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 Contents
Ch. No. Subject Matter Verses
Publisher’s Note
About Aṣṭāvakra-Gītā
General Introduction
1 Self – Witness in All 1 – 20
2 The Marvellous Self 1 – 25
3 Self in All – All in Self 1 – 14
4 Glory of Realisation 1–6
5 Four Methods – Dissolution of Ego 1 – 4
6 The Self Supreme 1–4
7 That Tranquil Self 1–5
8 Bondage and Freedom 1–4
9 Indifference 1–8
10 Dispassion 1–8
11 Self As Pure Intelligence 1–8
12 How to Abide in the Self 1–8
13 The Bliss Absolute 1–7
14 Tranquillity 1–4
15 Brahman – The Absolute Reality 1 – 20
16 Self-abidance – Instructions 1 – 11
17 Aloneness of the Self 1 – 20
18 The Goal 1 – 100
19 The Grandeur of the Self 1–8
20 The Absolute State 1 – 14
Alphabetical Index to Ślokas
 Transliteration and Pronunciation Guide

In the book, Devanāgarī characters are transliterated

according to the scheme adopted by the International
Congress of Orientalists at Athens in 1912. In it one fixed
pronunciation value is given to each letter; f, q, w, x and z
are not called to use. According to this scheme:
 Publisher’s Note

Chinmaya Prakashan has great pleasure in presenting the

3rd revised edition of ‘Aṣṭāvakra Gītā’ to all spiritual
seekers.

In the earlier edition, readability was poor in small print.

This aspect is taken care of in the revised layout. Keeping in
view the high standing of this book in thought of Vedānta, to
help readers not knowing Sanskrit, transliteration has been
added even to references.

In this revised edition, diacritical marks are used for

transliteration of Sanskrit words in the verses as well as
commentary. The English plural sign ‘s’ has been added to
the Sanskrit words directly without a hyphen. To be true to
the Sanskrit text in transliteration, we have used
‘Brāhmaṇa’ for the first varṇa instead of the commonly used
word ‘Brahmin’. It need not be confused with the term
‘Brahman’ of the Vedāntins.

A key to transliteration and pronunciation has been

added in the beginning, while alphabetical index to ślokas at
the end of the book.

Sincere efforts have been made to eliminate errors and

create a fresh and appealing design. The Chinmaya
Sampadan and Chinmaya Kalpanam deserve compliments
in bringing this revised edition and we hope seekers
experience the depth of this profound Knowledge.
 Chinmaya Prakashan
Publication Division of CCMT

6th July, 2016

Mumbai 400072
 About Aṣṭāvakra-Gītā

In communicating to the seekers the unsurpassing beauty

and indefinable perfections of the Absolute, the Upaniṣads
stammer, the Brahmasūtras exhaust themselves and the
Bhagavad-gītā hesitates with an excusable shyness. A
theme, in dealing with which, even these mighty books of
Hinduism are thus, at best, unsatisfactory. We must, in
sheer gratitude, admire Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā for the brilliant
success it has achieved in communicating, through words,
perhaps more clearly, the nature and glory of the supreme
Reality, than by Prasthāna Traya.

The student of this saṁhitā is himself giving the autobio-

data of the Liberated in life. We have here in this book a
revealing autobiography of the saint, the Liberated in life in
King Janaka.

Beyond all assertions and denial, beyond the concepts of

bondage and Liberation, lies this realm of the Self, wherein
there is neither the individual ego (jīva), nor is there even
the supreme Reality (Brahman)!

Swami Chinmayananda
 General Introduction

Among the world’s classical works on contemplative

experiences, Aṣṭāvakra-gītā, which is sometimes called
Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā, is a unique textbook. It systematically
deals with the mystical experiences of an individual in his
flight to the transcendental peace and Bliss. It has been said
that the thoughts of this Gītā are compatible with the
‘Dialogues of Plato’ and the Bhagavad-gītā, as all of them
truthfully record the universal insight and spiritual
experiences which a seeker gathers during moments of his
intense meditation.

As in Bhagavad-gītā, here in Aṣṭāvakra-gītā also, we find

the subtle philosophical truths expounded in the form of a
lucid dialogue between the King-seer (rāja-ṛṣi) Janaka, the
disciple and Aṣṭāvakra, the Teacher.

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā also known as Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā is a

short treatise on Advaita Vedānta in the style followed in
Upaniṣads meaning in the form of a dialogue between
Aṣṭāvakra, the Guru and his disciple, the King-seer Janaka.
This fascinating legend is vividly described in the epic,
Mahābhārata1 where Maharṣi Lomaśa narrates it to
Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest of Pāṇḍava princes.

In general introduction and later in the commentary, it is

repeatedly emphasised that Aṣṭāvakra-gītā is meant only for
those advanced sādhakas who have purified their minds
through sādhanā and are engaged in meditation. To such
committed students alone would this book show light and
be a true guide. To the unprepared, immature students, the
subtle thoughts contained in this Gītā can be explosively
dangerous and result in erasing their faith entirely from the
higher Reality.

Aṣṭāvakra in Sanskrit means – aṣṭa meaning eight and

vakra is crooked or curved – with eight crooked (limbs). How
he was cursed by his father while still in his mother’s womb
has been explained.

In Mahābhārata2, the legend of Aṣṭāvakra is fascinating

and vivid. When Aṣṭāvakra was in the womb of Sujātā, his
mother, his father, Kahor, a mighty student of the Vedas,
used to read aloud the sacred maṇḍalas, each day late into
the nights. The unborn genius, even from the womb, learnt
the texts, and one day, the child from the womb suddenly
cried out, ‘Tut, Tut! Father, through your grace I have
already learned all the Vedas, even while I am in my
mother’s womb. But I am sorry to say that you often make
mistakes in your recitation.’ Enraged by this grave insult the
father cursed his son and the boy was therefore born
deformed with eight curvatures in his anatomy. As a result
of the curse, he developed eight deformities like hunch-
backed, hump, knock-knees, bow-legs, flat-footed and was,
therefore, named Aṣṭāvakra.

The learned Kahor, pressed by his poverty, made a

pilgrimage to King Janaka’s court to beg for some royal
patronage. There, he got defeated in an intellectual dual
with Śrī Bandī, the court-philosopher of Janaka. The
victorious paṇḍita Bandī employed the defeated Brāhmaṇa
in the service of his father, Varuṇa. Years rolled by and the
family had no news of the whereabouts of the revered
Brāhmaṇa Kahor.
 Though a splendid student, Aṣṭāvakra in the school was
teased by his fellow students saying ‘you have no father’.
The worried boy returned home and enquired of his mother.
The boy came to know from his mother that his father had
once gone to Janaka’s palace and had not ever returned
from there. Aṣṭāvakra, at that time, was only a mere boy of
12 years. He decided to make enquiries and started on his
pilgrimage to Videha.

Janaka was a benevolent king and to have firsthand

knowledge of his subjects, he was on his rounds when he
saw the young sage limping steadily. After alighting from his
horse, he prostrated before the teenager sage, who was
hardly twelve then. The deformities of the young ascetic
became more vivid when he moved and viewed from close,
the king felt aversion to the curvatures of his anatomy. The
young sage who was expert in yoga-vidyā as well as
established in Self-knowledge (ātma-jñāna) read the king’s
mind and addressed him as follows –

‘O King! Just as the shape of a temple does not affect the

ākāśa (sky), the crookedness of the physical body has no
effect on Ᾱtmā. A wise man has Ᾱtma-dṛṣṭi meaning he
looks at the Reality behind this manifested world, whereas
an ignorant one has carma-dṛṣṭi meaning he gets lost in
names and forms.’

The king was taken aback by such an incise wisdom of

the young sage and requested him to grace his palace to
which he acceded. Aṣṭāvakra was, thus, given a place of
honour in the king’s palace; he removed all doubts from
Janaka’s mind.

In Mahābhārata there is a slightly different version.

Aṣṭāvakra accompanied by his maternal uncle (of his own
age) Śvetaketu reached Janaka’s kingdom to observe
mahāyajña being conducted there, as also to search his
father. The king was proceeding to yajñaśālā and attendants
accompanying him were diverting traffic to clear passage
for the king.

By his precise knowledge of śāstras, Aṣṭāvakra pointed

out that a Brāhmaṇa had priority in the right of passage
over even the king. On hearing, the king was impressed with
the knowledge of the young mendicant and acceded the
point and requested him to proceed ahead of him.

Although the mahāyajña was open only to established

scholars, the king took him along to the mahāyajña. On
learning about his motive of defeating Bandī – the royal
scholar – the king tested his knowledge of the śāstras by
questioning. With appropriate and precise answers he
impressed the king who invited Bandī to engage the young
sage in arguments. Aṣṭāvakra defeated Bandī and thus got
his father released, where he proved that though physically
a boy, he had the wisdom of the ancients. There, in the
court, the handicapped boy defeated the revered
philosopher, Bandī and won the freedom of his father. The
father let his son bathe in the river Samaṅgā and blessed by
the father the deformed child walked out of the waters
cured completely, a handsome boy of brilliant charms.

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā, both in its style and structure of

composition closely resembles the epics. It belongs to an
age prior to the systematisation of philosophical thoughts in
India. Like the Bhagavad-gītā it has simplicity of diction and
clarity of expression, without losing the forcefulness of
language and the pregnancy of its thoughts. Like the
Bhagavad-gītā here also we find that the Teacher refuses to
indulge in any involved philosophical discussion, but the
Teacher constantly directs the entire attention of the
student, on to the spiritual Reality behind life and its
expressions.

Erudite scholars after laborious study and research have

assigned Aṣṭāvakra-gītā to a period immediately after the
Bhagavad-gītā and just before the rise of the great
philosophical schools. Aṣṭāvakra-gītā must have appeared at
a time close to the later Upaniṣads – Śvetāśvatara,
Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya Kārikā and others. There is a suspicion
of a reference to the Buddhistic concept of non-existence
(śūnya-vāda).

Aṣṭāvakra-gītā does not show any inclination to accept a

personal God, as we find in the Bhagavad-gītā. In this sense,
thoughts of Aṣṭāvakra are more faithful to the major
Upaniṣads and their monistic idealism. To all advanced
students of meditation Aṣṭāvakra-gītā directly points out the
way and the goal. Those who have not had the early
groundings in meditation and have not experienced the
inner silence of meditation, to them this Gītā is a mute
instrument. To the unprepared, the subtle thoughts of this
Gītā can become explosively dangerous. These can blast the
student’s faith and can even shake his entire hold of the
higher Reality. To those who have purified their minds and
are engaged really in meditation, to such committed
students alone, this textbook can show light and can serve
as a true guide.

As an unrelenting non-dualist, rooted in the vivid

experience of the transcendental spiritual oneness, Saint
Aṣṭāvakra never compromises. He rejects completely the
worlds of objects, emotions and thoughts perceived through
the delusory body, mind and intellect. As such he refutes
and totally rejects the principle of ‘māyā’. To him there is
neither an individual ego (jīva), nor a Creator (Īśvara), nor
any delusion (māyā), nor a universe (jagat) other than the
one infinite Consciousness, the Self. This clearly gives us an
idea of the platform of Aṣṭāvakra and the types of students
whom he is addressing. To Aṣṭāvakra there is only one goal
to be aspired for and reached and that is Self-knowledge
through direct mystical intuition which he calls as vijñāna.

The final spiritual experience in Aṣṭāvakra-gītā arises to

profound raptures of vision and insight and culminates in
the sovereign unity of the Self that dissolves all duality,
such as the knower, knowledge and knowing. In fact, the
deeper essence of this Aṣṭāvakra-song cannot be explained
in words, but is to be experienced in the dynamic silence of
one’s own deepest meditations. It is addressed to all the
royal saints of the calibre of Janaka, to whom is attributed
the oft-quoted observation in Mahābhārata3 - ‘Infinite is
indeed my wealth, of which nothing is mine. If Mithilā is
burnt, nothing that is mine is burnt’.

In Aṣṭāvakra-gītā also Janaka declares4, ‘In fact one way,

nothing belongs to me; or in another way, everything is
mine only.’

1 Vana Parva – chapter 132 to 134

2 Vana Parva – chapter 132 to 134.

3 anantamiva me vittaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana,

mithilāyāṁ pradīptāyāṁ na me kiñcana dahyate.

4 me nāsti kiñcana athavā me sarvam.

 Chapter – 1
Self – Witness in All
Introduction
In this opening stanza of the Aṣṭāvakra-gītā, the brilliant
disciple, the royal-seer, Janaka, expresses his problems and
the Teacher, totally established as he is in the experience of
the transcendental Truth, answers the questions raised by
the student. The pure effulgent Self is ever the unattached
and the peaceful, the all-knowing seer and the witness of
everything that is happening in all creatures. It is the one
supreme and eternal God, the Brahman or the ultimate
Reality. The perceived world of names and forms outside,
and the experienced worlds of emotions and thoughts
within, all exist and sport only in the all-pervading
immutable Self.

This one universal Consciousness Supreme, which is the

substratum for the changing world of phenomena should be
realised through practice of meditation till we rise above the
misconception that we are the limited ego – the Self,
reflected in our thoughts.

When I, the supreme Self, become conscious of and get

utterly identified with my body, mind and intellect, I become
the limited ego, the perceiver-feeler-thinker entity. This ego
through its own illusions misconceives the infinite Self as
the sorrow ridden calamitous world of birth and death. This
individualised ego gets itself completely bound to the wheel
of happenings and appears to get crushed by the world that
it has imagined itself through its own delusions. When true
knowledge dawns, the misconceptions end and the little ego
in the meditator rediscovers itself to be the infinite
Brahman.

जनक उवाच

कथं ानमवा नो त कथं मुि भ िव य त।

वैरा यं च कथं ा मेत ूिह मम भो॥१॥

janaka uvāca

kathaṁ jñānamavāpnoti kathaṁ muktirbhaviṣyati,

vairāgyaṁ ca kathaṁ praptaṁ-etad brūhi mama prabho. (1)

कथम् - how (man); ानम् - Knowledge; अवा नो त - acquires; कथम् -

how; मुि ः – Liberation; भिव य त – comes; वैरा यम् – renunciation;
च – and; कथम् – how; ा म् – is achieved; एतत् – this; ूिह – teach;
मम – me; भो – O! Lord

Janaka said:

1. “Teach me this, O Lord! how can Knowledge be acquired?

How can Liberation come? How is renunciation achieved?”

When a patient approaches a doctor, it is the duty of the

suffering one to explain, as best as he can, of his difficulties,
and the doctor will then diagnose and prescribe remedies to
cure the disease. If the patient goes to the doctor and
remains mum, the doctor will not be able to immediately
detect what exactly is the trouble in the patient. Similarly,
when a student reaches a spiritual Master, it is the duty of
the seeker to express his difficulties and from the doubts so
expressed by the student, the Teacher can evaluate the
psychological and spiritual problems in the student. Here we
find the Aṣṭāvakra-gītā opens with the questions raised by
Janaka, the disciple. The royal-seer asks three pertinent
questions.

The ignorance of the post, in the dim light of the dusk,

can produce the illusion of a ghost. This illusory
misapprehension of the ghost, sprung from the non-
apprehension of the post, frightens the deluded observer
and brings to him all his sorrows. From the ‘ignorance’ of the
post is born the ghost. This ‘ignorance’ is constituted of both
these factors – the non-apprehension of Reality and the
misapprehension of the Self. This ‘ignorance’ can be
removed only by ‘Knowledge’. With the apprehension of the
post, the non-apprehension ends and when the non-
apprehension of the post has ended, the misapprehension of
the ghost cannot remain. This ‘Knowledge’ alone is the
antidote for ‘ignorance’.

The ‘ignorance’ of the spiritual essence, as the blissful

immutable Self, gives us the ‘misapprehensions’ of a world
of plurality around us and of a suffering miserable perceiver,
the ego. These ‘misapprehensions’ of a subject object world
can be ended only when the ‘non-apprehension’ of the Self
is ended. To apprehend the Self is to have the ‘Knowledge’
of it. Hence, the student very aptly asks the question,‘How
can ‘Knowledge’ be acquired?’

A seeker, so long as he is recognising a world of objects,

emotions and thoughts, through his body, mind and
intellect, cannot escape his sense of limitations and his
experiences of suffocating sorrows. The world of joys and
sorrows will buffet him mercilessly amidst the roaring waves
of the world’s tumultuous happenings. A sensitive student
cannot but feel himself bound and gagged everywhere, at
all times. Naturally, Janaka asks here in his second question,
‘How can Liberation come?’ To liberate ourselves from our
identification with our own body, mind and intellect
equipments is to liberate ourselves from the thraldom of our
ego and make us realise our infinite Stature Divine.

In order to attain this sense of complete Liberation, we

must learn to detach from our own equipments of
perceptions, feelings and thoughts. Naturally, the subtle
thinker in the disciple asks the third question, ‘How is
renunciation achieved?’ Each one will have to discover in
himself the capacity to renounce. Renunciation is not a
mere giving up of possession or a sudden cutting away from
all relationships of the world.

Without mental detachment, outer renunciation amounts

to only an unproductive calamitous escapism. To run away
from life and its duties is not to run into the spiritual
dimensions.

Sense of attachment springs in us when the ego feels

incomplete and when, in its illusion, it hopes to become full
and complete by the acquisition, possession and enjoyment
of objects which it perceives outside itself. Thus, where
plurality is experienced, there is a subject-ego perceiving
world of objects. In this sense of duality, the perceiving-
subject cannot avoid labelling and classifying things
perceived, and developing a sense of likes and dislikes for
them. The ego, thereafter, gets itself attached to the things
it likes and comes to feel extremely disturbed and,
therefore, impatient with the things that it dislikes.

As long as an individual lives in this sense of duality, he

cannot avoid his sense of attachment. The ego is that
aspect of our personality that perceives the plurality, and
the ego arises in our identifications with our body, mind and
intellect. Therefore, true renunciation or detachment is in
withdrawing ourselves from our equipments. How are we to
withdraw our consciousness from our equipments through
meditation and come to experience the infinitude of the Self
as our own real nature is the deep significance of this small
looking question: ‘How is renunciation achieved?’
Attachment gurgles forth from ‘ignorance’ and renunciation
or unattachment flows out from ‘Knowledge’.

When the student has expressed himself exhaustively,

the Teacher elaborately answers each one of the questions
raised by Janaka and that constitutes this entire chapter.

अ ाव उवाच

मुि िम छ स चे ात िवषयान् िवषव यज।

माजवदयातोषस यं पीयूषव ज॥२॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

muktim-icchasi cet-tāta viṣayān viṣavat-tyaja

kṣamārjava-dayā-toṣa-satyaṁ pīyūṣa-vad-bhaja. (2)

मुि म् – Liberation; इ छ स – wish(you); चेत् – if; तात – O! child;

िवषयान् – the objects of the senses; िवषवत् – like poison; यज –
reject; मा – forgiveness; आजव – straightforwardness; दया –
kindness; तोष – cheerfulness; स यम् – truth; पीयूषवत् – like
nectar; भज – seek

Aṣṭāvakra said:

2. “If you aspire for Liberation, my child, reject the objects

of the senses as poison and seek forgiveness,
straightforwardness, kindness, cheerfulness and truth as
nectar”.

In this pithy statement, the Teacher of the transcendental

Reality, Aṣṭāvakra, provides us with two unfailing schemes
by which our spiritual pilgrimage can always be smooth and
ever assured of success. Negatively we are shown what all
we must give up and positively we are told what are the
values of life that we must cultivate.

Mind is a ‘thought flow’. The more the flood of the

thoughts gushes through us, the more uncontrollable
becomes the mind. So all factors that contribute to the
quietening of the mind are to be cultivated and all sources
from which mind gets disturbed are to be rejected and
eliminated.

The Teacher advises that we must reject the objects of

the senses as poison. The sense objects attract the sense
organs and bring stormy agitations into the mind. It is an
incontrovertible fact that around us sense objects are
constantly present. There is no space in the universe that
we can escape into where the sense objects are not present.
Hence the beauty of the simile implied here. There are
many poisonous weeds and various kinds of poisons all
around us in life and we cannot run away from them; but we
have the liberty to reject them with our better
understanding and to handle them, whenever necessary,
with all careful precautions. Similarly, the sense objects are
to be considered as dangerous poison to the mental
tranquillity and accordingly handle them with great caution.

This process of rejecting the sense objects and not

allowing them to enter us and disturb our mind is
technically called in Vedānta as ‘dama’ – sense control. This
by itself is not sufficient. Mind, even from a solitary cave in
the Himalayas, can, by its own imagination, get agitated, all
by itself! Mind is to be constantly guarded and carefully
protected from its own inherent sensuality, by inculcating
into it the healthier values of life and thus re-educating the
wayward mind.
 These noble disciplines within, which are enumerated as
the healthy values of life are, ‘forgiveness, straight-
forwardness, kindness, cheerfulness and truth’. These are to
be regularly lived and enjoyed as ‘nectar’.

A little thought can convince us how these values can

bring calm and serenity in any boisterous mind. The sense
of angry revengefulness can bring endless disturbances into
us, but the moment we forgive those who have done harm
to us, mental calm prevails. So too, crookedness in our
relationship with others can bring unending tensions to the
mind; therefore, straightforwardness is recommended here
as a healthier value of life. So, too, kindness and a sense of
cheerfulness can always bring the mind to poise and
grandeur. Truthfulness meaning intellectual honesty, is an
unavoidable requisite in every spiritual seeker. To think one
way and to feel differently and ultimately to act belying
one’s own convictions is to live a dishonest life which brings
disintegration of one’s inner personality.

Spiritual development and higher meditation are possible

only for a totally integrated inner personality. These five
values of life are the essential nurture and nourishment for
the inner spiritual seeker on his hazardous path to the peaks
of his realisation of the infinite Self.

This, however, is the only occasion, when Aṣṭāvakra,

throughout his song, talks of moral values. From a
transcendental standpoint, this Master is pointing out to the
student a state of Perfection, experienced beyond the mind.
All values of life and moral injunctions regulate the mental
reactions and physical relationships in the world of plurality.
When the mind is transcended, these values, valid in the
relative planes, can have no more any meaning in the realm
of the universal oneness. It is the Master’s infinite kindness
that he condescends to climb down, from his
unapproachable heights of realisation, to the relative fields,
where his disciple now stands, eagerly questioning the goal
and the way.

न पृ वी न जलं नाि न वायु न वा भवान्।

एषां सा णमा मानं च पू ं िव मु ये॥३॥

na pṛthvī na jalaṁ nāgnirna vāyurdyaurna vā bhavān,

eṣāṁ sākṣiṇamātmānaṁ cidrūpaṁ viddhi muktaye. (3)

न – not; पृ वी – earth; न – not; जलम् – water; न – not; अि ः – fire;

न – not; वायःु – air; ौः – space; न – not; वा – or; भवान् – you; एषाम्
– of these; सा णम् – witness; आ मानम् – Self; च ूपम् –
embodiment of pure Consciousness; िव – know; मु ये – for
the sake of freedom

3. You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor
space. In order to attain freedom know the Self as the
‘witness’ of all these – the embodiment of pure
Consciousness itself.

The five great elements are the ‘material cause’ with which
the gross physical structure is constructed. The subtle
aspects of these five great elements constitute the mind-
intellect equipment in man, considered in Vedānta as the
subtle body. The gross body is the vehicle through which the
subtle body functions in expressing itself and discovering its
whimsical gratifications. The residual vāsanās in each one of
us swell upto express and exhaust themselves. A vāsanā
sprouts first as a desire disturbance in the intellect, which in
the mental zone produces thought-disturbances and they, in
their turn, precipitate, at the body level, as the exhausting
activities of the individual in society. The gross and the
subtle equipments precisely needed by an individual, for the
expression of his existing vāsanās, are fabricated by nature
out of these five great elements. Here the Teacher declares
the ultimate Truth that at the exhaustion of the vāsanās, the
subtle and gross bodies have no more any function and the
individualised ego sense awakes itself to rediscover its
nature as the pure infinite Consciousness, the Self.

Aṣṭāvakra thus points to the student what is to be

negated in the first line of the verse. ‘You are not the five
elements.’ A mere negation by itself can take us only into an
empty dark pit of ‘non-existence’ (śūnya). And yet, the
negation process is unavoidable as the individual-ego in the
seeker had lived through millenniums and had repeated the
misconceptions that he was the body and the mind. To
complete the process, a positive assertion of our spiritual
nature, as the Self, is necessary. This is being accomplished
with the second line of this verse.

The Teacher advises the student that in order to liberate

himself from the delusory sorrows of the body and the mind,
he should come to experience the Self within. The principle
of Consciousness in everyone of us is the illumining factor
that brings into our awareness all our physical and mental
experiences. We are constantly conscious of our
experiences within and without us. In the light of
Consciousness all happenings are brought into our
knowledge or our awareness.

Just as in the light of the sun, the objects of the room

become illuminated for us, in the light of Consciousness our
experiences become vivid to us. Just as the sunlight does
not ever get involved in, or conditioned by, the objects that
it illumines, the Consciousness in us also is ever apart from
and unattached to the illusory dance of the objects outside
and to the delusory sport of the rollicking thought-
disturbances inside.
 This relationless-relationship of the light of
Consciousness with the world of objects and thoughts is
particularly emphasised here to help the students of
meditation. When the Teacher says that we must ‘realise’
the Self as the ‘witness’ of all the play of the elements, it
provides a technique of meditation for the sincere seekers.
Objectless Consciousness is the nature of the Self; when
objects are not there for the Consciousness to illumine, it
cannot be even indicated by the term ‘Consciousness’. The
ultimate Reality is indeed ever beyond the powers of finite
words to express!

At this moment, identifying with the five elements and

their fabrications, we suffer in a world of delusions and
imperfections. Through meditation when we withdraw our
identifications with our gross and subtle bodies, in the
inward stillness, the existing vāsanās get all burnt up,
uplifting the meditator into the plain of the pure
Consciousness itself.

A ‘witness’ is one who stands on the footpath, uninvolved

in the happenings on the road – say an accident. The
Consciousness is a ‘witness’ in all the life’s experiences, in
every individual living creature. In our ignorance we become
so totally involved with the happenings and get wholly
committed to the joys and sorrows of our body and mind.
The moment a seeker rediscovers the realm of the Self in
him, he understands that, as the Self, he is ever as far
removed from the pluralistic world of change and sorrow as
the sunlight is from the daily drama of the world. The
illuminator is always different from the illumined: ‘I am the
Self, the Illuminator and not the illumined.’

To stand as a ‘witness’, detached from all that is

happening within and without us, is one of the most
effective early exercises in meditation. This verse reminds
us of the songful declaration in the Kaivalyopaniṣad.1

यिद देहं पृथ ृ य च त िव ा य त स।

अधुनवै सुखी शा तः ब धमु ो भिव य स॥४॥

yadi dehaṁ pṛthak-kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi,

adhunaiva sukhī śāntaḥ bandhamukto bhaviṣyasi. (4)

यिद – if; देहम् – body; पृथ ृ य – separating (detaching); च त – in

Consciousness; िव ा य – resting; त स – remain (you); अधुना –
now itself; एव – even; सुखी – happy; शा तः – peaceful; ब धमु ः –
free from bondage; भिव य स – will be (you)

4. If you detach yourself from the body and abide in

Consciousness, you will at once become happy, peaceful
and free from bondage.

Here the student is assured of the final result of utter

fulfilment, if he pursues and accomplishes the path of
negation and assertion prescribed in the previous stanza.
Merely withdrawing the body consciousness is not sufficient.
In deep sleep, none of us have consciousness of our body;
yet we have no spiritual experience therein. Meditation is an
attempt to consciously withdraw our identification with the
body, and ‘abide ourselves in Consciousness’.

All spiritual practices are to help us accomplish this

steady equipoise for meditation. The moment one awakes to
this state of Selfhood, the limited ego ends, and naturally,
therefore, all happiness, peace and freedom become his.
Unhappiness, restlessness and bondages are the destinies
of the delusory ego.
 In Vedānta there are two schools. One believes that
freedom from bondages is possible only after death, when
the body falls off. They believe in Videhamukti. The other
school, headed by Aṣṭāvakra, Śaṅkara and others, declares
that the realisation of the Self is possible even while the
saint lives in his body and functions apparently as any other
mortal. This is called Jīvanmukti – Liberation right now and
here, even while living in this body. This Jīvanmukti state, is
being indicated in this verse. The essential import of this
stanza goes through a verse in Yogavāsiṣṭha.2

In fact, Aṣṭāvakra-gītā has laid the foundations and

indicated the path for Māṇḍūkya-kārikā, Yogavāsiṣṭha and
such other brilliant books, that expound the infinite oneness
and the ‘Theory of non-creation’ of the universe (ajātavāda).

There is no harm if we possess things of the world, but it

would be a tragedy if the things of the world possess us. For
example, if we possess wealth, we are free to be rich, but
when the wealth possesses us, we become a slave to our
own wealth! It is indeed perfectly natural that we eat food,
but should never allow the food to eat us!!

If the above is crystal clear to us, let us apply the same

logic to our spiritual life. There is no harm if we possess,
handle, drive and function through our equipments of body,
mind and intellect. These will be the expressions of the
freedom of the wise. But in our ignorance we allow the
equipments of experiences to entrap us and then we are
employed to serve them as their slaves – lo! we are caught
up thus to become the miserable ‘ego’ in each one of us!!

The Vedānta sādhanā consists in the ego in each seeker,

revolting against its own thraldom. To assert the clear
understanding that one is not one’s own body, mind and
intellect and to come to experience the nature of the pure
Self, is the entire programme to be accomplished through
Vedānta meditation. This entire scheme is very precisely
indicated in this verse.

न वं िव ािदको वण ना मी ना गोचरः।
अस ोऽ स िनराकारो िव सा ी सुखी भव॥५॥

na tvaṁ viprādiko varṇo-nāśramī nākṣagocaraḥ,

asaṅgo-'si nirākāro viśva-sākṣī sukhī bhava. (5)

न – not; वम् – you; िव ािदकः – Brāhmaṇa or any other; वणः –

caste; न – not; आ मी – belonging to any station in life; न –
not; अ गोचरः – perceivable through the senses; अस ः –
unattached (non-dual); अ स – are (you); िनराकारः – formless;
िव सा ी – witness of all; सुखी – happy, भव – be

5. You do not belong to the Brāhmaṇa or any such other

caste. Nor do you belong to any station in life (āśrama). You
are not perceivable by the senses. Unattached, formless
and ‘witness’ of all you are, be happy.

In Hinduism, human personalities are divided into four

categories called ‘castes’. These divisions are essentially
based upon the inherent qualities of the predominant
vāsanās in each individual. Since the pure Self is beyond the
vāsanās, it is not conditioned by any of these categories.
Similarly in Hinduism, men living in the society are
considered as belonging to and functioning in different
stations in life. These are called āśramas - student life
(brahmacarya), house-holders’ life (gṛhastha), life of
retirement (vāna-prastha) and life of renunciation
(sannyāsa). It is vividly clear that these āśramas are
classifications of the different attitudes of the growing mind
and depend upon mind’s different relationships with the
world around it. In the infinite Self, which is one without a
second, there cannot be any attitudes and relationships
and, therefore, the obligations of the different stations in life
cannot bind the Self.

