Sri Atma Gita

This is a beautiful Poem from the Bhagavat Purana written thousands of years ago. It is Krishna’s final discourse to his beloved disciple Uddhava, spoken on the eve of his departure from earth.
Sri Atma Gita
Om Sri Atma gita now I’ll sing
On hearing which a man is freed
That heart receptive to God’s word
Becomes the Lord Hari’s abode
On the wheel of change a man is turned
Until Sri Atma Gita’s heard
Even the place in which it’s sung
Becomes a sacred place of love
Oh man, seek thee the highest goal
Read or sing this song each day
True understanding thou wilt gain
And all past sins will fade away
To one who hears this song at death
A place on high and those who give
This song as gift are one with Him
Sri Krishna out of love bestows
Om O souls who yearn for truth!
Come sip Sri Krishna’s honeyed work
Who hears this song is freed from death
And gains the precious peace of God
Sri Krishna is speaking:
O noble Uddhava, remember my words
For I’ll not be around to remind you again
Give up all attachments, surrender your love
For this world of sense-objects, relations and friends
The feeling of “I” as a separate self
Must be given up if you wish to know truth
There’s only one Self which exists within all-
“Tis that very Self which you see as the world
The Self is the source of the whole universe
It fashions all forms of its own Consciousness
Though all forms are changing and soon fade away
The one conscious Self is forever the same
Therefore Uddhava, cling fast to the Self
Your mind must be steady, unswayed by the world
Your heart must be free of all selfish desire
If you wish to awake and to know who you are
When you have gained knowledge and wisdom as well
When you can feel one with the whole universe
When you’ve found the Self and in Self found delight
Then you will be free, though you live still on earth
Thus will you go beyond evil and good
Without pride or shame you’ll behave as you should
To everyone loving and gentle and kind
You’ll see naught but One, and in One keep your mind
Uddhava to Krishna:
O Krishna my God, only Soul of the world
So that I may awake please instruct me still more
My mind is so dull I’m unable to see
The way that a man from this flesh can be free
Sri Krishna is speaking:
Listen Uddhava, take refuge in me
Perform all your duties and works faithfully
But keep your heart free from all want or desire
And surrender your heart and your mind unto me
This world which the senses perceive is a dream
There’s nothing within it that is what it seems
So keep your mind steady, remembering me
And do what you must while your heart remains free
To work with the motive of pleasing oneself
Leads only to ruin and darkness within
But works that are done in the service of God
Bring freedom and peace as the fruits of reward
With your mine wide awake and remembering me
Surrender all thought of yourself and be free
Give up the false dream of “myself” and “my own”
Become one with God through devotional love
Regard all your brothers with equality
See only one Self in whatever you see
With all doubts dispelled by the bright light of truth
Awake fro the dream of this world and be free
When you’ve become free of all worldly desire
No power can shake you or move you to ire
Unstirred by words of both good men and bad
Uddhava, be free keep your mind fixed on God
Uddhava to Krishna:
O Krishna all men are aware that the world
Is changing and fleeting, a whirlpool of dust
Yet see how all men run to fill their desires
See how they’re caught in the jaws of dark lust
Though suffering and misery runs after those men
Who seek for their pleasure the objects of sense
Please tell me, dear Krishna, why it should be so
That men, like dumb beasts love suffering so?
Sri Krishna is speaking:
Uddhava such poor men do not know the truth
Nor have they the peace and contentment that comes
From knowing the bliss of the one conscious Self
Pervading this world in these myriad forms
Such men are deluded in thinking the Self
Is body and mind and the organs of sense
Betrayed by desires of the flesh they are led
By dreams of sense-pleasure until they are dead
But the man of dispassion and knowledge is wise
By giving himself to the impulse of lust
A foolish man gathers up pain for himself
He gathers the fruit of a joy that’s divine
So listen, Uddhava, give up lethargy
Keep watch on the thoughts of your mind faithfully
Withdraw your regard from the world and its play
Remember the Self with each thought every day
‘Tis this which is known as the yoga supreme
I’ve taught it to gods and I’ve taught it to men
I’ll tell you Uddhava the words which I gave
To the great sage Sanaka in a far-distant age
The question Sanaka asked of me was this:
“The mind is attracted to objects of sense
And objects of sense become fixed in the mind
How can I be free from sense objects that bind?”
