Monday, 31 December 2012

ASTAVAKRA SAMHITHA -- HIGHLIGHTS

ONE OF THE GREAT REMARKABLE SPIRITUAL BOOKS
THAT IMPRESSED ME TO A VERY GREAT EXTENT IS
'ASTAVAKRA SAMHITHA' OR 'ASTAVAKRA GEETHA'

THIS WORK STANDS AT PAR WITH 'VIVEKA CHUDAMANI',
'RIBHU GITHA','ADVAITHA BODHA DEEPIKA', 'KAIVALYA
NAVANEETHA' 'UPADESHA SARA' ETC.

IF WE ANALYSE THE WORK IT IS CLEAR THAT A BRAHMA
JNANI OF HIGHEST ORDER COULD HAVE ONLY WRITTEN
  IT ! HERE WE ARE GIVING THE SALIENT POINTS
MAKING IT AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE.

All SERIOUS SPIRITUAL SADHAKS MUST READ THIS
WORK & FOLLOW IT.






ASTAVAKRA SAMHITHA

CHAPTER-1
Instruction on Self-Realization
Janaka said ---  
 How can knowledge be acquired?  How can liberation be 
attained?  How is renunciation possible? -Tell me this, O Lord.  

Ashtavakra said --

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.

 If you detach yourself from the body and rest in 
Consciousness, you will at once be happy, peaceful and free 
from bondage. 

You do not belong to the Brahmana or any other caste or to 
any ashrama.  You are not perceived by the senses.  
Unattached, formless and witness of all are you.  Be happy.  

Virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, are of the mind, not of you, 
O Allpervading One.  You are neither doer nor enjoyer.  Verily 
you are ever free.  

You are that Consciousness, Bliss – Supreme Bliss, in and 
upon which this universe appears superimposed, like a snake 
on a rope. Live happily

The Self is witness, all-pervading, perfect, One, free, 
Consciousness, actionless, 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).  

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.  

You are unattached, actionless, self-effulgent and without any 
blemish.  This indeed is your bondage that you practice 
meditation.  

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.  

Just as a mirror exists within and  without the image reflected 
in it, so the Supreme Self exists inside and outside this body.  

As the same all pervading space is inside and outside a jar, 
so the eternal all pervasive Brahman exists in all things.

CHAPTER-2
 Joy of Self-realization

Janaka said ---  

Oh, I am spotless, tranquil, Pure Consciousness, and beyond 
Nature.  All this time I have been mocked by illusion.  

Oh, having renounced the universe together with the body, I 
now perceive the Supreme Self through the secret of wisdom.  

As waves, foam and bubbles are not  different from water, so 
the universe emanating from the Self is not different from It.  

Just as sugar generated in sugarcane juice is wholly pervaded 
by that juice, so the universe produced in Me is permeated by 
Me through and through. 

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.  

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.  

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.  

Knowledge, knower and the knowable –- these three do not 
exist in reality.  I am that stainless Self in which this triad 
appears through ignorance.

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.  

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.  

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?  

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.  

Oh, in me, the limitless ocean, on the rising of the wind of 
the mind, diverse waves of worlds are produced forthwith.  

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.  

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.

CHAPTER-3
Test of Self-Realization
Ashtavakra said ---

Having known yourself as really indestructible and One, how 
is it that you, knower of Self and serene, feel attached to the
 acquisition of wealth? 

Alas, as greed arises from the illusion of silver caused by the 
ignorance of the mother of pearl, even so arises attachment to 
the objects of illusory perception from the ignorance of the Self.  

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? 

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! 

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!

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!    

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?

With whom can we compare that great-souled one, who is 
content with Self knowledge and does not hanker even after 
liberation? 

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.  


CHAPTER-4
Glorification of Self-realization 
Ashtavakra said ---

Oh, the man of understanding, the knower of Self, who plays 
the game of life, has no similarity to the deluded beasts of 
burden of the world. 