Neither caste and its duties, nor the different status of

social life and their obligations can ever be predicated of the
Self. These are extremely helpful in the early stages of self-
discipline for spiritual growth, as long as a seeker is still
identifying with his mind and body. As pure Consciousness
you are not even perceivable by either the sense organs or
conceivable by the mind or the intellect.3

Thus pure Consciousness, as the illuminator, is

completely detached from the entire world of objects, as the
sunlight is unattached with the world of things and beings,
which it daily illumines. Self is without any form (nirākāra),
as It is unconditioned by anything other than Itself; the
Consciousness in us is the ‘witness of the universe’ (viśva-
sākṣī). The idea that the Self is a ‘witness’ is repeated some
four times in this very chapter. The concept of sarvasākṣī
and viśvasākṣī is found in the Śvetāśvatara-upaniṣad4 also,
where the Lord is described as the all-encompassing witness
indicating that the Self is a disinterested onlooker upon all
the pranks of the mind and the intellect. The idiom used
here reminds us of the Kaivalya-upaniṣad declaration.5

Contemplating thus, that you are the Self, the formless

‘witness’ of the universe, be happy. The sorrows, the
tensions, and the stresses of the world and its problems, our
passions and our lusts, all end at once and naturally, there
is a growing sense of peace and happiness flooding the
bosom of the seeker as he moves towards the sanctum of
the Self.
धमाधम सुखं दःु खं मानसािन न ते िवभो।
न कताऽ स न भो ाऽ स मु एवा स सवदा॥६॥

dharmādharmao sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ mānasāni na te vibho,

na kartā'si na bhoktā'si mukta evāsi sarvadā. (6)

धम अधमः – virtue and vice; सुखम् – happiness; दःु खम् – sorrow;

मानसािन – mental and intellectual; न – not; ते – yours; िवभो – O!
all-pervading one; न – not; कता – doer; अ स – are (you); न –
not; भो ा – enjoyer; अ स – are (you); मु ः – free; एव – surely;
अ स – are (you); सवदा – ever

6. Virtue and vice, happiness and sorrow are all attributes of

the mind, not of yourself, O all-pervading one! you are
neither the ‘doer’ nor the ‘enjoyer’. Indeed, you are ever
free.

So long as the ego exists, it asserts in two ways – in the

sense of ‘doership’, and in the sense of ‘enjoyership’. The
ego in its relationship with the outer world maintains a
vanity, ‘I am the doer’. The same ego functioning within the
bosom constantly maintains a vanity, ‘I am the enjoyer’.
Both these assertions together constitute the illusory sense
of ego.

Now, this ego, while functioning in the world of objects,

pursues virtues and indulges in vices. As a doer, one cannot
but get oneself involved in actions, both good and bad.
Again, the same ego, as an enjoyer, must necessarily get
tossed about in its experiences of ‘happiness and sorrow’. In
short, the ego cannot escape the conflicts created by the
pairs of opposites.

Here, the Teacher advises that the conflicts of good and

bad and the struggles for pleasure and against pain, are all
in fact evaluation of the mind and therefore, they belong to
the mind only, never are they yours. You are nothing but the
all-pervading Consciousness. As the pure Self you are ever
free from the conflicts and confusions of your own ego.

Virtue and vice are the evaluations of the intellect,

identifying with which the sense of ‘doership’ is maintained.
Happiness and sorrow are the values of the mind,
identifying with which the sense of ‘enjoyership’ is
sustained. Thus, identifying with the intellect and the mind
respectively, the sense of ‘doership’ and ‘enjoyership’ gush
forth from us and they, in their confluence, become the ego
in us. When once all its identifications with the intellect and
the mind are ended, the ego disappears to become the
blissful Self.

एको ा स सव य मु ायोऽ स सवदा।

अयमेव िह ते ब धो ारं प यसीतरम्॥७॥

eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya muktaprāyo'si sarvadā,

ayameva hi te bandho draṣṭāraṁ paśyasītaram. (7)

एकः – one; ा – seer; अ स – are (you); सव य – of all; मु ायः –

surely free; अ स – are (you); सवदा – ever; अयम् – this; एव –
alone; िह – indeed; ते – your; ब धः – bondage; ारम् – the seer;
प य स – see (you); इतरम् – as another

7. You are the one seer of all, and are surely ever free.
Indeed, this alone is your bondage that you see yourself not
as the seer but as something different.

The Consciousness in me is the light in which my sense

organs, mind and intellect are able to function. These are
equipments through which the seer, the Consciousness,
perceives the world of objects, emotions and thoughts. Thus
the Self is the sole seer in me, experiencing the world
through my life. This Self is the one Consciousness in all
bosoms and, therefore, through all sense organs, mind and
intellect in the universe. This one Consciousness is the sole
seer of all perceptions, all emotions and all thoughts in the
universe. This Consciousness you are, ‘That thou art’ (tat
tvam asi). Therefore, you are necessarily ever free.

The only apparent illusion of a bondage under which you

are now suffering is that you recognise yourself not as this
universal seer, but as something different – as the limited
ego – conditioned by your given equipments of experiences.

Self is the only one subject. Everything else belongs to

the world of objects. You are the subject; the world of
objects are illusory, superimposed upon the infinite Self, the
subject. Here I am reminded of the thunderous assertions of
the Kaivalyopaniṣad.6

अहं कत यहंमानमहाकृ णािहदं शतः।

नाहं कत त िव ासामृतं पी वा सुखी भव॥८॥

ahaṁ kartetyahaṁmāna-mahākṛṣṇāhi-daṁśitaḥ,
nāhaṁ karteti viśvāsāmṛtaṁ pītvā sukhī bhava. (8)

अहम् – I; कता – doer; इ त – this; अहंमानमहाकृ णािहदं शतः – bitten by

the great black serpent of egoism; न – not; अहम् – I; कता –
doer; इ त – such; िव ासअमृतम् – nectar of faith; पी वा – drinking
(you); सुखी – happy; भव – be

8. You, who have been bitten by the great black serpent of

egoism ‘I am the doer’, please drink the nectar of faith, ‘I
am not the doer’, and be happy.

The sense of ‘doership’ is the arrogant ego expressing in all

our perceptions, feelings and thoughts as ‘I see’, ‘I hear’, ‘I
feel’, ‘I think’, and so on. These false attitudes arise out of
our identifications with our eyes, ears, mind and intellect.
Seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking are really the functions
of the eyes, ears, mind or intellect. As the Self, you are but
the illuminator of these functions, which really belong to the
different equipments. To arrogate ‘I am the doer’ is the
essence of the ego.

Once this ego starts functioning, we become smitten by

the sense objects, and become polluted by the poison of
sensuality. We become agitated with our passionate urgency
to acquire, possess and enjoy the sense objects. These
would bring about our spiritual annihilation. Hence
Aṣṭāvakra compares the ego here with the black serpent
and its poisonous bite.

The only remedy is to de-hypnotise ourselves by

consciously maintaining the wisdom ‘I am not the doer’. This
is to be constantly maintained with ardent faith. This mental
assertion is a specific cure for the poison of ego, and,
therefore, it is compared here with nectar, the life-giving
ambrosia.

एको िवशु बोधोऽहिम त िन यवि ना।

वा या ानगहनं वीतशोकः सुखी भव॥९॥

eko viśuddhabodho'hamiti niścaya-vahninā,

prajvālyājñāna-gahanaṁ vīta-śokaḥ sukhī bhava. (9)

एकः – one; िवशु बोधः – pure Consciousness; अहम् – I; इ त – thus;

िन यवि ना – by the fire of certitude; वा य – having burnt
down; अ ानगहनम् – the forest of ignorance; वीत शोकः –
discarding all grief (you); सुखी – happy; भव – be
9. Having thus burnt down the forest of ignorance with the
fire of certitude ‘I am the one pure Consciousness’, and
discarding all grief, be happy.

The non-apprehension of our spiritual nature, indicated in

Vedānta as ‘ignorance’ (ajñāna), is considered here as a
‘forest’ inasmuch as having gone into a dense forest one is
sure to lose one's way therein and keep wandering within it,
until hunger and thirst, exhaustion and fatigue, reach to
destroy him. Just as in the forest, there are merciless wild
beasts of prey, in the dense forest of ignorance, ego and its
passions can pounce upon the wayfarer. This is an efficient
and vivid metaphorical phrase often used in our śāstras.

At this moment the knowledge we gather, through our

restless intellect, is of the world of time and space, and of
the various modifications happening in a web of the cause-
effect relationship. When through sādhanā, the intellect
becomes calmer and quieter, it automatically turns inward
to experience therein the dynamic silence of a spiritual
peace.

Such a serene intellect, contemplating subjectively upon

the Self within, is considered by the Vedānta śāstra as the
purified intellect. A clean intellect alone can come to
apprehend in meditation, the infinite Self.

The ‘knowledge’ of the world outside is gathered, for

each one of us, by our sense organs, mind and intellect,
only when the Consciousness in us comes to illumine them.
Where Consciousness is not, as in a block of stone, or a
piece of wood, there is no ‘knowledge’; where
Consciousness is, ‘knowledge’ also is. Therefore,
Consciousness is often equated with ‘knowledge’. At this
moment our Consciousness is always sullied by the
presence of the objects of our experiences.
 Consciousness of objects is the ‘knowledge’ of objects.
Consciousness of objects devoid of all objects would be pure
Consciousness – pure Knowledge (viśuddha bodhaḥ).

On transcending the body-mind equipment, the seeker in

meditation comes to experience ‘I am the one pure
Consciousness.’ When a seeker gets himself established in
this experience of pure Consciousness, the ‘fire of the
certitude’, declares Aṣṭāvakra, ‘shall burn down the forest of
ignorance’ within the meditator.

Grief is the mental condition when a dear object

possessed by it comes to decay. Joy and grief, happiness
and sorrow are all emotions and sentiments, experienced by
the mind. In pure Consciousness we have transcended the
mind and, therefore, we automatically go beyond all grief.
Attaining to this state of the Self, ‘be happy’.

य िव िमदं भा त क पतं र ुसपवत्।

आन दपरमान दः स बोध वं सुखं चर॥१०॥

yatra viśvam-idaṁ bhāti kalpitaṁ rajju-sarpavat,

ānanda-paramānandaḥ sa bodhastvaṁ sukhaṁ cara. (10)

य – that in which; िव म् – universe; इदम् – this; भा त – appears;

क पतम् – imagined; र ुसपवत – like a snake on a rope; आन दपरम
आन दः – Bliss, supreme-Bliss; सः – that; बोधः – Consciousness;
वम् – you; सुखम् – happily; चर – live

10. You are that Consciousness, Bliss – supreme Bliss – upon

which this universe appears superimposed, like a snake on a
rope. Live happily as that blissful Consciousness.

In the previous verse, the Teacher has asserted that the

student, in the final essence, is nothing but pure
Consciousness. In our empirical experience, we live every
moment of our life, perceiving a world of objects outside.
Subjectively, what about our mind and its feelings and our
intellect and its thoughts? Where did all these come from? If
the pure Consciousness alone is the one Reality, these
vehicles of experiences and their perceptions should be
unreal. From where did the unreal spring from? Can the Real
create the unreal?

In order to explain this illusory world of plurality, the

seers of Vedānta have been giving us an eloquent analogy.
In the dim light of the dusk a rope may be misunderstood as
a serpent. The moment we have the ‘knowledge’ of the
rope, the illusion of the serpent disappears totally. The non-
apprehension of the rope gives us the misapprehension as
the serpent, and subsequent fears and sorrows are all
provided by the misapprehensions. Similarly, the non-
apprehensions of our spiritual nature as the pure Self,
occasions the misapprehensions of a subjective and
objective world of experiences. On ‘apprehending’ the Self,
the illusory super-impositions, shall immediately disappear,
as the delusion of the snake ends in the ‘knowledge’ of the
rope.

You are this Consciousness of the nature of ‘supreme

Bliss’, confirms Aṣṭāvakra, ‘upon which the world is super-
imposed, like a snake on a rope’. Abiding in this blissful
Consciousness, ‘be happy’.

All these verses are extremely helpful to a student who

has started crawling upon the path of meditation. To
remember verses and chant them slowly to ourselves, in
some quiet place, with eyes open and our attention turned
into ourselves, shall lift us into profound heights in
subjective reflections (manana). Practice of manana puts a
tiger in the tank of the vehicle of meditation.
मु ा भमानी मु ो िह ब ो ब ा भमा यिप।
कवद तीह स येयं या म तः सा ग तभ वेत्॥११॥

muktābhimānī mukto hi baddho baddhābhimānyapi,

kiṁvadantīha satyeyaṁ yā matiḥ sā gatirbhavet. (11)

मु अ भमानी – one who considers himself free; मु ः – is free; िह –

indeed; ब ः – becomes bound; ब अ भमानी – one who
considers himself bound; अिप – also; कवद ती – proverbial
saying; इह – in this world; स या – true; इयम् – this; या – as; म तः –
the thought; सा – so; ग तः – attainment, the goal; भवेत् – is

11. He who considers himself free becomes free indeed, and

he who considers himself bound remains bound. ‘As one
thinks, so one becomes’, is a proverbial saying in this world
and it is indeed quite true.

yā matiḥ sā gatiḥ - ‘As we think, so we become’ is a

famous saying. If you assert yourself that you are a
helpless, weak and desperate creature of passions and
impulses, you cannot grow into the higher heights of beauty
and strength of your personality. On the other hand to
assert our own divine nature constantly and to try to live
without compromising this godly status, is to a seeker the
royal path for gaining self-unfoldment. The Upaniṣads also
uphold this thought.7

In the Yogavāsiṣṭha also we find a very similar statement

most emphatically put.8

This is equally true in the spiritual life also, because our

apparent illusion of snake has not brought about any change
in the rope, which is the only reality therein. Similarly, the
pure, infinite Consciousness has never modified Itself, ever
into the experiencing ego, nor into the experienced world of
plurality. From the delusion created vāsanās in us, desires
gurgle forth, which express as thoughts and the thoughts in
the mind project the world of experiences, just as in a
dream. Awaker never becomes the dreamer, but during the
delusion apparently he suffers the tragedies of his dream. At
the non-apprehension of the Self, the misapprehensions of
the world and its sorrows rise. By asserting our nature as
the pure, infinite Consciousness, we can come to awake to
this new dimension of Experience Divine.

आ मा सा ी िवभुः पूण एको मु दि यः।

अस ो िन पृहः शा तो मात् संसारवािनव॥१२॥

ātmā sākṣī vibhuḥ pūrṇa eko muktaścidakriyaḥ,

asaṅgo nispṛhaḥ śānto bhramāt saṁsāravāniva. (12)

आ मा – Self; सा ी – witness; िवभुः – all-pervasive; पूणः – perfect;

एकः – one (non-dual); मु ः – free; चत् – Consciousness; अि यः –
actionless; अस ः – unattached; िन पृहः – desireless; शा तः –
quiet; मात् – through illusion; संसारवान् – absorbed in the
world; इव – as if (is)

12. The Self is witness, all-pervading, perfect, non-dual,

free, Consciousness, actionless, unattached, desireless and
quiet. Through illusion, It appears as if It is absorbed in the
world.

This verse is a peroration as it were of what has been so far

declared by the transcendental Sage Aṣṭāvakra. You are not
the body, nor the mind; in your spiritual essence you are the
pure infinite Consciousness.

The ultimate Reality, being infinite and eternal, cannot be

defined directly by the finite words. However, the Hindu
Masters had evolved a secret technique of expressing this
inexpressible Truth. They succeeded in defining the Truth by
indicating the Supreme through rich suggestive terms deftly
employed. The words, as such, with their direct meaning do
not define the Truth, but they can lift a reflective mind to the
realms of direct experiences. Such illuminating terms are
employed here summarising the great dictum, ‘That thou
art’ (tat tvam asi), which have been so elaborately
discussed in all the previous eleven verses.

The Self is the ‘witness’ (sākṣī) indicating that the

Consciousness, which is the illuminator, is not in any way
involved in what it illumines. This ‘witness’ is ‘all-pervasive’
(vibhuḥ). Just as the rope is all-pervasive in the illusion of
the snake, so too the world of plurality is pervaded by its
substratum, the Reality. The immanence of the Self in all
beings is declared here. It is ‘perfect’ (pūrṇaḥ) nothing can
be added to It, nor can we substract anything from It; It is
ever just as It is. Nothing is added to the post when the
‘ghost’ is seen; nor do we take anything away from the post
when the ghost vision disappears. The Self is the
substratum for all the illusory names and forms.

This Self is ‘non-dual’ (ekaḥ) and, therefore, ‘ever free’

(muktaḥ). As ‘Consciousness’ (Cit) It is by Itself ‘actionless’
(akriyaḥ) although all actions in the cosmos are taking place
in It. All movements in the world can take place only in
space, but space by itself has no movement.

Like space, which allows everything to remain in it, but

itself is not involved with any one of the objects, so too the
Self, as Consciousness, is ‘unattached’ (asaṅgaḥ). In its
infinite Perfection, It has ‘no desires’ (nispṛhaḥ). Desires are
the expressions of vāsanās; the Self as the Consciousness
illumines the very vāsanās. In Its supreme Perfection It has
nothing to desire for, other than Itself. Since there are no
desires, there cannot be any thought agitations, nor any
restless activities of the body. Therefore, this great Reality is
indicated by the suggestive term ‘ever quiet’ (śāntaḥ).

A mind that is capable of reflecting upon each one of

these ten suggestive terms, indicating the Self, can, in its
totality, get itself spontaneously pushed into the experience
of a voiceless dynamic void, wherein the Self is directly
experienced. This immutable Self through our illusion
appears as if suffering as an ego (jīva) in the world.

As the perceiver-feeler-thinker entity, the individualised

ego, in everyone of us, gets entrapped in the world of
enchantments, within and without. Thereafter bound to the
wheel of karma in order to exhaust the gathered debris of
vāsanās, the ego is driven from body to body, in an
unending circle of birth and death. This is the involvement
in the world (saṁsāravān).

In fact, the Self does not become the ego (jīva). The rope
is not becoming the serpent, the post cannot change itself
to be the ghost. It only appears, (iva) as though, the infinite
Consciousness, I, has become the limited ego, a victim of
circumstances and a helpless flotsam upon the waves of the
daily happenings around me.

कूट थं बोधम ैतमा मानं प रभावय।

आभासोऽहं मं मु वा भावं बा मथा तरम्॥१३॥

kūṭasthaṁ bodham-advaitam-ātmānaṁ paribhāvaya,

ābhāso'haṁ bhramaṁ muktvā bhāvaṁ bāhyam-
athāntaram. (13)

कूट थम् – immutable; बोधम् – Consciousness; अ ैतम् – non-dual;

आ मानम् – Self; प रभावय – meditate upon; आभास – reflection of
Self (ego); अहम् – I; मम् – illusion; मु वा – having given up;
भावम् – fluctuations; बा म् – external; अथ – so also; अ तरम् –
internal

13. Having given up all external and internal fluctuations,

and the illusion - ‘I am the reflected Self (ego)’, meditate
upon the Self, as immutable non-dual Consciousness.

Having given ten suggestive arrow marks to indicate the

nature of the Self in the meditator, here, in this verse,
Aṣṭāvakra insists that the student with an undisturbed calm
mind should try to give up his egocentric sense of
limitations and meditate upon the already indicated spiritual
‘centre’ in him as the immutable, non-dual Consciousness.

This is the only verse in the entire song of Aṣṭāvakra,

where the Ᾱcārya prescribes meditation for the student.
Later on, the Teacher transcends even this position and
thunders that the very idea of meditation is a declaration of
one's own sense of imperfection – an unforgivable sin –
against the perfect Self.

A mechanical mental repetition of the qualities of the Self

is not meditation. An intellect that has been soaked with its
reflections upon these suggestive terms must come to a
point where it has no more any doubts to disturb it. And so
it halts. When the intellect has thus reached a state of
supreme serenity, if the seeker can hold his mind in a sense
of breathless expectation, alert and vigilant, ready to
experience a spontaneous ‘awakening’, then the individual
is at the highest state of meditative equipoise. This state of
utter balance within and total oblivion of the outer
happenings, is indicated here by the term ‘meditate’
(paribhāvaya).
 The term ‘kūṭastha’ employed in the verse is a very
suggestive term, rich in its meanings. The Sanskrit term
‘kūṭa’ has three distinct meanings: (a) mountain top, (b)
mystery, (c) anvil; all these three meanings are suggested
in this term. The Brahman, the Self is (a) the highest Reality,
(b) the mystery behind all the play of māyā and (c) the one
that changes not while everything in the universe gets
changed in contact with It and thus serves like an anvil.

The Self, viewed as the substratum for the whole

universe, is termed in Vedānta śāstras as the 'Brahman' and
as expressed through an individual mind and intellect, it is
called as ‘reflection’ (ābhāsaḥ) meaning the ego (jīva).

देहा भमानपाशेन चरं ब ोऽ स पु क।

बोधोऽहं ानख गेन त कृ य सुखी भव॥१४॥

dehabhimāna-pāśena ciraṁ baddho'si putraka,

bodho'haṁ jñāna-khaḍgena tanniṣkṛtya sukhī bhava. (14)

देहा भमानपाशेन – by the rope of body consciousness; चरम् – long;

ब ः – bound; अ स – are (you); पु क – dear son; बोधः –
intelligence; अहम् – I; ान ख गेन – with the sword of
Knowledge; तत् – that; िन कृ य – rending asunder; सुखी – happy;
भव – be

14. My dear son, you have been bound by the rope of your
body-consciousness. Rend it asunder with the sword of the
Knowledge ‘I am Consciousness’ and be happy.

Recently a Christian priest Rev. George was reconverted into

Hinduism and he was given the new name Śrī Janārdan.
That very afternoon when he was hailed by his name, he
ignored and continued along his way. Even when the person
ran to him, tapped on his shoulders and said, “Excuse me, I
hope you are Janārdan.” The new convert smiled and
apologetically exclaimed, “Sorry, you are mistaken”. Having
lived as George for a long number of years, even though he
has gone through the elaborate ceremonies of conversion
and has been told that his new name is Janārdan, it will yet
take time for him to forget his George identity and get
established in his new Janārdan identity.

You have been for trillions of years moving along the

path of your biological evolution, from the unicellular
existence, steadily progressing on to gain this noble human
birth and to learn to assert the human intelligence. In all
these long periods of evolution you have been living the
delusion of your ‘body consciousness’. Naturally, the idea ‘I
am the body’ is very strong in you. The deep paternal
anxiety and concern of the Teacher for the student is
indicated here when he addresses the student as ‘dear son’
(putraka).

Having explained to the student the nature of the Reality

and having indicated the path of realising It, now the
Teacher can do nothing more. The delusion is in the
student’s mind and none can help him save himself. He
must awake himself to his own real nature. Therefore, the
Teacher with anxious urgency insists, ‘Rend asunder’ the
noose of your body consciousness, in which you are at this
moment caught unaware, by your own spiritual ‘ignorance’.
This can be done only with the sharp sword of one’s own
direct realisation ‘I am Consciousness’.

Thus redeem yourself from your own delusion of body

and mind. Get away from the illusory sorrows of life and ‘be
happy’. Intuitive illumination occurs the very instant when
‘ignorance’ is dispelled. Realising ‘I am the Consciousness’,
abide in the Self and ‘be happy’.
िनःस ो िन योऽ स वं व काशो िनर नः।
अयमेव िह ते ब धः समा धमनु त स॥१५॥

niḥsaṅgo niṣkriyo'si tvaṁ svaprakāśo nirañjanaḥ,

ayam-eva hi te bandhaḥ samādhim-anutiṣṭhasi. (15)

िनःस ः – unattached; िन यः – actionless; अ स – are; वम् – you;

व काशः – self-effulgent; िनर नः – without taints, (stainless);
अयम् – this; एव – indeed; िह – surely; ते – your; ब धः – bondage;
समा धम् – meditation; अनु त स – practice

15. You are unattached, actionless, self-effulgent and

without any taints. ‘You practise meditation,’ and this
indeed is your bondage.

As the Self, you are unattached with your body-mind

equipments and with their perceived objects or entertained
thoughts. The post is unattached with every part of the
ghost. It is the limited, the finite alone that can act; the Self,
being all-pervading and infinite, is ever ‘actionless’
(niṣkriyaḥ). Where will the all-pervading act, as It has no
field other than Itself to act. In Its supreme Perfection It can
desire nothing, and without a desire how can action ever
spring forth? As Consciousness, the Self is ‘self-effulgent’
(sva-prakāśaḥ) and this light of Consciousness is never
dimmed as It is ‘without any taints’ (nirañjanaḥ). Beyond
vāsanās, illumining them, revels the pure seat of
Consciousness, the Self and as such It is stainless. The
Consciousness in us illumines for us our gross, subtle and
causal bodies.

The Self is ever free; therefore, It needs no meditation.

So long as we are meditating, there are still traces of the
ego in us, which alone can aspire for the Selfhood and
practise meditation. One who is trying to sleep, so long as
he is trying, he is not asleep. Once having reached sleep,
the sleeper is no more trying to sleep. It is only the waker
who can try to gain his sleep state. In the same way, so long
as an individual is meditating, he has not apprehended the
state of pure Consciousness.

Rare indeed are the seers of the calibre of Aṣṭāvakra,

who has the audacity to declare, so openly, that to meditate
upon the ever free and the ever liberated supreme Reality is
itself a symptom of the meditator's state of bondage. The
limited alone will strive to reach the unlimited; the bound
and the shackled alone need struggle to attain Liberation.

To a sincere student of meditation, this verse has a

precious secret suggestion. When all other thoughts have
subsided, the mind and, therefore, the ego survives itself
with the subtle vanity, ‘I am meditating’. Even this idea
must be finally given up. So long as one maintains the
awareness that ‘I am trying to sleep’, he cannot enter the
state of sleep. ‘I meditate’ is perhaps the last lingering
thought in almost all the seekers in higher meditation. The
moment even this vanity is given up, ‘the ego completely
disappears into the vision of the Reality’. In short, in the
supreme silence of meditation, a seeker should give up even
the idea of ‘doership’ experienced within him, as ‘I am
meditating’. This seems to be the mystic import of this
direct advice.

In Yogavāsiṣṭha9 also we read verses indicating the same

import.

So too the awareness 'I am the Self’ is never broken in

the man of samādhi. How can then he meditate? Upon
what? And why should he?10

Vasiṣṭha concludes in wonderment.11

 वया या िमदं िव ं व य ोतं यथाथतः।
शु बु व प वं मा गमः ु च ताम्॥१६॥

tvayā vyāptam-idaṁ viśvaṁ tvayi protaṁ yathārthataḥ,

śuddha-buddha-svarūpastvaṁ mā gamaḥ kṣudra-cittatām.
(16)

वया – by you; या म् – pervaded; इदम् – this; िव म् – universe;

व य – in you; ोतम् – strung or woven (and); यथाथतः – really;
शु बु व पः – by nature pure Consciousness; वम् – you; मा –
not; गमः – attain; ु च ताम् – petty-mindedness

16. You pervade this universe and this universe is strung or

woven only in you. Really, by nature, you are pure
Consciousness. Do not give way to petty-mindedness.

The material cause of a thing must pervade the thing made

out of it. Mud, the cause, pervades the entire pot made out
of mud. The Self – the Consciousness – from which the world
gets projected, must necessarily pervade the entire
universe. Out of the human mind when a dream gets
projected, the mind should pervade the entire world dreamt
by the dreamer. You are this Self; therefore, ‘you pervade
this universe.’

Not only the mind pervades the dreamworld of the

dreamer, but the entire dream is woven into or strung upon
the mind. In the mud is the pot supported and the pot form
exists only in the substance of the pot – the mud. Thus, you,
as the Self, carry ‘this universe strung, or woven, only in
yourself’.

Though, the universe thus exists in you and though it has

no existence apart from you, yet, you are not involved in, or
in any way conditioned by the universe; for, as the infinite
Self, ‘really, by nature, you are pure Consciousness’. In
Consciousness the ‘subject’ and ‘object’ get woven as the
warp and woof of this magnificent tapestry of the universe.

When you are thus the very substratum of the universe,

upon whom the universe of names and forms is but a
delusory projection, you should not get identified with these
misapprehensions and come to suffer the limitations and
sorrows of the little ego. To do so is mean. Cautions
Aṣṭāvakra, ‘Do not give way to petty-mindedness.’ To live,
feeling and acting as the limited ego, is unbecoming of your
divine and infinite true nature. There is nothing greater than
your essential spiritual being.

िनरपे ो िन वकारो िनभरः शीतलाशयः।

अगाधबु र ु धो भव च मा वासनः॥१७॥

nirapekṣo nirvikāro nirbharaḥ śītalāśayaḥ,

agādha-buddhir-akṣubdho bhava cinmātra-vāsanaḥ. (17)

िनरपे ः – unconditioned; िन वकारः – changeless; िनभरः – dense;

शीतलाशयः – of cool disposition (serene); अगाधबु ः – of profound
intelligence; अ ु धः – unperturbed ; भव – (you) be; च मा वासनः –
desiring of Consciousness alone

17. You are unconditioned, changeless, dense, of profound

intelligence, serene and unperturbed. Desire Consciousness
alone.

As pure Consciousness you depend upon nothing

(nirapekṣaḥ) you are unconditioned. Everywhere, at all
times, you are full and so the term used here is ‘dense’
(nirbharaḥ). As a contrast to the burning passions that
constantly agitate the egocentric life, the infinite Self in Its
supreme peace and perfection is ever serene – ‘of cool
disposition’ (śītalāśayaḥ).
 This great spiritual centre, Consciousness, is indicated by
some Masters by explaining the conditions under which the
Self can be experienced. Very often this technique is
employed in the Upaniṣads, wherein an adjectival noun,
indicating the Self, can in itself be a discourse upon an
exercise in realising the Self. Here the Self is declared as
‘profound Intelligence – serene and unperturbed’ (agādha
buddhiḥ akṣubdhaḥ) meaning, when the intellect is devoid
of all its thought disturbances, the Self, as pure
Consciousness, comes to manifest in a clear and direct
experience.

The common advice of all Masters to the seekers is one

and the same: ‘Desire this Consciousness alone.’ (bhava
cinmātra vāsanaḥ). As our desires, so our thoughts; as our
thoughts so our experiences. Desires of world of objects
shall create sensuous thoughts and we shall come to
experience the world of plurality. Ardently desire for a direct
apprehension of the pure Consciousness alone; our thoughts
shall be of the divine Self only and we shall come to
experience the great grand Reality of the universe and the
life therein.

साकारमनृतं िव िनराकारं तु िन लम्।

एत वोपदेशेन न पुनभवस भवः॥१८॥

sākāram-anṛtaṁ viddhi nirākāraṁ tu niścalam,

etat-tattvopadeśena na punarbhava-sambhavaḥ. (18)

साकारम् – that which has form; अनृतम् – false; िव – know;

िनराकारम् – the formless; तु – but; िन लम् – changeless; एतत् त व
उपदेशेन – by this instruction regarding the Truth; न – not; पुनभव
स भवः – possibility of rebirth (is)
18. Know that which has form to be false and the formless
to be changeless. Through this spiritual instruction you shall
escape the possibility of rebirth.

When a sincere seeker tries to practise what has been

suggested in the previous verse, the meditator may meet
with a persistent obstacle at almost every moment of his
meditation. He has been advised in the previous verse that
the Self is ‘profound intelligence, serene and unperturbed’.
Yet, in the meditator, thought waves do rise up continuously
to disturb and distract his attention. How is he to dry up this
continuous eruption of mental pictures, drawn from the past
memories or fancied by his faculty of imagination? Here
Aṣṭāvakra very subtly suggests, to the seekers, a technique
on how to hush up the mind and silence the intellect.

The student must have a clear idea of what he is

seeking. In meditation, the student is seeking the Real, in
and through his own mental web, woven by the erratic play
of the illusory names and forms that constitute the unreal.
In the mystic literature, ‘that which remains changeless in
the past, present and future’ is the Real, and ‘that which
was not and will not be, but apparently seems to exist in the
present’ is the unreal. Thus, the post is ‘real’; the ghost is
‘unreal’. The waking is ‘real’; the dream is ‘unreal’. The
ocean is real, the waves are unreal. The changing world of
plurality is the unreal; the permanent substratum is the
Real.

The body, the mind, the intellect and their perceptions,

emotions and thoughts are all constantly changing and
therefore, they are unreal. The Consciousness that illumines
their rise, their existence and their disappearance is
permanent and, therefore, is Real. Having thus a clear
notion of what is Real and what is unreal, the meditator can
very easily reject the false, the unreal and aspire to
apprehend the true, the Real. ‘Know that which has form’,
meaning every object of experience, ‘to be false’ and ‘the
formless to be the changeless’, meaning true (Real).

