becomes still and ignorance ends, the seeker recognizes that the self has always been Brahman.

In the end, Ribhu Gita is a powerful declaration of absolute non-dual wisdom. It teaches that the self is not limited, bound, impure, or separate. The real nature of the seeker is pure consciousness, one with Brahman. Through discrimination, contemplation, purity, meditation, and firm knowledge, ignorance is removed. Then life is seen in the light of truth, and the seeker rests in peace, freedom, and eternal fullness.

Illustrations in Vedanta