Anu Gita is the section in the Mahabharata that follows the Bhagavad Gita. Anu Gita literally means ‘following the Gita’. It re-states the religious, philosophical and spiritual teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.
Occurring in the Ashwamedha Parva of the epic, Anu Gita
consists of 36 chapters. Yudhisthira has settled down to rule. Bhagavan Sri
Krishna, after reviving Parikshita, the still-born child, takes leave of the
five Pandava brothers. Arjuna requests Bhagavan Sri Krishna to teach him once
again the fundamental principles of life, as he had done on the battlefield
before the commencement of the Bharata war. Sri Krishna’s teachings make the
contents of Anu Gita.
Bhagavan Sri Krishna says that permanent happiness is
nowhere to be found in the empirical world nor is there any ever-enduring
state. There will always be change. The enjoyable and pleasing states of life
give way to painful, unhappy states. Though there may be loving relations,
separation from dear ones will inevitably occur. Life will include the company
of both desirable and undesirable people. All acquired wealth will be lost
ultimately. At the end of life, the body and the mind both deteriorate.
The results of actions, however, both good and bad, do not
perish. Their fruits are reaped in this or in succeeding births. One should, therefore,
gradually renounce everything little by little, freeing oneself from all
actions and initiatives. The one who becomes pure at heart, self-controlled,
considering all beings as his own self, who has neither ego nor pride, attains
freedom from the dualities of life and consequently from rebirth. Such a one,
in the word of Anu Gita, has the conviction that ‘knowledge is supreme and renunciation
is the great penance’, and that ‘truth is wisdom’. He looks upon all beings as
his own self. He regards Brahman as truth, penance as truth, the creator as
truth, and the whole world with its contents as truth. It is he who attains
supreme bliss. This, briefly, is the message of Anu Gita.