Naturally, therefore, the attention of the meditator is

directed, away from his equipments of experiences, into the
pure seat of all consciousness. When the knowledge of this
true nature of the Self reaches the meditator, his illusory
ego and its misapprehension of the universe shall roll away.

यथैवादशम य थे पेऽ तः प रत तु सः।

तथैवा मन् शरीरेऽ तः प रतः परमे रः॥१९॥

yathaivādarśa-madhyasthe rūpe'ntaḥ paritastu saḥ,

tathaivāsmin śarīre'ntaḥ paritaḥ parameśvaraḥ. (19)

यथा – as; एव – just; आदशम य थेे – existing in a mirror; पे – in an

image; अ तः - within; प रतः – without; तु – and; सः – that (mirror
exists); तथा – so too; एव – just; अ मन् शरीरे – in this body; अ तः –
inside; प रतः – outside; परमे रः – the supreme Lord (exists)

19. Just as a mirror exists inside and outside the image

reflected in it, so the supreme Self exists inside and outside
this body.

Although during meditation one meditates upon the spiritual

centre as a point within himself, when he withdraws himself
from all the agitations created by his matter vestures and
apprehends this seat of Consciousness within, he awakes to
realise the boundless state of the infinite Self. The eternal
Self, infinite and unconditioned, is ever present everywhere,
both within and without. In fact, the very idea of inside and
outside is only with reference to the meditator's body
awareness. As a matter of fact when you are asleep, what is
your dimension? Where is your location? When the body is
not perceived, the concepts of within and without are no
longer valid.

With reference to a room, or a pot, we can qualify space

as space within and space without. But when the pot is
broken or the walls are pulled down, there can be only one
all-pervading space. Similarly, the seeker, so long as he is
within his conditionings, he meditates upon his Self, as the
pure Subject within himself. But on apprehending the Self,
he experiences Its all-pervading infinite nature.

In order to communicate this idea, Aṣṭāvakra uses here a

very original example. The reflection is in the mirror and the
mirror pervades within and outside the reflection caught in
it. The reflection has no existence apart from the mirror.
Even when the reflection is not there, the mirror continues
to be. Similarly, reflected in the three bodies – the gross, the
subtle and the causal – the Consciousness appears to dance
to the rhythm of the bodies and this reflection (ābhāsaḥ),
caught in our bosom, is the ego (jīva).

The very existence of the three bodies is brought about

by one’s own illusions. They are superimposed upon the Self
by ‘ignorance’. As the post is within the ghost vision, the
Self is within the body.

But the infinite Self, the Consciousness, is within and

outside the individualised ego and its matter wrappings. Just
as the reflection cannot in any way disturb the reflecting
medium, so too the Self is not affected by the
superimposition of the equipments, or the reflection of the
ego.

In this eloquent and striking metaphor employed here,

the Teacher in Aṣṭāvakra deliberately employs the word
‘Parmeśvara’ (God) in place of supreme Consciousness. In
fact, the individual (jīva), the universe (jagat) and Lord, the
Creator (Īśvara) are all different manifestations of the same
infinite Consciousness.

एकं सवगतं योम बिहर तयथा घटे।

िन यं िनर तरं सवभूतगणे तथा॥२०॥

ekaṁ sarvagataṁ vyoma bahir-antar-yathā ghaṭe,

nityaṁ nirantaraṁ brahma sarvabhūtagaṇe tathā. (20)

एकम् – the one and the same; सवगतम् – all-pervading; योम –

space; बिहः – outside; अ तः – inside (exists); यथा – as; घटे – in a
jar; िन यम् – immutable; िनर तरम् – all-pervasive; – Brahman;
सवभूतगणे – exists in all things and beings; तथा – so

20. Just as the same all-pervading space is inside and

outside the jar, so the immutable and all-pervading
Brahman exists in all things and beings.

In the previous verse, with his enchanting metaphor of a

reflection and the mirror, the all-pervasiveness of the Self
was indicated and the transcendence of the Self was
established. While, in the present verse with which the
chapter concludes, the immanence of the Self is being
emphasised. In order to communicate this idea Aṣṭāvakra
again employs a very suggestive analogy borrowed from the
Upaniṣads. The all-pervading space exists both inside and
outside every pot. Similarly, the infinite Consciousness is
present in the bosom of every existence – in all things and
beings (sarva bhūta gaṇe).

The pot-space may apparently look as though

conditioned by the pot. There can be less space or more
space according to the volume of the pot; there can also be
clean space or dirty space according to the condition of the
pot. But in fact space, as such, can never be conditioned by
the pot that exists only in space. Similarly, the infinite
Consciousness in which all equipments exist and play about,
apparently seems to get conditioned by the individual
equipments.

The presence of the Self in all things and beings is

emphasised in this famous and oft-repeated illustration
given in Vedānta.

1 na bhūmir-āpo na ca vahnir-asti na cānilo me'sti na cāmbaraṁ ca,

evaṁ viditvā paramātma-rūpaṁ guhāśayaṁ niṣkalam-advitīyam. (23)
samasta-sākṣiṁ sad-asad-vihīnaṁ prayāti śuddhaṁ paramātma-rūpaṁ. (24)
– Kaivalyopaniṣad-23 and 24

2 yadi-sarvaṁ-parityajya-tiṣṭhasyutkrānta-vāsanaḥ,
amunaiva-nimeṣeṇa-tanmukto'si-na-saṁśayaḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-3.66.19

3 In short the Self is not an object, but it is ever the Existence-Knowledge (Sat-
Cit). In Sanskrit akṣi means ‘the eyes,’ but the term ‘akṣa’ is used as a common
noun to indicate the entire set of our instruments of experience – the sense
organs, the mind and the intellect.

4 Śvetāśvatara-upaniṣad – 6.11

5 triṣu dhāmasu yadbhogyaṁ bhoktā bhogaśca yadbhavet,

tebhyo vilakṣaṇaḥ sākṣī cinmātro'haṁ sadāśivaḥ. – Kaivalya-upaniṣad-18

6 apāṇipādo'hamacintyaśaktiḥ paśyāmyacakṣuḥ sa śṛṇomyakarṇaḥ,

ahaṁ vijānāmi viviktarūpo na cāsti vettā mama citsadā'ham.
– Kaivalyopaniṣad-21

7 mana eva manuṣyāṇām kāraṇaṁ bandhamokṣayoḥ.

8 yat cittaṁ tanmayo bhavati puruṣaḥ – Yogavāsiṣṭha

9 sādho-samādhiśabdena-parā-prajñocyate-budhaiḥ,
ajasramambuvahanād-yathā-nadyā-na-rudhyate. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.62.9 and 15
10 tathātmajñānahīnātmā-kālo-jñasya-na-labhyate. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.62.19

11 sarvagaḥ-sarvadaivātmā-sarvameva-ca-sarvathā,
asamādhirhi-kau'sau-syāt-samādhirapi-kaḥ-smṛtaḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.62.24
 Chapter – 2
The Marvellous Self
Introduction

All mystic saints when trying to verbalise their experiences

of the transcendental, become mute with wonderment, at
the ecstatic marvel of the very Experience Divine. Even the
unusually eloquent mystics of the Upaniṣads, who have
evolved to themselves a sane vocabulary and an intelligent
technique of communication, are often compelled to employ
a stammering diction, punctuated with endless
exclamations!! In this chapter, in many verses, Janaka
tumbles himself through jungles of exclamations!!!

As a student Janaka approaches his Teacher Aṣṭāvakra in

the previous chapter and words springing from Master's
bosom, of lived subjective experience of the Self, have
rocketed the student into an immediate subjective
experience of the Reality. The staggering uniqueness of the
experience, and the breathless vividness of his direct
enlightenment, chokes the student and deprives him of his
eloquence.

When a human intellect can understand and comprehend

a happening, it is no more a wonder. The intellect is then
satisfied by its description or explanation. But when we
experience something for which our intellect cannot
immediately provide with a logical explanation, the
incomprehensibility of it all makes it a wonder. In moments
of wonderment the intellect is stunned into a bewildering
silence. Hence the Supreme is often indicated by the term
‘wonder of wonders’ : (atyāścarya mayam devam). We read
this term ‘(āścarya)’ employed both in the Gīta and in the
Upaniṣads.

In this chapter the ‘joy of realisation’ is expressed in a

language at once fluid and soul stirring. The graphic diction
employed here can stimulate the contemplative faculty in
the students of meditation. The description of the universe,
sustained and illumined by the Self, is so impressive that a
sincere reflective mind can readily feel the extensive
cosmos around him as nothing but an insignificant limb of
his own infinite Self! To the little ego, familiar with its
meagre selfish world, such an expansion of its experience
within should be a staggering wonder!

King Janaka, the disciple, in this chapter demonstrates

that the words of the Master have brought into the royal
bosom an immediate enlightenment. All his illusions have
been suddenly lifted. The knowledge-knower-knowable triad
has fused to disappear, along with the ego, into the vision of
the infinite tranquillity – the Self. The description of this
merger is made unforgettably vivid, by the striking
examples so dexterously employed by Janaka.

जनक उवाच
अहो िनर नः शा तो बोधोऽहं कृतेः परः।
एताव तमहं कालं मोहेनव
ै िवड बतः॥१॥
janaka uvāca
aho nirañjanaḥ śānto bodho'haṁ prakṛteḥ paraḥ,
etāvantam-ahaṁ kālaṁ mohenaiva viḍambitaḥ. (1)

अहो – O; िनर नः – taintless; शा तः – serene; बोधः –

Consciousness; अहम् – I (am); कृतेः – of nature; परः – beyond;
एताव तम् – so long; अहम् – I; कालम् – time, days; मोहेन – by
delusion; एव – only; िवड बतः – bewildered

Janaka said :

1. O! I am the taintless, serene, pure Consciousness, and

beyond nature. So long I have spent my days bewildered by
delusion.

The student of Realisation is here regretting the pitiable

sorrows through which he had lived for aeons, due to his
own delusions that he is his body and mind. Now he has
realised that he is the pure Consciousness, at once
‘taintless’ because he is beyond the vāsanās and ‘serene’
because he has transcended the agitation breeding mind. In
fact, he experiences that he is ‘beyond matter’ (prakṛteḥ
paraḥ) and is of the nature of pure Consciousness.

The regret is that, for a span of time, rolling back to

trillions of years, in various embodiments, he had, as an
individualised ego continued his dream play of sense
pursuits, seeking in them his satisfaction and happiness and
had thus lived in sorrow and pain because of his own
delusions.

We have already described that this ‘delusion’ streams

forth from one’s identifications with one’s body, mind and
intellect.

According to the Sāṅkhyan philosophy, the cause for the

entire universe of names and forms is nature (prakṛti); and
the Spirit (Puruṣa) enlivens the inert nature. In his song,
Aṣṭāvakra seems to have no patience with such rational
explanations which are all views of the intellect, not the
visions of the Spirit. Aṣṭāvakra recognises the Self alone as
the one ultimate cause for everything and the Self as
Consciousness is the illuminator of both matter (prakṛti) and
Spirit (Puruṣa).

यथा काशया येको देहमेनं तथा जगत्।

अतो मम जग सवमथवा न च िक न॥२॥
yathā prakāśayāmyeko deham-enaṁ tathā jagat,
ato mama jagat-sarvam-athavā na ca kiñcana. (2)

यथा – as; काशयािम – illumine (I); एकः – the one; देहम् – body; एनम्
– this; तथा – so (also); जगत् – the universe (I reveal); अतः –
therefore; मम – mine; जगत् – the universe; सवम् – all; अथवा – or;
न – not; च – indeed; िक न – anything (mine)

2. I, the One, illumine this body and also reveal this

universe. Therefore, mine is all this universe or indeed
nothing is mine.

Established as he is at this moment in Consciousness,

Janaka declares, ‘I am the sole one, who illumines the body
and reveals the universe’. Matter by itself has no light of its
own. Matter is to be illumined by some other 'source' of
light. My body, mind and intellect are equipments, made up
of matter. The sense stimuli received by the mind are again
inert matter. If the Consciousness were not in me, who else
would have illumined this panorama of the subject-object
world?
 It is in the light of the Consciousness that all perceptions
of the sense organs, all the emotions of the mind and all the
thoughts of the intellect become our experiences. If this
principle of Consciousness were not in the universe, there
would have been no ‘knowledge’, everything would have
been an empty void, a barren stretch of non-existence.

With his new found wisdom, the royal Saint Janaka looks
around and concludes that everything of the subjective and
the objective worlds are illumined by Himself, the
Consciousness. Thus, from the relative standpoint meaning,
accepting the delusion of pluralistic phenomenal world,
Janaka thunders that He, the Self, is the one that illumines
the entire plurality.

Immediately, he gets himself uplifted into the sanctum of

the Self and from this absolute standpoint, he roars, ‘Or,
indeed, nothing is mine’. Viewed from the non-dual Self
there are no worlds of multiplicity and therefore, ‘nothing is
mine’.

The Self as Consciousness (Cit) illumines the plurality;

and as Existence (Sat) is the very substratum for the entire
universe.

सशरीरमहो िव ं प र य य मयाऽधुना।
कुत त् कौशलादेव परमा मा िवलो यते॥३॥
saśarīram-aho viśvaṁ parityajya mayā'dhunā,
kutaścit kauśalād-eva paramātmā vilokyate. (3)

सशरीरम् – with the body; अहो – O; िव म् – universe; प र य य –

abandon; मया – by me; अधुना – now; कुत त् – through some;
कौशलात् – skill (dexterity); एव – only; परमा मा – supreme Self;
िवलो यते – is apprehended

3. O! having abandoned the universe together with the

body, I now perceive the supreme Self through the dexterity
of some Teacher.

If, in the above two verses, the spirit of wonderment was

only whispered between the lines, from here onwards we
hear clear open exclamations of amazement directly spelt
out (aho!).

As an ego we are constantly aware of our equipments,

the body and their perceptions, together called the
universe. On transcending the equipments, the fields of
experiences are also transcended. Thus ‘having abandoned
the universe together with the body’ the student reaches
not an empty void, but comes to live the dynamics of the
Whole – the Self. Janaka confesses in this verse, ‘I now
perceive the supreme Self’.

Here the term ‘perceive’ should not be understood as

experience of something different from himself. There is no
duality as experiencer and the experienced, when one
awakes into the non-dual Brahman. Yet, the term ‘vision’
(darśana) is often employed to emphasise the idea that
afterwards there cannot be, to the individualised ego, any
traces of doubts regarding the Self. ‘To see’ is to believe; the
direct apprehension is an unquestionable authority in itself.

How then is this ‘vision’ accomplished by the student? Is

it because of the Teacher? Is it because of the study? Is it
the result of his devotion? Is it accomplished through
service? How did he manage to gain this unique experience?
 According to the thinkers of Vedānta, the Self cannot be
the 'effect' of anything, the 'result' of any special endeavour
undertaken. It is not produced because of sādhanā. The Self
is; it ever exists, same as ever before. It is not caused by
anything, inasmuch as whatever is caused, that necessarily
undergoes a change and that which is changeable is ever
perishable. The imperishable Infinite is ever-present.

Then, does it mean that all spiritual practices are of no

avail? Is religion a belief? Are the different yogas mere
deceptions? No. All of them are necessary in order to de-
hypnotise our agitated mind and riotous intellect. When the
thought process slows down and stops, the mind-intellect is
transcended. Then the ego ceases. Where the illusion of ego
is lifted, the Reality is revealed. When the illusion of the
serpent has ended, the rope is seen remaining the same as
ever before.

In this verse, therefore, Janaka in supreme honesty tries

to explain that he has arrived at this marvellous Self-
realisation by the mysterious power, so far unknown, risen
out of the cumulative effect of all his studies and all his
practices and he owes his gratitude to all the Masters of the
Upaniṣads and all the Teachers he had served in his life.
Hence, the student here declares: ‘Through the dexterity of
some Teacher’, he has attained to the Self.

The student cannot point out who his teacher is nor can
he honestly pinpoint by what exact practice has he arrived
at the gates of Truth and exploded himself into Its presence.
The entire universe with all its happenings, together is a
university educating the ego to grow and evolve to the
ultimate realisation of its essential Reality. How then can
any Man of Wisdom claim any particular teacher as his sole
guide or any particular path as his only way? Lost in
wonderment, the student can only declare that he has come
to his Realisation, in himself, by the dexterity of some
Master.

यथा न तोयतो भ ा तर ाः फेनबु दु ाः।

आ मनो न तथा भ ं िव मा मिविनगतम्॥४॥
yathā na toyato bhinnās-taraṅgāḥ phena-budbudāḥ,
ātmano na tathā bhinnaṁ viśvam-ātmavinirgatam. (4)

यथा – as; न – not; तोयतः – from water; भ ाः – different; तर ाः –

waves; फेनबु दु ाः – foam and bubbles; आ मनाः – from the Self; न
– not; तथा – similarly; भ म् – different; िव म् – universe;
आ मिविनगतम् – streaming out from the Self

4. As waves, foam and bubbles are not different from the

waters, so the universe, streaming forth from the Self, is not
different from the Self.

In this stupendous experience of the infinite Consciousness

where does the world of matter and energy stand? Janaka
explains here that they have all become one with the
infinite Consciousness. But how? Is this rational to say so?
How are we to understand this declaration? Janaka employs
an analogy, to help us intellectually to evaluate the spiritual
experience, which is always trans-intellect. The material
cause is that from which the effects arise and the effects so
risen can never be anything different from the cause. The
waves, foam, bubbles and so on, risen from the waters, can
never be anything other than water itself.

An effect is nothing other than its own cause in another

form. The universe that has stemmed out from the Self, is
also nothing different from It. At the moment of wisdom,
when the Self is realised, on gaining the vision of the Self,
the disturbing plurality of the universe ceases to be. In the
understanding that the ocean is an immeasurable mass of
water, the crowd of waves, foams and bubbles no longer
disturb and distract, although they may exist and play about
on the surface of the ocean. The universe is nothing but the
Self, and is never in any way different from It.

त तुमा ो भवेदेव पटो य ि चा रतः।

आ मत मा मेवेदं त ि ं िवचा रतम्॥५॥
tantumātro bhaved-eva paṭo yadvad-vicāritaḥ,
ātmatanmātram-evedaṁ tadvad-viśvaṁ vicāritam. (5)

त तुमा ः – thread only; भवेत् – is; एव – certainly; पटः – cloth; य त् –

as; िवचा रतः – analysed; आ मत मा म् – nothing but the Self; एव –
certainly; इदम् – this; त त् – even so; िव म् – universe; िवचा रतम् –
examined carefully

5. Just as cloth, when analysed, becomes nothing but

thread, even so this universe, when examined carefully is
found to be nothing but the Self.

The unique visions of the mystic sages are not readily

comprehensible to the seekers in their early stages of study
and practice. And this is as it should be. The vision of the
Masters is the intuitive apprehension of the Reality, when
they transcend their intellects. But the student is rooted in
his body consciousness and is trying to comprehend the
Reality with his intellect. Necessarily the intellectual
faculties of logic and reason must stand aghast at the
daring words of the mystic apprehension.

Yet, the function of the scriptures is to help the student to

conceive and understand the Reality as clearly as possible
for the rational comprehension of man. This communication
is accomplished by the scriptural Masters of the world all
over, through the use of effective examples and eloquent
analogies, boisterous metaphors and expressive similes.

Aṣṭāvakra here employs a familiar example of the

Upaniṣads.

Ordinarily, in our day-to-day transactions, we use cloth

and view it from its utility standpoint. But a little thoughtful
examination can easily reveal that what we consider as
cloth is nothing but threads woven together. Yet, if you go to
a trader in textile goods and demand a pound of thread,
how few of them would really cut a piece of cloth to the
weight of one pound! Every shopkeeper would declare that
he has no thread for sale! In the vision of the cloth, the
existence of the thread is not generally recognised. To see
the thread, a little discriminative thinking is necessary.

In our day-to-day life, we are jostled about by the

moment-to-moment happenings around us and in the
laughter and tears of living through them, we take the world
of plurality (viśvam) for its face value. Here the Ᾱcārya
reminds the student that with a little discrimination, world
can be discovered as nothing but the Consciousness, the
Self. ‘A stress in Consciousness’ is a thought. ‘A continuous
stream of thoughts maintained in our bosom’ provides us
with a delusory expression of the mighty and the powerful
mind. Through the mind we see the world of names and
forms projected upon the Consciousness. Thus the
perceived objects and the perceiving equipments are all
‘stresses’ in Consciousness. When these illusion creating,
delusion breeding 'stresses' are relinquished, through deep
meditation, the thoughts cease; the mind is lifted; and the
hallucination of the universe rolls away.
 With a little scientific thought the essential reality of the
universe can be detected as the pure Consciousness only.

यथैवे ुरसे ृ ा तेन या व

ै शकरा।
तथा िव ं म य ृ ं मया या ं िनर तरम्॥६॥
yathaivekṣurase kḷptā tena vyāptaiva śarkarā,
tathā viśvaṁ mayi kḷptaṁ mayā vyāptaṁ nirantaram. (6)

यथा – as; एव – just; इ ुरसे – in the juice of the sugarcane; ृ ा –

produced; तेन – with that (juice); या – pervaded; एव –
entirely; शकरा – sugar; तथा – so; िव म् – the universe; म य – in
me; ृ म् – produced; मया – by me; या म् – permeated; िनर तरम्
– within and without

6. Just as sugar made from the sugarcane juice is entirely

pervaded by that juice, so the universe, produced in me, is
permeated by me, both within and without.

When an example is used as an analogy, Teachers are

compelled to draw a picture from the finite world which is
familiar to the student but the Infinite can never be fully
explained by the finite! Thus, an analogy can help to explain
to us only some aspect of Truth; very often the same
analogy may give us a false impression of Truth, in some
other aspects.

In the example of the cloth, no doubt, it is made up of

the thread; apart from the thread there is no existence for
the cloth. But in a woven cloth there should be microscopic
spaces interlacing the woven tirades that form its warp and
woof. The example given in the above verse, may thus lead
the student into a misconception that the Consciousness
exists in the things and beings of the universe, with lots of
interspaces! This would contradict the all-pervasiveness of
the Self. Hence to re-inforce the previous example, the
teacher doles out yet another analogy, in this verse,
supplementing the understanding derived from the
previous.

Sugar is made out of the sugarcane juice and the juice

pervades every part of the sugar so crystallised. A sugar
crystal is homogeneous with the sweetness of the juice.
‘Similarly’ indicates Janaka, ‘I, as the Self, pervade, inside
and outside the universe, that has crystallised in me.’

All the above three verses, through different analogies lift

the student's understanding to comprehend that the world
of plurality is nothing but infinite Consciousness in an
apparent state of disturbance. In reality the world is nothing
but the Self alone.

Then, why this experience of the universe? What makes

the world appear? Who creates it? Thus many similar
questions are natural in the bosom of a seeker in the early
stages of his study. They are answered in the following
verse.

आ मा ाना ग ा त आ म ाना भासते।

र व ानादिहभा त त ाना ासते न िह॥७॥
ātmājñānājjagad-bhāti ātmajñānānna bhāsate,
rajjvajñānād-ahirbhāti tajjñānād-bhāsate na hi. (7)

आ मा ानात् – from the ‘ignorance’ of the Self; जगत् – the

universe; भा त – appears; आ म ानात् – from the ‘knowledge’ of
the Self; न – not; भासते – appears; र ुअ ानात् – from the non-
apprehension of the rope; अिहः – serpent; भा त – appears;
त ानात् – from the apprehension of that; भासते – appears; न –
not; िह – indeed

7. The universe appears from the ‘ignorance' of the Self,

and disappears with 'knowledge’ of the Self just as the
serpent, indeed, appears from the 'non-apprehension' of the
rope and disappears with its 'apprehension'.

Supplying the student with an explanation on why the

creation of an illusory world of plurality and how this
creation is maintained, we have here the oft-quoted
example, as given in Vedānta, of the rope and the serpent.
When the substratum, the rope, is not cognised, in this ‘non-
apprehension’ (ignorance) of the rope, the restless mind
imagines various ‘misapprehensions’. When the intellect is
veiled, the mind projects. Then the illusion is sustained by
the fanciful imagination of the mind. Thereafter follows all
the confusions and sorrows. When the substratum, the rope,
is ‘apprehended’, the ‘non-apprehension’ of the rope is
ended; naturally, therefore, all ‘misapprehensions’ also end.

In our ‘ignorance’ of the Self, the experiencer-

experienced universe (jagat) manifests to supply the
confusions and sorrows in the experiencing-ego. When the
miserable ego rediscovers itself to be nothing other than the
pure Self, the plurality merges to disappear into the one,
non-dual Reality.

That Janaka here is employing the example as given in

Upaniṣads, need not necessarily be a mere slavish
repetition. The royal saint in the King Janaka, on realising
the Self, has now the same experience as the saints of the
Upaniṣads had in their mystic moments of their spiritual
Realisation. Therefore, there can certainly be a similarity of
expression.
 In that case what exactly is my nature as Self? At this
moment I have an identity, a location in space, an
expression in time. But once this ego in me has ended, it
would be the total destruction of my individuality and,
thereafter, how do I survive? What would be my nature?
These questions are answered by Janaka, in the following
verse, by defining his own spiritual nature as he directly
experiences.

काशो मे िनजं पं ना त र ोऽ यहं ततः।

यदा काशते िव ं तदाऽहंभास एव िह॥८॥
prakāśo me nijaṁ rūpaṁ nātirikto'smyahaṁ tataḥ,
yadā prakāśate viśvaṁ tadā'haṁbhāsa eva hi. (8)

काशः – light; मे – my; िनजम् – own; पम् – nature; न – not;

अ त र ः – different; अ म – am; अहम् – I; ततः – from that; यदा –
when; काशते – manifests; िव म् – universe; तदा – then; अहम् – I;
भास – shine; एव – alone; िह – indeed

8. Light is my very nature; I am nothing other than that

Light. When the universe manifests, indeed, it is I alone who
shine.

The life, as Consciousness, brings to our awareness all our

experiences – physical, mental and intellectual. In this sense
of the term, the Upaniṣads very often indicate the Self as
'Light' (Caitanya). This example is very often taken by the
student too literally and in their overzealous enthusiasm
they start imagining in their meditation that they had seen
the Truth as a dazzling ‘mass of light’. Hindu Teachers, while
teaching us the Upaniṣads, take special pains to remind us
that the term ‘Light’ as used here is not ‘light’ as we
experience in the world outside. What we experience can
only be an ‘object’ not the ‘Subject’. Śrī Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa had once defined the Reality as ‘Light without
its properties’. In Vedānta, the Self is considered as ‘Light’
because of its essential expression, in all living beings, as
Consciousness.

When the ego is ended, the seeker rediscovers himself to

be the light of Consciousness that illuminates both the
subject and its world of objects, the experiencing ego and
the entire field of its experiences.

Janaka from his own inward experience of this

transcendental Self identifies himself with the infinite
Consciousness and declares, ‘Light is my very nature; I am
nothing other than that Light.’ This ‘Light’-nature is
inexpressible for the human intellect and when this
Consciousness is viewed through our disturbing equipments
of the body, mind and intellect, it is visualised as the world
of objects, emotions and thoughts.

In a cinema theatre, inside the machine room, is the

white arc light which is spread on the entire area of the
screen, facing the audience. But when the film passes in
front of the arc light within the machine room, the audience
observes the world of names and forms and their
movements, revealing the theme of the story. In the same
way, the Consciousness within is viewing the Consciousness
which is the substratum of the whole universe, through our
equipments and, therefore, the world picture is perceived.

In short, the universe is nothing but a projection of the

effulgent Self. We are irresistibly reminded of a similar
assertion in the Bhagavad-gītā.1

Ṛṣis of Upaniṣads also are insisting that all that exists,

shines and rejoices are all variegated expressions of the
One, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, Saccidānanda-Reality. The
awareness of the universe is itself a play of the Awareness.

अहो िवक पतं िव म ाना म य भासते।

यं शु ौ फणी र ौ वा र सूयकरे यथा॥९॥
aho vikalpitaṁ viśvam-ajñānān-mayi bhāsate,
rūpyaṁ śuktau phaṇī rajjau vāri sūryakare yathā. (9)

अहो – O! Marvellous; िवक पतम् – misapprehended; िव म् – the

universe; अ ानात् – through ignorance; म य – in Me; भासते –
appears; यम् – silver; शु ौ – in the mother-of-pearl; फणी –
snake; र ौ– in the rope; वा र – water (so); सूयकरे – in the
sunlight; यथा – as

9. O Marvellous! The universe appears in Me,

misapprehended through ‘ignorance’ just as silver in the
mother-of-pearl, snake in the rope, and water in the
sunlight.

In all the immediately preceding five verses we have been

provided with as many as five different examples to prove,
or to indicate, that the Self is the cause for the universe and
as such it pervades all the things and beings. If a pot is
made out of mud, certainly the mud pervades the pot. But
this is possible only because the mud can undergo
modifications.

The changeless Infinite knows no modifications and,

therefore, even to assume that the world of plurality is an
effect of the Supreme – the cause – is to accept the idea
that in the Supreme a change had occurred. That which is
changeable, is perishable. Thus, if we accept this
assumption, the entire philosophy would crash into a jumble
of twisted contradictions and logical absurdities!!!

Janaka, here supplies us, in this verse, with another three

famous examples of Vedānta, to indicate that the universe
of names and forms is itself only an apparent illusion
projected by the mind of the observer. Illusion cannot affect
the substratum. They appear to exist only when the
substratum is not directly perceived. With the apprehension
of the Reality, the misapprehension ceases to be.

As the silvery shine in a seashell or the vision of the

snake on a rope or as mirage waters, so too the universe is
apparently perceived upon Me, the Self. In my ignorance of
the nature of the Self, I imagine and project the universe
and with the discovery of the Self – with the Realisation that
I am the Self – all illusions end.

म ो िविनगतं िव ं म येव लयमे य त।

मृिद कु भो जले वी चः कनके कटकं यथा॥१०॥
matto vinirgataṁ viśvaṁ mayyeva layameṣyati,
mṛdi kumbho jale vīciḥ kanake kaṭakaṁ yathā. (10)

म ः – from Me; िविनगतम् – had streamed forth; िव म् – the

universe; म य – in Me; एव – surely; लयम् – dissolution; ए य त –
will attain; मृिद – clay; कु भः – pot; जले – in water; वी चः – wave;
कनके – in gold (dissolves); कटकम् – bangles; यथा – just as

10. Just as the pot dissolves into clay, the wave into water or
the bangle into gold, so the universe which has streamed
forth from Me will attain dissolution in Me.
When the ghost appears or when the ghost disappears, it
cannot be said that the illusory ghost had reached the post
from any distant definite point in space, nor that the ghost
has gone to any destination in space. It is a delusion and as
such it exists only in the imagination of the observer. In fact,
the ghost vision that apparently rose in the post must be
considered as having dissolved back again into the very
same post.

Janaka, numbed with his own sense of wonderment,

continues to verbalise what has happened to him and how
his vision of the universe has ended. Just as the effect
merges back into its cause, similarly the illusion of the
subject-object world has, in him, re-entered to become one
with the Self.

अहो अहं नमो म ं िवनाशो य य ना त मे।

ािद त बपय तं जग ाशेऽिप त तः॥११॥
aho ahaṁ namo mahyaṁ vināśo yasya nāsti me,
brahmādi-stamba-paryantaṁ jagannāśe'pi tiṣṭhataḥ. (11)

अहो – O! Marvellous; अहम् – I; नमः – adoration; म म् – to Me;

िवनाशः – destruction; य य – whose; नः – not; अ त – is; मे – My;
ािद त बपय तम् – from the Creator down to a grass blade;
जग नाशे – when there is destruction of the universe; अिप –
even; त तः – existing

11. O! Marvellous am I! Adoration to Myself who knows no

decay and survives even the destruction of the universe,
from the Creator (Brahmā) down to a blade of grass.

From this point starts a set of four verses each an explosive

exclamation over the new found glory and divinity of the
essential Self, which is the one universal Reality that
supports the entire flux of matter in the medium of time and
space.

