In India and abroad, Bhagwad Gita is read by most of the Hindus and the liberal followers of the other religions also. This holy book has a divine message of living a multi-dimensional life without renouncing the world. One can choose to be a devotee, a karmayogi, a warrior like Arjuna, and at the same time, can be in total surrender to God, not looking for any reward. For most of us, even this too may be difficult as we often become victims to our ambition and ego very easily. But still it is quite easy for a large number of people to understand Gita. Osho has given over 200 discourses on it, and a large number of people have been reading and relishing them. Thousands of people did throng to Osho’s public discourses at the open grounds of Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
After these public discourses, Osho moved to his ashram in Pune and settled there. There he chose to talk on Ashtavakra Gita, calling it Mahageeta. There was no big crowd, just a couple of thousands of seekers. There is an incidence in the life of Vivekananda. When he came to Ramakrishna his name was still Narendranath – later on Ramakrishna named him Vivekananda. As Narendranath, he was extremely argumentative, an theist, a rationalist. He wanted a proof for everything. He wanted the proof of God’s existence.
Ramakrishna urged him to read out a few lines from a book Ashtavakra Gita lying there. He said to him: “You are young, you are still strong – read from the book lying there. Read a little but read it aloud to me.” Vivekananda read just three or four sutras and he started shaking, every cell of his body began trembling. He said, “I cannot read on.” Ramakrishna insisted, “Go ahead and read. What harm can there be in it? How can this book hurt you? You are young, your eyes are still fresh, and I am old, it is hard for me to read. I must hear this book – read it out to me.” It is said that Vivekananda kept on reading aloud from the book – and disappeared in meditation.
Osho concludes: Why did Ramakrishna ask that he read the Ashtavakra Gita out aloud to him? Because there is no purer statement of truth. If these words penetrate you, they will start awakening your sleeping soul. These words will fill you with ecstasy. This is an inner revolution, a metamorphosis. Osho talks poetically on the famous dialogue between the ancient mystic Ashtavakra and King Janak. By the end of the dialogue, King Janak is enlightened. These profound discourses are aptly titled: Enlightenment — The Only Revolution.
