01.00 Ashtavakra Gita - Full Text
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I have gone through many texts on Ashtavakra Samhita, popularly referred to as Ashtavakra Gita. I found the one authored by Swami Nityaswarupananda to be simple and easy to understand.
This blog is an extracted English text from a book titled Ashtavakra Samhita authored by Swami Nityaswarupananda ISBN 978-81-85301-13-6 a publication of Advaita shrama 5 Delhi Entally Road, Kolkata 700 014.
Chapter 1
Instruction on Self-Realization
Janaka said:
1. How can knowledge be acquired? How can liberation be attained? How is renunciation possible? Tell me this, O Lord.
Ashtavakra replied:
2. If you aspire after liberation, my child, shun the objects of the senses as poison and seek forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment, and truth as nectar.
3. You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor space. In order to attain liberation, know the Self as the witness of all these and as Consciousness itself.
4. If you detach yourself from the body and rest in Consciousness, you will at once be happy, peaceful, and free from bondage.
5. You do not belong to the Brahmana or any other caste or to any asrama. You are not perceived by the senses. Unattached, formless, and witness of all are you. Be happy.
6. Virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, are of the mind, not of you, O all-pervading one. You are neither doer nor enjoyer. Verily you are ever free.
7. You are the one seer of all and are really ever free. Verily this alone is your bondage that you see yourself not as the seer, but as something other.
8. Do you who have been bitten by the great black serpent of the egoism ‘I am the doer’, drink the nectar of the faith ‘I am not the doer’, and be happy.
9. Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the conviction 'I am the One, and Pure Consciousness', and be free from grief and be happy.
10. You are that Consciousness, Bliss-Supreme Bliss, in and upon which this universe appears superimposed, like a snake on a rope. Live happily.
11. He who considers himself free is free indeed, and he who considers himself bound remains bound. 'As one thinks, so one becomes' is a popular saying in this world, and it is quite true.
12. The Self is witness, all-pervading, perfect, One, free, Consciousness, action-less, unattached, desireless, and quiet. Through illusion It appears as if It is of the world (i.e. subject to the ever-repeating cycle of birth and death).
13. Having given up external and internal self-modifications and the illusion 'I am the reflected (individual) self' meditate on the Atman as immutable, Consciousness, and non-dual.
14. My child, you have long been caught in the noose of body-consciousness. Sever it with the sword of the knowledge 'I am Consciousness', and be happy.
15. You are unattached, actionless, self-effulgent, and without any blemish. This indeed is your bondage that you practice meditation.
16. You pervade this universe and this universe exists in you. You are really Pure Consciousness by nature. Do not be small-minded.
17. You are unconditioned, immutable, formless, of cool disposition, of unfathomable intelligence, and unperturbed. Desire Consciousness alone.
18. Know that which has form to be unreal and the formless to be permanent. Through this spiritual instruction, you will escape the possibility of rebirth.
19. Just as a mirror exists within and without the image reflected in it, so the Supreme Self exists inside and outside this body.
20. Just as the same all-pervading space is inside and outside a jar, so the eternal, all-pervasive Brahman exists in all things.
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Chapter 2
Joy of Self Realization
Janaka said:
1. Oh, I am spotless, tranquil, Pure Consciousness, and beyond Nature. All this time I have been merely duped by illusion.
2. As I alone reveal this body, even so do I reveal this universe. Therefore mine is all this universe, or verily nothing is mine.
3. Oh, having renounced the universe, together with the body, I now perceive the Supreme Self through the secret of wisdom.
4. As waves, foam, and bubbles are not different from water, so the universe emanating from the Self is not different from It.
5. As cloth, when analysed, is found to be nothing but thread, so this universe, when analysed, is nothing but the Self.
6. Just as sugar generated in sugar-cane juice is wholly pervaded by that juice, so the universe produced in me is permeated by me through and through.
7. The world appears from the ignorance of the Self and disappears with the knowledge of the Self, just as the snake appears from the non-cognition of the rope and disappears with its recognition.
8. Light is my very nature; I am no other than light. When the universe manifests itself, verily then it is I that shine.
9. Oh, the universe appears in me, conceived through ignorance, just as silver appears in the mother of pearl, a snake in the rope, and water in the sunbeam.
10. Just as a jug dissolves into clay, a wave into water, or a bracelet into gold, so the universe which has emanated from me will dissolve into me.
11. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who know no decay and survive even on the destruction of the world, from Brahma down to a clump of grass.
12. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who, though with a body, am One, who neither go anywhere nor come from anywhere but abide pervading the universe.
13. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself! There is none so capable as I, who am bearing the universe for all eternity without touching it with the body.
14. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who have nothing or all that is thought and spoken of.
15. Knowledge, knower, and the knowable - these three do not exist in reality. I am that stainless Self in which this triad appears through ignorance.
16. Oh, the root of misery is duality. There is no other remedy for it except the realization that all objects of experience are unreal and that I am pure, One, Consciousness, and Bliss.
17. I am Pure Consciousness. Through ignorance I have imposed limitations upon myself. Constantly reflecting in this way, I am abiding in the Absolute.
18. I have neither bondage nor freedom. Having lost its support, the illusion has ceased. Oh, the universe, though existing in me, does not in reality so exist.