Wonder of wonders! Marvellous am I! To me all

adorations (aho ahaṁ namo mahyaṁ). This seems to be the
chorus running all through the set of four verses here. With
the realisation of the Self, It is recognised as something not
merely fantastic, but also as something divine and beautiful
that demands one's own reverence and adoration.

The absolute Self knows no decay. It serves as the

substratum, upon which the Creator and the created come,
play and disappear. The Supreme ever remains just as It is –
unaffected by the illusory play of the cosmos upon Its
serene tranquillity.

‘This infinite Self am I’ is the Realisation. Therefore, in

these verses Janaka uses the first person singular pronoun,
he is identifying himself with the supreme Brahman; the
Upaniṣads are never tired of asserting – ‘The knower of the
Brahman becomes Brahman.’2

Same idea has been couched in a more beautiful style in

Varāha-upaniṣad.3

We find this very same verse repeated in Yogavāsiṣṭha.

The Upaniṣad mantra also says: ‘Adoration for You and for
Me, who is infinite; for Me and for You who is pure
Intelligence.’ 4

अहो अहं नमो म मेकोऽहं देहवानिप।

व च ग ता नाग ता या य िव मव थतः॥१२॥
aho ahaṁ namo mahyam-eko'haṁ dehavānapi,
kvacinna gantā nāgantā vyāpya viśvam-avasthitaḥ. (12)

अहो – O! Marvellous; अहम् – I; नमः – adoration; म म् – to myself;

एकः – one; अहम् – I; देहवान् – having a body; अिप – even; व चत् –
anywhere; न – not; ग ता – going; न – not; आग ता - coming; या य
– pervading; िव म् – the universe; अव थतः – existing

12. Marvellous am I! Adoration to Myself, who, though with a

body, am one, who neither go anywhere, nor come from
anywhere but ever abide pervading the universe.

The voiceless wonderment at the revelation of the beauty

and glory of the Self continues to express itself in
stammering words from Janaka, who is pressed down under
the weight of his own direct experience.

My sense organs, mind and intellect can go and come to

different points in space and time and this phenomena of
movement was very familiar to me all through my existence
as a limited self. On regaining the divine state of Selfhood in
Me, I have realised that all movements were in Me and that
‘I neither go to nor come from anywhere.’ I am ever abiding
in My own infinite nature, pervading and penetrating the
entire universe of disturbances which take place in one
insignificant part of Me!!!

अहो अहं नमो म ं द ो ना तीह म समः।

असं पृ य शरीरेण येन िव ं चरं धृतम्॥१३॥
aho ahaṁ namo mahyaṁ dakṣo nāstīha matsamaḥ,
asaṁspṛśya śarīreṇa yena viśvaṁ ciraṁ dhṛtam. (13)
अहो – O! Marvellous; अहम् – I; नमः – salutations; म म् – to
Myself; द ः – competent; न – not; अ त – is; इह – in this world;
म समः – like Me; असं पृ य – without touching; शरीरेण – with the
body; येन – by whom; िव म् – universe; चरम् – ever; धृतम् – is
held

13. O! Marvellous am I! Salutations to Myself! There is none

so competent in this world as Me, who, am holding the
universe eternally without touching it with My body.

The efficiency and competency that we see among the

living creatures are all expressions of life that enlivens the
creatures; and this is the expression of the Self through the
equipment, and as such the Supreme, conceived as God, is
generally indicated as the omnipotent. Here Janaka points
out the marvellous competency in the infinite Self to uphold
this illusory universe of such dynamic possibilities and yet,
there is no actual contact between the unreal world and the
real Self.

This ‘relationless relationship’ is the only relation

between the Real and unreal, between the true and the
false. The post supports the ghost; yet, the post never
touches the ghost. The dreamer suffers, struggles, endures
and weeps in his sorrows and tragedies; yet I, the waker, is
not affected by the tragedies of the dreamer in me.

When we reflect upon this unique relationship, our

reverence for the Self increases. The equipments of
experience project their fields of experiences and create for
themselves a world of joy and sorrow, success and failure,
birth and death and in the midst of it all, unaffected by
them, stands the Self. This Self am I; the world play derives
its existence from Me, the Self. Indeed, I am the most
worshipful, the eminently adorable factor in existence.

ो ो े ि
अहो अहं नमो म ं य य मे ना त िक न।
अथवा य य मे सव य ा नसगोचरम्॥१४॥
aho ahaṁ namo mahyaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana,
athavā yasya me sarvaṁ yad-vāṅ-manasa-gocaram. (14)

अहो – O! Marvellous; अहम् – I; नमः – salutations; म म् – to

Myself; य य – whose; मे – My; न – not; अ त – is; िक न –
anything; अथवा – or; य य – whose; मे – My (to that); सवम् – all;
यत् - which; वा नसगोचरम् – is accessible to speech and mind
(that)

14. O! Marvellous am I! Prostrations to Myself who have

nothing, or all, that which is accessible to speech and mind,
belongs to Me only.

This is the concluding verse of ‘Hymn to the Self’, the

spontaneous offering of Self-prostrations. The Self is the
substratum and as such it can claim that everything in the
universe belongs to It. Or, It can, in Its perfect
understanding of the illusoriness of the world of plurality
realise that nothing belongs to It. Identifying with this Self,
the Man of Realisation in the royal-saint, declares in the
language of a pleasant paradox, ‘All belongs to Me or I have
nothing.’

The same idea was expressed by Janaka earlier in this

chapter when he said, ‘Mine is all this universe; or, indeed
nothing is mine.’ When Janaka says, ‘All that is accessible to
speech and mind (vāṅ manasa gocaram)’ it includes all that
can be defined or felt. That means everything. For wealth of
suggestiveness, no language can stand equal to the
Sanskrit idioms.

े ि
 ानं ेयं तथा ाता ि तयं ना त वा तवम्।
अ ाना ा त य ेदं सोऽहम म िनर नः॥१५॥
jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ tathā jñātā tritayaṁ nāsti vāstavam,
ajñānād-bhāti yatredaṁ so'ham-asmi nirañjanaḥ. (15)

ानम् – knowledge; ेयम् – knowable; तथा – as well as; ाता –

knower; ि तयम् – the triad; न – not, अ त – is; वा तवम् – in fact;
अ ानात् – through ignorance; भा त – appears to exist; य –
where; इदम् – this (triad); सः – that; अहम् – I; अ म – am; िनर नः –
taintless

15. The ‘knowledge,’ the ‘knowable’ and the ‘knower’ –

these triple categories do not in fact exist. I am that
taintless Self in which, through 'ignorance,' this triad
appears to exist.

In the relative field of multiplicity, every experience rises up

due to the play of three factors – the experiencer, the
experienced, and the experiencing. Without these three
entities ‘I, the knower’ the ‘thing known’ and the ‘knowledge
of the thing’ no perception is possible at any of the
equipments of experience.

When the ego, the ‘experiencer’ is transcended to

become the pure Self, in the infinite expanse of the pure
Consciousness, there is no more the play of this triad. In the
taintless Self these triple categories appear to exist due to
the ‘ignorance’ of the nature of the Self. They are the
illusions of the mind when the true Knowledge does not
illumine it. When the seeker realises ‘I am the stainless Self’,
the misconceptions roll away.

When we are dreaming, the dream is sustained by the

play of the dreamer, the dreamworld of objects and the
dream experiences. When the dreamer wakes up, the triple
factors that maintained the dream, all merge back to
become the one mind of the waker. The waking mind
projects itself as the dreamer, as his world of objects and as
the knowledge of his own experiences, joyful or sad,
pleasant or terrible, horrible or peaceful. So long as these
triple factors were maintained, the illusion of the dream was
sustained. On waking up, the dream merges into the waking
mind, from which it had apparently got projected. From the
plane of ego consciousness, when the seeker wakes up to
the plane of God-consciousness, in the vivid and direct
realisation that ‘I am the Self’, the ego, its world and its
sorrows merge back to become the one, pure, infinite
Consciousness.

In Yogavāsiṣṭha5 we read, ‘Mind dead, desires gone, freed

from the cage of delusion, released from all ego sense, the
enlightened one wakes up into It.’

This supreme state of oneness, where the vision is not

clouded by any disturbing factor is thundered by Śrī
Avadhūta Dattātreya in his Avadhūta-gītā6:

‘In the supreme infinitude of the Self,

No meditator –
Indeed, in your heart, there is no samādhi,
No meditation –
In your heart no space outside;
No point of meditation –
In your heart no time or object.
That I am –
The blissful immortal Self,
Evenness of feeling – ever,
Like unto the sky –
Untouched, unbound!!’
 Such mystic realms of experiences are beyond the
comprehension of finite intellect. Hence the best
commentary upon them is to be discovered through one’s
own deep meditation.

ैतमूलमहो दःु खं ना य या त भेषजम्।

यमेत मृषा सव एकोऽहं च सोऽमलः॥१६॥
dvaita-mūlam-aho duḥkhaṁ nānyat-tasyāsti bheṣajam,
dṛśyam-etanmṛṣā sarvaṁ eko'haṁ cid-raso'malaḥ. (16)

ै मूलम् – having duality as root; अहो – O; दःु खम् – misery; न –

त
not; अ यत् – other; त य – of that (misery); अ त – is; भेषजम् –
remedy; यम् – visible; एतत् – this; मृषा – unreal; सवम् – all; एकः –
one; अहम् – I; चत् – Consciousness; रसः – Bliss; अमलः – pure

16. O! The root of all misery is the sense of duality. There is

no other remedy for this (misery) except the realisation that
all visible objects of experiences are unreal and that I am
the non-dual, pure Consciousness and Bliss.

Misery, pain or sorrow, are all subjectively nothing but

mental states of disturbances. The more the mental
agitations, the more the sorrow. Quieter the mind, happier
the man. These disturbances are caused by the mind's
perceptions of the pluralistic world, both within itself and
outside. All miseries stem forth from the perception of
duality. With the realisation of one's own nature to be pure,
non-dual Consciousness, the world of plurality will be
recognised as unreal and, therefore, it can no longer
contribute any miseries to the Man of Realisation. In fact,
there is no other remedy for this continuous sense of sorrow
and misery at the ego plane of Consciousness (na anyat
tasya asti bheṣajam).
बोधमा ोऽहम़ ानादपु ा धः क पतो मया।
एवं िवमृशतो िन यं िन वक पे थ तमम॥१७॥
bodhamātro'ham-ajñānād-upādhiḥ kalpito mayā,
evaṁ vimṛśato nityaṁ nirvikalpe sthitirmama. (17)

बोधमा ः – pure Consciousness (am I); अहम् – I; अ़ ानात् – through

ignorance; उपा धः – equipments such as body; क पतः –
projected (imagined); मया – by me; एवम् – in this way; िवमृशतः –
reflecting; िन यम् – constantly; िन वक पे – purged of all mental
disturbances; थ तः – abiding; मम – my

17. I am pure Consciousness. Through 'ignorance' I have

projected my equipments, such as the body, upon the Self.
Constantly reflecting thus I abide in the Self, purged of all
mental activities.

Here for the first time, we meet with the significant term
‘nir-vikalpa’ meaning ‘devoid of all imaginations’, suggesting
‘the spiritual state of thoughtlessness’. This seems to be an
original phrase minted in the inspired bosom of Saint
Aṣṭāvakra. Later on, however, Patañjali popularised it, and
Śaṅkara and other Masters had freely employed it. But it is
significant that we meet this phrase neither in major
Upaniṣads, nor even in the Bhagavad-gītā.

It is only when we come to forget our waking state

personality that the dream is ever possible. To reflect
constantly that ‘I am the Consciousness’ and to play with
the equipments of experiences in the constant
understanding that ‘they are mere illusory projections upon
Me, the Self is the secret of abiding Myself ever in the
supreme state, without any mental disturbances
(nirvikalpa).’ The body, mind and intellect may be allowed to
mingle with and sport among their objects, emotions and
thoughts. As long as the spiritual understanding is steady,
the outer world can never penetrate into the sanctum of our
personality to create even a ripple of disturbance in our
mind.

This state of thoughtlessness is indicated by employing

the very same ‘term’ (nirvikalpa) some six times in this very
textbook. Gauḍapāda’s Kārikā on Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad, a
later work, which apparently has drawn much of its
inspiration from the song of Aṣṭāvakra, has also liberally
employed the term ‘nirvikalpa’ to indicate 'the final
Experience Divine wherein the subject-object distinction has
completely ended.

न मे ब धोऽ त मो ो वा ा तः शा ता िनरा या।

अहो म य थतं िव ं व तुतो न म य थतम्॥१८॥
na me bandho'sti mokṣo vā bhrāntiḥ śāntā nirāśrayā,
aho mayi sthitaṁ viśvaṁ vastuto na mayi sthitam. (18)

न – not; मे – My; ब धः – bondage; अ त – is; मो ः – Liberation; वा

– or; ा तः – illusion; शा ता – has ended; िनरा या - without any
support; अहो – O; म य – in Me; थतम् – abides; िव म् – universe;
व तुतः – in fact; न – not; म य – in Me; थतम् – exists

18. I have neither bondage nor freedom. The 'illusion,'

having lost its support, has ended. O! The universe, though
it abides in Me, does not in fact exist in Me.

Early students of Vedānta, who live in poignant awareness

of their imperfections and are acutely sensitive to their
slavishness to the incessant demands of their equipments,
are told how they can realise their freedom from all their
bondages. When the student, through meditation, awakes to
the Reality, in the state of pure Consciousness, there is no
meaning to the term 'freedom'; for the Self is eternally free.
In a dream I may experience that I was suffering
confinement in a prison. On waking up, can I congratulate
myself that I have been released? In the same way, having
realised the Self, Janaka declares, ‘I have neither bondages
nor freedom.’

The illusory ego has ceased to function in his bosom,

because the sense of ego stems forth from the ignorance of
the Self. How can the ‘ignorance’ continue when the
‘wisdom’ of the Self has dawned?

Last night’s dream, no doubt, played out itself in me, but

I, the waker, is untouched by the experiences of my dreams.
In the same way, Janaka here declares that the universe
‘though it abides in Me, does not in fact exist in Me.’ From
the relative standpoint, when the Man of Wisdom chooses to
look out through his body, mind and intellect, the world of
objects, emotions and thoughts are there for his
experiences; but he ever abides in the Self. When the Man
of Wisdom is in his own pure Self, in the absolute viewpoint,
there are neither the equipments of experiences nor are the
fields of experiences.

सशरीरिमदं िव ं न िक िद त िन तम्।
शु च मा आ मा च त क मन् क पनाऽधुना॥१९॥
sa-śarīram-idaṁ viśvaṁ na kiñcid-iti niścitam,
śuddha-cinmātra ātmā ca tat-kasmin kalpanā'dhunā. (19)

सशरीरम् – with the body; इदम् – this; िव म् – universe; न – not;

िक त् – anything; इ त – thus; िन तम् – known for certain;
शु च मा ः – pure Consciousness alone; आ मा – Self; च – and; तत्
– so; क मन् – upon which; क पना – imagination (can stand);
अधुना – now

19. I have known, for certain, that the body and the
universe are unsubstantial and that the Self is pure
Consciousness alone. So, now upon what can imaginations
stand?

Having awakened to the higher plane of Consciousness

Janaka realises his oneness with the infinite Self (śuddha
cin-mātraḥ). A man when he wakes up, he not only
understands that he is the ‘waker’, but this knowledge in
him includes the total rejection of his illusory dream.
Similarly, in the Realisation ‘I am the Self’, the destruction of
the illusory ego and its world are inherent and included.
When, thus, one has realised, in his knowledge of the rope,
the total non-existence of the illusory serpent, how can he,
thereafter, imagine the vicious fangs of the murderous
serpent pursuing him? All imaginations are possible only
when the illusory snake is consistently perceived. Similarly,
when we perceive the world, an endless dream of
imagination can continuously maintain the experience of a
sorrow ridden world of stormy lusts and surging passions.
Janaka here exclaims, in his new found wisdom and his
spiritual awakening, ‘Upon what can imaginations stand?’
The Man of Realisation can only act. He will not be ever
found to react.

शरीरं वगनरकौ ब धमो ौ भयं तथा।

ै त् क मे काय चदा मनः॥२०॥
क पनामा मेवत
śarīraṁ svarga-narakau bandha-mokṣau bhayaṁ tathā,
kalpanā-mātram-evaitat kiṁ me kāryaṁ cidātmanaḥ. (20)
शरीरं – body; वगनरकौ – heaven and hell; ब धमो ौ – bondage and
freedom; भयम् – fear (anxiety); तथा – as also; क पनामा म् – mere
imagination; एव – surely; एतत् – all this; क – what; मे – My (with
these); काय – purpose; चदा मनः – whose nature is
Consciousness

20. Body, the notions of heaven and hell, bondage and

freedom, as also anxiety – all these are mere imaginations.
What purpose have I with all these – I whose nature is pure
Consciousness?

In the previous verse, Janaka despaired that he finds no

basis to build up a fanciful world of imaginations. Here in
this verse he enumerates some of the common
imaginations of the spiritual seekers in religion and
philosophy.

The gross, the subtle and the causal bodies are all
examples of our imaginations. They in their turn, feed the
imaginations of their individual world of experiences and
objects – the sum total of them all crystallised, is the fanciful
sceptre of the miserable ‘ego’. None of them can survive in
the one, who has become the pure Self.

In the relative field, the human mind and intellect, in

terms of joys and sorrows, imagine states of perfect joys
existing in heavens or of impossible sorrows of a hell. He
imagines that he is bound by the equipments and he strives
to free himself by continuous effort. In the midst of it all he
gets strangled with the anxiety for the future, smothered by
fears and crushed by other emotions born out of his sense
of fear.

For all these imaginations, there is no occasion in the

bosom of one who is revelling in the infinite bliss of the
supreme Self. Therefore, the Realised saint in Janaka
exclaims: ‘What purpose have I with all these whiffs of
imagination!’ None of these fanciful factors can pursue and
disturb him, who has attained to the state of the Self. He is
ever at rest abiding in his own real nature.

अहो जनसमूहेऽिप न ैतं प यतो मम।

अर यिमव संवृ ं व र त करवा यहम्॥२१॥
aho jana-samūhe’pi na dvaitaṁ paśyato mama,
araṇyam-iva saṁvṛttaṁ kva ratiṁ karavāṇyaham. (21)

अहो – O; जनसमूहे – in the crowds of human beings; अिप – even;

न – not; ैतम् – duality; प यतः – seen; मम – my; अर यम् – like a
forest; इव – as if; संवृ म् – become; व – where; र तम् – spirit of
attachment; करवा ण – should feel; अहम् – I

21. O Marvellous! I do not find any duality even in the midst

of human crowds. I feel like I am in a forest. Towards what
then should I feel attachment?

In the previous verses Janaka had explained how the

universe of names and forms had rolled away from his
perception and he was established in the experience of the
infinite Self. All concepts of the body, feelings of the mind
and judgements of the intellect have now no place in ‘I, who
am the pure Consciousness’.

Naturally, one may wonder what would be the reaction of

the Man of Wisdom in the social living, while he is moving
amidst the jostling crowd of other members of his
community. Here is the question answered by Janaka
himself. The plurality is perceived only through the mind
and intellect. When they are transcended, there is no
perceiver to experience the plurality. Janaka living his own
real nature exclaims here: ‘O Marvellous! I find no duality
anywhere’.

Even in the midst of the crowds of other human beings,

viewed from the seat of pure Consciousness, he recognises
but the one Self that revels everywhere. The majestic
aloneness felt by a wanderer in a forest is the example
Janaka is forced to employ here. Even in a crowd, at some
busy marketplace, he feels undisturbed as though he is in a
deep forest, all alone.

Since he is thus experiencing only the vision of the Self

everywhere, how can attachments to the worldly things
ever spring forth in the bosom of such a Man of Realisation?
How can he come to sport with sense objects? He is ever
identified with the divine Self and all his movements and
relationships are his spontaneous play.

नाहं देहो न मे देहो जीवो नाहमहं िह चत्।

अयमेव िह मे ब ध आसी या जीिवते पृहा॥२२॥
nāhaṁ deho na me deho jīvo nāham-ahaṁ hi cit,
ayam-eva hi me bandha āsīd yā jīvite spṛhā. (22)

न – not; अहम् – I; देहः – body; न – not; मे – my; देहः – body; जीवः –

the finite self; न – not; अहम् – I; अहम् – I; िह – indeed; चत् –
Consciousness; अयम – this; एव – alone; िह – indeed; मे – my;
ब धः – bondage; आसीत् – was; या – that; जीिवते – to live; पृहा –
desire

22. I am not the body. Nor have I a body. I am not a being

(ego). I am pure Consciousness. That I had desired to live –
this indeed was my bondage.
Once having reached the state of God-consciousness, the
daring Man of Wisdom in Janaka is, as it were, in this verse,
examining himself as he is and comparing himself with what
he was.

As he is in the state of his Selfhood, he realises, ‘I am not

this body’. The term ‘body’ stands for all the three
equipments of experiences. As all-pervading, infinite,
unlimited Consciousness, there cannot be any material
adjuncts in the Self.

Nor have I a body – As the Self, Janaka cannot now feel

any sense of attachment with anything. All bodies are in
Him, but no bodies are His. A similar idea has been
beautifully expressed in the eloquent idiom of the
Bhagavad- gītā:7 ‘I am not in them, they are in Me’.

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa repeats the same idea in the Bhagavad-

gītā:8 ‘This entire world is pervaded by Me in My
unmanifested form; all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell
in them’.

Since, Janaka feels that he is not the body, nor has he a

body – meaning he is not aware of his equipments of
experiences and, therefore, he cannot identify with them
and develop any sense of ego (jīva) in himself and feels, ‘I
am pure Consciousness (aham hi cit).’

If thus, I was the pure infinite Consciousness and I have

now rediscovered my real nature, what was then my sense
of bondage that I suffered in between? Thus enquires the
royal saint and he himself answers that his only bondage
was that while living in his delusion, as an ego, he had a
thirst for life; as an ego he desired to live the joys of the
sense gratifications. This alone was the bondage. When
thus, the misconception ended, the ego has dissolved and
disappeared into the vision of the Self.

अहो भुवनक ोलै व च ै ाक् समु थतम्।

म यन तमहा भोधौ च वाते समु ते॥२३॥
aho bhuvana-kallolair-vicitrairdrāk samutthitam,
mayyananta-mahāmbhodhau cittavāte samudyate. (23)

अहो – O Marvellous; भुवनक ोलैः – waves of worlds; िव च ैः –

diverse; ाक् – instantly; समु थतम् – are produced; म य – in me;
अन तमहा भोधौ – in the limitless ocean; च वाते – the mental
storm; समु ते – when rises

23. O Marvellous! In the limitless ocean of Me, when mental

storms rise, diverse waves of worlds are instantly produced.

Here we have an enthralling set of three extremely lyrical

verses with which the chapter ends. Aṣṭāvakra dandles his
favourite metaphor of the ocean in these three verses.
Waves rise in the ocean due to the wild winds in the
atmosphere, and those waves calm themselves down to
become the ocean when the whistling winds become quiet
and peaceful.

Whenever the mind is quiet, as in deep sleep, there are

no perceptions; the moment we wake up, the mind gets
active and with the agitations of the mind, the pluralistic
world rises up into our awareness.

‘In the limitless ocean of pure Consciousness which is my

real nature’ confesses Janaka ‘when mental storms stir up
tumultuous agitations, mountainous waves are created and
they represent the endless variety of experiences.’ In short,
when the mind is calm, the world of plurality rolls away. In
reality there is nothing but the Self. The world of things and
beings is an illusory superimposition maintained by our
mind in agitation.

म यन तमहा भोधौ च वाते शा य त।

अभा या ीवव णजो जग पोतो िवन रः॥२४॥
mayyananta-mahāmbhodhau cittavāte praśāmyati,
abhāgyājjīvavaṇijo jagatpoto vinaśvaraḥ. (24)

म य – in Me; अन तमहा भोधौ – in the limitless ocean; च वाते – the

storms of the mind; शा य त – ceases; अभा यात् – unfortunately;
जीवव णजः – of the jīva, the trader; जग पोतः – the ship of the
universe; िवन रः – (gets) wrecked and sunk

24. With the calming of the storms of the mind, in the

limitless ocean of Myself, unfortunately for the jīva, the
trader, the ship of the universe gets wrecked and sunk!

The graceful picture of the previous verse is carried on and

Janaka explains that when the ‘storms of the mind are
abated, the world of plurality gets sunk and disappears into
the ocean of the Self.’ Here the poetic fancy suffers a
sudden hijacking. The individualised ego (jīva) is pictured
here as a trader who is crossing the seas with all his
merchandise. The ego moves from port to port, transacting
business in the field of worldly experiences, gathering more
and more, and growing ever more rich in his vāsanās.

When the mind is at rest, the ego, his ship, along with his
collected merchandise all get sunk! What is left over is but
the shoreless glory of the infinite Self!

ो ी ी
म यन तमहा भोधावा य जीववीचयः।
उ त न त खेल त िवश त वभावतः॥२५॥
mayyananta-mahāmbhodhāv-āścaryaṁ jīva-vīcayaḥ,
udyanti ghnanti khelanti praviśanti svabhāvataḥ. (25)

म य – in Me; अन तमहा भोधौ – in the limitless ocean; आ य –

wonderful, marvellous; जीववीचयः – the waves of individual
Self; उ त – rise; न त – strike each other, jostle about; खेल त
– play; िवश त – enter (to disappear therein); वभावतः –
according to their nature

25. Wonderful! Marvellous! In Me, the limitless ocean, the

waves of individual selves, according to their nature, rise,
jostle about, play for a time and disappear.

The beauty of this lyrical verse, with which the chapter is

concluding, can ring an echo for a long time in the bosom of
the student even when he has shut the book and finished
his studies.

It is not only the worlds that are rising in Me, the

Consciousness, but all other living creatures are also born
from the same Self in Me. In our dreams we all experience
the same and on waking up, all the creations of the
dreaming mind get merged with our waking mind.

Just as in a dream, the individuals rise, fight their

competitive existence, play their sensuous games and in the
end each die away in the world, only to be born again, as
another wave! When my mind is at rest, all names and
forms must necessarily disappear into the pure
Consciousness,
the Self.
1 yathā prakāśayatyekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokamimaṁ raviḥ,
kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata. – Bhagavad-gītā-13.33

2 brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati. – Muṇḍakopaniṣad-3.2.9

3 sarvabhūtāntarasthāya nityamuktacidātmane,
pratyak caitanyarūpāya mahyameva namo namaḥ. – Varāha-upaniṣad-2.33

4 Plural subject and singular verb used here is not a grammatical mistake, but it
is used with a deliberate philosophical intention. It pointedly asserts that the
adorable, infinite, pure Intelligence in Me and in You is one and the same.

5 mṛtaṁ-cittaṁ-gatā-tṛṣṇā-prakṣīṇo-mohapañjaraḥ,
nirahaṅkāratā-jātā-jāgratyasmin-prabuddhavān. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.81.9

6 dhyātā na te hi hṛdaye na ca te samādhiḥ

dhyānaṁ na te hi hṛdaye na bahiḥ pradeśaḥ,
dhyeyaṁ na ceti hṛdaye na hi vastukālo
jñānāmṛtaṁ samarasaṁ gaganopamo'ham. – Avadhūta-gītā-3.41

7 na tvahaṁ teṣu te mayi. – Bhagavad-gītā-7.12

8 mayā tatamidaṁ sarvaṁ jagadavyaktamūrtinā,

matsthāni sarvabhūtāni na cāham teṣvavasthitaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-9.4
 Chapter – 3
Self in All – All in Self
Introduction

The declaration of Upaniṣads ‘Brahman am I’ is the ultimate

Truth. Established in this non-dual Self, man comes to
experience that the phenomenal world around him is a
meaningless empty illusion. The fear of death, the pangs of
attachment, the fatigue of greed and the tantrum of
passions – all these end with Self-realisation. The Self glows
through him in his life flooding all around Its glory and
beauty.

In this chapter Aṣṭāvakra, in a teasing tone, ridicules the

royal King Janaka’s apparent involvement in the functions of
his throne, in spite of his Self-realisation. On transcending
the mind, if the Self is realised and the universe of names
and forms has rolled away, where is the occasion for such a
Realised saint to continue the outer duties of the world? The
pomp and show of life, the passions and excitements of the
court, the worries of conducting the state’s administration
and responsibilities of maintaining law and order – these are
unavoidable for a king. From the Self when viewed, the
world is merely an illusion. Therefore, to involve oneself in
them should be considered as a sign of one’s own spiritual
‘ignorance’.
 In this line of argument, Aṣṭāvakra tests the depth of
Realisation in his student. In the following chapter, we shall
hear Janaka's spirited answers to all the points raised by his
Teacher in his impeachment of the royal saint of Videha.
These two chapters together read an exciting dialogue,
extremely enlightening to the students of Advaita.

The taunting words of the Master are tipped with sharp

ridicule and they should really wound the student's vanity, if
he is not already fully established in the pure immutable
Self!

अ ाव उवाच

अिवना शनमा मानमेकं िव ाय त वतः।

तवा म य धीर य कथमथाज ने र तः॥१॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

avināśinam-ātmānam-ekaṁ vijñāya tattvataḥ,

tavātmajñasya dhīrasya katham-arthārjane ratiḥ. (1)

अिवना शनम् – indestructible; आ मानम् – Self; एकम् – one; िव ाय –

having known; त वतः – in its true nature; तव – your; आ म य –
knower of the Self; धीर य – poised in wisdom; कथम् – how;
अथाजने – in the accumulation of wealth; र तः – attachment

Aṣṭāvakra said :

1. Having known the Self in its true nature as indestructible

and one, how is it that you, a knower of the Self and one
poised in wisdom, feel passion for the accumulation of
wealth?

The Self-realised Saint Janaka continued to administer his

kingdom all through his life. Aṣṭāvakra is, in these taunting
verses, ridiculing the apparent contradiction in Janaka's
claimed inner vision and demonstrated outer actions.
Having realised the Self, as the one indestructible supreme
Truth, how can he still continue the vigorous activity of the
world outside, acquiring and spending wealth and living the
political and social responsibilities of a righteous ruler?

आ मा ानादहो ी त वषय मगोचरे।

शु े र ानतो लोभो यथा रजतिव मे॥२॥

ātmājñānād-aho prītir-viṣaya-bhrama-gocare,
śukterajñānato lobho yathā rajata-vibhrame. (2)

आ मअ ानात् – from ‘ignorance’ of the Self; अहो – alas; ी तः –

attachment; िवषय मगोचरे – in the illusory world of the senses;
शु े ः – of the mother-of-pearl; अ ानतः – from ignorance; लोभः –
greed; यथा – as; रजत िव मे – due to illusion of silver

2. Alas! Just as, due to ignorance, a seashell is sought,

mistaking it for silver, even so, due to the ‘ignorance’ of the
Self, there is attachment to the illusory world of the senses.

Amplifying the previous verse Aṣṭāvakra here explains that

only in the ‘ignorance’ of the Self can the deluded ego get
fascinated by the enchanting world of illusory sense objects.
If Janaka is a Man of Realisation, there should not have been
in him any fascination for the world of sense objects. He
claims that he is a Man of Self-realisation. Yet, as a king, he
pursues wealth. Is not worldly activities and service of the
society contradictory to the state of Self-realisation? Only in
the non-apprehension of the seashell can one apprehend a
silvery shine, and stoop to pick it up!

To taunt Janaka, Aṣṭāvakra is pointing out that the king's

attachment to the throne and its power are all eloquent
symptoms of his spiritual ‘ignorance’!

िव ं फुर त य ेदं तर ा इव सागरे।

सोऽहम मी त िव ाय क दीन इव धाव स॥३॥

viśvaṁ sphurati yatredaṁ taraṅgā iva sāgare,

so'ham-asmīti vijñāya kiṁ dīna iva dhāvasi. (3)

िव म् – universe; फुर त – arise; य – where; इदम् – this; तर ाः –

waves; इव – like; सागरे – in the ocean; सः – that; अहम् – I; अ म –
am; इ त – thus; िव ाय – realising; िकम् – why; दीनः – a wretched
creature; इव – like; धाव स – you run about

3. Having realised, ‘I am That’, from which the universe

arises, like waves from the sea, why do you run about like a
wretched creature?

