Ancient India·Ancient (Vedic)
ऋभु
Sage Ribhu
The Teacher of Brahma Vidya to Nidagha
He came back lifetime after lifetime for the sake of one disciple.
“All this is Brahman alone. There is nothing other than Brahman. The whole universe is Brahman. You are Brahman. I am Brahman. Contemplate this without doubt.”
Ribhu Gita
Life
Sage Ribhu appears in the ancient Vedic and Puranic literature as a mind-born son of Brahma, one of the primal sages through whom divine knowledge was transmitted to the world. His principal role in the spiritual tradition is as the guru of Nidagha, to whom he taught the highest Advaita.
The Ribhu-Nidagha story, found in the Vishnu Purana, is one of the most beloved teaching tales in Vedanta. Ribhu instructed Nidagha in Brahma Vidya, but Nidagha, though brilliant, kept falling back into duality, into distinctions between high and low, sacred and profane, guru and disciple. Ribhu returned to test and teach him again and again over the course of lifetimes.
In the most famous episode, Ribhu visits Nidagha in disguise in a city. A royal procession passes by, and Ribhu asks who is the king and who is the elephant. Nidagha proudly explains: 'The one on top is the king, the one below is the elephant.' Ribhu presses: 'What do you mean by on top and below?' Through this simple, devastating questioning, Nidagha's mind dissolves into the recognition of non-dual reality.
The Ribhu Gita, a section of the Shiva Rahasya Purana, presents Ribhu's teachings to Nidagha in extraordinary detail: over 2,000 verses of unrelenting non-dual declaration. Sri Ramana Maharshi held the Ribhu Gita in the highest regard, recommending it to advanced seekers and having it read aloud regularly at Ramanasramam. He considered it second only to silence as a means of Self-realization.
One Heart
“There is no creation, no dissolution, no bondage, no liberation. There is no seeker, no seeking. This is the ultimate truth: Brahman alone is.”
Teachings
Brahman Alone Exists
There is no world, no individual soul, no God apart from Brahman. All apparent multiplicity is like a dream, vivid while it lasts, but without substance. Only the dreamer is real.
Negate Everything That is Not the Self
The body is not the Self. The mind is not the Self. The senses, the breath, the intellect: none of these are the Self. What remains when all that is not-Self is negated is Brahman, pure and infinite.
Abide as Brahman
The highest practice is not meditation on an object but abidance as Brahman itself, the natural state of being-consciousness-bliss that requires no effort, no technique, and no intermediary.
Works & Publications
Ribhu Gita
Part of the sixth section of the Shiva Rahasya Purana, over 2,000 verses of Ribhu's teaching to Nidagha. A text of extraordinary power, revered by Ramana Maharshi as one of the most direct expositions of Advaita ever composed.
Ribhu-Nidagha Dialogue (Vishnu Purana)
The famous teaching story found in the Vishnu Purana, where Ribhu tests and liberates his disciple Nidagha through a series of encounters across lifetimes.
An Inspiration
The Ribhu Gita's relentless declaration ('All is Brahman, Brahman alone') is the very essence of what Ananta points to in satsang. Ramana Maharshi's love for this text speaks to its power as a direct instrument of awakening.