 Oh, the  yogin does not feel elated abiding in that state which 
Indra and all other gods hanker after and thus become unhappy. 

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.  

Of the four kinds of created beings, from Brahma down to the 
clump of grass, it is the wise one alone who is capable of 
renouncing desire and aversion.  

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.  
  

CHAPTER-5
Four Ways to Dissolution 
Ashtavakra said ---  

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.  
  
 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.  
  
  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.  
  
  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.  


CHAPTER-6
The Higher Knowledge
Ashtavakra said ---  

 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.  
  
 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.  
  
 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.  

 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.


  CHAPTER-7
 Nature of Self-Realization

Janaka said ---  
. 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.  
  
  In me, the limitless ocean, let the wave of the world rise or 
vanish of itself.  I neither increase nor decrease thereby.  

 In me, the boundless ocean, is the  imagination of the 
universe.  I am quite tranquil and formless. In this alone do I 
abide. 

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.  
  
 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? 


  CHAPTER-8
 Bondage and Liberation
Ashtavakra said ---  

 It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves at anything, 
rejects or accepts anything, feels happy or angry at anything.  
  
 Liberation is attained when the mind does not desire or grieve 
or reject or feel happy or angry.  

 It is bondage when the mind is attached to any sense 
experience.  It is liberation when the mind is detached from all 
sense experiences.  
  
 When there is no ‘I,’ there is liberation; when there is ‘I,’ there 
is bondage. Considering thus, easily refrain from accepting or 
rejecting anything


 CHAPTER-9
 Detachment
Ashtavakra said ---  

 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.  
  
 Rare indeed, my child, is that blessed person whose desire 
for life, enjoyment, and learning have been extinguished by 
observing the ways of men. 
  
 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.  
  
 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.  
  
 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?  
  
 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?  
  
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.  
  
Desires alone are the world.  Therefore, you renounce them 
all. The renunciation of the desire is the renunciation of the 
world. Now you may live anywhere.  

CHAPTER-10
Quietude

Ashtavakra said ---  

 Cultivate indifference to everything, having given up  kama 
(desire) which is the enemy, artha (worldly prosperity) which 
is attended with mischief, and dharma(performance of good 
works) which is the cause of these two.  
  
 Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, presents 
and such other marks of good fortune, as a dream or a 
juggler’s show, lasting only a few days. 

 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.  
  
  Kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies and pleasures have been lost 
to you birth after birth, even though you were attached to them.  
  
 For how many births have you not done hard and painful work 
with body, with mind and with speech! Therefore cease at least
 today.  

CHAPTER-11
Wisdom

Ashtavakra said ---  

 He who has known for certain that Iswara 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.  
  
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.  
  
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.  
  
 “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.  
  
 “I am indeed in everything, from Brahma down to a clump of 
grass,” –- he who knows this for certain, becomes free  from 
conflict of thought, pure and peaceful, and free from care for 
what is attained and not attained.  
  
 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.

CHAPTER-12
Abiding in the Self 
Janaka said ---  
 I become intolerant first of physical action, then of extensive 
speech and then of thought. Thus therefore do I firmly abide.  
  
 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. 

 An effort has to be made for concentration when there is 
distraction of mind owing to superimposition, etc.  Seeing this 
to be the rule, thus do I firmly abide.  
  
  A stage of life or no stage of life, meditation, control of mental 
functions –- finding that these cause distractions to me, thus 
do I firmly abide. 
    
 Blessed is the one who has accomplished this.  Blessed is he 
who is such by nature.  


CHAPTER-13
Happiness
Janaka said ---  
 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.  
  
 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.  
  
 Fully realizing that nothing whatsoever is really done by the 
Self, I do whatever presents itself to be done and live happily. 

 The  yogins who are attached to the body insist upon action 
or inaction.  Owing to the absence of association and 
dissociation, I live happily.  
  