An individualised ego in its own sense of imperfection

generally desires for the acquisition, possession and
enjoyment of other objects that it perceives in a world of
multiplicity that lies spread out in all directions around it.
But having realised that you are essentially nothing but the
pure source of all – Consciousness, the Self in you, the
infinite Self – from which the universes rise, play about and
die away like waves in the ocean, why do you sweat and
toil, work and exert, plan and execute programmes for the
service of the world? Like any other wretched creature
drowned in his ignorance, if Janaka also is driven to feel
committed to the activities of the world of plurality, is there,
then, any true ‘wisdom’ in him?

Remember, Aṣṭāvakra is deliberately teasing his disciple

to get out of the student a confirmation of his deepest
Realisation.
 ु वाऽिप शु चैत यमा मानं अ तसु दरम्।
उप थेऽ य तसंस ो मा ल यम धग छ त॥४॥

śrutvā'pi śuddha-caitanyam-ātmānaṁ atisundaram,

upasthe'tyanta-saṁsakto mālinyam-adhigacchati. (4)

ु वा – having heard (having experienced); अिप – even; शु

चैत यम् – pure Consciousness; आ मानम् – Self; अ त सु दरम् –
supremely beautiful; उप थे – in sensuous objects; अ य तसंस ः
– deeply attached (entangled); मा ल यम् – impurity; अ धग छ त –
attains

4. Even after hearing that the Self is pure Consciousness,

supremely beautiful, how can one yet be deeply entangled
in sensuous objects and thus become impure?

Even to hear and intellectually comprehend the nature of

the Self as the beauty of beauties, the only Reality behind
the universe is to drop all our meaningless fascination for
the sense objects of the illusory world. Having woken up,
who will pine over his beautiful beloved of his own dream?
As a king, Janaka is seen in his royal chambers, surrounded
by sense objects, music and dance, wealth and splendour.
Aṣṭāvakara wonders how can a Man of Wisdom ever get
deeply entangled in sense objects? They should generate
disturbing agitations in the mind and make him impure. Lust
creates an extreme body consciousness in the lusty. This
must necessarily bring storms of agitations into the mind.
Agitated mind veils the vision of the Self; thus a sincere
seeker must become 'impure' in contact with sense objects.

सवभूतेषु चा मानं सवभूतािन चा मिन।

मुनेजानत आ य मम वमनुवत ते॥५॥
sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ sarva-bhūtāni cātmani,
muner-jānata āścaryaṁ mamatvam-anuvartate. (5)

सवभूतेषु – in all the beings; च – and; आ मानम् – Self; सवभूतािन – all

the beings; च – and; आ मिन – in the Self; मुनेः – of the sage;
जानतः – knowing; आ यम् – amazing; मम वम् – mineness; अनुवतते –
continues (this)

5. This is amazing that the sense of ownership (mineness)

should still continue in the wise men who have realised ‘the
Self in all beings and all beings in the Self’.

The sense of ownership, experienced in the attitude of

‘mine-ness’ in an ordinary worldly man’s mind, is an
expression of his ‘ego’. The sense of individuality (ego) is
experienced, within one's own bosom, as the ‘I-ness’ and
the very same ‘ego’ experienced, in terms of the objects
around it, is the mineness. The combination of this ‘I’ and
‘mine’ is the individuality, which is a product of the
‘ignorance’ of the nature of the Self.

Sage Aṣṭāvakra, with his tongue in his cheeks, audibly

wonders how a Man of Realisation can still maintain his
sense of 'mineness' to the objects of the world. The
suggestion is that Janaka is continuing to rule over the
kingdom of Videha because of his continued sense of
possession to his throne: ‘This kingdom is mine’.

In the following chapter we shall listen to the eloquent

self-defence of the humble disciple, who is being nailed to
‘ignorance’ by these sharp and sturdy verses.

The vision of Man of Realisation described here, by

Aṣṭāvakra in the first line, is a faithful echo of the Bhagavad-
gītā.1
आ थतः परमा ैतं मो ाथऽिप यव थतः।
आ य कामवशगो िवकलः के ल श या॥६॥

āsthitaḥ paramādvaitaṁ mokṣārthe'pi vyavasthitaḥ,

āścaryaṁ kāmavaśago vikalaḥ keliśikṣayā. (6)

आ थतः – abiding; परम अ ैतं – in the transcendent non-duality;

मो अथ – for the goal of Liberation; अिप – even; यव थतः –fixed;
आ यम् – strange indeed; कामवशगः – come under the sway of
lust; िवकलः – weakened, distraught; के ल श या – by the sexual
habit

6. It is strange indeed, that one abiding in the transcendent

non-duality and set for the goal of Liberation should yet
come under the sway of lust and distraught by his sexual
habits.

The smothering hammer of ridicule is mercilessly laid upon

the student, blow after blow, delivered by his Teacher. The
humble student, in utter silence, maintains his inner
balance, as he discovers a deeper assurance in his heart,
provided by his own wisdom.

As a king living his normal householder's life, fulfilling his

duties towards his queens, how can Janaka continue living in
the palace when he is abiding within himself in the
transcendental non-dual Self? How can he indulge in sex
and derive out of it the normal pleasure of a man of body-
consciousness, when he claims that he is in a different plane
of spiritual experience in himself?

In spite of the hammerings, the spiritual material in the

student survives with its unique temper!

उ त
ू ं ानद ु म मवधाया तदबु लः।
आ य काममाका े त् कालम तमनु तः॥७॥
udbhūtaṁ jñāna-durmitram-avadhāryātidurbalaḥ,
āścaryaṁ kāmam-ākāṅkṣet kālam-antam-anuśritaḥ. (7)

उ त
ू म् – the upsurging of (sex); ानद ु म म् – enemy of
Knowledge; अवधाय – knowing for certain; अ तदबु लः – extremely
weak; आ यम् – strange and wonderful; कामम् – sex
gratification; आका े त् – should desire (this); अ तं कालम् – last
days; अनु तः – approaching

7. Strange it is that knowing sex to be an enemy of

Knowledge, even a man who has grown extremely weak and
has reached his last days should yet desire for sex-
gratification!

Evidently Janaka was not a young man when he approached

Aṣṭāvakra. All hungers of the flesh produce storms of
restlessness and agitations in the mind. A restless mind is
never available for the pursuits of the spiritual life. And
every spiritual student knows that sex is an enemy to
Knowledge.

If the student is young, at least his youthfulness itself can

plead for him an excuse. But Janaka has grown extremely
feeble and has approached his last days; yet, his life
apparently shows that he is still anxious for his gratifications
as he is continuing his life, as a king, amidst lavish sensuous
objects of pleasure. Is this Self-realisation? Or does it betray
an utter spiritual 'ignorance' and base worldly delusions?

इहामु िवर य िन यािन यिववेिकनः।

आ य मो काम य मो ादेव िवभीिषका।८॥

ihāmutra viraktasya nityānitya-vivekinaḥ,

āścaryaṁ mokṣa-kāmasya mokṣādeva vibhīṣikā. (8)
इह अमु – in this world and the next; िवर य – who is
unattached; िन य अिन य िववेिकनः – who discriminates the
eternal from the ephemeral; आ यम् – strange and wonderful;
मो काम य – of one who aspires for Liberation; मो ात् – from the
dissolution of the body; एव – even; िवभीिषका – fear

8. It is strange that one who is unattached to the pleasures

of this world and the next, who discriminates the eternal
from the ephemeral and who aspires for Liberation, should
yet fear the dissolution of the body!

The power of 'ignorance' is so strong that even in a true

seeker the attachment to his body is strong. We may
cultivate complete detachment from all the pleasures and
objects of this world or of the worlds we might visit after our
death. We may develop a highly discriminating intellect to
distinguish the Real from the unreal, the Changeless from
the changing. We may maintain in us a burning aspiration to
liberate us from our own clinging entanglements with our
body, mind and intellect.

Yet, in the higher climbs of meditation, the student is

jerked out of his inner equipoise, merely because of his fear
to lose his last lingering hold of attachment with his sense of
individuality! This inherent psychological fear complex is
one of the most difficult obstacles to cross over, on the way
to Self-realisation. The love for the body is natural for every
individual and it is out of this love that the ‘ego’ gathers all
its anxieties to supply the body with endless varieties of
sensual pleasures. These cravings and desires strengthen
the body consciousness. The ‘ego’ gets fattened!

Up to this verse, Aṣṭāvakra has teased and taunted his

disciple for the apparent contradictions in Janaka’s
superficial habits of living and in his deep spiritual
understanding.
धीर तु भो यमानोऽिप पी मानोऽिप सवदा।
आ मानं केवलं प यन् न तु य त न कु य त॥९॥

dhīrastu bhojyamāno'pi pīḍyamāno'pi sarvadā,

ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ paśyan na tuṣyati na kupyati. (9)

धीरः – wise person; तु – indeed; भो यमानः – feted and feasted;

अिप – even; पी मानः – tormented; अिप – even; सवदा – ever;
आ मानम् – Self; केवलम् – alone; प यन् – seeing; न – not; तु य त – is
pleased; न – not; कु य त – is angry

9. The wise person ever sees the absolute Self and is

neither pleased nor angry, indeed, even when feted and
feasted or tormented.

The Man of Wisdom is established in the infinite Self and as

such he is not agitated by the happenings around him, be
he feted and feasted or be he hunted down and tormented
by the world. He meets his experiences, moment-to-
moment, in spontaneity of his quiet awareness. A Man of
Wisdom acts, he never reacts. This ability to maintain his
inner equipoise is gained because of his continuous
experience of the higher plane of Consciousness.

This is considered as a sure test for a Man of Realisation.

Life stories of all the saints and sages of the world bring out
this common salient feature in all of them, their ability to
keep an undisturbed mental tranquillity in them in spite of
the most disturbing environments around them. Their
identity is with the Self ‘alone’ (kevalam), in its absolute all-
pervading nature, hence their steady inner peace, always,
under all conditions, be they vociferously congratulated or
viciously condemned.
चे मानं शरीरं वं प य य यशरीरवत्।
सं तवे चािप िन दायां कथं ु येत् महाशयः॥१०॥

ceṣṭamānaṁ śarīraṁ svaṁ paśyatyanya-śarīravat,

saṁstave cāpi nindāyāṁ kathaṁ kṣubhyet mahāśayaḥ. (10)

चे मानम् – acting; शरीरम् – body; वम् – his own; प य त – sees (so);

अ यशरीरवत् – like another’s body; सं तवे – in praise; च – and; अिप
– even; िन दायाम् – in blame; कथम् – how; ु येत् – should be
perturbed; महाशयः – a great souled person

10. A great souled person watches his own body acting as if

it were another's. As such, how should he be perturbed by
praise or blame?

As the pure Self, he is the Awareness, not only behind

perceptions, emotions and thoughts but also of the very
equipments of the body, mind and intellect. He stands ever
as a ‘witness’ of himself, the subject and its world of
experiences. This attitude can be only demonstrated, if the
student can imagine a unique condition wherein while his
dream is continuing, he happens to maintain his waking
consciousness! As a waker he knows that he is dreaming
and from this higher state of Consciousness he could
‘witness’ the dreamer in him dreaming his own dreamworld,
projected by his own imaginations!!

If the above unique condition could even be intellectually

comprehended, students of Vedānta can gain at least a dim
concept of the vision of the world as perceived by a Man of
Wisdom from his fully awakened inner state of absolute
Bliss. To such a wise man how can the worldly praise or the
clamorous criticism of the blabbering crowd ever bring any
restlessness to disturb his serene bosom?
 In these verses Aṣṭāvakra is enumerating the attitudes
and behaviours of a Man of Perfection. In fact, the theme in
the song of Aṣṭāvakra is the glory of the Man of Perfection –
a hymn to the God-man – playing in the finite world, amidst
its crowds of miserable mortal entities.

मायामा िमदं िव ं प यन् िवगतकौतुकः।

अिप स िहते मृ यौ कथं य त धीरधीः॥११॥

māyā-mātram-idaṁ viśvaṁ paśyan vigata-kautukaḥ,

api sannihite mṛtyau kathaṁ trasyati dhīradhīḥ. (11)

मायामा – mere illusion; इदम् – this; िव म् – universe; प यन् –

seeing; िवगतकौतुकः – all zest gone; अिप – even; स िहते –
approaching; मृ यौ – in the death; कथम् – how; य त – fears;
धीरधीः – a man of poised intellect

11. Realising this universe as a mere illusion and having lost

all zest in life, how can even such a man of poised intellect
fear the approach of death?

‘The zest to live’, here means the continuous hunger to seek

happiness and fulfilment in sense gratifications, which is the
continuous motive force which propels the individual entities
to continue the race. From the womb to the tomb,
individuals are goaded to move through the ups and downs
of life’s paths, tantalised by the empty hope that they would
ultimately find complete happiness, in the immediately
following set of experiences, although they realise that they
have been completely cheated by the world till their present
moment! A Man of Wisdom in his newly awakened inner
Consciousness realises the universe as a mere illusion
projected by his own mind and, naturally, this self-defeating
‘zest in life’ is totally lost for him.
 The fascinating objects outside alone bring all the storms
that disturb the mental tranquillity and the intellectual
equipoise in man. A man reinforced with this great wisdom
of the Self, becomes impervious to all such worldly
agitations. Even the approaching death can have no fear for
him! Death is only the end of the body, the destruction of
the perishable; the saint has realised that he is the
deathless, imperishable Self. Hence, he is not threatened
even by the approaching challenge of death.

िनः पृहं मानसं य य नैरा येऽिप महा मनः।

त या म ानतृ य तुलना केन जायते॥१२॥

niḥspṛhaṁ mānasaṁ yasya nairāśye'pi mahātmanaḥ,

tasyātmajñāna-tṛptasya tulanā kena jāyate. (12)

िनः पृहम् – free from desires; मानसम् – mind; य य – whose; नैरा ये –

in frustration; अिप – even; महा मनः – great sage; त य – that;
आ म ानतृ य – contented in Self-knowledge; तुलना –
comparison; केन – with whom; जायते – can be

12. With whom can we compare that great sage, whose

mind is free from desires; who, even in his frustration
experiences contentment in his Self-knowledge?

Human mind works under a uniform pattern of behaviours

everywhere. It perceives an object and discovers for itself a
great sense of fulfilment in possessing that object and in
enjoying it. Thus a desire is born. This desire goads him on
to struggle hard to gain the object of the desire. The
desirable objects are few in number and the desiring minds
are always many. Naturally, that vast majority must
necessarily get disappointed, because all cannot possess
the same object. When the desire is not fulfilled, the sorrows
of disappointment rise in the mind; sometimes the desire is
fulfilled, but the object possessed after a very great
struggle, may not provide the expected happiness and,
therefore, the mind suffers a sense of disillusionment. The
emotions of disappointment and disillusionment together
constitute the ‘sense of frustration’. Repeated waves of
frustrating experiences together build up the sad and
sorrowful worldly life (saṁsāra). This is the dissection of an
average individualised mind.

The Man of Realisation, whose mind is calm and serene

even in the midst of great disappointment in life, is a unique
phenomenon and, therefore, Aṣṭāvakra exclaims, ‘With
whom can we compare a great souled one!’ Such
exclamations we find sprinkled all over in the textbooks that
expound the goal and the way of realisation as described in
Vedānta. In Yogavāsiṣṭha we read, ‘The great sage who has
snapped asunder all the bonds of his heart, cannot be
compared even with hundreds of lakhs of trinities.’2

The term ‘nairāśye’ translated here as ‘frustration’ is

employed, though rarely, in our scriptures in the sense of
the ‘state of desirelessness’ and so it implies ‘Liberation’. In
this sense, the stanza would mean ‘He whose mind has lost
even its desire for Liberation’.

वभावादेव जानानो यमेत िक न।

इदं ा िमदं या यं स क प य त धीरधीः॥१३॥

svabhāvād-eva jānāno dṛśyam-etanna kiñcana,

idaṁ grāhyam-idaṁ tyājyaṁ sa kiṁ paśyati dhīradhīḥ. (13)

वभावात् – in its own nature; एव – indeed; जानानः – knowing

(this); यम् – perceived world; एतत् – this; न – not; िक न –
anything; इदम् – this; ा म् – acceptable; इदम् – this; या यम् –
rejectable; सः – that; िकम् – why; प य त – sees; धीरधीः – man of
poised intellect

13. Why should that wise minded man, who knows that the
perceived world in its own nature, has no substance,
consider one thing acceptable and another unacceptable?

He who has awakened to the higher plane of Consciousness,

to him, from his eminence, the illusory world of objects is
already lifted. It is only the individualised ego perceiving the
world of plurality, through its intellect, evaluates each object
as pleasant and unpleasant and on the basis of it, rejects or
accepts the available field in front of it. All these processes
are possible only under an assumption that the perceived
world is real.

Man of Wisdom also sees the world of objects, but this

viewing the objects is distinctly different from the ways of
the worldly man. We view the scenes around us through the
web of our own vāsanās and, therefore, we cannot hold
ourselves back from our utilitarian point of view! The Man of
Perfection perceives the world without rejecting or accepting
it and, in fact, he sees things as they are and not as
interpreted by his own vāsanās.

Having recognised a seashell, as it is, who will stoop

down to pick it up, even though, it may continue shining as
a piece of silver?

In Mahopaniṣad we find a similar sentiment expressed in

a lyrical verse. In the eternal homogeneous Brahman, which
is the substratum, the illusions created by imagination can
have no existence. It remains the same as ever before, here
and there, the same. May you be therefore ever calm and
serene:’3
अ त य कषाय य िन य िनरा शषः।
य छयागतो भोगो न दःु खाय न तु ये॥१४॥

antastyakta-kaṣāyasya nirdvandvasya nirāśiṣaḥ,

yadṛcchayāgato bhogo na duḥkhāya na tuṣṭaye. (14)

अ तः य कषाय य – one who has given up all worldly passions

from the mind; िनर्- य – who is beyond the pairs of
opposites; िनरा शषः – of one who is free from desires; य छया –
unexpectedly; आगतः – which has reached; भोगः – objects of
enjoyment; न – not; दःु खाय – for pain; न – not; तु ये – for
pleasure

14. He who has given up all worldly passions from his mind,
who is beyond the pairs of opposites and who is free from
desires, to him objects of enjoyment, unexpectedly reaching
him, can cause neither pleasure nor pain.

The subtle impulses and urgencies, dwelling in the depth of

a man's personality, that ultimately determine the
emotional and the intellectual profile of that individual, are
called vāsanās. These subtle impressions colour our vision
of the world around and compel us to divide the perceived
realm into two categories, the conducive and the non-
conducive. Thereafter, the individual starts his flight away
from the non-conducive, in search of and pursuing the
conducive objects.

In the bargain, the mind is molested, tossed about and

shattered by the pairs of opposites, joy and sorrow, success
and failure, heat and cold and a thousand such other
varieties. The Man of Perfection is one, who has conquered
all his vāsanās and, therefore, he no more comes under the
tyranny of his mind and its inherent mischiefs.
Dehypnotising thus from the enchantments of the sense
objects, he lives, deriving his satisfaction and fulfilment in
the Self and, therefore, any object of experience that
reaches him accidentally, be it good or bad, can cause in
him neither a great pleasure nor a terrible pain. No object of
the world gained can add to his absolute Bliss, nor can the
loss of any objects reduce his infinite Bliss.

A Man of Wisdom is ever rooted in the infinite Bliss,

which is the nature of his own Self. He lives in the world, but
he is never of the world.

1 sarvabhūtasthamātmānaṁ sarvabhūtāni cātmani,

īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-6.29

2 vitatatā hṛdayasya mahāmateḥ hariharābjajalakṣaśatairapi,

tulanameti na… – Yogavāsiṣṭha-2.17.50

3 tate brahmaghane nitye sambhavanti na kalpitāḥ, ….

yadastīha tadevāsti vijvaro bhava sarvadā, – Mahopaniṣad-6.13 & 14
 Chapter – 4
Glory of Realisation
Introduction

This chapter is the eloquent defence, pleading ‘not guilty’,

by the King Janaka. All the taunting criticisms of the king’s
behaviour made by his Teacher Aṣṭāvakra are satisfactorily
explained and vividly clarified.

One who has realised the Self in him to be the Self

everywhere understands the universe as Himself and
Himself as the Lord of the universe. He lives thereafter in
perfection and freedom, fearless and ever blissful. Such a
magnificent soul can never be compared with the ignorant
individuals, who live upon the surface of the world, dragging
themselves through life like miserable beasts of burden –
each a sad victim of his lusts and inhibitions, mercilessly
weighed down by the loads of his fears and miseries!

The entire universe is but one's own essential form; one

is not separate from it. An individual is not built as a sewing
machine or a tape recorder! An individual cannot come into
being by assembling his parts; by welding a head to the
trunk, by connecting the brain to the heart, by screwing in a
liver and so on. The head, the brain, the heart, the liver are
different names, but not separate ‘events’. Similarly, an
individual is separate from the universe only in name. In fact
you are not only an essential part of the universe, but you
are the very being of the universe, just as the heart or the
liver, is not a part of you, but an essential aspect of the
whole.

When this oneness with the universe is not realised, you

are fooled by your own name! Hence, the ṛṣis had described
this hallucination, called the jagat, as a mere bundle of
names and forms. All fears arise from the dreadful sense of
alienation from the world; on realising that you are the
infinite Self, there is no more any sense of alienation. To
realise that I am the Self is to recognise at once that the
society and the world are but extensions of my own mind
and body.

Space is not contaminated by the things existing in it,

nor by the movements and activities that are taking place
therein. The objects of pleasure around and the activities of
the body among them, cannot in any way affect the pure
Self with which the Man of Realisation has discovered his
complete identity. The subtler is not conditioned by the
grosser.

जनक उवाच
ह ता म य धीर य खेलतो भोगलीलया।
न िह संसारवाहीकैमू ढैः सह समानता॥१॥
janaka uvāca

hantātmajñasya dhīrasya khelato bhogalīlayā,

na hi saṁsāra-vāhīkair-mūḍhaiḥ saha samānatā. (1)

ह त – O! marvel; आ म य – of the knower of the Self; धीर य –

the man of understanding; खेलतः – playing; भोगलीलया – with
the sport of life, the game of enjoyment; न – not; िह – indeed;
संसार वाहीकैः – a beast of burden of the world; मूढैः – deluded; सह
– with; समानता – similarity

Janaka said:

1. O marvel! The man of understanding, the knower of the

Self, who plays the sport of life, has no comparison with the
deluded beasts of burden of the world.

In the very opening verse Janaka crystallises all his defences

into this pithy statement. The behaviour of Man of
Perfection in the world outside at his body level should not
be compared with those of the ordinary people, who drag
themselves through life as beasts of burden, carrying the
loads of their vāsanās, panting in exhaustion, desiring to
graze on sense gratifications, here and there, along its
bridle path.

One whose identity has been firmly established in the

higher Consciousness, he, thereafter, with his body, mind
and intellect only ‘plays the sport of life’. To play is natural
for a child, and if you ask children at play why they are
playing, they are at a loss how to answer such a ridiculous
question? Play (līlā) cannot be any longer a play if it is
played for a purpose to achieve a profit. Sport is a natural
explosion of one's inherent energy free and spontaneous.
Play itself is its own fulfilment. It is in this spirit that a Man
of Perfection exists in all fields of his endeavour, apparently
functioning as any other man in the world.

The difference between a worldly man of passions and a

God-man of inner peace is not in the type of actions they
perform but in the conscious understanding with which they
enter their fields of actions. The idle crowds of unintelligent
onlookers are not generally subtle enough in their
perceptions to recognise this significant distinction between
the selfish man of ignorance and selfless Man of Wisdom.

In short, Janaka defends himself with the plea that his

actions should not be measured with the same yardstick
that is applied in measuring the size of worldly beings.

The same idea is found thundered in the

Annapūrṇopaniṣad: ‘A man who has liberated himself
completely from his inner attachments, whose thoughts are
ever pure and sweet, such a man whether he undertakes
action or not, there can never be in his bosom, at any time,
under any circumstances, the sense of doership or
enjoyership.’1

य पदं े सवो दीनाः श ा ाः सवदेवताः।

अहो त थतो योगी न हषमुपग छ त॥२॥
yat-padaṁ prepsavo dīnāḥ śakrādyāḥ sarva-devatāḥ,
aho tatra sthito yogī na harṣam-upagacchati. (2)

यत्-पदम् – which state; े सवः – hankering after; दीनाः – unhappy;

श ा ाः – beginning with Indra; सवदेवताः – all gods; अहो – O!
marvel; त – there; थतः – abiding; योगी – yogin; न – not; हषम् –
elation; उपग छ त – attains

2. O marvel! The yogin does not feel elated abiding in that

state which Indra and others hanker after and become
unhappy (because they cannot attain it).

The happiness and bliss experienced by a Man of Perfection

is from the blissful Self. It is this state of perfect happiness
that the gods and their king, Indra, are seeking in the subtle
sensuous fields of the heavens! They feel disappointed and
cheated because of the inherent imperfections in the
completeness of even the heavenly sense objects.

In this state of absolute Bliss also, the Man of Wisdom

cannot be considered as fully elated, because it is his own
nature and there is no subject to experience this source of
all Bliss. In deep sleep, the sleeper is not separate from the
sleep.

Janaka here points out from his own deep inner sense of
fulfilment and bliss in the experience of the Self. In view of
this complete satisfaction, ever lived within, why should he
get himself involved in the apparent sensuous fields of
pleasures available in his palace? How then can the
responsibilities of the throne ever distract him?

त य पु यपापा यां पश तन जायते।

न ाकाश य धूमेन यमानाऽिप स तः॥३॥
tajjñasya puṇya-pāpābhyāṁ sparśo hyantarna jāyate,
na hyākāśasya dhūmena dṛśyamānā'pi saṅgatiḥ. (3)

त य – of one who has comprehended That; पु यपापा याम् –

with virtue and vice; पशः – touch; िह – indeed; अ तः – of
inside; न – not; जायते – exists; न – not; िह – just as; आकाश य – of
the space; धूमेन – with smoke; यमाना – apparently; अिप –
though; स तः – contact

3. Indeed, the heart of one who has comprehended the Self

is not touched by virtue and vice, just as the space is
uncontaminated by smoke even though apparently it exists
in space.
Dust, smoke, clouds and so on remain hung up in space and
yet, because of its greater subtlety, it is not contaminated
by the existence of these. In the same way, virtue and vice
cannot affect one who has comprehended the Self and has
come to identify himself with this all-pervading
Consciousness. Virtue and vice are the negative and
positive vāsanās, which create healthy and unhealthy
thought currents, which again become the very propelling
force behind all good and bad actions. A Man of Wisdom is
one who has withdrawn himself from all material
equipments and as such he is ever beyond even the
vāsanās.

The royal activities and their anxieties, the court and its
pleasures, the throne and its responsibilities, all are
apparently around the saintly king, but none of them can
affect his deep spiritual wisdom, just as space is not
contaminated by the dust or smoke that is held suspended
in it.

आ मैवेदं जग सव ातं येन महा मना।

य छया वतमानं तं िनषे ं ु मेत कः॥४॥
ātmaivedaṁ jagat-sarvaṁ jñātaṁ yena mahātmanā,
yadṛcchayā vartamānaṁ taṁ niṣeddhuṁ kṣameta kaḥ. (4)

आ मा – Self; एव – alone; इदम् – this; जगत् – universe; सवम् – all;

ातम् – is known; येन – by whom; महा मना – the wise man;
य छया – as he likes (spontaneously); वतमानम् – remaining; तम् –
him; िनषे मु ् – prohibit; मेत – can; कः – who

4. The wise man, who has known this entire universe to be

the Self alone, acts spontaneously. Who can forbid him?
Even the Vedas dare not prescribe do’s and don'ts to such a
Man of Realisation. In fact, the Vaidika injunctions are
records of the observed behaviours and attitudes of such
Men of Realisation.

The freedom has been allowed to a Man of Perfection by

scriptures only because, in his transcendence, his ego has
completely ended, and therefore, he has been rendered
incapacitated to act wrongly or to think ever viciously! Just
as a great musician cannot go wrong in his time and tune,
just as a great dancer can never go wrong in her steps, so
too, a Man of Perfection cannot step out from the righteous
path. His actions might be misunderstood by his generation.
How can the beasts of burden, panting with their instinctive
activities, understand the harmony and rhythm in the
bosom of the Perfect?

In Mahābhārata (Śukāṣṭakam) Śukadeva himself says: ‘One

in whom all the sense of distinctions has ended; concepts of
virtue and vice have rotted away; māyā and its delusions
have been lifted; all doubts have ceased; one who dwells
beyond words and is without three qualities; who has
awakened to the Reality; ever after moving on the path of
egolessness; to him who can prescribe what he must do and
what he should not do?’2

आ त बपय ते भूत ामे चतु वधे।

िव यैव िह साम य िम छािन छािववजने॥५॥
ābrahma-stamba-paryante bhūta-grāme caturvidhe,
vijñasyaiva hi sāmarthyam-icchānicchā-vivarjane. (5)

आ त ब पय ते – from Brahmā down to a grass blade; भूत ामे –

in all beings; चतु वधे – of the four categories of existence;
िव य – the wise one; एव – alone; िह – indeed; साम यम् –
capacity; इ छा अिन छा िववज ने – in renouncing desires and
aversions

5. Of the four categories of existence, from Brahmā down to

a grass blade, it is the wise one alone who has the capacity
to renounce desires and aversions.

According to the Upaniṣads, the total world of beings

dwelling in the surface of this globe, falls under four types :

1. Jarāyuja or Garbhaja – Those that are born from the

womb;
2. Aṇḍaja – Those that are born from eggs;
3. Svedaja – Those that are born from warm vapour or
sweat; and
4. Udbhijja – Those that are born of seeds or sprouting up.

All these together indicate the entire world of beings that

exists here amidst us. In order to indicate the entire cosmos,
Janaka amplifies his statement and says, ‘From the Creator
down to a grass blade’.

In short, in the entire cosmos of created beings, the Man

of Realisation alone is the sole being who has in him the
unique capacity to renounce all his desires and aversions.
These two feelings represent the entire activities of the
mind. The Man of Perfection alone is the one who has gone
beyond his mind and hence this uniqueness in him. There is
no ego in him and, therefore, he does not react to the
external world, in terms of likes and dislikes or in terms of
desires and aversions.

Our mind is coloured by our perceptions and therefore,

loaded down with their own vāsanās. The mind lives its days
in self-created bondages. The liberated one is he who has
renounced the world of perceptions, meaning who has risen
above his mind and has apprehended the Self. This is the
burden of a mantra in Mahopaniṣad: ‘In case you depend
upon the world of perceptions, then your mind is bound. In
case your mind has fully renounced the world of
perceptions, then your mind is liberated.’3

आ मानम यं क ाना त जगदी रम्।

य े त स कु ते न भयं त य कु चत्॥६॥
ātmānam-advayaṁ kaścijjānāti jagadīśvaram,
yadvetti tatsa kurute na bhayaṁ tasya kutracit. (6)

आ मानम् – Self; अ यम् – one without a second, non-dual; क त् –

rarely one; जाना त – knows; जगदी रम् – Lord of the universe; यत्
– which; वेे – knows; तत् – that; सः – he; कु ते – does; न – not;
भयम् – fear; त य – his; कु चत् – anywhere

6. Rare indeed is the one who knows the Self, as one

without a second and as the Lord of the universe. He does
what comes to his mind and has no fears from any quarters.

In this concluding stanza, the disciple discovers a daring

courage, in the depth of his own experienced sense of
divinity as the Self. He has realised himself not only as the
one infinite Self, but also as the Governor, the Ruler, the
Controller, the Lord of the universe of names and forms.
Such an individual ‘does whatever comes to his mind’
meaning, he fearlessly undertakes to do whatever he
considers worth doing. Nothing, low and base, can ever
come to molest his thoughts. Ever identified with the
Infinite, his inspired bosom overflows ever with his divinely
brilliant and sweet thoughts for the benefit and glory of the
world. He is always confident that his actions are
expressions of the divine blessings conveyed to the
community, through his equipments. He has no fear of
criticism from any quarters. Evidently, the Teacher
Aṣṭāvakra is satisfied with the student's confidence in his
own wisdom and, therefore, he continues his discourse in
the following chapter.