19. I have known for certain that the body and the universe are nothing and that the Self is Pure Consciousness alone. So on what is it now possible to base imagination?
20. Body, heaven and hell, bondage and freedom, as also fear, all these are mere imagination. What have I to do with all these? I whose nature is Pure Consciousness?
21. Oh, I do not find any duality. Even the multitude of human beings, therefore, has become like a wilderness. To what should I attach myself?
22. I am not this body, nor have I a body. I am not jiva, I am Pure Consciousness. This indeed was my bondage that I had thirst for life.
23. Oh, in me, the limitless ocean, on the rising of the wind of the mind, diverse waves of worlds are produced forthwith.
24. With the calming of the wind of the mind in the infinite ocean of myself, the ark of the universe, unfortunately for jiva the trader, meets destruction.
25. How wonderful! In me, the shoreless ocean, the waves of individual selves, according to their nature, rise, strike each other, play for a time, and disappear.
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Chapter 3
Test of Self Realization
Ashtavakra said:
1. Having known yourself as really indestructible and One, how is it that you, knower of the Self and serene, feel attached to the acquisition of wealth?
2. Alas, as greed arises from the illusion of silver caused by ignorance of the mother of pearl, even so arises attachment to the objects of illusory perception from ignorance of the Self.
3. Having known yourself to be That in which the universe appears like waves on the sea, why do you run about like a miserable being?
4. After hearing oneself to be Pure Consciousness and surpassingly beautiful, how can one yet be deeply attached to sensual objects and thus become impure?
5. It is strange that the sense of ownership should still continue in the wise one who has realized the Self in all, and all in the Self!
6. It is strange that one abiding in the supreme non-duality and intent on liberation should yet be subject to lust and weakened by the practice of amorous pastimes!
7. It is strange that knowing lust to be an enemy of Knowledge, a man who has grown extremely weak and reached his last days, should yet be eager for sensual enjoyment!
8. It is strange that one who is unattached to the objects of this world and the next, who discriminates the eternal from the transient, and who longs for emancipation, should yet fear dissolution of the body!
9. Feted and feasted or tormented, the serene person ever sees the Absolute Self and is thus neither gratified nor angry.
10. The high-souled person witnesses his own body acting as if it were another’s. As such, how can he be disturbed by praise or blame?
11. Realizing this universe as mere illusion and losing all curiosity, how can one of steady mind yet fear the approach of death?
12. With whom can we compare that great souled one who is content with Self-knowledge and does not hanker even after liberation?
13. Why should that steady-minded one who knows the object of perception to be in its very nature nothing, consider one thing acceptable and another unacceptable?
14. He who has given up worldly attachment from his mind, who is beyond the pairs of opposites, and who is free from desire, to him no experience? Coming as a matter of course causes either pleasure or pain.
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Chapter 4
Glorification of Self Realization
Janaka said:
1. Oh, the man of understanding, the knower of the Self, who plays the game of life has no similarity to the deluded beasts of burden of the world.
2. Oh, the yogin does not feel elated abiding in that state which Indra and all other gods hanker after and thus become unhappy.
3. Surely the heart of one who has known the Self is not touched by virtue and vice, just as the sky is not touched by smoke, even though it appears to be.
4. Who can prevent that great-souled one, who has known this entire universe to be the Self alone, from acting spontaneously?
5. Of the four kinds of created beings, from Brahma down to a clump of grass, it is the wise one alone who is capable of renouncing desire and aversion.
6. Rare is the man who knows the Self as One without a second and as lord of the universe. He does what he considers worth doing and has no fear from any quarter.
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Chapter 5
Four ways of Dissolution
Ashtavakra said:
1. You are free from contact with anything whatsoever. Therefore, pure as you are, what do you want to renounce? Destroy the body-complex and in this way enter into the state of dissolution.
2. The universe rises from you like bubbles rising from the sea. Thus know the Self to be One and, in this way enter into the state of dissolution.
3. The universe, because it is unreal, being manifested like the snake in the rope, does not exist in you who are pure, even though it is present to the senses. Therefore in this way enter into the state of dissolution.
4. You are perfect and the same in misery and happiness, hope and despair, and life and death. Therefore in this way enter into the state of dissolution.
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Chapter 6
The Higher Knowledge
Janaka said:
1. Boundless as space am I, and the phenomenal world is like a jar; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.
2. I am like the ocean and the universe is like the wave; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.
3. I am like mother of pearl and the illusion of the universe is like silver; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.
4. I am indeed in all beings, and all beings are in me. This is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.
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Chapter 7
Nature of Self Realization
Janaka said:
1. In me, the boundless ocean, the ark of the universe moves hither and thither impelled by the wind of its own inherent nature. I am not impatient.
2. In me, the limitless ocean, let the wave of the world rise or vanish of itself. I neither increase nor decrease thereby.
3. In me, the boundless ocean, is the imagination of the universe. I am quite tranquil and formless. In this alone do I abide.
4. The Self is not in the object, nor is the object in the Self which is infinite and stainless. Thus It is free from attachment and desire, and tranquil. In this alone do I abide.
5. Oh, I am really Consciousness itself. The world is like a juggler’s show. So how and where can there be any thought of rejection and acceptance in me?
