Page 1 of 2 ·
Jump to page #:
Go
· Jump To Random Page 
THE BANE OF KNOWLEDGE
Ashtavakra said:
My son, you may recite or listen to countless scriptures, but you will not be established within until you can forget everything.
You may, as a learned man, indulge in wealth, activity, and meditation, but your mind will still long for that which is the cessation of desire, and beyond all goals.
Everyone is in pain because of their striving to achieve something, but no one realises it. By no more than this instruction, the fortunate one attains tranquillity.
Happiness belongs to no one but that supremely lazy man for whom even opening and closing his eyes is a bother.
When the mind is freed from such pairs of opposites as, "I have done this," and "I have not done that," it becomes indifferent to merit, wealth, sensuality and liberation.
One man is abstemious and averse to the senses, another is greedy and attached to them, but he who is free from both taking and rejecting is neither abstemious nor greedy.
So long as desire,
the state of lack of discrimination,
remains,
the sense of revulsion and attraction will remain,
which is the root and branch of samsara.
Desire springs from usage,
and aversion from abstension,
but the wise man is free from the pairs of opposites like a child, and becomes established.
The passionate man wants to eliminate samsara so as to avoid pain,
but the dispassionate man is free from pain and feels no distress even in it.
He who is proud about even liberation or his own body, and feels them his own, is neither a seer nor a yogi. He is still just a sufferer.
If even Shiva, Vishnu, or the lotus-born Brahma were your instructor, until you have forgotten everything you cannot be established within.
— Ashtavakra Gita. Chapter XVI
Translated by John Richards
Ashtavakra said:
My son, you may recite or listen to countless scriptures, but you will not be established within until you can forget everything.
You may, as a learned man, indulge in wealth, activity, and meditation, but your mind will still long for that which is the cessation of desire, and beyond all goals.
Everyone is in pain because of their striving to achieve something, but no one realises it. By no more than this instruction, the fortunate one attains tranquillity.
Happiness belongs to no one but that supremely lazy man for whom even opening and closing his eyes is a bother.
When the mind is freed from such pairs of opposites as, "I have done this," and "I have not done that," it becomes indifferent to merit, wealth, sensuality and liberation.
One man is abstemious and averse to the senses, another is greedy and attached to them, but he who is free from both taking and rejecting is neither abstemious nor greedy.
So long as desire,
the state of lack of discrimination,
remains,
the sense of revulsion and attraction will remain,
which is the root and branch of samsara.
Desire springs from usage,
and aversion from abstension,
but the wise man is free from the pairs of opposites like a child, and becomes established.
The passionate man wants to eliminate samsara so as to avoid pain,
but the dispassionate man is free from pain and feels no distress even in it.
He who is proud about even liberation or his own body, and feels them his own, is neither a seer nor a yogi. He is still just a sufferer.
If even Shiva, Vishnu, or the lotus-born Brahma were your instructor, until you have forgotten everything you cannot be established within.
— Ashtavakra Gita. Chapter XVI
Translated by John Richards
You are now and forever free, luminous, transparent and still. The practice of meditation keeps one in bondage.
Chapter 1, Verse 15
Chapter 1, Verse 15
Happy he stands, happy he sits, happy he sleeps, and happy he comes and goes.
Happy he speaks and happy he eats. This is the life of a man at peace.
Happy he speaks and happy he eats. This is the life of a man at peace.
Right and wrong,
pleasure and pain,
exist in mind only.
They are not your concern.
You neither do nor enjoy.
You are free.
You are the solitary Witness
of All that is,
forever free.
Your only bondage is
not seeing This.
The thought, “I am the doer,”
is the bite of a poisonous snake.
To know, “I do nothing,”
is the wisdom of faith.
Be happy.
A single understanding,
"I am the One Awareness,"
consumes all suffering
in the fire of an instant.
Be happy.
pleasure and pain,
exist in mind only.
They are not your concern.
You neither do nor enjoy.
You are free.
You are the solitary Witness
of All that is,
forever free.
Your only bondage is
not seeing This.
The thought, “I am the doer,”
is the bite of a poisonous snake.
To know, “I do nothing,”
is the wisdom of faith.
Be happy.
A single understanding,
"I am the One Awareness,"
consumes all suffering
in the fire of an instant.
Be happy.
You are really unbound and actionless, self-illuminating and spotless already. The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling your mind.
Rare is he who knows himself as One with no other— the Lord of the Universe. He acts as he knows and is never afraid.
Just as a mirror exists everywhere both within and apart from its reflected images, so the Supreme Lord exists everywhere within and apart from this body.
Just as one and the same all-pervading space exists within and without a jar, so the eternal, everlasting God exists in the totality of things.