1 antaḥ saṁsikta-nirmukto jīvo madhura-vṛttimān,

bahiḥ kurvannakurvan vā kartā bhoktā nahi kvacit. – Annapūrṇopaniṣad-1.57

2 bhedā-bhadau sapadi galitau puṇya-pāpe viśīrṇe,

māyā-mohau kṣayamupagatau naṣṭa-sandeha-vṛtteḥ.
śabdātītaṁ triguṇa-rahitaṁ prāpya tatvāvabodhaṁ,
nistraiguṇye pathi vicaratāṁ ko vidhiḥ ko niṣedhaḥ. – Śukāṣṭakam

3 dṛśyamāśrayasīdaṁ cet tat sacitto'si bandhavān,

dṛśyaṁ santyajasīdaṁ cet tadā citto'si mokṣavān. – Mahopaniṣad-4.35
 Chapter – 5
Four Methods – Dissolution of Ego
Introduction

In the direct experience of the transcendental Self, to

dissolve the perceiving equipments and the perceived world
of experiences, is to Aṣṭāvakra, the significance of the term
‘laya’, dissolution. This is to be attained in different stages,
as it is impossible for anyone to achieve it in one sudden
leap. The four different stages through which a sincere
seeker can accomplish this total dissolution of his ego
consciousness is the theme of this chapter.

This technique of ‘laya’ starts with the ending of the body

consciousness and then stage by stage it ultimately takes
the seeker to the experience of the absolute aloneness of
the Self Divine (kaivalya). To contemplate upon the supreme
Self with such intensity and consistency that the mind has
no accommodation to entertain thoughts of the body or the
sense objects, is the state of ‘total dissolution’. Unbroken
and continuous God remembrance is one of the simplest
practices in ultimately achieving this state of ‘total
dissolution’ (laya).

अ ाव उवाच

न ते स ोऽ त केनािप क शु य ु िम छ स।
स ातिवलयं कुव ेवमेव लयं ज॥१॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca

na te saṅgo'sti kenāpi kiṁ śuddhastyaktum-icchasi,

saṅghāta-vilayaṁ kurvannevam-eva layaṁ vraja. (1)

न – not; ते – your; स ः – contact; अ त – is; केन – with anything;

अिप – verily; िकम् – what; शु ः – pure; य ु म् – to renounce; इ छ स
– wish; स ातिवलयम् – dissolution of body complex; कुवन् –
effecting; एवम् – thus; एव – indeed; लयम् – the state of
dissolution; ज – attain

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. You have no contact with anything whatsoever. Pure as

you are, what do you want to renounce? Having dissolved
the body-complex, enter into ‘laya’ – the state of
dissolution.

As the infinite Self, the very 'Substratum' for the entire

illusory world superimposed upon you, what is there in you,
the pure Self, to renounce? You have no contact with
anything. The post is untouched by the ghost; what can the
post renounce?

The body complex generally indicated in the Vedānta

śāstra by the term 'saṅghāta’ is constituted of the sense
organs, mind, intellect and ego. Even though in the pure
Self there is nothing other than Itself, we have found how,
when there is non-apprehension of the Self, such
misapprehensions do powerfully surge up. At this moment
we live identified with these and act and live as though we
are nothing but the body complex in us. In the continuous
confident self-assertion, ‘I am the infinite Self’, to dissolve
away the matter aggregate about us, is to end the ego. ‘In
this way enter ‘laya’ – the state of dissolution’, advises
Aṣṭāvakra.
 We are reminded of a similar assertion in
Annapūrṇopaniṣad: ‘That which has neither the beginning
nor an end, can have no cause for itself. Therein dissolve
(laya) your mind-intellect equipment and remain ever
undisturbed. Such an individual shall never have to ever
return into misery and pain.’1

उदे त भवतो िव ं वा रधे रव बु दु ः।

इ त ा वैकमा मानमेवमेव लयं ज॥२॥

udeti bhavato viśvaṁ vāridheriva budbudaḥ,

iti jñātvaikam-ātmānam-evam-eva layaṁ vraja. (2)

उदे त – rises; भवतः – from You; िव म् – universe; वा रधेः – from the

sea; इव – like; बु दु ः – bubble; इ त – thus; ा वा – having
apprehended; एकम् – one; आ मानम् – Self; एवम् – in this way; एव –
verily; लयम् – a state of dissolution; ज – enter

2. The universe rises from You, like a bubble from the sea,
thus comprehend the non-dual Self. In this way, enter into
‘laya’ – the state of dissolution.

‘The sea and the waves or bubbles’ is a very fascinating

metaphor that Aṣṭāvakra employs very often all through his
song. Here is an exercise in contemplation. Just as the
bubbles rising from the sea are all nothing but the waters of
the sea, and they rise in different forms, they exist and play
about for a time and then disappear to become, in the end,
nothing but the waters of the sea, so too, universes spring
up from the Self.

Consistently thus contemplating, quieten the demands

and the agitations, passions and restlessness of the
equipments. In the hushed silence of such a deep
meditation, the undisturbed Consciousness in Its great
grand infinitude can then be apprehended. ‘In this way
enter into ‘laya’ – the state of dissolution’.

Here in the second stage of the dissolution, Aṣṭāvakra

indicates that the seeker must dissolve his mind and its
desire prompted storms within.

The assertion ‘I am the infinite Self’ is a daring one and

the heroic in heart, protected by his deep understanding of
the scriptural texts alone can undertake to walk this
majestic path of meditation as described in Vedānta. The
implication to the assertion ‘I am the Self’, is declared in a
verse in Yogavāsiṣṭha: ‘Maintain the attitude that whatever
the Creator, Indra, Viṣṇu and Varuṇa can achieve and
accomplish, that I, the pure Consciousness can indeed
achieve.’2

This is not a blasphemy; this is pure spiritual might! This

state cannot be reached all of a sudden; this is to be
achieved in slow and steady stages as indicated in the
Bhagavad-gītā: ‘Little by little, let him attain quietude by the
intellect held in firmness; having made the mind established
in the Self, let him not think of anything.’3

य म यव तु वाि ं ना यमले व य।
र ुसप इव य मेवमेव लयं ज॥३॥

pratyakṣam-apyavastutvād-viśvaṁ nāstyamale tvayi,

rajju-sarpa iva vyaktam-evam-eva layaṁ vraja. (3)

य म् – visible; अिप – though; अव तु वात् – on account of being

unreal; िव म् – universe; न – not; अ त – is; अमले – pure; व य – in
you; र ुसपः – the snake in the rope; इव – like; य म् –
manifested; एवम् – thus; एव – verily; लयम् – the state of
dissolution; ज – attain

3. The universe even though visible, because it is unreal,

like the snake in the rope, does not exist in you, who are
pure. Thus, in this way, enter into ‘laya’ – the state of
dissolution.

Ordinarily, when we perceive a thing, we take it for granted

that the thing exists, but there are examples wherein
perception is not a sure guarantee for the actual existence
of the thing perceived. The ‘snake in the rope’, the ‘silver in
the seashell,’ the ‘ghost in the post’ are all illusions.
Employing this very familiar analogy of the Upaniṣads,
Aṣṭāvakra points out that even though the universe is
manifested and is available for our direct perception, in
moments of Self-unfoldment, in the higher plane of
Consciousness, it has no existence at all. Thus having
known the universe to be a mere illusion, superimposed
upon the Self, negate the universe of names and forms and
‘in this way enter into ‘laya’ – the state of dissolution’.

This is the third stage in ‘laya’, where the universe is

negated and dissolved into the Consciousness of the
meditator. Annapūrṇopaniṣad applauds this technique and
says that: ‘One who has accomplished this dissolution is
ever in the aloneness of the Infinitude; even in a crowded
city his aloneness is not disturbed.’4

Gauḍapāda in his Kārikā also recommends the practice of

‘laya’ by completely withdrawing the mind from all sense
objects through single pointed contemplation upon the Self.
In Aparokṣānubhūti, Ᾱcārya Śaṅkara indicates three stages
of ‘laya’ through contemplation :

1. Disassociation from the body and the world;

 2. Identification with the Self and
3. Forgetting to remember even the knowledge of the Self.

The process of ‘laya’ should not be misunderstood as a

path of mere negation. Neither Aṣṭāvakra nor the Bhagavad-
gītā recommends this technique of mere negation; this is a
negative path and can get the student only into a dark pit of
‘non-existence’ (śūnya). The process recommended by the
ṛṣis of Upaniṣads is to flush out the egocentric mind of all its
thoughts of the pluralistic world with a continuous flood of
contemplation upon the non-dual Self.

समदःु खसुखः पूण आशानैरा ययोः समः।

समजीिवतमृ यःु स ेवमेव लयं ज॥४॥

sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ pūrṇa āśā-nairāśyayoḥ samaḥ,

sama-jīvita-mṛtyuḥ sannevam-eva layaṁ vraja. (4)

समदःु खसुखः – to whom pain and pleasure are the same; पूण –
perfect; आशानैरा ययोः – in hope and disappointment; समः –
same; समजीिवतमृ यःु – to whom life and death are same; सन् –
being; एवम् – thus; एव – verily; लयम् – the state of dissolution;
ज – attain

4. You are perfect and the same in pain and pleasure, in

hope and disappointment and in life and death. Thus, in this
way, enter into ‘laya’ – the state of dissolution.

In this fourth and the last stage of ‘laya’, Aṣṭāvakra

prescribes for the seeker a process by which all his
intellectual estimates and responses are dissolved in the
steady contemplation upon the nature of the Self.

Pain and pleasure, hope and disappointment, life and

death are all intellectual evaluations and its habitual
concepts. To dissolve the intellect is to end its functions. In
the Self there are none of these intellectual evaluations.
They are all objects of Consciousness. Above the intellect
and therefore, beyond its estimates, shines the Self that
illumines the very intellect. ‘In this way enter into ‘laya’ –
the state of dissolution’. To contemplate upon the Self as the
one constant witness of all agitations of the mind and
intellect and all functions of the body, is to bring about
complete dissolution of the ego and the world interpreted by
the ego.

These are the four stages prescribed by Aṣṭāvakra for

accomplishing the total dissolution of the individualised
Consciousness and for merging it into the infinite Self.

1 padamādyamanādyantaṁ tasya bījaṁ na vidyate,

tatra saṁlīyate saṁvit nirvikalpaṁ ca tiṣṭhati.
bhūyo na vartate duḥkheḥ tatra labdhapasaḥ pumān
– Annapūrṇopaniṣad-4.68 & 69

2 brahmendra-viṣṇu-varuṇāḥ yadyat-kartuṁ samudyatāḥ,

tad-ahaṁ cid-vapuḥ sarvaṁ karomītyeva bhāvayet. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-6.121.8

3 śanaiḥ śanairuparamed buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā,

ātma-saṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid-api cintayet. – Bhagavad-gītā-6.25

4 yathā vipaṇagā lokā viharanto' pyasatsamāḥ,

asambandhāt tathā jñasya grāmo'pi vipinopamaḥ. – Annapūrṇopaniṣad-1.33
 Chapter – 6
The Self Supreme
Introduction

The entire song of Aṣṭāvakra is conceived in the form of a

dialogue between himself and his royal disciple, Janaka. We,
as students, aspiring to comprehend the vision of Vedānta
of the non-dual Self, are staggered at the vision Aṣṭāvakra
points out. We get dumbfounded at the giddy heights to
which the uncompromising pure vision of Janaka lifts us.

In the previous chapter, Saint Aṣṭāvakra prescribes the

path of laya-yoga, but here his disciple, the royal seer,
Janaka complains that in his vision of the supreme Self, he
finds nothing to dissolve! What can there be in the one non-
dual Self other than Itself for us to dissolve? It is beyond
everything – ‘Beyond the beyond’ (prakṛteḥ paraḥ; parāt-
paraḥ). Even the very effort at laya-yoga declares the
existence of ‘ignorance’.

The Self in this absolute sense is the theme of discussion

in this chapter. The Self is indicated here as the cosmic
space and the universe a pot in it; once the Self is realised,
the universe cannot ever condition the infinite Self.

In Aṣṭāvakra-gītā the transcendence and the immanence

of the Self are equally emphasised; this is the grand style of
the Gītā philosophy: ‘All in the one Self, and the one Self in
all’. In such a state no ‘laya’ can be practised. To pursue
laya-yoga a residual amount of ignorance is necessary to
maintain in the seeker the witnessing ego, to strive for the
dissolution of itself in the supreme Self.

जनक उवाच

आकाशवदन तोऽहं घटव ाकृतं जगत्।

इ त ानं तथैत य न यागो न हो लयः॥१॥

janaka uvāca

ākāśavad-ananto'haṁ ghaṭavat-prākṛtaṁ jagat,

iti jñānaṁ tathaitasya na tyāgo na graho layaḥ. (1)

आकाशवत् – like space; अन तः – limitless; अहम् – I; घटवत् – like a

jar; ाकृतम् – phenomenal; जगत् – world; इ त – this; ानम् – true
Knowledge; तथा – then; एत य – of this; न – not; यागः –
relinquishment; न – not; हः – acceptance; लयः – dissolution

Janaka said:

1. Infinite as space am I and the world like a limited jar; this

is ‘true Knowledge’. There is nothing then to be renounced
nor to be accepted nor to be destroyed.

In the previous chapter, the Teacher, Aṣṭāvakra, out of his

infinite kindness, came down a little from the peak of the
absolute and recommended to his student the path of
dissolution (laya). Janaka, the disciple, however, from a still
higher standpoint ridicules the very idea of merging the ego
into the supreme Consciousness which is ever infinite and
one without a second.

In the very opening verse Janaka takes the thunder away

from Aṣṭāvakra's discourse on the technique of the merger
(laya).

The supreme Self is often compared with the cosmic

space in which the universes move and individualised ego-
consciousness as a limited, insignificant mud pot and its pot
space stays. Space (ākāśa) is a very familiar comparison oft-
repeated by various ṛṣis in different Upaniṣads.1

Māṇḍūkya Kārikā is considered as a text in Vedānta that

has come to be written after Aṣṭāvakra-gītā and the Kārikā
is generally considered to have drawn its inspiration from
this Gītā. The Kārikā elaborates this analogy of the space
and the pot space, illustrating the infinite Consciousness
and the limited ego consciousness. The elaboration by the
author of the Kārikā is very illuminating for the students to
reflect upon.2

From the absolute standpoint of the one homogeneous

supreme Consciousness, there is neither an ego, nor an ego-
perceived illusory world of plurality. No doubt, this is the
goal – the highest state of Realisation. Janaka abiding in this
Reality complains that he cannot practise ‘laya’, as in the
pure Self ‘there is nothing to be renounced or to be
accepted, or to be destroyed’. The Kārikā sings the same
idea as a chorus to the song of Aṣṭāvakra : ‘There in the
Self, which is the final fulfilment of the actions of the mind,
there is neither any perception, nor any self-projection into
ideas. Established in the Self, the self revelling in Knowledge
(the jñāna) reaches the state of immutability and
homogeneity.’3

One who is the Self already; he has nothing to bring into

‘laya’. Mahopaniṣad sings: ‘One who dwells into
transcendental state, as full and perfect mass of
Consciousness, neither perturbed nor fulfilled, he no more
lives in the world of change.’4
महोद ध रवाहं स प ो वी चस भः।
इ त ानं तथैत य न यागो न हो लयः॥२॥

mahodadhir-ivāhaṁ sa prapañco vīcisannibhaḥ,

iti jñānaṁ tathaitasya na tyāgo na graho layaḥ. (2)

महोद धः – ocean; इव – like; अहम् – I am; सः – that; प ः –

phenomenal universe; वी चस भः – like the wave; इ त – this;
ानम् – true Knowledge; तथा – then; एत य – of this; न – not; यागः
– relinquishment; न – not; हः – acceptance; लयः – dissolution

2. I am like the ocean and the universe is like a wave: this is

‘true Knowledge’. There is nothing then to be renounced or
to be accepted or to be destroyed.

All scriptures are forced to talk of the Supreme through

myth – through special metaphors, analogies and images,
which express what It is like and not what It is. The Supreme
is an experience that is inexpressible in language. It is
beyond our thoughts and our speech. It is That because of
which we are conscious of our thoughts and by which we are
able to verbalise our thoughts.

Such myths are extremely useful for communicating the

spiritual knowledge to the prepared students. Don't we
employ them often in interpreting science to the average
man? Do we not explain electric forces by comparing them
with the behaviour of water waves or air movements? Here
electricity is neither water nor air; to confuse the image for
the fact is as ridiculous as climbing up the signpost instead
of pursuing the road!

Such a warning is necessary, lest we are carried away by

the impressive images rather than the truth that the images
indicate. Here Janaka explains how from the state of pure
Self, he is like a shoreless ocean and the universes rising in
him are like its waves. A wave, we can say, is a limited and
conditioned ocean; yet the wave once merged back into the
ocean is nothing but the ocean. The limitations and the
conditionings in the wave are all apparent, temporary and of
no great significance. What is the sense in asking the ocean
to merge the waves to realise its own peaceful vastness and
majesty?

With this striking example, the idea that the Infinite gets
conditioned is totally removed from the reflective mind of
the contemplative student. Yet, the idea that the Infinite
undergoes modifications, in expressing as the pluralistic
phenomenal world, is not excluded from the picture of the
ocean and the waves. Hence, the justification for the
examples repeated in the following verse –

अहं स शुि स ाशो यवि क पना।

इ त ानं तथैत य न यागो न हो लयः॥३॥

ahaṁ sa śukti-sañkāśo rūpyavad-viśvakalpanā,

iti jñānaṁ tathaitasya na tyāgo na graho layaḥ. (3)

अहम् – I; सः – that; शुि स ाशः – like seashell, mother-of-pearl;

यवत् – like the silvery shine; िव क पना – the illusion of the
universe; इ त – this; ानम् – true Knowledge; तथा – then; एत य –
of this; न – not; यागः – relinquishment; न – not; हः –
acceptance; लयः – dissolution

3. I am like the seashell and the illusion of the universe is

like the silveriness, this is ‘true Knowledge.’ There is nothing
then to be renounced nor to be accepted nor to be
destroyed.
This famous example hinted at here is only to disabuse the
mind of the student who suspects that the infinite Self has
undergone a temporary modification in Itself to play as the
finite world of names and forms. The silveriness is not a
modification of the shell; the shell remains as it is. The
substratum is not affected by the illusory projections that
are apprehended upon it. True Knowledge is when I realise
that I am the pure Consciousness and the ego and its fields
of experiences are all illusory imaginations of the ego. From
such a perfect state of universal oneness, no doubt, the
laya-yoga cannot be practised.

अहं वा सवभूतेषु सवभूता यथो म य।

इ त ानं तथैत य न यागो न हो लयः॥४॥

ahaṁ vā sarvabhūteṣu sarvabhūtānyatho mayi,

iti jñānaṁ tathaitasya na tyāgo na graho layaḥ. (4)

अहम् – I; वा – indeed; सवभूतेषु – in all beings (am); सवभूतािन – all

beings; अथो – and; म य – in Me; इ त – this; ानम् – true
Knowledge; तथा – then; एत य – of this; न – not; यागः –
relinquishment; न – not; हः – acceptance; लयः – dissolution

4. I am, indeed, in all beings and all beings are in Me, this is
‘true Knowledge’. There is nothing then to be renounced nor
to be accepted nor to be destroyed.

According to the Upaniṣads, Self-realisation does not mean

the discovery of the seeker's divinity and the recognition of
the undivinity of all other things in the universe! To awake to
the higher Consciousness is to recognise, thereafter,
nothing but the splash of the blinding Beauty Divine in all Its
glory, spread all around for all times. When awakened from
the dream, the entire dream should get drowned in the
waking Consciousness.

This total transmutation of the vision of the Man of

Perfection, is indicated in the Īśāvāsya-upaniṣad5 and
repeated in the Bhagavad-gītā.6

Janaka faithfully follows the scriptures, both in language

and thought content, when he declares ‘I am indeed in all
beings and all beings are in Me.’ The entire ghost is in the
post and the post pervades the ghost.

From this standpoint, what is there, other than the Self to

dissolve in the Self, through the process of ‘laya’?

1 ākāśaṁ ātmā – Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad-3.2.13

ākāśa ātmā – Taittirīyopaniṣad-2.2
äkäçaà brahma – Chändogyopaniñad -7.12.2

2Māṇḍūkya Kārikā. – 3.7

3 graho na tatra notsargaḥ cintā yatra na vidyate,

ātmasaṁsthaṁ tadā jñānam ajāti samatāṁ gatam. – Māṇḍūkya Kārikā-3.38

4 sarvātītapadālambī paripūrṇaika cinmayaḥ,

nodvegī na ca tuṣṭātmā saṁsāre nāvasīdati. – Mahopaniñad-6.63

5 yastu sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmanyevānupaśyati,

sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate. – Īśāvāsya-upaniṣad-6

6 sarvabhūtasthamātmānaṁ sarvabhūtāni cātmani,

īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-6.29
 Chapter – 7
That Tranquil Self
Introduction

Even intelligent educated men readily accept the idea that

we come into the world and this implies that the world is
something alien to us – something totally different from us.
If we pause for a moment to think, it is evidently clear that
this idea that we come into the world is against all our day's
scientific knowledge. Science insists upon and proves that
we do not come into the world; in fact we come out of the
world.

In this chapter Aṣṭāvakra goes yet one step further,

ahead of the knowledge of the scientists and declares that
the universe itself comes out of the Self!

As ocean ‘waves’, the Self ‘universes’, and the universe

‘peoples’ – if we are permitted to coin and use such strange
looking but eloquent terms. In short, just as the waves are
the ocean, we are not isolated ‘egos’ functioning inside
separate bodies nor is the world populated by masses of
such separate entities. They all rise from the ocean of Self,
when the storms of the mind howl through Consciousness.

Even without bringing this surging mind, through

contemplation, into its dissolution (laya), the infinite Self,
ever peaceful, from which the very mind has risen, is ever
beyond all agitations. Except for its waves on the surface,
the ocean is calm and serene in its immeasurable depths.

Abide in the Self, wherein due to the desires of the mind,

worlds of names and forms heave forth, as though produced
at the raising of a magician's wand. The creation and the
dissolution of the universe are both illusions of the unsteady
mind. To the Self there is neither the anxiety to accept nor
the labour to reject the mind and its imaginary worlds. The
ocean of Consciousness ever remains the same, and
apparently waves up to play the illusion of names and
forms.

Having hinted that laya-yoga itself is only for those who

have in themselves lingering shadows of 'ignorance' (ego),
Janaka seems to feel yet unsatisfied and so he bursts forth
into a lyrical song upon the glory of the tranquil Self in this
chapter.

जनक उवाच

म यन तमहा भोधौ िव पोत इत ततः।

म त वा तवातेन न ममा यसिह णुता॥१॥

janaka uvāca

mayyananta-mahāmbhodhau viśvapota itastataḥ,

bhramati svānta-vātena na mamāstyasahiṣṇutā. (1)

म य – in Me; अन तमहा भोधौ – in the shoreless ocean; िव पोतः –

the ark of the universe; इत ततः – here and there; म त –
moves; वा तवातेन – by the wind of its own mind (universal
mind); न – not; मम – My; अ त – is; असिह णुता – intolerance,
impatience

Janaka said:
1. In Me, the shoreless ocean, the ark of the universe,
moves here and there, driven by the wind of its own mind
(universal mind). I am not impatient.

In a Man of Realisation it is absurd to say that he recognises

no world of plurality around him nor that his mind and
intellect have no thought flow in them. But unlike us he is
never disturbed by the confusions within and without him,
because he is ever abiding in his deep experience: ‘I am the
infinite Self’.

In this shoreless ocean of Consciousness, like the waves,

the universe rises up, plays about and merges back. The
peaceful surface of the clear Consciousness is whipped up
into waves of names and forms by our own mental storms.
An individual mind creates individual worlds of its own likes
and dislikes, of its joys and sorrows. Thus, my world is
created by my mind and your world is created by your mind.
Though, we both are living in one and the same universe,
perhaps at one and the same time and space, yet, each one
of us lives in an individual, self-interpreted, private world of
one's own.

The universe is the common field where all the existing

minds can experience freely their own individual worlds of
joys and sorrows. Therefore, the total universe is not the
projection of an individual mind but it is the play of the total
mind, or we may call it as the universal mind. ‘By the wind
of its own mind’ (svānta vātena), the universe of names and
forms moves along its path of history, bumping along, now
through brilliant eras of creative beauty and now through
dark ages of miseries and sorrows.

Janaka realises that the disturbances in the individual life

and in the universal life around are all illusory confusions
projected by the individual mind and the universal mind.
The royal saint naturally confesses, ‘I am not impatient’. No
wise man is impatient either with the disturbances around
him or at the daily stories of achievements and failures of
the world of his era. This ever-changing phenomenal world
and its ceaseless modifications do not affect the Self in the
least.

म यन तमहा भोधौ जग ी चः वभावतः।

उदेतु वा तमायातु न मे वृ न च तः॥२॥

mayyananta-mahāmbhodhau jagad-vīciḥ svabhāvataḥ,

udetu vāstam-āyātu na me vṛddhirna ca kṣatiḥ. (2)

म य – in Me; अन तमहा भोधौ – in the limitless ocean; जगद वी चः –

the waves of the world; वभावतः – spontaneously; उदेतु – may
rise; वा – or; अ तम् – dissolution; आयातु – may attain; न – not; मे
– My; वृ ः – increase; न – not; च – and; तः – decrease

2. In Me, the limitless ocean, let the waves of the world rise
and vanish spontaneously. I experience neither increase nor
decrease (of Me) thereby.

Janaka amplifies the significance of the metaphor that he

has used in the previous verse. When the waves heave up in
the ocean, each wave has a different form and an apparent
identity of its own, sufficient to distinguish it from all other
waves. Yet, in a sense, they are all nothing else but ocean
water. If more waves settle down, because it has swallowed
up all the waves, the ocean does not thereby get swelled
up! The worlds of names and forms are nothing but a ripple
upon the infinite Self. ‘I am the Self’, is the spiritual
experience, the final wisdom. Naturally, in Me the
spontaneous rise of the worlds or their dissolution, cannot
bring any disturbance at all – I know, I am the changeless,
immutable Self.

To Aṣṭāvakra, māyā is not, it seems, a very attractive

philosophic principle. He recognises and deals with only the
concept of ‘ignorance' (avidyā or ajñāna). Due to the non-
apprehension of the Self, there are the misapprehensions of
the worlds and this ignorance manifests as the mind.
Śaṅkara in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi clarifies it : ‘ There is no
ignorance beyond the mind; the mind alone is ignorance,
the cause for all the sorrows of change. When it is
destroyed, all are destroyed; when it projects, everything
gets projected.’1

म यन तमहा भोधौ िव ं नाम िवक पना।

अ तशा तो िनराकार एतदेवाहमा थतः॥३॥

mayyananta-mahāmbhodhau viśvaṁ nāma vikalpanā,

atiśānto nirākāra etadevāham-āsthitaḥ. (3)

म य – in Me; ; अन तमहा भोधौ – in the shoreless ocean; िव म् –

universe; नाम – called; िवक पना – imagination; अ तशा तः –
profoundly tranquil; िनराकारः – formless; एतत् – this; एव – alone;
अहम् – I; आ थतः – abiding

3. In Me, the shoreless ocean, is the imagined illusion of the

universe. I am the profoundly tranquil and formless. In this
Knowledge alone, I abide.

In the previous verse we have the metaphor of the ocean

and the waves, which might probably give a hasty student a
suspicion that the world of names and forms is a
modification, temporary though it be, of the infinite Self. To
contradict this false notion this verse is employed.
 The world of names and forms is only the imagination
(vikalpanā) of the total mind. It has no existence
whatsoever. The Self is undisturbed, profoundly peaceful
and ever formless. Earlier in the opening chapter it was
said: ‘ All which have form are false, the formless is the
changeless.’2

ना मा भावेषु नो भाव त ान ते िनर ने।

इ यस ोऽ पृहः शा त एतदेवाहमा थतः॥४॥

nātmā bhāveṣu no bhāvas-tatrānante nirañjane,

ityasakto'spṛhaḥ śānta etadevāham-āsthitaḥ. (4)

न – not; आ मा – Self; भावेषु – in the objects; न – not; भावः –

object; त – in That (Self); अन ते – limitless; िनर ने – taintless;
इ त – hence; अस ः – unattached; अ पृहः – desireless; शा तः –
tranquil; एतत् – this; एव – alone; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in

4. The Self is not in the object, nor is the object in this Self,
which is infinite and taintless. Hence, it is free from
attachment and desire; it is tranquil. In this Knowledge
alone I abide.

The post is not in the ghost; the ghost is illusory; nor is the
ghost at anytime in the post. Similarly, the objects of the
world being imaginations of the mind, are not in the Self
which is the substratum of the world perceived; nor can the
Self be in the illusory objects! Naturally, the infinite and the
taintless, the Self is free from any attachment to anything;
nor can It entertain any desires for anything. Nothing can
ever remain as other than the Self: ātmā ekameva idaṁ
sarvam. ‘The one Self alone is all these’ says the Upaniṣad.
Attachment and desires are delusions of the mind. When
these two are transcended, the mind is also transcended.
Where the mind is not, there is nothing to disturb the
Consciousness and, therefore, it is ever tranquil. In this firm
Knowledge, born out of his direct experience Janaka
confesses, ‘I abide’.

अहो च मा मेवाहिम जालोपमं जगत्।

अतो मम कथं कु हेयोपादेयक पना॥५॥

aho cinmātram-evāham-indrajālopamaṁ jagat,

ato mama kathaṁ kutra heyopādeya-kalpanā. (5)

अहो – O! Marvellous; च मा म् – pure Consciousness; एव – really;

अहम् – I; इ जाल उपमम् – like a magic show; जगत् – world; अतः –
therefore; मम – My; कथम् – how ; कु – where; हेय उपादेय क पना –
notions of rejection or acceptance in Me

5. O Marvellous! I am really pure Consciousness. The world

is like a magic show. Hence, how and where can there be
any notion of rejection or acceptance in Me?

Nothing in this world can either attract or repel a Man of

Wisdom. He, in perfect detachment, continuously enjoys this
free show of the seething universe of multiplicity around
him. To him the world show is fantasy created by his mind
with its imagination. There is no reality in it, though it
apparently is available for the time being for his perception.
Naturally, therefore, there is nothing for him to accept or
reject in this vast illusory show of his own mind in agitation.

This attitude of the wise helps him even while he is

functioning in the world, for the guidance of the community.

Mahopaniṣad advises: ‘O Man of pure intelligence, with

mind at rest, though restlessly working outside, as an
apparent doer outside, but really as a non-doer within, play
about in the world of activities and attachments.’3

Abiding in the Self, Men of Wisdom apparently function in

the world outside, though in their depths they are ever
actionless, ever tranquil.

1 na hyastyavidyā manaso'tiriktā mano hyavidyā bhavabandhahetuḥ,

tasminvinaṣṭe sakalaṁ vinaṣṭaṁ vijṛmbhite'sminsakalaṁ vijṛmbhate.
– Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-169

2 sākāramanṛtaṁ viddhi nirākāraṁ tu niścalam. – Aṣṭāvakra-gītā-1.18

3 bahiḥ kṛtrimasaṁrambho hṛdi saṁrambhavarjitaḥ,

kartā bahirakartāntarloke vihara śuddhadhīḥ. – Mahopaniṣad-6.68
 Chapter – 8
Bondage and Freedom
Introduction

If what has been so beautifully described by Janaka in the

previous chapter be the true knowledge of the tranquil Self,
why is it that this blissful experience is denied to the
majority of the suffering humanity? Aṣṭāvakra takes up this
logical doubt for discussion and explains in this chapter how
the ‘bondage’, and why the ‘freedom’. The extrovertedness
of the mind and, therefore, the outgoing tendencies of the
ego, characterise the state of bondage. The mind and the
ego sense turning towards the Self, the state of mind's
dissolution and ego’s rediscovery of its permanent identity
with Self, constitute the state of ‘freedom’.