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Chapter 8
Bondage and Liberation
Ashtavakra said:
1. It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves at anything, rejects or accepts anything, feels happy or angry at anything.
2. Liberation is attained when the mind does not desire or grieve or reject or accept or feel happy or angry.
3. It is bondage when the mind is attached to any sense experience. It is liberation when the mind is detached from all sense experiences.
4. When there is no I, there is liberation; when there is I, there is bondage. Considering thus, easily refrain from accepting or rejecting anything.
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Chapter 9
Detachment
Ashtavakra said:
1. Duties done and not done, as well as the pairs of opposites - when do they cease and for whom? Knowing thus, be desireless and intent on renunciation through complete indifference to the world.
2. Rare indeed, my child, is that blessed person whose desire for life, enjoyment, and learning have been extinguished by observing the ways of men.
3. The wise man becomes calm by realizing that all verily is vitiated by the threefold misery and is transient, unsubstantial, and contemptible, and should be rejected.
4. What is that time or that age in which the pairs of opposites do not exist for men? One who, quitting those, is content with what comes of itself attains perfection.
5. What man is there who, having observed the diversity of opinions among the great seers, saints, and yogins, and become completely indifferent to learning, does not attain quietude?
6. He who gains knowledge of the true nature of Pure Consciousness by complete indifference to the world, by equanimity, and by reasoning, and saves himself from the round of birth and rebirth, is he not really the spiritual guide?
7. Look upon the modifications of the elements as nothing in reality but the primary elements themselves and you will at once be free from bondage and abide in your true self.
8. Desires alone are the world. Do you, therefore, renounce them all. The renunciation of desire is the renunciation of the world. Now you may live anywhere.
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Chapter 10
Quietude
Aṣṭāvakra said:
1. Cultivate indifference to everything, having given up kāma (desire) which is the enemy, arth (worldly prosperity) which is attended with mischief, and dharma (performance of good works), the cause of these two.
2. Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, presents, and other such marks of good fortune, as a dream or a juggler’s show, lasting only a few days.
3. Know that wherever there is desire there is the world. Be-taking yourself to firm non-attachment, go beyond desire and be happy.
4. Bondage consists only in desire, and the destruction of desire is said to be liberation. Only by non-attachment to the world does one attain the constant joy of the realization of the Self.
5. You are One, Pure Intelligence. The universe is non-intelligent and unreal. Ignorance also is no real entity. What can you yet desire to know?
6. Kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies, and pleasures have been lost to you, birth after birth, even though you were attached to them.
7. Enough of prosperity, desires, and pious deeds. The mind did not find repose in these in the dreary forest of the world.
Ashravakra again maintains the worthlessness of dharma, artha, and kama as ideals, and emphasizes moksa. See verse one of this chapter.
8. For how many births have you not done hard and painful work with body, with mind, and with speech! Therefore cease at least today.
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Chapter 11
Wisdom
Ashtavakra said:
1. He who has realized that change in the form of existence and destruction is in the nature of things, easily finds repose, being unperturbed and free from pain.
2. He who has known for certain that Ishvara is the creator of all and that there is none else here, becomes peaceful with all his inner desires set at rest, and is not attached to anything whatsoever.
3. He who has known for certain that adversity and prosperity come in their own time through the effects of past actions is ever contented, has all his senses under control, and neither desires nor grieves.
4. He who knows for certain that happiness and misery, birth and death are due to the effects of past actions, does not find anything to accomplish, and thus becomes free from care and is not attached even though engaged in action.
5. He who has realized that it is care and nothing else that breeds misery in this world, becomes free from it, and is happy, peaceful, and everywhere rid of desires.
6. 'I am not the body nor is the body mine', I am Consciousness itself', he who has realized this for certain, does not remember what he has done or not done, as if he has attained the state of Absoluteness.
7. 'I am indeed in everything, from Brahma down to a clump of grass' - he who knows this for certain,q becomes free from conflict of thought, pure and peaceful, and free from care for what is attained and not attained.
8. He who knows for certain that this manifold and wonderful universe is nothing, becomes desireless and Pure Consciousness, and finds peace as if nothing exists.
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Chapter 12
Abiding in the Self
Janaka said :
1. I became intolerant first of physical action, then of extensive speech, and then of thought. Thus therefore do I firmly abide.
2. Having no attachment for sound and other sense objects, and the Self not being an object of perception, my mind is freed from distraction and is one-pointed. Thus therefore do I firmly abide.
3. An effort has to be made for concentration when there is distraction of mind owing to super-imposition etc. Seeing this to be the rule, thus do I firmly abide.
4. Having nothing to accept and nothing to reject, and having neither joy nor sorrow, thus, sir, do I now firmly abide.
5. A stage of life or no stage of life, meditation, control of mental functions - finding that these cause distraction to me, thus verily do I firmly abide.
6. Abstention from action is as much the outcome of ignorance as the performance of action. Knowing this truth, fully well, thus do I firmly abide.
7. Thinking on the Unthinkable One, one only has recourse to a form of thought. Therefore giving up that thought, thus do I firmly abide.
8. Blessed is the man who has accomplished this. Blessed is he who is such by nature.
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Chapter 13
Happiness
Janaka said:
1. The tranquillity which is born of the consciousness that there is nothing but the Self is rare even for one who wears but a loin-cloth. Therefore, giving up renunciation and acceptance, I live happily.