But you’re neither mind nor objects of sense
When you know that Self, then true freedom you’ll find
That vision which sees many where there is one
Is sleep through one’s though one’s eyes may appear open wide
Awake from the dream of this world and be free
Dispel the dark clouds of delusion with truth
With knowledge and wisdom shed light on the Self
Realize who you are, and by knowledge be freed
What you say is true, I assured him at once
There’s only one I, ever-free and divine
The one conscious Self is the Reality
Devotion to truth is the true love indeed
Today the world is, but tomorrow it’s not
It shifts like the forms of the clouds in the sky
It is but one Consciousness seeming to be
The manifold world which the senses perceive
Withdraw from this world of appearance your mind
And give up the thirst for the pleasures of life
With mind set at rest know the bliss of the Self
And nevermore fall into error and strife
That man who has tasted the bliss of the Self
May move among objects of sense without fear
His mind never clings to the world’s misery
His heart is with God and his soul is made free
This is the secret Sanaka was taught
The goal of all men and the highest of paths
Give worship to God as the Self of your heart
See only one Self and remain unattached
Uddhava to Krishna:
Dear Krishna the sages have taught many ways
To reach to the end of man’s journey to God
I wish to know, Lord, the way that is best
Can each of these paths be as good as the rest?
Sri Krishna is speaking:
Uddhava my child, there are many ways
Which sages have shown to attain the Supreme
The pathways are many, but each of them leads
To the knowledge of God beyond scriptures or creeds
By love, or by inward control of the mind
By faith, or by wisdom, by serving mankind
All these have been taught as the way to reach God
But the best way of all is devotional love
What joy does one find in the sweet love of God!
The bliss of His love fills the whole universe
Uddhava delight in that Lord who’s within
Surrender your life in devotion to Him
As wood is burned up when it’s thrown into fire
Devotional love burns up worldly desire
By stuffy of books men may try to find joy
But God who is Love is found only through love.
Without love for God all man’s learning is vain
‘Tis only through love that true bliss is regained
With joy in his heart, that wise lover is blessed
Who serves God with love; ‘tis this path which is best
Uddhava, obtain that sweet blessing of grace
By taking the path that is followed by saints
Give worship to God through devotional hymns
Perform all your actions in service to Him
Be free from all selfish desires of the mind
Renounce everything for the love that’s divine
When your mind is surrendered and evermore true
That love which is bliss will awaken in you
This goal is the highest goal one can attain
God’s freedom and bliss in the form of a man
All pleasure, all knowledge, all power divine
Belongs to that man who’s surrendered the mind
So therefore Uddhava, restrain the desire
For outward enjoyments through organs of sense
And turn your mind inward with love to the Self
Through deep meditation regain your true wealth
Learn to be even and in poise
Be calm in the midst of the mightiest storm
Though men may upbraid you and call you false names
Remember the Self, remain ever the same
Do not allow hatred to rise up in you
Nor ever in anger return blow for blow
But keep your mind turned to the Self who’s within
And strive to be free from the bondage of sin
Uddhava to Krishna:
O Master, dear teacher, O Soul of the world
When one is insulted and false words are hurled
How hard is the task of remaining in peace!