 No good or evil accrues to me by staying, going or sleeping.  
So, whether I stay, go or sleep, I live happily. 


I do not lose by sleeping or gain by striving.  So giving up 

thoughts of loss and elation, I live happily.  


Observing again and again the inconstancy of pleasure and 

pain under different circumstances, I have renounced good 
and evil, and I live happily


CHAPTER-14
Tranquillity
Janaka said ---  

  He verily has his recollections of worldly life exhausted, 
who is emptyminded by nature, who thinks of sense-objects 
involuntarily, and who is, as it were, awake though asleep.  
  
 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? 
  
 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.  


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.
  

CHAPTER-15
Knowledge of the Self 

Ashtavakra said --- 
 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.  
  
 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.  
  
 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.  Get about happily. 

 Attachment and abhorrence are attributes of the mind.  The 
mind is never yours.  You are Intelligence itself, free from 
conflict, and changeless.  Get about happily.  
  
Realizing the Self in all and all in the Self, free from egoism 
and free from the sense of ‘mine,’ be you happy.  

 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. 

  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.  
  
 The body, composed of the ingredients of nature, comes, 
stays and goes.  The Self neither comes nor goes.  Why, then, 
do you mourn it? 
  
 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 or rejection? 
  
 From where will there be birth, action and even egoism for 
you who are One, immutable, calm, stainless, and Pure 
Consciousness? 
  
 Completely give up such distinctions as ‘I am He’ and ‘I am 
not this.’  Consider all as the Self and be desireless and happy.  

 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.  
  
 One who knows for certain that this universe is but an illusion 
and a nothing, becomes desireless and Pure Intelligence, and 
finds peace as if nothing exists.  
  
 In the ocean of the world One only was, is and will be.  You 
have neither bondage nor liberation.  Live contented and 
happily.
  
 Completely give up even contemplation and hold nothing in 
your mind.  You are verily the Self, free.  What will you do by 
thinking? 

CHAPTER-16
Special Instruction

Ashtavakra said ---  
 My child, you may often speak upon various scriptures or hear 
them.  But cannot be established in the Self unless you forget 
all.(mano-nasha)

 O wise one, you may enjoy, or work, or practice mental 
concentration.  But your mind will still yearn for your own 
nature which is beyond all objects and in which all desires 
are extinguished.  
  
 Happiness belongs to that master idler to whom even the 
closing and opening of the eyelids is an affliction, and to none 
else. 

 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.  
  
 One who abhors the 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.  
  
 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. 
  
 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.  
  
 He who has an egoistic feeling even towards liberation and 
considers even the body as his own, is neither a jnanin nor a 
yogin.  He only suffers misery.  
  
 Let even Hara, Hari and the lotus-born Brahma be your 
instructor, but unless you forget all(mano-nasha) , you cannot 
be established in the Self.  

CHAPTER-17
The True Knower 

Ashtavakra said ---  

 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. 
   
 Oh, the knower of Truth is never  miserable in this world, for 
the whole universe is filled by himself alone.  
  
 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 the sallaki leaves.  
  

 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 or 
liberation.  
  
 Rare is the broad-minded person who has neither attraction 
for, nor aversion to, dharma (duty), artha (worldly prosperity), 
kama (desire), and moksa (liberation) as well as life and death.  
  
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.  
  
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.  
  
There is no attachment or non-attachment in one for whom 
the ocean of the world has dried up.  His look is vacant, action 
purposeless and the senses inoperative.  
  
The wise one neither keeps awake nor sleeps, he neither 
opens nor closes his eyes. Oh, the liberated soul anywhere 
enjoys the supreme condition.  
  
Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, taking, speaking 
and walking, the great-souled one, free from all efforts and 
non-efforts, is verily emancipated.  
  
The liberated one neither slanders nor  praises, he neither 
rejoices nor is he angry, he neither gives nor takes. He is free 
from attachment to all objects.  
  
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.  
  