Just as one and the same all-pervading space exists within and without a jar, so the eternal, everlasting God exists in the totality of things.
Janaka said: Becoming first intolerant of action, then of excessive speech, then of thought itself, I come to be here. Neither sounds nor other sense perceptions attract my attention. Even the Self is unperceived. The mind is free, undistracted, one-pointed. And here I am. Effort is required to concentrate a distracted mind superimposed with illusion. Knowing this, I remain here. Nothing to reject, nothing to accept. No joy, no sorrow. Lord God I am here.
The universe is but a thought
in Consciousness.
In Reality it is nothing.
One who sees the true nature
of existence and non-existence
never ceases to exist.
The Self--which is
absolute, effortless, timeless, immaculate--
is without limits
and at no distance from you.
You are forever It.
in Consciousness.
In Reality it is nothing.
One who sees the true nature
of existence and non-existence
never ceases to exist.
The Self--which is
absolute, effortless, timeless, immaculate--
is without limits
and at no distance from you.
You are forever It.
The man who knows the truth
Is never unhappy in the world.
For he alone fills the universe.
He stays in his heart.
He is free indeed!
He is beyond all,
alone.
No “I,”
No “mine.”
He knows there is nothing.
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
And for what he has become,
There is no name.
Is never unhappy in the world.
For he alone fills the universe.
He stays in his heart.
He is free indeed!
He is beyond all,
alone.
No “I,”
No “mine.”
He knows there is nothing.
Whatever he does,
He does nothing.
And for what he has become,
There is no name.
Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about
something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased
about something or displeased about something.
something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased
about something or displeased about something.
Existence, non-existence, change - this is the nature of things. Realizing this, stillness, serenity and bliss naturally follow. One who knows for certain that “Self creates All and is alone” becomes still, desireless, unattached. One who knows for certain that adversity and success come and go in obedience to destiny becomes content. He neither desires nor grieves. One who knows for certain that birth and death, happiness and misery, come and go in obedience to destiny sees nothing to accomplish. He engages in non-action, and in action remains unattached.
You are not your body.
Your body is not you.
You are not the doer.
You are not the enjoyer.
You are pure awareness,
The witness of all things.
Your body is not you.
You are not the doer.
You are not the enjoyer.
You are pure awareness,
The witness of all things.
In Me, the limitless ocean,
let the waves of the universe arise,
and then disappear according to their inherent nature.
I experience neither any expansion, nor any contraction.
let the waves of the universe arise,
and then disappear according to their inherent nature.
I experience neither any expansion, nor any contraction.
14 The Fool
By nature my mind is empty.
Even in sleep, I am awake.
I think of things without thinking.
All my impressions of the world
Have dissolved.
My desires have melted away.
So what do I care for money
Or the thieving senses,
For friends or knowledge or holy books?
Liberation,
Bondage,
What are they to me?
What do I care for freedom?
For I have known God,
The infinite Self,
The witness of all things.
Without, a fool.
Within, free of thought.
I do as I please,
And only those like me
Understand my ways.
By nature my mind is empty.
Even in sleep, I am awake.
I think of things without thinking.
All my impressions of the world
Have dissolved.
My desires have melted away.
So what do I care for money
Or the thieving senses,
For friends or knowledge or holy books?
Liberation,
Bondage,
What are they to me?
What do I care for freedom?
For I have known God,
The infinite Self,
The witness of all things.
Without, a fool.
Within, free of thought.
I do as I please,
And only those like me
Understand my ways.
8 The Mind
The mind desires this,
And grieves for that.
It embraces one thing,
And spurns another.
Now it feels anger,
Now happiness.
In this way you are bound.
But when the mind desires nothing
And grieves for nothing,
When it is without joy or anger
And, grasping nothing,
Turns nothing away. . .
Then you are free.
When the mind is attracted
To anything it senses,
You are bound.
When there is no attraction,
You are free.
Where there is no I,
You are free.
Where there is I,
You are bound.
Consider this.
It is easy.
Embrace nothing,
Turn nothing away.
The mind desires this,
And grieves for that.
It embraces one thing,
And spurns another.
Now it feels anger,
Now happiness.
In this way you are bound.
But when the mind desires nothing
And grieves for nothing,
When it is without joy or anger
And, grasping nothing,
Turns nothing away. . .
Then you are free.
When the mind is attracted
To anything it senses,
You are bound.
When there is no attraction,
You are free.
Where there is no I,
You are free.
Where there is I,
You are bound.
Consider this.
It is easy.
Embrace nothing,
Turn nothing away.
Pure of heart,
He desires nothing,
Even in despair.
He is content
In the knowledge of the Self.
With whom may I compare him?
With clear and steady insight
He knows that whatever he sees
Is by its very nature nothing.
How can he prefer one thing to another?