Please show me the way I can do this with ease
Sri Krishna is speaking:
Indeed it is true there’s nothing more hard
The words of the wicked strike deep in the heart
Like arrows they lodge in the breast of a man
And Cause such a pain that he scarcely can stand
But please le me tell you Uddhava my child
A story of one who was painfully tried
By torment and misery throughout all his life
Yet ever remained free of pain and of strife
This man was once wealthy and foolishly proud
“Til fate intervened and deprived him of all
But the blow fortune dealt him was good in disguise
For he soon realized where man’s real treasure lies
With mind turned within he examined his soul
While wandering the earth as a sadhu alone
Though poor in the eyes of all men of the world
He soon became wealthy in true self-control
Now other men saw him alone and detached
And decided to test him by treating him rough
Wherever he went, he was treated with scorn
As men tried to wound him with words and with stones
But though he was treated by all men with spite
The truth of the Self he kept ever in sight
Tormented incessantly, injured and wronged
He sang in his heart this pain-dispelling song:
“No pleasure, no pain, can affect my true Self
Both suffering and pleasure belong to the mind
The Self is the witness of all the mind’s play
Remaining forevermore conscious and free
The Self, like an object reflected in glass
Appears to be mind and the whole universe
And man, by forgetting his identity
Is lost in delusion and misery
All teachings of sages have one common goal
They all teach the way to attain self-control
The highest religion consists of just this:
To bridle the mind and in truth become fixed
The uncontrolled mind is man’s sole evil foe
It vanquishes men with its weapons of woe
Forgetful of this, men see evil in men
Like fools, they forget that all evil’s within
None other can cause me to know joy or pain
For I am forever the unchanging One
The sense of delight or of sadness I find
Comes from the false notion that I am the mind
The body and mind are both subject to change
But I am the One in whom all is contained
In freedom forever, beyond shame or fear
The sweet blissful Self is the one I hold dear”
That was the song that my wise wanderer sang
Though injured and tortured by wrong-hearted men
He held to the truth and continued in peace
And crossed over the ocean of misery – to me
When you van surrender in full love to God
You’ll rise to the heights of the heaven within
In blissful awakening, you’ll know your true Self
And fathom the depths of the whole universe
And when your mind’s light becomes steady and bright
All ignorant notions will fade out of sight
The false sense of ego will then disappear
And the world of appearance will bind you no more
Your mind will be peaceful, absorbed in the Self
You’ll look on all others with equality
Beyond good or evil with ego dispelled
To nothing attached, you’ll then become free
What more can remain to be gained by that man
Whose heart’s filled with love, who has found joy within?
His words are of truth and all men are made pure
By hearing from him of the One who endures
Like fire, he is able to burn away sin
And light up the deep night of darkness within
A blessing to all, he’s like a strong ship
To carry all men ‘cross this ocean to bliss
As food sustains life and as life sustains man
That sage who is free is the savior of all
The sun in the sky who lights heaven and earth
Cannot be compared to that sage who lights hearts
Now let me tell you, Uddhava my son
The things you must do if the Truth’s to be won
By following this you will come to know bliss
Through wisdom you’ll conquer invincible death
Awake to the knowledge that God is your Self
Let all of your actions be guided by Him
Surrender your life in the service of God
And your heart will be filled with the light of His Love
Take up your abode with the holiest saints
Those sages whose lives are devoted to God
And learn by their conduct to live as you must
To see only One in this vast universe
O noble Uddhava, your sight must be pure
To see only god in this manifold world
Such vision is wisdom that sets the soul free
See only on Consciousness incessantly
By seeing in all men the spirit divine
The notion of ‘others’ abandons the mind
Realize this one truth and your heart will be free
Of anger and hatred and mean jealousy
That man who has seen God sees God everywhere
He worships the Self in all hearts as his own
This is the best mode of worship indeed
To treat all as God in one’s thought, word and deed
Such is the knowledge I pass on to you
By which in this life you may learn to be free
And loose all attachment to things passing by
And know your true Self as immortality
Dear brothers, said Suta, the tale has been told
Of Uddhava and Krishna, the one Soul of all
This song Atma Gita, His glory has told
May all men win freedom by singing this song
From the Srimad Bhagvatam Purana of old
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti