As interesting and enlightening as the works of modern writers are, some of us are drawn to the ancient texts. One such very old writing is the “Ashtavakra Gita”.
Manuel Schoch, in his book Bitten by the Blacksnake reprints Ashtavakra’s sutras and then expounds upon them and what they mean for us in our daily lives.
Little is known about Ashtavakra, but it is believed he lived around the 4th or 5th century BC, which could have had him predating Buddha or at least his contemporary.
The sutras are meant to reflect a dialogue between Ashtavakra and King Janaka on the nature of the soul, reality, and bondage and the means to liberation.
The format in the book is to present a sutra and then follow it up with commentary. This allows the reader to form his own conclusions before reading any explanation. Bitten by the Blacksnake is very well done in this way.
I had never read the Ashtavakra Gita, so I was totally unfamiliar with it. I was surprised at the clarity of the words. The author’s commentary made it even more meaningful in our modern life. Through this format in examining six different sutras, Ashtavakra and Schoch make an excellent team.
These passages cover suffering, misery, happiness, sense of doership, peace, bondage, witnessing consciousness, ego, stillness, fear, detachment, and awareness. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? All of these words are used in spiritual writings found today.
There is such an amazing amount of wisdom in this book. I found that I enjoyed it even more than the “Heart of the Ribhu Gita”, of which Ramana Maharshi said repeated reading of this in itself could bring liberation.
Swiss mystic and therapist Manuel Schoch presents Bitten by the Black Snake: The Ancient Wisdom of Ashtavakra, an interpretation of and commentary upon the timeless wisdom of the ancient Indian text of Ashtavakra, from the classic Vedanta period. Rendering the concepts into modern-day terms accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Bitten by the Black Snake reveals how to observe, rather than engage in the continual struggle created by the black snake of one's ego. Rather than identifying oneself through body, thoughts, feeling, habits, and experience, one can become connected to the everlasting consciousness that manifests these. "As Ashtavakra says, if you desire liberation, stop dealing with the mind. The Buddha said it differently - that enlightenment is the ending of identification. Only thoughts and fast and slow feelings can be identified with. You can never identify with the atmosphere; you cannot say this is my atmosphere. Climate cannot be identified with, but you can feel it even though you cannot grasp it as your own." A powerful description of how to rest in the stillness that generates the highest qualities of life, love, peace, compassion, and enlightenment.