 The steady one who sees the same everywhere, sees no 
difference between happiness and misery, man and woman, 
and prosperity and adversity
.  
 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.  
  

 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.  
  
 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.  
  
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 or dullness.  

CHAPTER-18
Peace 

Ashtavakra said ---  

 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

.One gets plenty of enjoyments by  acquiring all kinds of 
worldly objects.  Surely one cannot be happy without 
renouncing all. 

This universe is but a state of consciousness.  In reality it is 
nothing.  The existent and non-existent do not lose their 
inherent nature. 


The Self which is absolute, effortless, immutable, and 
spotless, is neither far away nor limited. It is verily ever 
attained.  


Those whose vision is unveiled as soon as illusion ceases 
and the Self is realized, live with their sorrows dispelled.  

Knowing for certain that one’s self is Brahman and that 
existence and nonexistence are figments, what does one 
who is free from desire, know, say ordo?  


The yogin who has attained tranquillity has no distraction, 
no concentration, no increase in knowledge, no ignorance, 
and neither pleasure nor pain.  


In heaven or in beggary, in gain or loss, in society or solitude, 
there is no difference to the unconditioned yogin.


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.  


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? 


He, indeed, controls himself, who sees distraction in himself.  
But the great one is not distracted.  Having nothing to 
accomplish, what does he do? 


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.


Blown by the wind of  samskaras, the desireless, independent, 
free, and liberated person moves about like a dry leaf. 


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.(videhamuktha) 

Naturally of a vacant mind and doing what comes of itself, the 
wise one, unlike an ordinary man, is not affected by honour or
dishonour

 The jivanmukta acts like one who does not say that he is 
acting so; but he is not therefore, a fool.  Even though in the 
world, he is ever happy and blessed. 

 The wise one who, weary of diverse reasonings, has attained 
repose, neither thinks nor knows nor hears nor sees.
(Avadhutha is blind,dumb,deaf,childlike,madman like,
ghost like )

 As the wise one has no distraction  and does not practice 
meditation, he is neither an aspirant for liberation nor is he in 
bondage. Having known the universe to be a figment(dream 
like MAYA) even though he sees it, he exists as Brahman Itself.

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. 


The mind of the liberated one is neither troubled nor pleased;
 it is actionless, motionless, desireless, and free from doubts.


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.  

The ignorant person does not attain Brahman,though he 
desires to attain It. The wise one certainly realizes the nature 
of the Supreme Brahman, even without desiring to do so.  

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.  

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 Self.


Some think that existence is, and others that nothing is.  Rare 
is the one who thinks neither and is thus calm.


Seeing the desireless lion (wise jnani), those elephants, the 
sense-objects, quietly take to their heels, or, if unable to run 
away, serve him like flatterers.  

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

The wise one does freely whatever comes to be done, whether 
good or evil; for his actions are like those of a child(mindless 
Avadhutha state)

The wise who is free from mental projections, unbound and of 
unfettered intellect, sometimes sport in the midst of great 
enjoyments, and sometimes retire into mountain caves.  

The yogi is not at all perturbed even when ridiculed and 
despised by his servants, sons, wives, daughter's sons and 
other relations.  

Though pleased he is not pleased, though pained he does 
not suffer any pain.  Only those like him can only understand 
his wonderful state.  

.The sense of duty, indeed, is the world of relativity.  It is 
transcended by the wise who realizes himself as all-pervasive, 
formless, immutable, and untainted.  


Whoever, by virtue of the realization of his own self, does not 
feel distressed even in practical life like ordinary people, and 
remains unagitated, like a vast lake, with all his sorrows gone
—he shines.  

Blessed indeed is that knower of  Self, who has transcended 
the mind(mano nasha), and who, even though seeing, hearing, 
touching, smelling, or eating, is the same under all condtions.

Glorious is he who is free from  all desires, who is the 
embodiment of bliss which is his own nature, and who is 
spontaneously absorbed in the unconditioned Self.  