2. There is trouble of the body here, trouble of the tongue there, and trouble of the mind elsewhere. Having renounced these, in life's supreme goal I live happily.
3. Fully realizing that nothing whatsoever is really done by the Self, I do whatever presents itself to be done and so I live happily.
4. The yogins who are attached to the body insist upon action or inaction. Owing to the absence of association and dissociation, I live happily.
5. No good or evil accrues to me by staying, going, or sleeping. So, whether I stay, go, or sleep, I live happily.
6. I do not lose by sleeping, nor gain by striving. So, giving up thoughts of loss and elation, I live happily.
7. Observing again and again the inconstancy of pleasure and pain under different circumstances, I have renounced good and evil, and I live happily.
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Chapter 14
Tranquility
Janaka said:
1. He verily has his recollections of worldly life exhausted, who is empty-minded by nature, who thinks of sense-objects involuntarily, and who is, as it were, awake though asleep.
2. When desire has melted away, where then are my riches, where my friends, where are the robbers in the form of sense-objects, where the scriptures, and where knowledge?
3. As I have realized the Supreme Self who is the Witness and the Lord, and have become indifferent to both bondage and liberation, I feel no anxiety for emancipation.
4. The different conditions of one who within is devoid of doubts but outwardly moves about at his own pleasure like a deluded person, can only be understood by those like him.
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Chapter 15
Knowledge of the Self
Ashtavakra said:
1. A man of pure intellect realizes the Self even by instruction casually imparted. A man of impure intellect is bewildered in trying to realize the Self even after enquiring throughout life.
2. Non-attachment for sense objects is liberation; love for sense objects is bondage. Such verily is Knowledge. Now do as you please.
3. This knowledge of the Truth makes an eloquent wise, and active person mute, inert, and inactive. Therefore it is shunned by those who want to enjoy the world.
4. You are not the body, nor is the body yours; you are not the doer nor the enjoyer. You are Consciousness itself, the eternal Witness, and free. Go about happily.
5. Attachment and abhorrence are attributes of the mind. The mind is never yours. You are Intelligence itself, free from conflict, and changeless. Go about happily.
6. Realizing the Self in all and all in the Self, free from egoism and free from the sense of 'mine', be happy.
7.You are indeed That in which the universe manifests itself like waves on the ocean. O you Intelligence, be you free from the fever of the mind.
8. Have faith, my son, have faith. Never confuse yourself in this. You are Knowledge itself, you are the Lord, you are the Self, and you are beyond Nature.
9. The body, composed of the ingredients of nature, comes, stays, and goes. The Self neither comes nor goes. Why then, do you mourn it?
10. Let the body last to the end of the kalpa (cycle) or let it go even today. Where is there any increase or decrease in you who are Pure Intelligence?
11. In you who are the infinite ocean, let the waves of the universe rise or fall according to their own nature. That means no gain or loss to you.
12. My child, you are Pure Intelligence itself. This universe is nothing different from you. Therefore how and where can anyone have the idea of acceptance and rejection?
13. From where will there be birth, action, and even egoism for you who are One, immutable, calm, stainless, and Pure Consciousness?
14. You alone appear as whatever you perceive. Do bracelets, armlets, and anklets appear different from gold?
15. Completely give up such distinctions as 'I am He' and 'I am not this'. Consider all as the Self and be desireless and happy. Astavakra emphasizes that the Transcendental Reality and the universe are not different. The distinction is born of ignorance. The universe has no separate existence apart from the Self.
16. It is through your ignorance alone that the universe exists. In reality you are One. There is no individual self or Supreme Self other than you.
17. One who knows for certain that this universe is but an illusion and nothing, becomes desireless and Pure Intelligence, and finds peace as if nothing exists.
18. In the ocean of the world One only was, is, and will be. You have neither bondage nor liberation. Live contented and happily.
19. O Pure Intelligence, do not disturb your mind with affirmations and negations. Be calm and abide happily in your own self which is Bliss itself.
20. Completely give up even contemplation and hold nothing in your mind. You are verily the Self, free. What will you do by thinking? Contemplation presupposes duality of consciousness which, born of ignorance, is the very antithesis of the nature of the Self. Ashtavakra therefore instructs the aspirant to dwell in the consciousness of the eternal Self, which is One and ever free.
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Chapter 16
Special Instruction
Ashtavakra said:
1. My child, you may often speak upon various scriptures or hear them. But cannot be established in the Self unless you forget all.
2. O wise one, you may enjoy, or work, or practise mental concentration. But your mind will still yearn for your own true nature which is beyond all objects and in which all desires are extinguished.
3. All are unhappy because they exert themselves. But none knows this. The blessed one attains emancipation through this instruction alone.
4. Happiness belongs to that master idler, to whom even the closing and opening of the eyelids is an affliction, and to none else.
5. When the mind is free from such pairs of opposites as 'this is to be done' and 'this is not to be done', it becomes indifferent to religious merit, worldly prosperity, sensual enjoyment, and liberation.
6. One who abhors sense-objects becomes non-attached, and one who covets them becomes attached to them. But he who does not accept or reject is neither unattached nor attached.