When the mind rushes out recognising a world of objects,

it runs wild among them rejecting things that are not
conducive and pursuing things that are imagined to be
conducive to its happiness. Desiring and hating, accepting
and rejecting, hunting after some things and being hunted
after by other things, constructing and destroying, loving
and fighting, from womb to the tomb, the ego strives and
struggles, pants and suffers; this is bondage. Mahopaniṣad1
defines the ‘bondage’ with one word, namely, ‘mameti’ –
‘mineness’, and with another single word ‘nirmameti’,
namely, ‘not-mineness’ – the ‘freedom’.
अ ाव उवाच

तदा ब धो यदा च ं िक ा छ त शोच त।

िक मु त गृ ा त िक ृ य त कु य त॥१॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

tadā bandho yadā cittaṁ kiñcid-vāñchati śocati,

kiñcin-muñcati gṛhṇāti kiñcid-dhṛśyati kupyati. (1)

तदा – then; ब धः – bondage; यदा – when; च ं – mind; िक त् –

anything; वा छ त – desires; शोच त – grieves; िक त् – anything;
मु त – rejects; गृ ा त – accepts; िक त् – anything; य त – feels
happy; कु य त – feels angry

Aṣṭāvakra said :

1. It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves at

anything; does reject or accept anything; does feel happy or
angry at anything.

First of all Aṣṭāvakra defines the state of bondage, since this

is the condition which is very familiar to we students in
general. If they were not already in bondage, they would not
study Aṣṭāvakra-gītā, but would keep on singing their own
gīta. Having brought the condition of bondage acutely to the
awareness of a student, it should be relatively easy for that
student to at least vaguely grasp what exactly is the state of
freedom.

Desire is an emotion that rises up to disturb the mind

when it recognises an object outside itself and passionately
hopes that the object of its fascination can give it a
covetable satisfaction. When, having procured an object of
desire, if it decays in the embrace of the mind, the sorrow
suffered by the mind is called grief.
 Things that the mind feels are not for itself conducive, it
rejects and things that are conducive, it accepts. Again,
when the worldly objects assembled around a mind in a
pattern that is in line with its present idea of joy, the mind
feels happy; when the things get arranged in a pattern
contrary to the mind's present ideas of happiness, the mind
revolts against them; this is expressed as anger.

To live thus a slave to the mind and its death dance is to

live in ‘bondage’. Slavish obedience of the individual to the
endless demands of the body, mind and intellect for sense
gratifications, among the objects of the world outside, is the
state of bondage.

तदा मुि यदा च ं न वा छ त न शोच त।

न मु त न गृ ा त न य त न कु य त॥२॥

tadā muktir-yadā cittaṁ na vāñchati na śocati,

na muñcati na gṛhṇāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati. (2)

तदा – then; मुि ः – freedom; यदा – when; च ं – mind; न – not;

वा छ त – desires; न – not; शोच त – grieves; न – not; मु त –
rejects; न – not; गृ ा त – accepts; न – not; य त – feels happy; न
– not; कु य त – feels angry

2. Freedom is attained when the mind does not desire or

grieve, does not reject or accept, does not feel happy or
angry at anything.

In one line, that is the state of freedom, which is opposite to

what has been described earlier as the state of bondage of
the mind. This state of freedom cannot be attained unless
the mind discovers the source of a greater bliss in itself, so
that in its utter satisfaction, the mind gets no more tempted
to gush out to embrace the sense objects. Thunders
Annapūrṇopaniṣad: ‘There is no freedom found either in the
outer space, or in the nether kingdom, or on the surface of
the earth. It is found only in the mind in which all desires
have dried up. When desires are conquered, the march of
thoughts cease, and the mind ends. This is the state of
freedom.’2

The same idea is supported by the crisp statement in

Yogavāsiṣṭha: ‘Thought reduction is freedom, thought
assertion is bondage’3.

There is no other escape. The seeker must learn to rise

above his desire promptings. Elsewhere it is said: ‘This
ignorance is nothing but desires; when desires have ended,
that state is called the state of freedom. The moment you
become desireless, instantaneously that man of reflection
has established himself in ‘freedom’4.

तदा ब धो यदा च ं स ं का विप ि षु।

तदा मो ो यदा च मस ं सव ि षु॥३॥

tadā bandho yadā cittaṁ saktaṁ kāsvapi dṛṣṭiṣu,

tadā mokṣo yadā cittam-asaktaṁ sarvadṛṣṭiṣu. (3)

तदा – then; ब धः – bondage; यदा – when; च म् – mind; स म् –

attached; कासु अिप – to any; ि षु – sensory perception; तदा –
then; मो ः – freedom; यदा – when; च म् – mind; अस ं –
unattached; सव ि षु – in all sensory perceptions

3. It is bondage, when the mind is attached to any of the

sensory perceptions. It is freedom when the mind is
detached from all perceptions.

In the opening stanza, through its songful words, the

Teacher had indicated that the sensuousness in the mind is
bondage, and in the last verse it was indicated that
detachment from it is freedom. In both these verses, mind's
relationship with the world of its own thoughts was
indicated. A mere detachment from the sensuous thoughts
in the inner mind by itself can have no valid effect upon the
spiritual seekers.

Here in the verse Aṣṭāvakra completes his thought by

suggesting that a seeker should carefully cultivate a sense
of detachment from his outer world of perceptions. The
world of objects have a terrific enchantment over the
human mind. Even if an individual is capable of ignoring the
demands of his inner mind, the outer perceptions can
generate devastating sensuous storms in the mind. To live
susceptible to the various perceptions is ignorance and it
will bring about bondage. To learn to live in detachment of
the perceived world is freedom.

यदा नाहं तदा मो ो यदाहं ब धनं तदा।

म वे त हेलया िक त् मा गृहाण िवमु मा॥४॥

yadā nāhaṁ tadā mokṣo yadāhaṁ bandhanaṁ tadā,

matveti helayā kiñcit mā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā. (4)

यदा – when; न – not; अहम् – I; तदा – then; मो ः – freedom; यदा –

when; अहम् – I; ब धनम् – bondage; तदा – then; म वा – knowing;
इ त – thus; हेलया – playfully; िक त् – anything; मा – not; गृहाण –
accept; िवमु – reject; मा – not

4. When there is no ego-‘I’ there is ‘freedom’, when there is

ego-‘I’ there is ‘bondage’. Knowing thus, stop from
accepting or rejecting anything playfully.

In this closing verse of this chapter, Aṣṭāvakra warns the

student that he should not even playfully – even as a joke –
accept any perception. Even to reject a perception is to
crystallise the ego and recognise the illusory 'perceiver'
within! Be a detached witness of the things and happenings
around and look at them with the eyes of steady wisdom;
where there is no ‘I’, the perceiver, that is the state of
freedom; and wherever there is I, the perceiver, expressing,
that is the state of bondage.

1 dve pade bandhamokṣāya nirmameti mameti ca,

mameti badhyate janturnirmameti vimucyate. – Mahopaniṣad-4.72

2 na mokṣo nabhasaḥ pṛṣṭhe na pātāle na bhūtale,

sarvāśāsaṅkṣaye cetaḥ kṣayo mokṣa itīṣyate. – Annapūrṇopaniṣad-2.23

3 bhāvanātānavaṁ mokṣo bandho hi dṛḍhabhāvanā. – Yogavāsiṣṭha - 6.85.120

4 icchāmātramavidyeyaṁ tannāśo mokṣa ucyate,

sa cāsaṅkalpamātreṇa siddho bhavati vai mune.
 Chapter – 9
Indifference
Introduction

Aṣṭāvakra recommends a three-forked effort in the

realisation of the seeker’s real nature (svarūpa). This triple
means for Self-realisation is constituted of ‘indifference’
(nirveda), ‘equanimity’ (samatā) and ‘logical reasoning’
(yukti). Each one of these is reinforced by the other two.
Without indifference and equanimity, logical reasoning is
impossible and indifference will not be dynamic without
mental equanimity and intellectual reasoning. In fact, all the
three are to be integrally followed at the body, mind and
intellect levels.

Indifference to the enchanting objects of the outer world

is a discipline for the body. Equanimity, maintained by not
allowing the mind to dance to the rhythm of its likes and
dislikes, is an exercise for the mind. To learn to logically
reason out the illusory nature of the world around and to
come to detect the eternal Self is a training for the intellect.

Clinging attachment to the body and through the body to

the sense objects strengthens the ego and deepens one’s
spiritual ‘ignorance’. Indifference is the remedy; the seeker
then becomes free from his bonds to the world of sense
pleasures. This world of sense objects is really made up of
the five great elements1 and their modifications. They in
themselves are utterly valueless. Yet our false notions, born
of our passions, cloak them with an imaginary beauty and a
fancied value. Having thus superimposed unreasonable
values upon the material objects, man runs after them and
thus creates for himself the painful saṁsāra and its tragic
destinies. Cultivate ‘nirveda’ towards them all. Desire
cannot grow where indifference has arrived.

Desire indeed is saṁsara. Indifference is only way to

reach the state of freedom.

अ ाव उवाच
कृताकृते च ािन कदा शा तािन क य वा।
एवं ा वेह िनवदा व यागपरोऽ ती॥१॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca

kṛtākṛte ca dvandvāni kadā śāntāni kasya vā,

evaṁ jñātveha nirvedād-bhava tyāgaparo'vratī. (1)

कृताकृते – duties performed and not performed; च – and; ािन

– pairs of opposites; कदा – when; शा तािन – ended; क य –
whose; वा – or; एवम् – thus; ा वा – having fully enquired; इह –
in this world; िनवदात् – indifference; भव – become; यागपरः –
devoted to renunciation; अ ती – passionless

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. To whom do the conflicts of duties performed and not

performed and of the pairs of opposites belong? When do
they cease? End for whom? Having thus fully enquired,
through complete indifference to the world, become
passionless and be devoted to renunciation.
The line of enquiry is exhaustively indicated here. The
duties performed and not performed can bring disturbances
only to the ego in us that arrogates to itself the ‘doership’.

It is the ego’s sense of ‘enjoyership’ that experiences the

tyranny of the pairs of opposites. They can cease only when
the ego is no more and these illusory concepts belong to the
equally illusory and unreal ego.

The ghost and its sorrow should not affect the post, the
ghost itself being an illusion. The ego is itself a projection
upon the Self and so its conflicts, anxieties, sorrows and so
on, cannot affect me, the Self, who is the substratum for all
the superimposition.

What should then be my attitude towards the world of

objects? If you see a pair of horns and a tail in me, what
should be my relationship with my non-existent horns and
tail? Will it not be an expression of my sympathy to you and
your illusions, if I keep an attitude of indifference to my
horns and tail? And supposing you in your friendship, would
like to oil and massage my horns! Certainly, I should allow
you to do so, because the oil cannot soil me and you, my
friend, shall gain a great satisfaction!

If this attitude can be understood, then you have

understood the attitude of all Men of Perfection towards the
world of objects and beings. He is passionless and lives ever
devoted to the spirit of renunciation and negation of all
illusory imaginations in the Self.

Here the term ‘avratī’ is translated as ‘passionless’.

Literally the word means ‘one who is no more observing the
religious vows’ (vrataḥ). These observances are generally
undertaken for the fulfilment of some or other worldly
desire. Hence the term in the mouth of Aṣṭāvakra gathers a
significant meaning, as ‘completely passionless’.

Declares Mahopaniṣad: ‘Indifference to duties performed

and not performed, as laid out in the sacred texts, he
remains in his pure Self, as an ocean stilled.’2

क यािप तात ध य य लोकचे ावलोकनात्।

जीिवते छा बुभु ा च बुभु सोपशमं गताः॥२॥
kasyāpi tāta dhanyasya loka-ceṣṭāvalokanāt,
jīvitecchā bubhukṣā ca bubhutsopaśamaṁ gatāḥ. (2)

क य – whose; अिप – even; तात – my son; ध य य – of the blessed

one; लोकचे ावलोकनात् – by observing the ways of men; जीिवते छा
– passion for living; बुभु ा – desire to enjoy; बुभु सा – hunger to
learn and know; उपशमम् – has extinguished; गताः – attained

2. Rare indeed, my son, is that blessed person whose

passion for living, desire to enjoy and hunger to learn and
know have been extinguished by observing the ways of
men.

Aṣṭāvakra addresses Janaka, with infinite love as ‘my son’,

and sympathetically exclaims how man, though he lives in
this world, all the time amidst the clamorous sorrows of
others, fails to understand the calamitous life lived by
people in selfish passions, in fruitless tragedies and in
barren sorrows. This is happening everywhere around
everyone, all the time, openly, for anyone to see! Yet, the
deluded individual egos refuse to read these words of
warning, written so clearly on the walls of life.
 In our identification with the body, mind and intellect, we
pant to gain, to enjoy and to know. The physical personality
in us is excited with its passion for living (jīvita-icchā); the
psychological entity in us is drowned in the desire to enjoy
(bubhukṣā); and the intellectual man in us is ever hungry to
learn and to know (bubhutsā).

Rare indeed is that intelligent man who looks around,

recognises the hollowness of life and cultivates his
indifference to the world and its destinies. The majority of us
will have to get into the scorching embrace of māyā and
experience its suffocating agonies, repeatedly many times,
in order to realise that the world of sense objects and a life
of sense gratifications cannot satisfy the deeper yearning
for a permanent bliss in us.

In short, a purified mind alone can, in its subtle

perception, discover a smartness in itself to cultivate
indifference to the world of sense pleasures, by intelligently
observing the world of tears and sobs that is screaming at
all times, all around him. But alas! the majority is
intellectually blind and deaf. They see, but do not
comprehend, they hear, but do not listen to what they hear.

अिन यं सवमेवेदं तापि तयदिू षतम्।

असारं िन दतं हेयिम त िन य शा य त॥३॥
anityaṁ sarvam-evedaṁ tāpa-tritaya-dūṣitam,
asāraṁ ninditaṁ heyam-iti niścitya śāmyati. (3)

अिन यम् – transient; इदं सवमेव – all this world indeed; ताप
ि तयदिू षतम् – filthy (vitiated) with the triple misery; असारम् –
worthless; िन दतम् – contemptible; हेयम् – rejectable; इ त – thus;
िन य – knowing for certain; शा य त – becomes serene (Man of
Wisdom)

3. The Man of Wisdom becomes serene by realising that this

world indeed is transient, filthy with the triple misery,
worthless, contemptible and as something to be rejected.

In the previous verse Aṣṭāvakra mourned at the tragedy of

man's intellectual blindness and deafness. There is sufficient
evidence all around him in life to help him realise that the
life of sense pursuits is doomed for disappointment. Here in
this verse, Aṣṭāvakra states what would be the logical
conclusion of an intelligent man, when he evaluates, without
prejudices, the world drama as it is played everywhere.

The Man of Wisdom becomes serene in this very world,

where the ignorant man suffers from conflicts,
contradictions and confusions in himself. The serenity of the
wise man is based upon his understanding that the world is
transient and never permanent, it is worthless and
contemptible and therefore, something to be discarded. It is
full of sorrows, streaming in gushing haste towards him from
three permanent sources.

These triple sources of sorrow are: (a) from the organism

– the body, mind and intellect (ādhyātmika); (b) from the
sentient beings and insentient objects that constitute the
world around him (ādhibhautika); and (c) from the cosmic
accidents like floods, earthquakes and so on, which we
generally indicate by the expression ‘the hand of God’
(ādhidaivika).

कोऽसौ कालो वयः क वा य ािन नो नृणाम्।

ता यप
ु े य यथा ा वत स मवा नुयात्॥४॥
ko'sau kālo vayaḥ kiṁ vā yatra dvandvāni no nṛṇām,
tānyupekṣya yathāprāptavartī siddhim-avāpnuyāt. (4)

कः – what; असौ – that; कालः – time; वयः – age; िकम् – what; वा –

or; य – where; ािन – pairs of opposites; नो – not; नृणाम् – of
men; तािन – those; उपे य – abjuring; यथा ा वत – one who rests
contented with what comes unasked; स म् – perfection;
अवा नुयात् – reaches

4. What is that time or that age, in which the pairs of

opposites do not exist for man? He who, abjuring these,
rests contented with what comes to him unasked, reaches
perfection.

The more we revel in the relative plane of joy and sorrow,

the more we will be tossed about between the pairs of
opposites. We cannot say that these will not affect us when
we grow old. Age cannot dull, nor time soften the harsh
brutalities and sharp sorrows of the pairs of opposites. So
long as we are living identified with the mind, the ego will
have to suffer the buffeting storms of joy and sorrow, of
success and failure, of likes and dislikes and thousand other
such pairs of opposites. The question of Aṣṭāvakra implies in
itself the answer that never is a time or an age when the
pairs of opposites will not affect an ego entity.

Detachment from the mind is the only way to detach

from the merciless brutalities of the pairs of opposites. He
alone can realise the supreme peace and perfection who
has transcended the mind and, therefore, has abandoned
these pairs of opposites. He, thereafter, lives contented and
happy with whatever comes to him unasked (yathā prāpta-
vartī). In such a peaceful man, the ego is dead; he ‘reaches
perfection’. This reminds us of a similar statement
expressed in Mahopaniṣad: ‘Drunk in the nectar of
cheerfulness, those peaceful men, who have reached the
sense of contentment, ever revelling in the Self, are the
saintly ones who have already reached the great state.’3

There cannot be any cessation in the alternate play of joy

and sorrow. The pairs of opposites represent the two poles
of the same factor. As there cannot be a piece of magnet
with only one south pole, so too there cannot be joy without
sorrow. This, too, is beautifully expressed in an eloquent
verse: ‘End of joy is sorrow; end of sorrow is joy; these two
are for the living creatures as inescapable as day and
night.’4

In fact, we cannot run away from sorrow without stepping

into joy; nor can we retreat from joy without stepping into
sorrow. There cannot be the crux of a wave without its
hollows. Thus, by moving horizontally, we cannot escape the
pairs of opposites. However far we may go, we cannot
escape the waves of the ocean, can we? Yet, vertically, by
rising into a higher plane of Consciousness we can definitely
end the restlessness and exhaustions provided by the pairs
of opposites.

नाना मतं महष णां साधूनां योिगनां तथा।

ा िनवदमाप ः को न शा य त मानवः॥५॥
nānā mataṁ maharṣīṇāṁ sādhūnāṁ yogināṁ tathā,
dṛṣṭvā nirvedam-āpannaḥ ko na śāmyati mānavaḥ. (5)

नाना – diverse; मतम् – opinions; महष णाम् – great seers; साधूनाम् –

of sages; योिगनाम् – of yogins; तथा – as well as; ा – seeing;
िनवदम् – indifference; आप ः – attained; कः – what; न – not;
शा य त – attains tranquillity; मानवः – man
5. Where is that man, who having observed the diversities
of opinions among the great seers, sages and yogins, and
thus becoming completely indifferent, does not attain
tranquillity.

Though the infinite experience is one and the same, when

based upon their direct experience, different intellectual
Masters try to explain the Truth and expound the methods of
achieving It, it is natural that there should be as many
different points of view as there are Masters. Thereafter,
mere erudite scholars try to distil the philosophy of each
Master; through these mere intellectual interpretations,
different schools are born. Amidst the logical arguments
arrayed by each school, in support of itself and for the
condemnation of all other schools, an ordinary student must
necessarily get utterly confused. This is unavoidable. Even
Śaṅkara in Vivekacūḍāmaṇi warns us. ‘The wordy
arguments are a dense forest which makes the mind lose its
way and wander about. Hence, intelligent seekers should
earnestly set about to realise the illumining principle of
Consciousness – the essential Self.’5

When an intelligent student carefully reads the various

viewpoints, he must necessarily come to the same
conclusion that by words and arguments Truth can never be
finally ascertained. A true student, therefore, becomes
indifferent to mere intellectual learning and logical
argumentation. They discuss the nature of the Truth with
their Teachers and among themselves. There is a lot of
difference between arguments and discussions. Exchange of
ignorance is arguments (vāda); and exchange of intelligence
is discussion (vicāra). True seekers, after some amount of
study and discussion must turn indifferent to mere learning
and should strive their best to cultivate and experience the
tranquillity of the Self in themselves.
 If these Ᾱcāryas are contradicting among themselves,
and each is championing one school or the other, whom
should a seeker follow as his preceptor, guide or Guru.
Aṣṭāvakra explains the qualifications of a Guru in the
following verse –

कृ वा मू तप र ानं चैत य य न क गु ः।
िनवदसमतायु या य तारय त संसृतेः॥६॥
kṛtvā mūrti-parijñānaṁ caitanyasya na kiṁ guruḥ,
nirveda-samatā-yuktyā yastārayati saṁsṛteḥ. (6)

कृ वा – gaining; मू तप र ानम् – realisation of the true nature;

चैत य य – of pure Consciousness; न – not; िकम् – is he not?
(interrogative); गु ः – spiritual guide; िनवदसमतायु या – by
indifference, equanimity and logical reasoning; यः – who; (सः
– he); तारय त – saves himself; संसृतेः – from saṁsāra

6. He who apprehends the true nature of pure

Consciousness, by complete indifference to the world, by
equanimity and by logical reasoning and thus saves himself
from the round of birth and death - is he not really the
spiritual guide ?

The qualification of a great Teacher is not his great

knowledge of Vaidika content. Knowledge of the scriptures
(śrotriyatvam) is, no doubt, an added beauty in a spiritual
Teacher. But the essential qualification for a Teacher is his
own inner awakening, accomplished by the three means – of
indifference, of equanimity and logical reasoning. According
to Aṣṭāvakra, the Brahmaniṣṭhatvam, the direct experience
of the Self, is the most valid qualification for a Teacher.
In the Guru-gītā we are advised: ‘Even to reject an
incompetent and an ignorant Guru.’6 ‘He who knows no
peace himself, how can he bring peace into bosom of
others.’7

प य भूतिवकारां वं भूतमा ान् यथाथतः।

त णा धिनमु ः व प थो भिव य स॥७॥
paśya bhūta-vikārāṁs-tvaṁ bhūtamātrān yathārthataḥ,
tat-kṣaṇād-bandha-nirmuktaḥ svarūpastho bhaviṣyasi. (7)

प य – see; भूत िवकारान् – the modifications of the great

elements; वम् – you; भूत मा ान् – nothing but the great
elements; यथाथतः – in reality; तत् णात् – at once; ब ध िनमु ः –
free from bondage; व प थः – abiding in your own nature;
भिव य स – will be

7. Recognising the modifications of the elements as nothing

in reality, but the five elements themselves, you will at once
be free from their bondage, and thus abide in your true
nature.

The elements are the fundamental material with which the

entire world of forms is built up. That which is made out of
gold cannot be anything other than gold; similarly, all that is
made out of five elements cannot be anything other than
inert and insentient five elements, expressing in a particular
given combination. Taking the objects of the world as
something real, our mind comes to entertain a desire to
acquire, to possess and to enjoy. Thus we create a world of
struggles, riddled with stress and strains. Once we realise
that the entire perceived world is a play of inert and
insentient elements, there is an immediate sense of
disenchantment, as all our likes and dislikes shall, then
instantaneously disappear from our hearts.

When the mind is thus quiet, in that tranquil bosom, the

pure Consciousness, undisturbed by thoughts, can be
apprehended.

वासना एव संसार इ त सवा िवमु ताः।

त यागो वासना यागात् थ तर यथा तथा॥८॥
vāsanā eva saṁsāra iti sarvā vimuñca tāḥ,
tattyāgo vāsanātyāgāt sthitiradya yathā tathā. (8)

वासनाः – desires; एव – surely; संसारः – world; इ त – so; सवा – all;

िवमु – renounce; ताः – those; तत् यागः – renunciation of that;
वासना यागात् – by the giving up of desires; थ तः – you may live;
अ – now; यथा तथा – wherever you may be

8. Desires alone constitute the world; therefore, you please

renounce them all. The giving up of desires is the
renunciation of the world. Now you may live anywhere you
like.

Vāsanās are the subtle impulses and tendencies deep in our

personality that determine the emotional and the
intellectual profile in us. Its subtle expression is our ‘desire’
in our intellect. Therefore, vāsanā is often found translated
as ‘desire’, although vāsanā is essentially the very seed
from which a ‘desire’ springs forth. All the vāsanās put
together in an individual, constitute his ‘causal body’8 – that
which determines the nature and quality of that individual's
subtle and gross bodies. The ‘total vāsanās’ of all living
creatures together becomes māyā, and supreme Self
expressed through māyā is God (Īśvara) – who is the very
power behind creation, sustenance and destruction in the
cosmos.

These vāsanās experienced as desires, thoughts and

actions at the intellectual, mental and body levels, shackle
the ego in a cage of selfishness and chain him to the wheel
of birth and death. These vāsanās alone constitute the world
(vāsanā eva saṁsāraḥ). Therefore, give up all ‘desires’.
Giving up of ‘desires’ is giving up of saṁsāra.

Now (adya), meaning ‘having renounced all desires,

having sublimated all your vāsanās’, the individual is free to
live anywhere he likes. The outer world can no longer bind
him. He is free. Says Yogavāsiṣṭha: ‘The bondage is the
bondage of vāsanās; freedom is the freedom from vāsanās;
you renounce completely the vāsanās and then renounce
the very vāsanā for freedom. You have reached the goal.’ 9

1 They are space, air, fire, water and earth; their modifications are the objects of
the world.

2 nākṛtena kṛtenārtho na śrutismṛtivibhramaiḥ,

nirmandara ivāmbhodhiḥ sa tiṣṭhati yathāsthitaḥ. – Mahopaniṣad-4.41

3 santoṣāmṛtapānena ye śāntāstṛptimāgatāḥ,
ātmārāmā mahātmānaste mahāpadamāgatāḥ. – Mahopaniṣad-4.35

4 sukhasyānantaraṁ duḥkhaṁ duḥkhasyānantaraṁ sukham,

dve etat hi jantūnāṁ alaṅghyaṁ dinarātrivat.

5 śabdajālaṁ mahāraṇyaṁ cittabhramaṇakāraṇam,

ataḥ prayatnājjñātavyaṁ tattvajñāistatavamātmanaḥ. – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-60

6 jñāna-hīno gurutyājyo mithyāvādi viḍaṁbakaḥ. – Guru-gītā

7 sva-viśrāntiṁ na jānāti para-śāntiṁ karoti kim? – Guru-gītā - 101

8 kāraṇaśarīra – sarvāḥ śarīrābhimānī (ni) samaṣṭikāraṇaśarīrābhimāni
paramātmā īśvaraḥ.

9 baddho hi vāsanābaddho mokṣaḥ syādvāsanākṣayaḥ,

vāsanāstvaṁ parityajya mokṣārthitvamapi tyaja. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-4.57.19
 Chapter – 10
Dispassion
Introduction

Without leaving none can reach; all progress is leaving the

present state and moving to reach a greater goal, to attain a
greater purpose. If ignorance is not left behind, into
knowledge we cannot enter. Where the emotion of anger
has left, there alone calmness can reach. In short, without
renunciation of the false we cannot attain the real.
Therefore, in Vedānta, from the Vaidika texts onward we find
the Teachers emphasising the need for the spirit of
renunciation (vairāgya). It is the desires and passions that
propel a mind towards the world, around it and make that
mind a slave to its own environments. Therefore, the
principle of renunciation is indicated by a significant term
‘vairāgya’, literally meaning ‘dispassion’. Where our
attachments to body, mind and intellect have ended
through vairāgya, there we are in the Self.

The previous chapter discussed an emotional attitude of

‘indifference’ to fields of experiences of our limited ego.
There the emphasis was upon the world of objects. In this
section defining and exploring the significance and spirit of
dispassion, Aṣṭāvakra is placing all emphasis upon the
seeker’s intellect and its attitude towards the world around
him.
 The joys or the destinies of the world are impermanent. A
consummate sense of contentment can reach only a bosom
emptied of all its desires and passions. Ultimately, we must
give up even our anxiety to fulfil the traditionally accepted
and recommended great ‘ends of human life’ such as piety
(dharma), wealth (artha), desires (kāma) and anxiety for
Liberation (mokṣa).

The Self alone is Real; the universe is false, as false as a

magician’s show. All activities in the pursuit of piety, wealth
and desires are also unreal. The very anxiety for Liberation
is an illusion; therefore, all these are to be renounced. This
is the state of supreme dispassion (parama vairāgya).

The ‘Awareness’ in us that illumines the very ‘ignorance’

in us and makes us conscious of it, is the supreme Self.
Therefore, earlier it was also indicated that even ‘ignorance’
is unreal, an illusion.

अ ाव उवाच

िवहाय वै रणं काममथ चानथस ु लम्।

धमम येतयोहतुं सव ानादरं कु ॥१॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

vihāya vairiṇaṁ kāmam-arthaṁ cānartha-saṅkulam,

dharmam-apyetayor-hetuṁ sarvatrānādaraṁ kuru. (1)

िवहाय – forsaking; वै रणम् – enemy; कामम् – desire; अथम् – wealth;

च – and; अनथस ु लम् – full of mischief; धमम् – piety; अिप – also;
एतयोः – of these two; हेतुम् – cause; सव – everywhere; अनादरम् –
disregard; कु – do

Aṣṭāvakra said :
1. Having given up ‘desire’ (kāma) which is the enemy,
‘wealth’ (artha – worldly prosperity) which is attended with
mischief, and ‘piety’ (dharma – performance of good deeds)
which is the cause of these two, cultivate indifference to
everything.

In the traditional Indian scheme of life, the ṛṣis found out

four distinct destinations enroute to the final achievement of
life, one’s total spiritual emancipation. These four way side
stations are piety, wealth, desires and Liberation; the
interpretation of these four goals at the level of a new
initiate in a Hindu family is that he must be rooted in
righteousness (piety) and without contradicting this dharma
he must seek, serve and procure the necessary ‘wealth’
(artha) with which he must learn to fulfil his honest and just
‘desires’ (kāma). By thus living a steady life of spiritual
discipline he shall become fit for the study of scriptures and
enter into deeper meditation which would ultimately take
him to his final destination, freedom or Liberation (mokṣa)1.

Aṣṭāvakra is advising here a student, who is on his way

to the portal of Liberation. As the student enters the higher
state of meditation, the Teacher wants the student to give
up all these limited goals of life which, of course, had their
initial blessings to contribute in helping the student to the
present state of his awakening. But, in the last lap of the
journey, he cannot accomplish the great leap, unless he
gets tired of all his mental preoccupations with the ideas
and values which were certainly valid in earlier levels of his
ego-consciousness.

To a student of Vedānta, ‘passion’ is his enemy, inasmuch

as they will distract his mind towards sense objects and thus
obstruct his final plunge into deeper meditation, ‘Wealth’ is
accompanied by mental anxieties, both in its acquisition and
its preservation. And ‘piety’, here meaning good and noble
acts, both secular and sacred, also is to be given up
because they are the cause for conferring upon him more
worldly wealth and sense enjoyments. Later on, we will be
told how even the anxiety for Liberation (mokṣa) is also to
be given up.

This is the state of highest dispassion (vairāgya) which is

to be lived in the meditation seat while transcending the
mind, rather than in the world while communicating with the
other members of the community. This attitude of ‘total-
dispassion’ is not a mere physical act of running away from
the enjoyments of objects. This is an attitude that the
student discovers in himself as a result of a healthier
understanding of the world around him.

व ने जालवत् प य िदनािन ी ण प वा।

िम े धनागारदारदायािदस पदः॥२॥

svapnendrajālavat paśya dināni trīṇi pañca vā,

mitra-kṣetra-dhanāgāra-dāra-dāyādi-sampadaḥ. (2)

व नइ जालवत् – like a dream or like a magician’s show; प य –

see; िदनािन – days; ी ण – three; प – five; वा – or; िम – friends;
े – lands; धन – wealth; आगार – house; दार – wives; दाय आिद
स पदः – presents and other such objects of fortune

2. Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, presents,

and other such objects of fortune as a dream or as a
magician's show, lasting only a few days – just three or five.

