AMRTASTAKAM – A VEDANTIC INQUIRY INTO SUPREME DEVOTION

COMMENTARY ON EIGHT VERSES FROM THE BHAGAVAD-GITA WITH EXAMPLES FROM THE LIFE&TEACHINGS OF SRI MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI

The Bhagavad-Gita is one of the core texts of the Indian spiritual tradition. Its 18 chapters present the very essence of spirituality. As Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) says: „The Bhagavad-Gita is verily a distillation of the Vedas. It has followed down to us like the Ganges through the grace of God. Miraculously, even though it is a distillation, it retains the depth and expansiveness of the original. It has thus become regarded as the very symbol of Sanatana Dharma.“

Here, Swami Ramakrishnananda analyzes eight verses from the 12th chapter of the Gita that are referred to collectively as the Amrtastakam. In these „Eight Immoral Verses“, we find a presentation of the qualities, characteristics and mental attitudes of an individual who has attained to the peak of spirituality, what the Gita refers to as supreme devotion.