7. As long as desire continues, which is the root of the state of indiscrimination, there will verily be the sense of attachment and aversion, which is the branch and shoot of the tree of samsara.
8. Activity begets attachment; and abstention from it aversion. The man of wisdom is free from the pairs of opposites, like a child, and indeed he lives on like a child.
9. One who is attached to the world wants to renounce it in order to avoid sorrow. But one without attachment is free from sorrow and does not feel miserable even in the world.
10. He who has an egoistic feeling even towards liberation, and considers even the body as his own, is neither a jñānin nor a yogin. He only suffers misery.
11. Let even Hara, Hari, or the lotus-born Brahma be your instructor, but unless you forget all, you cannot be established in the Self.
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Chapter 17
The True Knower
Ashtavakra said:
1. He has gained the fruit of Knowledge as well as of the practice of yoga, who, contented and with purified senses, ever enjoys being alone.
2. Oh, the knower of Truth is never miserable in this world, for the whole universe is filled by himself alone.
3. No sense-objects ever please him who delights in the Self, even as the leaves of the neem tree do not please an elephant who delights in sallaki leaves.
4. Rare in this world is he on whom impressions are not left of things which he has experienced or who does not desire things which he has not yet experienced.
5. Those desirous of worldly enjoyment and those desirous of liberation, both are found in this world. But rare indeed is the great-souled one who is not desirous of either enjoyment nor of liberation.
6. Rare is the broad-minded person who has neither attraction for, nor aversion to, dharma (duty), artha (worldly prosperity), kāma (desire), and moksa (liberation) as well as life and death.
7. The man of Knowledge does not feel any desire for the dissolution of the universe, or aversion to its existence. The blessed one, therefore, lives happily on whatever subsistence comes as a matter of course.
8. Being fulfilled by the knowledge of the Self and with his mind absorbed, and contented, the wise one lives happily, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and eating.
9. There is no attachment or aversion in one for whom the ocean of the world has dried up. His look is vacant, his action purposeless, and his senses inoperative.
10. The wise one neither keeps awake nor sleeps, he neither opens nor closes his eyes. Oh, the liberated soul anywhere enjoys the supreme condition.
11. The liberated one is always found abiding in the Self and is pure in heart; he lives freed from all desires, under all conditions.
12. Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, taking, speaking, and walking, the great-souled one free from all efforts and non-efforts, is verily emancipated.
13. The liberated one neither slanders praises, he neither rejoices nor is he angry, he neither gives nor takes. He is free from attachment to all objects.
14. The great-souled one is not perturbed and remains self-poised at the sight of a woman full of love as well as of approaching death. He is indeed liberated.
15. The steady one who sees the same everywhere, sees no difference between happiness and misery, man and woman, and prosperity and adversity.
16. In the wise one whose worldly life is exhausted and who has transcended the limitations of human nature, there is neither compassion nor any desire to harm, neither humility nor insolence, neither wonder nor mental disturbance.
17. The liberated one neither abhors the objects of the senses nor craves for them. Ever with a detached mind he experiences them as they come.
18. The wise one of vacant mind knows not the conflict of contemplation and non-contemplation, good and evil. He abides as it were in the state of Absoluteness.
19. Devoid of the feeling of 'I' and 'mine', knowing for certain that nothing is, and with all his inner desires set at rest, the man of Knowledge does not act though he may be acting.
20. An indescribable state is attained by the wise one whose mind has melted away, its functions having ceased to operate, and who is free from delusion, dreaming, and dullness.
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Chapter 18
Peace
Ashtavakra said:
1. Salutation to That which is Bliss itself by nature, calmness, and effulgence, with the dawning of the knowledge of which all delusion becomes like a dream.
2. One gets plenty of enjoyments by acquiring all kinds of worldly objects. Surely one cannot be happy without renouncing all.
3. How can one, whose heart's core has been scorched by the heat of the sun of sorrow arising from duty, enjoy happiness without the continuous shower of the ambrosia of tranquillity?
4. This universe is but a state of consciousness. In reality it is nothing. The existent and the non-existent do not lose their inherent nature.
5. The Self which is absolute, effortless, immutable, and spotless is neither far away nor limited. It is verily ever attained.
6. Those whose vision is unveiled as soon as illusion ceases and the Self is realized, live with their sorrows dispelled.
7. Knowing all as mere imagination and the Self as free and eternal, does the wise one act ignorantly like a child?
8. Knowing for certain that one's self is Brahman and that existence and non-existence are figments, what does one who is free from desire, know, say, or do?
9. Such thoughts as ‘this indeed am I’ and ‘this I am not' are annihilated for the yogin who has become silent by knowing for certain all as the Self.
10. The yogin who has attained tranquility, has no distraction, no concentration, no increase in knowledge, no ignorance, and neither pleasure nor pain.
11. In heaven or in beggary, in gain or loss, in society or solitude, there is no difference to the unconditioned yogin.
12. Where is dharma (performance of ritualistic or meritorious works), where is artha (worldly prosperity), where is kama (sense-enjoyment), and where is discrimination for the yogin who has transcended such dual notions as, 'this is to be done' and 'this is not to be done'?
