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The Heart of Awareness

A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita

Author Thomas Byrom
Translated by Thomas Byrom
Paperback
$19.95 US
Shambhala
5-1/2"W x 8-1/2"H | 13 oz | 44 per carton
On sale Jun 16, 2026 | 144 Pages | 9781645475040
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The Ashtavakra Gita conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.
"This is an extraordinarily fine rendering of the Ashtavakra Gita , a book of unadorned compassion. As water wears away stone, so these profoundly simple truths wear away illusion."—Ram Dass



"Byrom's exquisitely clean and untroubled rendering of this spiritual classic irresistibly invites us to listen for what cannot be heard and to search for what cannot be seen."—Jacob Needleman, author of The Heart of Philosophy and Lost Christianity



"There have been English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita before, this is not only new and elegant but also the first to capture the spirit of the original in its freshness and directness. I warmly recommend it."—J. L. Brockington, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit, Edinburgh University
Thomas Byrom, Ph.D., was educated at Oxford and Harvard universities and taught literature at St. Catherine's College and Exeter College.
Thomas Byrom View titles by Thomas Byrom

About

The Ashtavakra Gita conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.

Praise

"This is an extraordinarily fine rendering of the Ashtavakra Gita , a book of unadorned compassion. As water wears away stone, so these profoundly simple truths wear away illusion."—Ram Dass



"Byrom's exquisitely clean and untroubled rendering of this spiritual classic irresistibly invites us to listen for what cannot be heard and to search for what cannot be seen."—Jacob Needleman, author of The Heart of Philosophy and Lost Christianity



"There have been English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita before, this is not only new and elegant but also the first to capture the spirit of the original in its freshness and directness. I warmly recommend it."—J. L. Brockington, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit, Edinburgh University

Author

Thomas Byrom, Ph.D., was educated at Oxford and Harvard universities and taught literature at St. Catherine's College and Exeter College.
Thomas Byrom View titles by Thomas Byrom

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