AGASTYA GITA
Content
. Introduction
. Sage Agastya
. Teachings of the Agastya Gita
. Conclusion
Introduction
The Agastya Gita is contained in the Varaha Purana which is one of the 18 Mahapuranas in chapters 51 and 52.The Varaha Purana describes in detail the Varaha(boar) avatar of Vishnu and the rescue of the Earth. It consists of 218 chapters and is divided into two parts, Purvabhaga and Uttarabhaga. The mythological stories in it can be viewed in two planes, the concrete and the abstract. The concrete shows the characters figuring in the stories and the abstract by the qualities they represent. The Varaha Purana is in the form of a conversation between Varaha and Dharani the earth helped by Varaha carrying her in his tusk and Suta is the mythological narrator here. The entire Purana is in reply to Earth’s questions to the Lord on creation, evolution, dissolution of the world, right conduct, virtues and ultimate liberation from the cycles of birth and death. The Agastya Gita gives an exposition of Moksha dharma and Karmakanda as expounded in the Vedas and explains liberation and evolution on the basis of Samkhya philosophy.
Sage Agastya
Agastya was a great sage in Hindu philosophy. He composed many verses in the Rig Veda and was one of the great Saptarishis. He is said to have been the first to hear the Lalitha Sahasranama from Hayagriva. He composed the Shiva samhitas and some Shiva Agamas. He taught Lord Rama the Aditya Hridayam Stotra in praise of the Sun God in preparation of his battle against Ravana. He has contributed to astrology and developed the Siddha Vaidya or Nadi Vaidya form of medicine. Agastya Samhita is one of his great works. He is considered to be one of the Chiranjeevis or immortals who live forever solely for the welfare of the world. He is said to have helped in the development of the Tamil language.
Teachings of the Agastya Gita
Varaha told Earth that Sage Agastya returned to the residence of Bhadrasva. Bhadrasva then asked him to explain to him about Moksha Dharma and how worldly bondage and sorrows could be removed. To this, Agastya related a story of King Pasupala who was looking after numerous beasts. He saw a forest full of snakes, eight trees and a river. Five important persons moved there and one of them was holding an effulgent woman. In her chest the woman was holding a person who was shining and luminous having three colours and three divisions. As soon as they saw the king, they combined and became a single being. The King was then encircled by the serpents and he wondered how to escape from them. Then as he was thinking, a person with three colours came out of his body. He denoted Buddhi or Intellect and the woman he confronted was Maya. It is maya or illusion which binds us to the world. Maya is said to be existent as well as nonexistent and the illusion disappears only when the light of knowledge shines on the seeker just as a rope is mistaken for a snake causing fright until a lamp is lit. Thus the Brahman is the only reality in which the world of Maya appears to exist. When real knowledge dawns, Maya disappears. The King then became resplendent and all his sins disappeared. All elements became unified in him. Agastya then explained about the five elements. He then said that with non attachment and desirelessness, the soul gets liberated. It is eternal and immutable and abides in the Brahman. The tricoloured person who came out of his body said that he was Pasupala’s son but Pasupala wanted no attachment so he released the son and others also and stood alone.
Agastya said that the tricoloured son denoted ego, Aham the sense of ‘I’ or ‘mine’. The ego is of three types depending on which of the attributes are dominant, transparent ego, active ego and static ego. The world of experience and cognition, everything issues out of the ego. All sufferings and calamities occur due to the ego. The false association of the self with physical elements gives rise to egoism. This is termed as delusion. It is the source of all sins. With the sword of wisdom, the very root of ego sense has to be cut off. Destroying ego sense through self enquiry is renunciation. It leads to realisation of the Absolute and results in supreme bliss. By Abhyasa or constant practice, the world of illusion that binds us is cut off and one rises beyond the vagaries of the mind to attain equanimity unaffected by the dualities of life. By the grace of the guru illumination dawns. Everything in the Universe is Pure Consciousness. It permeates the entire Universe. Agastya then explained how Pasupala began performance of rituals, worship, reading of scriptures etc as means of self realisation. Pasupala denoted the concrete Purusha and descriptions of his sons and other entities are symbolic of his sense organs of perception and cognition and other abstract aspects of mind, body, elements etc.
Conclusion
Sage Agastya explained the concepts of Moksha dharma and the ways in which the Jivatma can attain the Paramatma through devotion, renunciation and the grace of the guru.