13. The yogin who is liberated while living, has neither any duty nor any attachment at heart. His actions pertain to the present life only, being merely the effects of his past karma.
14. Where is delusion, where is the universe, where is renunciation, moreover where is liberation for the great-souled one who rests beyond the world of desires?
15. He who sees the universe may try to deny it. What has the desireless to do? He sees not even though he sees.
16. He who has seen the Supreme Brahman meditates, 'I am Brahman'. What does he who has transcended all thought think, when he sees no second?
17. He, indeed, controls himself who sees distraction in himself. But the great one is not distracted. Having nothing to accomplish, what does he do?
18. The man of Knowledge, though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him. He sees neither concentration nor distraction nor defilement of his own.
19. He who is beyond existence and non-existence, who is wise, satisfied, and free from desire, does nothing even if he may be acting in the eyes of the world.
20. The wise one who lives on happily, doing what comes to him to be done, does not feel eagerness either in activity or in inactivity.
21. Blown by the wind of the samskiras, the desireless, independent, free, and liberated person moves about like a dry leaf.
22. There is no joy or sorrow for one who has transcended worldly existence. Ever with a serene mind, he lives like one without a body.
23. The wise man who delights in the Self and whose mind is calm and pure, has no desire to renounce anything whatsoever, nor does he feel any loss anywhere.
24. Naturally of a vacant mind and doing what comes of itself, the wise one, man, is not affected by honour or dishonour.
25. One who acts in conformity with such thoughts as 'this is done by the body and not by me, Self-such a one, even though acting, does the pure not act.
26. The jivanmukta acts like one who does not that he is acting so; but he is not, therefore, a (say fool). Even though in the world, he is ever happy and blessed.
27. The wise one who, weary of diverse reasonings, has attained repose, neither thinks nor knows nor hears nor sees.
28. As the wise one has no distraction, and does not practise meditation, he is neither an aspirant for liberation, nor is he in bondage. Having known the universe to be a figment, even though he sees it, he exists as Brahman Itself.
29. He who has egoism in him, acts even though he does not act. Surely the wise one, who is free from egoism, does not act even though he acts.
30. The mind of the liberated one is neither troubled nor pleased; it is action-less, motionless, desireless, and free from doubts.
31. The mind of the liberated one does not exert itself to be either meditative or active; but it becomes meditative and active without any motive.
32. A dull-witted person becomes bewildered on hearing the real truth, but some sharp-witted man withdraws within himself like a dull person.
33. The ignorant constantly practise concentration and control of the mind. The wise, abiding in the real Self, like persons in deep sleep, do not find anything to be done.
34. The ignorant person does not attain peace either by inaction or by action. The wise one becomes happy merely by knowing the Truth.
35. In this world those who devote themselves to diverse practices do not know the Self, which is pure, intelligent, beloved, perfect, beyond the universe, and free from any taint.
36. The ignorant person does not attain liberation through repeated practice of control of the mind. The blessed one through mere knowledge becomes free and is unaffected by change.
37. The ignorant person does not attain Brahman, for he desires to become It. The wise one certainly realizes the nature of the Supreme Brahman, even without desiring to do so.
38. Without any support and eager for the attainment of freedom, the ignorant only keep up the world. The wise cut the very root of this world which is the source of all misery.
39. The fool desires peace through control of the mind and so does not attain it. The wise one knows the Truth and is ever of a tranquil mind.
40. Where is Self-knowledge for him whose knowledge depends on the object? The wise do not see this and that but see the immutable Self.
41. Where is control of mind for the deluded one who strives for it? It is indeed always natural with the wise one who delights in the Self.
42. Some think that existence is, and others that nothing is. Rare is the one who thinks neither and is thus calm.
43. Those of dull intellect think that the Atman is pure and One without a second, but, through delusion, they do not know It and are unhappy as long as they live.
44. The intellect of one who longs for liberation cannot function without depending on the object; but the intellect of the liberated one is indeed ever independent and free from desire.
45. Seeing those tigers the sense-objects, the frightened ones, seeking refuge, at once enter a cave for the attainment of control and concentration.
46. Seeing the desireless lion (man), those elephants, the sense-objects, quietly take to their heels, if unable to run away, serve him like flatterers.
47. He who is free from doubts and has his mind identified with the Self, does not resort to practices of control as a means to liberation. Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and eating, he lives happily.
48. Established in Pure Knowledge, and calm by the mere hearing of the Real, the wise one does not see what is proper or improper action or even inaction.
49. The wise one does freely whatever comes to be done, whether good or evil; for his actions are like those of a child.
50. Through freedom one attains to happiness, through freedom to the highest, through freedom to tranquility, and through freedom to the Supreme State.
51. All the modifications of the mind are destroyed when a man realizes that he himself is neither the doer nor the enjoyer.
52. The conduct of the wise one, which is unrestricted by motive, shines, being free from pretense; but not the affected calmness of the deluded person whose mind is attached.
53. The wise who are free from mental projections, unbound, and of unfettered intellect, sometimes sport in the midst of great enjoyments, and sometimes retire into mountain caves.
54. No desire whatsoever springs in the heart of the wise one on honouring a man versed in sacred learning, a god, or a holy place, or on seeing a woman, a king, or a beloved one.
55. The yogin is not at all perturbed even when ridiculed and despised by his servants, sons, wives, daughter's sons, and other relations.
56. Though pleased he is not pleased, though pained he does not suffer any pain. Only those who are like him understand his wonderful state.
57. The sense of duty, indeed, is the world of relativity. It is transcended by the wise one who realizes himself as all-pervasive, formless, immutable, and untainted.
58. One of dull intellect, even without doing anything, is ever agitated by distraction; but the skillful one, even doing his duties, is verily unperturbed.
59. With perfect equanimity, even in practical life, the wise one sits happily, sleeps happily, moves happily, speaks happily, and eats happily.
60. Whoever, by virtue of the realization of his own self, does not feel distressed even in practical life like ordinary people, and remains un-agitated like a vast lake, with all his sorrows gone, he shines.
61. With the deluded, even inaction becomes action; and with the wise, even action results in the fruit of inaction.
62. The deluded one often shows aversion to his possessions. Where is attachment, where is aversion for him whose love for the body has vanished?
63. The consciousness of the deluded one is always attached to thinking and not-thinking. But the consciousness of the wise one, though attended with thinking the thinkable, is of the nature of unconsciousness.
64. The wise one who has no motive in all his actions, who moves like a child and is pure, has no attachment even to the work that is being done by him.
65. Blessed indeed is that knower of the Self who has transcended the mind, and who, even though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or eating, is the same under all conditions.
66. Where is the world and where its appearance, where is the end and where the means, for the wise one who is ever changeless like the firmament?
67. Glorious is he who is free from all desires, who is the perfect embodiment of bliss which is his own nature, and who is spontaneously absorbed in the unconditioned Self.
68. In short, the great-souled one who has realized the Truth is free from the desire for enjoyment and liberation and is devoid of all attachment at all times and in all places.
69. What remains to be done by one who is Pure Consciousness? He has renounced phenomenal existence which begins with mahat and is manifested through mere name.
70. The pure one knows for certain that this universe is the product of illusion and that nothing exists. The Imperceptible Self is revealed to him, and he naturally enjoys peace.
71. Rule of conduct, dispassion, renunciation, and restraint of the senses - what are all these to one who is of the nature of Pure Effulgence and who does not perceive any objective reality?
72. Where is bondage or liberation, joy or sorrow for one who shines as the Infinite and does not perceive relative existence?
73. Only the illusion of the world prevails. The reality of the world vanishes with the knowledge of the Self. The wise one lives without the feeling of ‘I-ness' and 'mine-ness', and attachment.
74. To the wise one who perceives the Self as imperishable and free from grief, where is knowledge and where is the universe? Where is the feeling 'I am the body' or 'the body is mine'?
75. No sooner does the man of dull intellect give up such practices as mind-control than he becomes a prey to desires and fancies.
76. Even hearing the Truth, the man of dull intellect does not give up his delusion. Though, through suppression, he appears devoid of mental activity, a craving for sense-objects lurks within him.
77. He whose work has ceased with the dawn of Knowledge does not find an opportunity to do or say anything, even though in ordinary people's eyes he is doing work.
78. For the wise one who is ever immutable and fearless, where is there darkness, where light? Where, moreover, is there any loss? There is nothing whatsoever.
79. Where is patience, where is discrimination, and where, even, is fearlessness for the yogin who is impersonal and of indescribable nature?
80. There is no heaven, and there is no hell; there is not even liberation-in-life. In short, nothing exists in yogic consciousness.
81. The wise one neither longs for gain nor grieves at non-attainment. His cool mind is verily filled with nectar.
82. The desireless one neither praises the calm nor blames even the wicked. Contented and the same in happiness and misery, he finds nothing to be done.
83. This wise one neither abhors birth and rebirth nor wishes to perceive the Self. Free from joy and sorrow, he is neither dead nor alive.
84. Glorious is the life of the wise one, free from expectation, free from attachment for children, wife, and others, free from desire for the objects of the senses, and free from the care of even his own body.
85. Contentment ever dwells in the heart of the wise one who lives on whatever happens to come to him, and who wanders about at pleasure, resting wherever he is when the sun sets.
86. Reposing on the foundation of his own being, and completely transcending birth and rebirth, the great-souled one does not care whether his body dies or is born.
87. Blessed is the wise one who stands alone, who is attached to nothing, who is without any possession, who moves freely and at pleasure, who is free from the pairs of opposites, and whose doubts have been rent asunder.
88. Glorious is the wise one who is devoid of the feeling of 'mine', to whom earth, a stone, and gold are all the same, the knots of whose heart have been rent asunder, and who has been purged of rajas and tamas.
89. Who is there to stand comparison with the liberated soul who has no desire whatsoever at heart, who is contented and indifferent to everything?
90. Who but the desireless one, knows not though knowing, sees not though seeing, and speaks not though speaking?
91. Be he a mendicant or a king, he excels who is unattached and whose view of things has been freed from the sense of good and evil.
92. Where is wantonness, where is restraint, and where is determination of Truth for the yogin whose life's object has been fulfilled and who is the embodiment of guileless sincerity?
93. How and to whom can be described what is experienced within by one who is desireless, whose sorrow is destroyed, and who is contented with repose in the Self?
