Nirvana Shatakam – Shankara's Six Verses on Freedom (Residential Meetup)

Most spiritual paths offer you something to attain – a state to reach, a practice to perfect, a better version of yourself to become. The Nirvana Shatakam (also called Atma Shatakam) takes a different approach entirely…

Composed by Adi Shankara over a thousand years ago, these six deceptively simple verses don't ask you to add anything to yourself. Instead, they systematically remove what was never yours to begin with – the accumulated layers of mistaken identity that create the experience of limitation, inadequacy, and endless seeking.

The text belongs to Advaita Vedanta (non duality), India's rigorous tradition of self-inquiry. But this isn't abstract philosophy. Shankara structured each verse with precision: three lines that negate what you are not, followed by a fourth that points to what remains when the confusion clears (your limitless nature that never left you). 

The text is a complete methodology designed for the eternal, ever-green teaching to land at the level of lived experience, not just intellectual agreement.

Over seven months, we'll unpack these verses line by line in detail, connecting the teaching to your daily life.

What You'll Learn

• How confusion or ignorance works – mistaking yourself for the body, mind, emotions, and roles you play
• The difference between changing your experience and understanding the experiencer “behind” each experience
• How self-knowledge differs from self-improvement – and why the distinction matters
• The six internal enemies (desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy) – not as things to conquer, but as movements that don't belong to the “I” you actually are
• Why pursuing security, pleasure, and even liberation keeps you trapped in seeking
• Why you've never actually been bound – and what keeps that recognition hidden
• What it means to recognise yourself as the sought rather than the seeker

About the Teacher

Andre Vas has been teaching the Bhagavad Gita and various Vedic texts for over 8 years full time under Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) lineage. He conducts Vedanta residential retreats twice a year (Germany and India). He’s known for a teaching style that makes the knowledge actually stick – by connecting traditional methodology to emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and personal growth – so students move from “I understand it” to a real, lived perceptual shift in daily life.

As a former successful business owner, he spent years navigating the complexities of negotiation and commerce. This experience allows him to deeply relate to householders, professionals, and parents who are juggling family, work, and business commitments. Now teaching full-time, he draws on this practical background to show how spiritual wisdom applies directly to the challenges of daily life. More.

Who This Is For

• No prior background in Vedanta or Indian philosophy is required. What's needed is a willingness to question assumptions you may not have known you were making.
• This immersion is for anyone who notices that the usual approaches to fulfilment – acquiring more, achieving more, becoming a better version of yourself – don't stick.
• One for whom liberation is a BURNING desire, but at the same time is relatively accomplished in the world.
• For one who's hungry for knowledge – a thinker who wants to know, understand, assimilate – and live it.

When & Where?

💰 Cost? Most essentials – sunlight, air, plants – are free. It’s usually the man-made non-essentials that come with a price tag. A bit ironic. In the same spirit, this knowledge is considered essential, so it's offered freely. Donations are welcome but not expected as teacher is financially self-sufficient.

📗 Text: Nirvana Shatakam (download).

📅 When? 21st Feb 2026. Each Saturday at 2:00-4:00pm in Melbourne.

🎧 Streaming on Zoom? Yes. After registration, link will be sent. What time to login? Type your city here.

📍 Where is it? In a spacious house in Blackburn, Melbourne. You'll get address after registration.

Ready to Join?

Ready to join? If you're ready to discover what's been true about you all along, register below.