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.  

Rule of conduct, dispassion, renunciation and restraint of the 
senses–- what are these to one who is of the nature of Pure 
effulgence and who does not perceive any objective reality?  

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.  

To the wise one who perceives the Self as imperishable and 
free from grief, where is knowledge, where is the universe? 
Where is the feeling “I am the body” or “the body is mine”?
 (videhamuktha state)


He whose work has ceased with the dawn of Knowledge, does
 not find any opportunity to do or say anything, even though in 
ordinary people's eyes he is doing work.  


There is no heaven, and there is no hell; there is not even 
liberation-in-life.  In short, nothing exists in yogic consciousness
(characteristic of  Videhamukta ie, Turiathitha state)

The desireless one neither praises the calm nor blames even 
the wicked. Contented and same in happiness and misery, he 
finds nothing to be done.  

Glorious is the life of the wise one, free from expectation, free 
from attachment for children, wife, and others, free from desire
 for the object of senses, and free from the care of even his 
own body. 


Reposing on the foundation of his own being, and completely 
transcending birth and rebirth, the great-souled person does 
not care whether his body dies or is born.  

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. 

Glorious is the wise one who is devoid of the feelings 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.  


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? 

Not asleep, even when sleeping  soundly; not lying down, even 
when dreaming; and not awake, even in the waking state; such 
is the wise one who is contented under all conditions. 

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 ntelligence, even 
though endowed with it; and he is devoid of the sense of ego, 
even though possessed of it.

 Praised, the wise one  does not feel pleased; and blamed, he 
does not feel annoyed. He neither rejoices in life nor fears death.  

 The tranquil-minded one seeks neither the crowded place nor 
the wilderness.  He remains the same under any conditions 
and in any place. 

CHAPTER-19
Repose in the Self 
Janaka said --- 

  I have extracted from the inmost recess of my heart the thorn 
of different opinions, using the pincers of the knowledge of Truth.  
  
 Where is dharma, where is kama, where is artha? Where, too, 
is discrimination, where is duality, and where, even, is 
non-duality for me who abide in my own glory? 

 Where is past, where is future, where, even, is the present? 
Where is space, and where even, is eternity for me who abide
 in my own glory? 

 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?  
  
 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?  
  
 Where is distance or proximity; where is exterior, where is 
interior; where is grossness, and where is subtlety for me who 
abide in my own glory?  
  
 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? 
  
To talk about the three ends of life is needless, to talk about  
yoga is purposeless, and even to talk about wisdom is 
irrelevant for me who repose in the Self. 

CHAPTER-20
Liberation-in-Life

Janaka said ---  

 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? 
  
 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?  
  
 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?  
  
 Where are  prarabdha karmas, where is liberation-in-life, and 
where is even liberation-at-death for me, the ever 
undifferentiated?  
  
 Where is the doer or enjoyer, where is cessation of thought 
or the rising of thought, where is direct knowledge or reflected 
knowledge, for me who am ever Impersonal?  
  
 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?  
  
 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?  
  
 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?  

Where is distraction, where is concentration; where is 
knowledge, where is delusion; where is joy and where is 
sorrow for me who am ever actionless?  
  
 Where is relativity, where is transcendence; where is 
happiness or misery for me who am ever beyond any 
discursive thought?  
  
 Where is illusion, where is the world; where is attachment 
or detachment; where is jiva or Brahman for me, who am ever 
pure?  
  
 Where is activity, where is inactivity; where is liberation or 
bondage for me who am ever immutable and indivisible, and 
established in the Self?  
  
 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?  
  
 Where is existence, where is non-existence; where is unity, 
where is duality?  What need is there to say more?  Nothing 
emanates from me.  








1 comment:

  1. sir this info is very nice its very deeplevel its good for sadak's like move to higher level thank
    u i am lucky for reading this thank u sir....

    ReplyDelete