Lulla Family

The Rama Gita

॥
The Rama Gita
Adhyatma Ramayana · Uttara Kanda · Canto 5
62 shlokas, held in eight parts. Once the coronation is over, Lakshmana puts a single question to Ramachandra: “Brother, teach me the knowledge of Brahman.” What Rama says in answer comes to us as a brief and direct teaching of Vedanta.
अज्ञानमेवास्य हि मूलकारणं तद्धानमेवात्र विधौ विधीयते।
विद्यैव तन्नाशविधौ पटीयसी न कर्म तज्जं सविरोधमीरितम् ॥
“The root cause of the world is ignorance itself, and it is the destruction of that ignorance that is prescribed here. Only knowledge is able to erase that ignorance; the action that springs from it cannot.” This is the heart from which the whole Rama Gita opens.
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Introduction

A luminous non-dual color illustration expressing the Adhyatma Ramayana's vision: Sri Rama as the supreme Brahman, blue-complexioned and radiant, seated in serene majesty enveloped in boundless golden light, the still ground of all being. Around him a single shimmering veil of Maya unfolds into the play of the manifold world, the seamless one appearing as the many; the cosmos arising from and resting within his luminous form. Sita is suggested only as the gentle luminous veil of Maya inseparable from him, not as a separate crowned figure. Classical-Indian painterly style, deep indigo and gold, vast oneness and quiet awe; no text or watermark.

The Adhyatma Ramayana is a Ramayana of a different kind. Valmiki’s Ramayana is mainly story, and its weight falls on the greatness of Rama. The Adhyatma Ramayana is composed through the lens of Vedanta, where Rama himself is Brahman, Sita is maya, and the whole story of Rama becomes a discourse on non-duality.

By tradition the author of this text is held to be Vyasa. Its present form settled around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In those same days a new flowering of Vedanta was underway, and many texts came forward under the name “Adhyatma,” of which this one is the most honored.

A tender color illustration in classical-Indian miniature style: the coronation now complete, Sri Rama sits calm and majestic upon the royal throne of Ayodhya in fine silks and crown, a faint serene smile on his blue-hued face as though awaiting this very moment. Beside him, quietly seated on the marble floor, the composed Lakshmana looks toward his elder brother with a question stirring within, hands joined. Behind them the peace of the palace after the long forest exile and war; courtiers stand at a respectful distance. Jewel tones, golden lamplight, restrained reverent mood; no other figures crowd the brothers; no text or watermark.

The “Rama Gita” comes in the Uttara Kanda of this same Adhyatma Ramayana. The coronation is complete. Rama is seated on the royal throne. Lakshmana sits quietly nearby. Fourteen years of exile in the forest, then war, and now this peace. Yet one question rests within him.

He goes close to his elder brother, folds his hands, and makes his appeal, “Raghunatha, explain one thing to me. People in the world perform karma, they offer yajnas, they study the shastras. Still there is no end to sorrow. Is there some single reality by which peace is found?”

A gentle smile comes to Rama’s face, as though he had been waiting for this very moment. Seated now as a guru, in 62 shlokas he lifts up the whole of Vedanta and sets it before Lakshmana.

The Rama Gita is a brief, direct, and authoritative presentation of Advaita Vedanta. It runs a middle path between the philosophical tone of Shankaracharya and the utterly fearless tone of Ashtavakra, and Vedanta stands here in its full form. What a seeker should read, what a seeker should do, and what happens after sadhana, all of it is held within these same 62 shlokas.

Brief as it is, this Gita has drawn many commentaries. Anandagiri, the renowned commentator of Adi Shankaracharya’s Advaita tradition, composed a detailed exposition of it. Even today, for those who wish to hold Rama-bhakti and the knowledge of non-duality together in one heart, this is a foundational text.

We have divided this Gita into eight thematic parts, because reading shloka after shloka lets the inner current slip away. Each part rests on a single theme. Read slowly, pause at some passages, and let Rama’s simple, deep words flow within you.

Eight Parts

The 62 shlokas are arranged into eight thematic parts. Each part carries the Sanskrit original, its transliteration, and a full meaning.

Part 1
The Question and the Beginning
Lakshmana’s question, and Rama’s first word: without knowledge, action is in vain.
 Part 2
Knowledge and Action
Why action alone is not enough, and why knowledge holds the highest place.
 Part 3
Discernment of the Five Sheaths
The five sheaths: food, breath, mind, intellect, bliss. The “I” beyond them all.
 Part 4
The Nature of Non-Duality
The atman is one, Brahman is one, and the two are one and the same.
 Part 5
The Play of Maya
How the many rose up out of the one. The magic of maya, and its root.
 Part 6
The Path of Sadhana
Hearing, reflection, deep meditation. The nature of the guru, and the fitness of the disciple.
 Part 7
The State of the Liberated
The conduct of the one liberated while living, and their inner state.
 Part 8
The Conclusion
Rama’s final word, and to whom this teaching should be given, and to whom it should not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this “Rama Gita” in Valmiki’s Ramayana?

No. It is in the Adhyatma Ramayana, which differs from Valmiki’s Ramayana and sets out the philosophy of Vedanta in the form of the story of Rama. This Gita comes in Canto 5 of its Uttara Kanda.

How does it differ from the Bhagavad Gita?

The Bhagavad Gita is long (700 shlokas), this one is brief (62 shlokas). The Bhagavad Gita holds all three paths: karma, bhakti, and knowledge. The Rama Gita rests mainly on the path of knowledge. And the Bhagavad Gita teaches a warrior the way of karma-yoga, while the Rama Gita gives a brother the knowledge of Brahman.

Is this only the path of knowledge, with no bhakti in it?

It is mainly the path of knowledge, yet it holds a rare confluence of non-duality and bhakti. Rama himself is Brahman, so here bhakti and knowledge no longer stand apart. Surrender to Rama is itself surrender to the atman.

What does “pancha-kosha” mean?

A meditative diagrammatic color illustration of the five sheaths (pancha-kosha) teaching: a seated human figure shown as five luminous concentric layers, from the outermost physical body (annamaya) inward through the breath-sheath (pranamaya), the mind-sheath (manomaya), the intellect-sheath (vijnanamaya), to the innermost subtle bliss-sheath (anandamaya), each rendered as a softly glowing translucent shell in graded jewel hues. At the silent center burns a single steady flame of pure awareness, the witnessing 'I' that stands beyond and apart from all five coverings. Classical-Indian devotional palette, gold and indigo, contemplative stillness; no text or watermark.

This is an idea from the Taittiriya Upanishad. The five coverings of a human being: annamaya (the body), pranamaya (prana), manomaya (the mind), vijnanamaya (the intellect), and anandamaya (the sheath of bliss). The “I” is beyond these five, the witness of them all.

If I am not a Brahmin, is it still right for me to read this?

Yes. Most of the teaching of the Rama Gita is meant for everyone. Keep only this in mind, that it was composed for the seeker who wishes, from the heart, to understand non-duality. To one in whom that longing has not awakened, it may seem dry.

In what order should I read?

In order, from Part 1 to Part 8. Each part moves forward by resting on the one before. Part 3 (the five sheaths) is the most subtle, and Part 6 (sadhana) the most practical. But before reaching these, it is necessary to have read the rest.

॥ श्री रामचन्द्राय नमः ॥

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