He is beyond all duality.
Free from desire,
He has driven from his mind
All longing for the world.
Come what may,
Joy or sorrow,
Nothing moves him.
He desires nothing,
Even in despair.
He is content
In the knowledge of the Self.
With whom may I compare him?
With clear and steady insight
He knows that whatever he sees
Is by its very nature nothing.
How can he prefer one thing to another?
He is beyond all duality.
Free from desire,
He has driven from his mind
All longing for the world.
Come what may,
Joy or sorrow,
Nothing moves him.
I am awareness itself,
Bound only by my thirst for life.
I am the infinite ocean.
When thoughts spring up,
The wind freshens, and like waves
A thousand worlds arise.
But when the wind falls,
The trader sinks with his ship.
On the boundless ocean of my being
He founders,
And all the worlds with him.
But O how wonderful!
I am the unbounded deep
In whom all living things
Naturally arise,
Rush against each other playfully,
And then subside.
Bound only by my thirst for life.
I am the infinite ocean.
When thoughts spring up,
The wind freshens, and like waves
A thousand worlds arise.
But when the wind falls,
The trader sinks with his ship.
On the boundless ocean of my being
He founders,
And all the worlds with him.
But O how wonderful!
I am the unbounded deep
In whom all living things
Naturally arise,
Rush against each other playfully,
And then subside.
Attached as you have been to
kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies, pleasures—
life after life—
still they are now lost forever.
10.7
Prosperity, pleasure, pious deeds…
Enough!
In the dreary forest of the world
the mind finds no rest.
10.8
For how many lifetimes
have you done hard and painful labor
with body, mind and speech?
It is time to stop.
kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies, pleasures—
life after life—
still they are now lost forever.
10.7
Prosperity, pleasure, pious deeds…
Enough!
In the dreary forest of the world
the mind finds no rest.
10.8
For how many lifetimes
have you done hard and painful labor
with body, mind and speech?
It is time to stop.
You are pure.
Nothing touches you.
What is there to renounce?
Let it all go,
The body and the mind.
Let yourself dissolve.
Nothing touches you.
What is there to renounce?
Let it all go,
The body and the mind.
Let yourself dissolve.
The jnani sees even his own body in action as if it were someone else's,
so how could he ever be disturbed by praise or blame?
so how could he ever be disturbed by praise or blame?
Attracted and repulsed with feelings, perceiving is always bewildered...
Perceived feelings are of the perceiver of feelings, but THAT abiding in itself is without any perceptibility (perceivable form).
Perceived feelings are of the perceiver of feelings, but THAT abiding in itself is without any perceptibility (perceivable form).
The mind desires this,
And grieves for that.
It embraces one thing,
And spurns another.
Now it feels anger,
Now happiness.
In this way you are bound.
But when the mind desires nothing
And grieves for nothing,
When it is without joy or anger
And, grasping nothing,
Turns nothing away. . .
Then you are free.
When the mind is attracted
To anything it senses,
You are bound.
When there is no attraction,
You are free.
Where there is no I,
You are free.
Where there is I,
You are bound.
Consider this.
It is easy.
Embrace nothing,
Turn nothing away.
And grieves for that.
It embraces one thing,
And spurns another.
Now it feels anger,
Now happiness.
In this way you are bound.
But when the mind desires nothing
And grieves for nothing,
When it is without joy or anger
And, grasping nothing,
Turns nothing away. . .
Then you are free.
When the mind is attracted
To anything it senses,
You are bound.
When there is no attraction,
You are free.
Where there is no I,
You are free.
Where there is I,
You are bound.
Consider this.
It is easy.
Embrace nothing,
Turn nothing away.
Yesterday
I lived bewildered,
In illusion.
But now I am awake,
Flawless and serene,
Beyond the world.
From my light,
The body and the world arise.
So all things are mine,
Or nothing is.
Now I have given up
The body and the world,
I have a special gift.
I see the infinite Self.
As a wave,
Seething and foaming,
Is only water
So all creation,
Streaming out of the Self,
Is only the Self.
Consider a piece of cloth.
It is only threads!
So all creation,
When you look closely,
Is only the Self.
I lived bewildered,
In illusion.
But now I am awake,
Flawless and serene,
Beyond the world.
From my light,
The body and the world arise.
So all things are mine,
Or nothing is.
Now I have given up
The body and the world,
I have a special gift.
I see the infinite Self.
As a wave,
Seething and foaming,
Is only water
So all creation,
Streaming out of the Self,
Is only the Self.
Consider a piece of cloth.
It is only threads!
So all creation,
When you look closely,
Is only the Self.
Rare in the world is the one on whom experiences do not leave any impressions, and who does not hanker after any experiences still to be enjoyed.
Beings
Follow us on Facebook