94. Not asleep, even when sleeping soundly; not lying down, even when dreaming; and not awake, even in the waking state; such is the waise one who is contented under all conditions.
95. The man of Knowledge is devoid of thought, even when he is engaged in thought; he is devoid of the sense organs, even though he has them; he is devoid of intelligence, even though endowed with it; and he is devoid of the sense of ego, even though possessed of it. Dwelling ever in the transcendence of Pure Consciousness, the man of Self-knowledge is ipso facto unidentified with the mind and the senses, though he may appear to behave like an ordinary man.
96. The man of Knowledge is neither happy nor miserable, neither attached nor unattached, neither liberated nor an aspirant for liberation; he is neither this nor that.
97. The blessed one is not distracted even in distraction; he is not meditative even in meditation; he is not dull even in a state of dullness; and he is not learned even though possessed of learning. The man of Knowledge is other than what he appears to be. He realizes the Self as distinct from his body and mind, and stands aloof as Pure Consciousness.
98. The liberated one who abides in the Self under all conditions, who is free from the idea of action and of duty, and who is the same everywhere, does not, owing to desirelessness, reflect upon what he has or has not done.
99. Praised, the wise one does not feel pleased; and blamed, he does not feel annoyed. He neither rejoices in life, nor fears death.
100. The tranquil-minded one seeks neither the crowded place nor the wilderness. He remains the same under any condition and in any place.
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Chapter 19
Repose in the Self
Janaka said:
1. I have extracted from the inmost recesses of my heart, the thorn of different opinions, using the pincers of the knowledge of Truth.
2. Where is dharma, where is kāma, where is artha? Where, too, is discrimination, where is duality, and where, even, is non-duality for me who abide in my own glory?
3. Where is the past, where is the future, where, even, is the present? Where is space, and where, even, is eternity for me who abide in my own glory?
4. Where is the Self and where is the non-Self, where, likewise, are good and evil, where is anxiety or non-anxiety for me who abide in my own glory?
5. Where is dreaming, where is deep sleep, where is wakefulness, and where is the fourth state; where, even, is fear for me who abide in my own glory?
6. Where is distance, where is proximity; where is exterior, where is interior; where is grossness, and where is subtlety for me who abide in my own glory?
7. Where is life or death, where are the worlds, and where are worldly relations; where is lapse, and where is concentration for me who abide in my own glory?
8. To talk about the three ends of life is need-less, to talk about yoga is purposeless, and even to talk about wisdom is irrelevant for me who repose in the Self.
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Chapter 20
Liberation in Life
Janaka said:
1. Where are the elements, where is the body, where are the organs, and where is the mind; where is the void; where, too, is despair for me who am taintless by nature?
2. Where are the scriptures, where is knowledge of the Self, where is the mind not attached to sense objects, where is contentment, and where is desirelessness for me who am ever devoid of the sense of duality?
3. Where is Knowledge and where is ignorance; where is 'I', where is 'this', and where is 'mine'; where is bondage and where is liberation? Where is an attribute to the nature of my self?
4. Where are prärabdha karmas, where is liberation-in-life, and where is even liberation-at-death for me, the ever undifferentiated?
5. Where is the doer or the enjoyer, where is cessation of thought or the rising of thought, where is direct knowledge or reflected knowledge, for me who am ever impersonal?
6. Where is the world and where is the aspirant for liberation; where is the contemplative man and where is the man of Knowledge; where is the soul in bondage and where is the liberated soul for me who am non-dual by nature?
7. Where are creation and destruction; where is the end and where the means; where are seeker and success for me abiding in my non-dual nature?
8. Where is the knower, the means to knowledge, the object of knowledge, or knowledge itself; where is anything, and where is nothing for me who am ever pure?
9. Where is distraction, where is concentration; where is knowledge, where is delusion; where is joy and where is sorrow for me who am ever action-less?
10. Where is relativity, where is transcendence; where is happiness or misery for me who am ever beyond any discursive thought?
11. Where is illusion, where is the world; where is attachment or detachment; where is jiva or Brahman for me, who am ever pure?
12. Where is activity, where is inactivity; where is liberation or bondage for me who am ever immutable and indivisible, and established in the Self?
13. Where are instruction and scriptural injunction, where is the disciple and where is the preceptor; where, indeed, is the object of life for me who am absolute good and free from limitation?
14. Where is existence, where is non-existence; where is unity, where is duality? What need is there to say more? Nothing emanates from me.
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01. 21
In Conclusion
Astavakra concludes his teaching in this verse and presents his philosophy in a nutshell. He accepts the reality of the Self alone. There is no world. Nothing exists besides the Self. There is no appearance even, for appearance is brought about by ignorance; and the negation of appearance can only take place in ignorance.
Yet Ashtavakra does not recognize ignorance either, for the assertion of ignorance implies the existence of something other than the Self. He does not recognize either bondage or liberation. Thought creates bondage, and liberation is consequent on the thought of bondage. But true knowledge transcends this cobweb of thought. In truth there is neither bondage nor liberation: these are only states of mind. The Self is ever free, unaffected by any state of mind.
Thus, according to Ashtavakra, there is but One Reality, the infinite, indivisible Self which is Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute. The realization of the Self is the only summum bonum and in this alone does life find its fulfilment.
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