''Dāsbodh'', loosely meaning "advice to the disciple" in Marathi, is a 17th-century bhakti (devotion) and jnana (insight) spiritual text. It was orally narrated by the saint

Samarth Ramdas Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman. Early life Ramdas or previously N ...

to his disciple, Kalyan Swami. The ''Dāsbodh'' provides readers with spiritual guidance on matters such as devotion and acquiring knowledge. Besides this, it also helps in answering queries related to day-to-day life and how to find solutions to it.

Background

The ''Dāsbodha'' was written in 1654 by

Swāmi (1608-1681), a

satguru ''Satguru'' ( sa, सत्गुरु), or ''sadguru'' ( sa, सद्गुरु), means the 'true guru' in Sanskrit. The term is distinguished from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

saint from Maharashtra, in the local

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of t ...

. It is a comprehensive volume in verse form providing instructions on the religious life, presented in the format of a conversation between a Guru and disciple. The narration is believed to have taken place in a cave called Shivthar Ghal (pronounced shiv-ther-gaal) in the

Raigad district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: �aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Marath ...

of Maharashtra.

Style

''Dāsbodh'' is written in the verse form known as ''owi'' (''ōvyā'') in Marathi. The volume comprises 7751 ''owi'' and is divided into 20 chapters, each chapter consisting of ten sub-chapters. Each of these sub-chapters varies in the number of stanzas, but averages around 30-40 stanzas (ovi) per sub-chapter, with some being considerably longer. Chapters: # Hymns in praise # Signs of fools # Assessment of Self attributes # Nine stages of communion # Sacred formula of Almighty # Search for God # Fourteen Brahmas # Chapter on Knowledge and Illusion # Attributes and Forms # Life flame of the world # In the name of world # Prudence and Renunciation # Name and Form # Uninterrupted meditation # Soul # Sun and Dynasty # Creation and Creator # Multifacted # Teaching # Complete-whole

''Dāsbodh'' prescribes the path of devotion to God or "Bhakti mārg", and the path of Knowledge or "Jñana Marg" for liberation. Through knowledge, Ramdas clears away all doubts and gives the understanding of one's "True Self". Ramdas also reveals the true meaning and significance of "Discrimination" and "Detachment". It deals with diverse aspects of human life such as politics, conducting business dealings and taking care of one's body and family life. One of the key messages given by Saint Ramdas is to not be lazy, as he always encouraged aspirants to earn the livelihood in a virtuous manner. The person who is ready to work will always be fortunate. Common man normally does not want to work and expects everything from God without an effort. In ''Dasbodh'', Samartha Ramdas presents the essence of many Vedic texts. ''Dasbodh'' is a manual for life, in the highest sense, and is somewhat unusual among spiritual literature in that it not only expounds the classic themes of discrimination between the true and the untrue and the detachment commonly found in Vedic literature, but also provides a detailed instruction on how to function and excel in society from a place of deep spiritual understanding. Contained within the chapters of ''Dasbodh'', Ramdas outlines the path of liberation through Devotion and Knowledge. Through knowledge, Ramdas clears away all doubts and gives the understanding of one's "True Self." Ramdas also reveals the true meaning and significance of "Discrimination" and "Detachment." Entire volumes could be written in trying to describe all that is contained within the text. It draws upon ancient Vedic texts including, but not limited to; The

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, the Shashtras, the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

, the Avadhut Gita, the '' Bhagavad Gita'', the Rama Gita, the Yogavasishtha, the

Guru Gita The Guru Gita (Song of the Guru) is a Hindu scripture that is said to have been authored by the sage Vyasa. The verses of this scripture may also be chanted. The text is part of the larger ''Skanda Purana''. There are several versions of the Guru ...

, and the

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

, to name a few. Mainly what is presented in ''Dasbodh'' is the voice of direct experience itself. ''Dasbodha'' is an epic written by Shree Samarth. Whatever he wanted to tell the world he has conveyed through ''Dasbodha'' in a candid manner. As per the tradition in his times he wrote it in the Owi form. The contents of the book are simple, straightforward and easy to understand. It is so simple that sometimes it seems to be a prose. ''Dasbodha'' is divided in 20 main parts called as Dashak each of which contains 10 sub parts which are called as Samasas. The total Owis number 7751. Each Owi is made up of 4 lines. After being blessed by Lord Ram he wrote the Old ''Dasbodha''. One finds the freshness, fearlessness and candidness of a person blessed with the ultimate knowledge just recently in it. After a while he started with the continuation of the work and completed up to the 7th Dashak to which he added the Dashak he had written earlier, called the Dashak of knowledge. Then throughout his life he continued writing for the Dasbodha which amounted to another 12 Dashaks. These were added to the earlier 8 ones and the final volume of the Dasbodha as we know it now was prepared just 2 months prior to the time when Shree Samarth left his mortal body. At the end of the book he has unassumingly asked the readers to study, ponder over, introspect and not just only read the whole ''Dasbodha''.

Popularity

''Dāsbodh'' has been popular for many years in India. Only recently has it begun to receive recognition in the West. ''Dāsbodh'' is recommended by the Inchegeri Sampradaya, including Shri

Siddharameshwar Maharaj Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj (1888–1936) was a guru in the Inchagiri Sampradaya founded by his guru Bhausaheb Maharaj, a branch of the Navnath Sampradaya, the 'Nine Masters' tradition in India. His disciples included Nath teachers Nisargadat ...

Translations

''Dāsbodh'' has been translated into many Indian and other languages including German, English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujrathi and Sindhi.http://www.Dāsbodh.com Dāsbodh.com : Online library containing ''Dāsbodh'' in various languages * Sanskrit * Hindi (four different authors (Chitrashala press Poona copy, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, copy, Hindi Sahitya Kutir, Banaras copy and Quills Ink)) ** * Telugu (Sundaraiyya vidnyan kendram copy and Vedavyas Mudraksharshala chittur copy) * Kannada * Tamil * Sindhi * English (four different authors) ** **

References

External links

{{wikisourcelang, mr, दासबोध, Dasbodh (in Marathi)
An English translation of the ''Dāsbodh'' (PDF)
http://www.sadgurubhagwanshreedharswamimaharaj.com/Dāsbodh.pdf
Online library containing ''Dāsbodh'' in various languages and other literature by Samarth Ramdas Swami

Shri ''Dasbod''h of Shri Samartha Ramdas (Original Marathi)
- Free Download at archive.org

Inchegiri Navnath Sadguru Ramakant Maharaj, Ranjit Maharaj, Nisargadatta, Siddharameshwar Talk on enormous value of Dasbodh (Telegram Channel dedicated to Masters)
Hindu texts 1654 books 17th-century Indian books Advait Mat Advaita Marathi-language literature Books about spirituality Inchegeri Sampradaya