As a means of rising above the habitual mental fascinations

to live in the pursuit of the traditional ‘goals of life’, hinted
in the above verse, here Aṣṭāvakra helps the student in re-
educating his view of life. In this new understanding, the
student can independently come to recognise the
hollowness of his generally accepted ‘aims of existence’, of
his relations, of wealth and of all other objects with which
we try to enrich our lives and build up our security in
existence. All are really illusions of the mind, as
insubstantial and false as the dream objects or as the world
of apparent fantasies created by a magician’s wand! They
have only a temporary existence. The ephemeral nature of
the world of plurality is indicated here by saying: ‘Lasting
only a few days – just three or five’.

Constantly keeping this view of the fields of experiences,

the ego shall cultivate a larger amount of ‘dispassion’
(vairāgya) for these uncertain factors and their insignificant
rewards. The more the student recognises the transitoriness
of the joys of achievements in the world of plurality, the
stronger shall grow in him his ‘dispassion’ for them.

य य भवे ृ णा संसारं िव त वै।

ौढवैरा यमा य वीततृ णः सुखी भव॥३॥

yatra yatra bhavet-tṛṣṇā saṁsāraṁ viddhi tatra vai,

prauḍha-vairāgyam-āśritya vītatṛṣṇaḥ sukhī bhava. (3)

य य – wherever; भवेत् – is; तृ णा – desire; संसारम् – world; िव –

know; त – there; वै – indeed; ौढवैरा यम् – strong dispassion;
आ य – adopting; वीततृ णः – free from desire; सुखी – happy; भव
– be

3. Know that to be the world wherever there is desire.

Cultivating strong dispassion, go beyond the desire and be
happy.

Our ṛṣis and Masters are never tired of repeating this idea
which is a realised Truth, a recognised rational fact. If we are
not able to stand away from the enchantments of our
desires then we would pathetically pursue for their
fulfilment, thereby making life a miserable tragedy for
ourselves and for others. In Bhāgavata describing Piṅgalā,
the prostitute, the ṛṣi says: ‘Desire indeed is the supreme
source of sorrow; desirelessness the source of extreme
happiness. Just as in the case of Piṅgalā when she destroyed
her passion and anxiety for men, she slept peacefully.’2

In Yogavāsiṣṭha also we find an elaborate metaphor

painted in words to drive home the very same truth of life:
‘The individual ego, riding in the chariot of the mind, pulled
by the horses of sense organs, wanders all over the world,
driven by its charioteer desire.’3

तृ णामा ा मको ब ध त ाशो मो उ यते।

भवासंसि मा ेण ाि तुि मुहुमह
ु ु ः॥४॥

tṛṣṇā-mātrātmako bandhas-tannāśo mokṣa ucyate,

bhavāsaṁsakti-mātreṇa prāpti-tuṣṭir-muhurmuhuḥ. (4)

तृ णा मा आ मकः – consisting of desire alone; ब धः – bondage;

तत् नाशः – destruction of that; मो ः – Liberation; उ यते – is
called; भव असंसि मा ेण – through the non-attachment of the
world alone; ाि तुि ः – joy from attainment; मुहुर् मुहुः –
constantly

4. Desire is the soul of bondage and its destruction is said to

be Liberation. By non-attachment to the world alone does
one attain the constant bliss of the realisation of the Self.

Where desires have ended, thoughts have ceased, the mind

is halted. Where there is no mind, there cannot be any ego,
the experiencer of the world of plurality and its sorrows.
Therefore, ‘dispassion’ (vairāgya) is the only sure and
efficient way to reach the highest state of Bliss.

Mahopaniṣad expresses the same idea: ‘Sensuous desires

alone are bondage; their renunciation is called Liberation.’4

वमेक ेतनः शु ो जडं िव मस था।

अिव ािप न िक सा का बुभु सा तथािप ते॥५॥

tvam-ekaś-cetanaḥ śuddho jaḍaṁ viśvam-asat-tathā,

avidyāpi na kiñcit-sā kā bubhutsā tathāpi te. (5)

वम् – you; एकः – one; चेतनः – intelligence; शु ः – pure; जडम् –

material (inert); िव म् – universe; असत् – non-existence; तथा –
and; अिव ा – ignorance; अिप – also; न – not; िक त् – anything;
सा – that; का – what; बुभु सा – desire to know; तथािप – yet; ते –
your

5. You are the one, pure Intelligence. The universe is inert

and unreal. Ignorance also is non-existent. What then can
you yet desire to know?

By the four earlier verses the Teacher indicated to us, in a

language of negation, what are the things to be renounced.
Here, Aṣṭāvakra takes a positive stand and tries to indicate
the student's very spiritual centre, to identify with which, is
to reject everything else.

The essential nature of being is the Self and the Self is

Consciousness. Everything else is inert and functions only in
the borrowed ‘light’ of the Self. In the midst of illusory, inert
world of names and forms, the Self alone is Real. In the
‘light’ of pure Intelligence, there cannot be the darkness of
‘ignorance’. After making this statement the Teacher asks,
‘What more should one intelligently understand?’ This is all
to be understood from the study of the scriptures. To a
practical student, who is ready to do sādhanā and move
towards the experience of the Self, no other hair-splitting
argumentations and endless logical reasonings are really
necessary.

Aṣṭāvakra advises the student to give up his intellectual

gluttony, his ever-growing hunger to study, to discuss, to
argue and to investigate. Mahopaniṣad pointedly indicates
what exactly is to be realised: ‘Neither I, as an individual,
nor others really exist. Unsullied Brahman am I. Thus he
who sees from a point between Existence and non-
existence, the Consciousness that illumines both the Real
and unreal, he alone sees the Reality, the Self.’5

रा यं सुताः कल ा ण शरीरा ण सुखािन च।

संस यािप न ािन तव ज मिन ज मिन॥६॥

rājyaṁ sutāḥ kalatrāṇi śarīrāṇi sukhāni ca,

saṁsaktasyāpi naṣṭāni tava janmani janmani. (6)

रा यम् – kingdom; सुताः – sons; कल ा ण – wives; शरीरा ण – bodies;

सुखािन – pleasures; च – and; संस य – attached; अिप – though;
न ािन – have been lost; तव – you; ज मिन ज मिन – life after life

6. Kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies and pleasures have all

been lost to you, life after life, even though you were
attached to them.

In the previous verse a highly metaphysical and

philosophical argument was given. The student was shown
that he is essentially nothing but the Self, the Ᾱtman.

‘Other than the gross, subtle and causal bodies, the

Witness of the three states of waking, dream and deep
sleep, of the nature of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss this, which
remains in our personality, that is the Self, the Ᾱtman.’ This
has been the exhaustive definition of the spiritual centre in
man as given out by Masters of Vedānta.6 Therefore, what
has he to do with the inert and unreal world and with the
non-existent ‘ignorance’? Here, however, Aṣṭāvakra gives us
a very rational reason which even a common man can
understand. ‘Life after life, we must have sought to acquire,
to possess and to enjoy kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies and
pleasure’; yet, in every life we had ultimately lost whatever
we had. So, it is intelligence not to get ourselves entrapped
by the fascinations for these things, because in spite of our
attachment, it is their very nature that they must perish. An
intelligent man should not therefore, fall a ready victim to
such a repeated hallucination.

अलमथन कामेन सुकृतेनािप कमणा।

ए यः संसारका तारे न िव ा तमभू मनः॥७॥

alam-arthena kāmena sukṛtenāpi karmaṇā,

ebhyaḥ saṁsāra-kāntāre na viśrāntam-abhūn-manaḥ. (7)

अलम् – no deed; अथन – with wealth; कामेन – with desire-

fulfilment; कमणा सुकृतेन – with pious deed; अिप – and; ए यः –
from these; संसार का तारे – in the wilderness of the world; न –
not; िव ा तम् – reposed; अभूत् – was; मनः – mind

7. Enough of wealth, desires and pious deeds! In the

wilderness of the world, the mind did not find repose in
these.

Repeating the idea, which he had mentioned earlier,

Aṣṭāvakra insists that the pursuit of ‘wealth’, ‘desire’ and
‘piety’ is indeed unrewarding from the standpoint of the
highest goal. Enough with such pursuits. With ‘wealth’, mind
discovers various avenues of dissipation. ‘Desire’, its
fulfilment has never brought ever a complete contentment
to any human mind; desires only multiply with each
fulfilment! ‘Pious deeds’ are the very cause that have
provided the seeker with his present wealth and desire
fulfilments in the world. In the jungles of world’s activities
these have never brought peace and repose to the mind.
Thus realising, cultivate ‘dispassion’ (vairāgya).

कृतं न क त ज मािन कायेन मनसा िगरा।

दःु खमायासदं कम तद ा यपु र यताम्॥८॥

kṛtaṁ na kati janmāni kāyena manasā girā,

duḥkham-āyāsadaṁ karma tad-adyāpy-uparamyatām. (8)

कृतम् – undertaken; न – not; क त – how many; ज मािन – births;

कायेन – with the body; मनसा – with the mind; िगरा – with
speech; दःु खम् – painful; आयासदम् – exacting; कम – work (you);
तत् – so; अ – today; अिप – at least; उपर यताम् – cease

8. For how many births have you not undertaken hard and
painful work with your body, mind and speech? Hence,
cease them, at least today!

Gītā clearly points out in its scientific analysis of action how

tāmasika actions performed with utter selfishness bring but
sorrows to oneself and to others. The rājasika and sāttvika
activities also, when they are unselfish, can reward us with
apparent joys. But they, too, are within the category of
saṁsāra and, therefore, unreal and painful. No doubt,
selfless dedicated activities would increase the sāttvika
content in our inner equipment and a mind can then come
to experience a greater amount of tranquillity and peace.
With a mind so purified through selfless, dedicated, pious
actions, the study of the scriptures and meditations are
possible. The grosser rewards of activities are certainly
impermanent and at their best unsatisfactory to an
enlightened man.

All our best actions undertaken so diligently and so

laboriously with the exacting efficiency have ultimately
brought about only sorrows, relieved with patches of
impermanent joys!

When this discriminative understanding has dawned in

his mind, the student becomes a true spiritual seeker and
addressing such a seeker the Teacher here says: ‘Hence,
cease them at least today’.

In Yogavāsiṣṭha, we read a similar condemnation of the

worldly activities for mature spiritual students: ‘Even after
enjoying thousands of years the basest of sensuous
enjoyments, from the Creator to a tuft of grass, no one has
ever reached contentment. Having ruled over vast
kingdoms for long years, having enjoyed a harem of wives,
having destroyed all enemies around the world, what is the
unique thing that one can gain? Laboriously struggle to gain
That, having gained which, there is nothing more to gain. To
gain This, continuously pant and struggle.’7

1 dharma, artha, kāma and Mokṣa.

2 āśā hi paramaṁ duḥkhaṁ nairāśyaṁ paramaṁ sukham,

yathā sañchidya kāntāśāṁ sukhaṁ suṣvāpa piṅgalā. – Bhāgavata – 11.8.44

3 manoratha rathārūḍhaṁ yuktamindriyavājibhiḥ,

bhrāmyatyeva jagatkṛtsnaṁ tṛṣṇāsārathicoditam. – Yogavāsiṣṭha

4 bhogecchāmātrako bandhaḥ tattyāgo mokṣa ucyate – Mahopaniṣad-5.97

5 nāhaṁ na cānyadastīha brahmaivāsmi nirāmayam,
itthaṁ sadasatormadhyādyaḥ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati. – Mahopaniṣad-5.69

6 sthūlasūkṣmakāraṇaśarīrād-vyatirikto'vasthātrayasākṣī
saccidānandasvarūpo yastiṣṭhati saḥ ātmā. – Tattvabodha

7 bhuktvā varṣasahasrāṇi durbhogapaṭalīmimām,

ābrahmastambaparyantaṁ na tṛptirupajāyate.
sāmrājyaṁ suciraṁ kṛtvā tathā bhuktvā vadhūgaṇam,
bhuṅktvā parabalānyuccaiḥ kimapūrvamavāpyate.
prāptena yena no bhūyaḥ prāptavyamavaśiṣyate,
tatprāptau yatnamātiṣṭhet kaṣṭyāpi he ceṣṭayā.
– Yogavāsiṣṭha-Nirvāṇa Prakaraṇa
 Chapter – 11
Self As Pure Intelligence
Introduction

In this chapter, the Supreme is indicated as pure

Intelligence (cid-rūpa). It is universal and all-inclusive. There
is nothing other than It. Therefore, It is ever at rest, serene
and tranquil. No conflict is ever possible in the Self. The
universe shines in the ‘light’ of the pure Self. It ever revels
in Its own aloneness (kaivalya). When an intelligent ego
rediscovers his identity with this great Self, he no longer
gets himself involved in his external worldly activities.

The Gītā doctrine of ‘inaction in action’ has been totally

accepted by Aṣṭāvakra and he expounds it through the
chapters of his song. This chapter can be considered as
Jñāna-aṣṭakam – a hymn to pure Knowledge, in eight verses.
True and enduring peace can be only in the state of
Selfhood. Therefore, the preparatory understanding for
gaining Self-realisation are here discussed. In fact, this short
chapter is full of the qualities of a Man of Realisation. It
explains the nature of the perfect man and also indicates
the sādhanā to be pursued by the seekers to awake into the
highest spiritual awareness of the universal infinite Self.
Until our perception of the world around is through a clearer
perspective, our clinging attachments and mental concern
for the world of happenings cannot be ended; there cannot
be sufficient inner equipoise for subtler meditations.
 Here are the eight lessons for healthier understanding of
the world and its play which will bring in peace and
tranquillity into the bosom of the seekers –

अ ाव उवाच
भावाभाविवकार वभावािद त िन यी।
िन वकारो गत े शः सुखेनव
ै ोपशा य त॥१॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca

bhāvābhāva-vikāraśca svabhāvād-iti niścayī,

nirvikāro gata-kleśaḥ sukhenaivopaśāmyati. (1)

भाव अभाव िवकारः – change in the form of existence and

destruction; च – and; वभावात् – from inherent nature; इ त –
thus; िन यी – one who has understood with certitude; िन वकारः
– unperturbed; गत े शः – free from pains; सुखेन – easily; एव –
indeed; उपशा य त – finds peace

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. He who has understood with certitude that change in the

form of existence and destruction is inherent in things, he
becomes unperturbed and free from pains and easily finds
his peace.

Intelligent observation with scientific detachment alone can

crack the mystery bound shell of life. Mind and body will act
only according to our intellectual understanding and
convictions, that one has cultivated in himself. In this
chapter Aṣṭāvakra gives eight lessons in re-educating the
intellectual values entertained by the student. During this
discourse, the sage paints the inner personality of a Man of
Perfection. Aṣṭāvakra invites us to enter into the intellect of
a Man of Self-realisation and he makes us see things as the
wise man does.

Through the study of the scriptures and through

independent reflections upon the pregnant declarations of
the great ṛṣis of the Upaniṣads, the student must grow into
a deep conviction of the spiritual viewpoints of the world
around him. A mere information gathering intellect cannot
progress on the spiritual journey; nor, can a vague
understanding really help us much. The world, as it is, must
be understood with an unshakable certitude that can
change the very colour and texture of our view of life and of
our mental, intellectual and physical relationships with
others.

He who has understood with certitude that existence and

destruction are the inherent nature of the things that
constitute the universe of change, is the one who can
immediately discover a great amount of tranquillity in his
bosom. No intelligent man will sit on the seashore and
complain at the rising and the disappearing of the waves; he
knows that this is the inherent nature of the waves. No one
will complain at the rising and the setting of the sun each
day, because all of us know that this is the inherent nature
of the sun.

Similarly, a student of philosophy comes to understand

with certitude that, like bubbles in the waters, everything in
the universe must constantly keep on changing. His mind,
therefore, will not any longer revolt against this inherent
nature of the world around him. When this evanescent
nature of things is realised, we cannot get ourselves any
longer deeply attached to them. Naturally mental peace
must come to flood the bosom of such a seeker.
Yogavāsiṣṭha thunders: ‘These endless thought eruptions,
their rising and disappearance, are ever for your terrible
sorrows and never, never for your happiness.’1

ई रः सविनमाता नेहा य इ त िन यी।

अ तग लतसवाशः शा तः वािप न स ते॥२॥
īśvaraḥ sarva-nirmātā nehānya iti niścayī,
antargalita-sarvāśaḥ śāntaḥ kvāpi na sajjate. (2)

ई रः – God (Self); सविनमाता – Creator of all; न – not; इह – here;

अ यः – other; इ त – this; िन यी – one who has understood with
certitude; अ तग लतसवाशः – with all desires melted away; शा तः
– calm; व-अिप – in anything whatsoever; न – not; स ते – is
attached

2. He who has understood with certitude that God (Self) is

the Creator of all and there is none else here, becomes calm
with all his inner desires melted away. He is no longer
attached to anything whatsoever.

If from the great Reality, the world of plurality is projected,

the created world cannot be other than the material from
which it has been created. Thus, the Creator and the
created are not two separate factors. The created universe
is only yet another form of the Creator. The ornaments
made of gold cannot be other than gold.

Thought disturbances in the mind and the consequent

gross perceptions of the outer universe are all existing in
the Self illuminated by Its light of Consciousness. The
student, who has understood this with certitude, becomes
calm, for his desires get melted away. What is there for him
to desire that is other than his own Self? Since, there are no
desires, there cannot be any attachment for him, as there is
nothing other than himself, for him to covet and to feel
entangled with.

In these verses we must not forget that we are given a

chance to peep at the world through the intellect of a Man
of Realisation!

आपदः स पदः काले दैवादेवे त िन यी।

तृ ः व थे यो िन यं न वा छ त न शोच त॥३॥
āpadaḥ sampadaḥ kāle daivād-eveti niścayī,
tṛptaḥ svasthendriyo nityaṁ na vāñchati na śocati. (3)

आपदः – misfortune; स पदः – fortune; काले – in time; दैवात् –

through the effects of past actions; एव – certainly; इ त – thus;
िन यी – one who has understood with certitude; तृ ः –
contented; व थे यः – with all the senses well-controlled;
िन यम् – ever; न – not; वा छ त – desires; न – not; शोच त – grieves

3. He who has understood with certitude that misfortune

and fortune come in their own time, through the effects of
past actions, becomes ever contented and has all his senses
well under control. He neither desires nor grieves.

It is all a question of our understanding. Even amidst good

fortunes there are people who are in the habit of worrying
and growing anxious. There are others who even in the
midst of calamitous days of repeated misfortune discover an
inner peace born out of unshaken faith.

Fortune and misfortune that happen today in our lives

are the rewards and punishments of our own past actions.
When this is understood with certitude, man learns to live in
contentment, heroically facing whatsoever happens to him
in life. He no longer strives or plans for his sense
gratifications; his senses are ever held in check. He desires
nothing. He knows not how to grieve over things that had
perished in his embrace. Desire is for what is not attained
and grief is generally over what is lost. Both these are
happenings according to the rhythm set by our own actions
in the past. In this knowledge he discovers an undisturbed
peace and unperturbed contentment. This is aptly
expressed in Yogavāsiṣṭha as follows: ‘Let misfortune come
or good fortune come. A true sage never leaves his divine
peaceful nature (Self). Just as the milky ocean, in spite of
being churned by the Mandāra mountain, still retains its
white colour.’2

By lifting the mind to a higher vision alone can we

withdraw it from its natural habitat consisting of sense
objects. This is the exercise advised by the Bhagavad-gītā
also: ‘Little by little let him attain quietude by the intellect
held in firmness; having made the mind established in Self,
let him not think of anything.’3

Kaṭhopaniṣad reinforces this idea when it declares:

‘When all the desires in the heart are emptied, then the
mortal man gains immortality and therein apprehends
Brahman.’4

सुखदःु खे ज ममृ यू दैवादेवे त िन यी।

सा यादश िनरायासः कुव िप न ल यते॥४॥
sukha-duḥkhe janma mṛtyū daivād-eveti niścayī,
sādhyādarśī nirāyāsaḥ kurvannapi na lipyate. (4)
सुख दःु खे – in happiness and sorrow; ज ममृ यू – birth and death;
दैवात् – due to the effects of past actions; एव – certainly; इ त –
thus; िन यी – one who has understood with certitude; सा यादश
– not seeking after the goals of life; िनरायासः – free from
efforts; कुवन् – doing; अिप – even; न – not; ल यते – tainted

4. He who has understood with certitude that happiness and

sorrow, birth and death, are all due to the effects of past
actions, does no more seek after the ordinary goals of life.
He becomes free from efforts. He is not attached (tainted)
even though engaged in action.

When the understanding has dawned that our present life

and all its achievements and sorrows are all effects of the
past, he has, thereafter, no more any definite goal to be
reached in life except the infinite Self, which is the
substratum for the entire world and for all the happenings in
it. Naturally, he becomes free from all anxieties and efforts.
In short, he does not function as an individualised separate
entity; the ‘ego’ in him dies. Therefore, ‘he is not attached
(tainted) even though engaged in action.’

This idea of ‘actionlessness in action’ is the doctrine of

the Bhagavad-gītā which Aṣṭāvakra accepts root and
branch: ‘He who is devoted to the path of Action, whose
mind is quite pure, who has conquered the ego, who has
subdued his senses, who realises his Self as the Self in all
beings, though acting, he is not tainted.’5

Egocentric actions alone can leave their impression upon

our personality and thus condition our future thoughts and
actions. This is how we get involved in our actions. Mind
resting in Brahman and in a spirit of utter dedication to It,
when an individual functions, such activities bring about,
according to Gītā, an exhaustion of the existing vāsanās. For
one who is revelling in Brahman, actions are spontaneous
expression of the Divine in the world of beings. He acts not;
he is acted through by the universal law.

च तया जायते दःु खं ना यथेहे त िन यी।

तया हीनः सुखी शा तः सव ग लत पृहः॥५॥
cintayā jāyate duḥkhaṁ nānyatheheti niścayī,
tayā hīnaḥ sukhī śāntaḥ sarvatra galitaspṛhaḥ. (5)

च तया – through anxiety; जायते – is produced; दःु खम् – sorrow; न

– not; अ यथा - otherwise; इह – here; इ त – thus; िन यी – one who
has understood with certitude; तया हीनः – free from that; सुखी –
happy; शा तः – peaceful; सव – everywhere; ग लत पृहः – with
desires melted away

5. He who has understood with certitude that it is anxiety

and nothing else that brings sorrow in the world, becomes
free from it and is happy and peaceful everywhere with his
desires melted away.

Sorrow itself is a mental condition of agitation; the more the

agitations, the more the sorrow. Where agitations have
ceased, mind has become calm and this alone is the
condition of happiness. Therefore, anxiety is that which
breeds the sorrows of life. One, who learns to leave all
anxieties regarding the future and lives in utter contentment
rooted in one’s own understanding, discovers instant
happiness and peace. All his desires melt away as he is no
more hoping to discover happiness through the gratification
of any desire in himself.

Anxieties can raise storms in the mind only when one

allows one’s mind to get identified with the world of objects
outside. Soon the mind cultivates an attachment with the
objects. That attachment intensifies to crystallise into a
desire for those objects. The desire poisons the mind and it
starts bleeding with its endless sorrows.

Again, we must remember that we are having here, a

free show sitting in the intellect of the wise man, sharing his
views of the world throbbing around him.

नाहं देहो न मे देहो बोधोऽहिम त िन यी।

कैव यिमव सं ा ो न मर यकृतं कृतम्॥६॥
nāhaṁ deho na me deho bodho'ham-iti niścayī,
kaivalyam-iva saṁprāpto na smaratyakṛtaṁ kṛtam. (6)

न – not; अहम् – I; देहः – body; न – not; मे – my; देहः – body; बोधः –

pure Intelligence; अहम् – I; इ त – thus; िन यी – one who has
understood with certitude; कैव यम् – the state of aloneness; इव
– as if; सं ा ः – attained; न – not; मर त – remembers; अकृतम् –
what is not done; कृतम् – what is done

6. ‘I am not the body, nor is the body mine, I am pure

Intelligence’ – he who has understood this with certitude,
does no longer remember what he ‘has done’ or what he
‘has not done’, as if he has attained the state of aloneness
(kaivalya).

When a seeker has mentally rejected the ‘not-Self’ and has

ascertained his own nature as the Self even during the
intense moments of his sādhanā, he unconsciously admits
to a flood of peace filling him, in which he apparently forgets
to worry over what he ‘has done,’ or what he has ‘not yet
done’. To worry over what has been done, is the habit of the
human mind, to drag back from the dead past his memories
to muddy the pool of the present. Some not only get worried
with regrets of their past, but also are anxious for their
future and this is indicated by the term here ‘what has not
yet been done’.

It is a human mind’s habit to worry over actions both

committed and omitted. When the student has gone
through the practice, that has been advised here, he comes
to discover within himself such a peaceful state of utter
contentment, that therein he learns to live the dynamic
present, supremely happy and peaceful and Aṣṭāvakra adds:
‘As though he has reached kaivalya – the supreme state of
the aloneness of the Self’.

Kaṭhopaniṣad also advises the same. It guarantees and

assures the same condition of inner peace and aloneness in
the following words : ‘When the five organs of knowledge
are at rest together with the mind, and when the intellect
ceases functioning (becomes calm), that they call the
highest state.’6

The ideas of ‘I’ and ‘my’ are the expressions of the ego,
and when the deeper understanding dawns in a seeker, ‘I
am not the body, nor is the body mine’, the egocentric
subject ends and the ego awakes to the realisation of its
divine Selfhood. Sings Mahopaniṣad: ‘The two terms –
bondage and Liberation are nothing but the tyranny of
mineness and the total rejection of this mineness; by the
sense of mineness, the creature gets bound and is liberated
when the sense of mineness has ended.’7

आ त बपय तमहमेवे त िन यी।

िन वक पः शु चः शा तः ा ा ा िविनवृतः॥७॥
ābrahma-stamba-paryantam-ahameveti niścayī,
nirvikalpaḥ śuciḥ śāntaḥ prāptāprāpta-vinirvṛtaḥ. (7)

आ त ब पय तम् – from the Creator down to a tuft of grass;

अहम् – I; एव – indeed (am); इ त – thus; िन यी – one who has
understood with certitude; िन वक पः – free from all
fluctuations (oscillations of thought); शु चः – pure; शा तः –
serene; ा अ ा िविनवृतः – withdrawn from what is attained
and what is not attained

7. ‘I am indeed in everything from the Creator down to a tuft

of grass’ – he who has understood this with certitude
becomes free from all thought oscillations; pure and serene,
he withdraws from what is attained and what is not
attained.

Limited mind alone gets agitated. The more the limitations,

the greater the agitations. The mind completely relinquished
and free from all identifications is the mind that has no
agitations and stilled mind is the supreme Self.

When the limited identifications of the ego have been

transcended and with certainty when the seeker has
understood, ‘I am indeed the all-pervading essence behind
all names and forms’, he is beyond his mind and, therefore,
no more can the oscillations of the mind (vikalpa) disturb
him. The term ‘nirvikalpa’, as applied to samādhi is defined
by Bhartṛhari as: ‘An exclusive concentration upon the one
entity, without distinct and separate Consciousness of the
knower, the known and knowledge and even without Self-
consciousness’. It is strange, but true, that this familiar term
‘nirvikalpa’ taken up and popularised by Patañjali, is not at
all used either in any of the principal Upaniṣads nor in the
Bhagavad-gītā. However, Aṣṭāvakra freely makes use of it.

ि ि ि ि ि ी
नाना यिमदं िव ं न िक िद त िन यी।
िनवासनः फू तमा ो न िक िदव शा य त॥८॥
nānāścaryam-idaṁ viśvaṁ na kiñcid-iti niścayī,
nirvāsanaḥ sphūrtimātro na kiñcid-iva śāmyati. (8)

नाना – manifold; आ यम् – marvellous; इदम् – this; िव म् –

universe; न – not; िक त् – anything; इ त – this; िन यी – one who
has understood with certitude; िनवासनः – free from desire;
फू तमा ः – pure Intelligence; न – not; िक त् – anything; इव – as
if; शा य त – finds peace

8. He who has understood with certitude that this manifold

and marvellous universe is nothing (unreal), becomes
desireless pure Intelligence. He finds peace, as if nothing
exists.

In this concluding verse, the negation becomes so complete

and total that the student in his reflection understands that
the world of plurality as interpreted to him, through his
body, mind and intellect, has no existence of its own.
Having thus realised the illusory nature of the world, he
becomes desireless to possess and to enjoy the world of
objects outside. Without desires the subtle body withers
away, as there are no more thoughts in it; vāsanās have
already exhausted or else desires would have sprung up;
thus causal body also has ceased. Naturally, the ego
rediscovers that it is, in its true nature, pure Intelligence
alone, the Self. He finds absolute peace in the objectless
awareness, at once infinite and marvellous.

1 imā vicitrāḥ kalanāḥ bhāvābhāvamayātmikāḥ,

duḥkhāyaiva tavogrāya na sukhāya kadācana. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.52.12
2 athāpadaṁ prāpya susaṁpadaṁ vā mahāmatiḥ svaprakṛtaṁ svabhāvam,
jahāti no mandaravellito'pi śauklyaṁ yathā kṣīramayāmburāśiḥ.
– Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.93.98

3 śanaiḥ śanairūparamedbuddhyā dhṛtigṛhītayā,

ātmasaṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcidapi cintayet. – Bhagavad-gītā-6.25

4 yadā sarve paramucyante kāmā ye'sya hṛdi śritāḥ,

atha martyo'mṛto bhavatyatra brahma samaśnute. – Kaṭhopaniṣad-2.3.14

5 yogayukto viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ,

sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvannapi na lipyate. – Bhagavad-gītā-5.7

6 yadā pañcāvatiṣṭhante jñānāni manasā saha,

buddhiśca na viceṣṭate tāmāhuḥ paramāṁ gatim. – Kaṭhopaniṣad-2.6.10

7 dve pade bandhamokṣākhyaṁ nirmameti mameti ca,

mameti badhyate janturnirmameti vimucyate. – Mahopaniṣad-4.72
 Chapter 12
How to Abide in the Self
Introduction

In the earlier chapter (11), considered as an eight versed

hymn to the glory of the Self, Sage Aṣṭāvakra, with a rare
spontaneity of inspiration, completes a vivid and pulsating
picture of the intellectual attitude of a Man of Perfection
towards happenings in the objective world and towards his
own subjective intellectual reactions to them. Together with
that, this chapter gives the view of the world from the silent
and quiet bosom of a Man of Realisation.

Vedānta being a subjective science, worldly descriptions

given out by Masters have no purposeful validity in
themselves unless they are considered as check posts, in
which the student must search his own within. The ideas
expounded in the philosophy of Vedānta are to be re-read
and re-heard by the student himself in his own bosom.

Janaka as a perfect disciple recognises the deep

significance of his Teacher's words. In this section the royal
saint confesses how he has, in stages, come to abide in
himself, in the blissful Self.

The steps and the stages by which he ascended to this

altitude of spiritual experience is being mapped in detail in
these eight verses of this section.
 Through the ideas provided in this section, when we
observe the Man of Perfection in Janaka, continuing his
onerous responsibilities of administering his kingdom and
apparently revelling in the luxury and showy sensuousness
of his court, we shall gain the glimpse of an unattached
mind playing in the world, unaffected by the happenings
around it; ‘like a lotus leaf in water’ (padma-patram-iva-
ambhasā) is a famous analogy used in the context by the
Bhagavad-gītā.

Emptying the mind of all the thought disturbances within

is the process to attain the spiritual life. To quieten and still
even the last traces of thought disturbance in the mind is
the accomplishment of the higher meditations. This is
gained, in different stages, by sealing off the different
sources from which these disturbances gurgle into our
bosom. These processes of illumination are exhaustively
indicated in these eight verses of this section.

जनक उवाच
कायकृ यासहः पूव ततो वा व तरासहः।
अथ च तासह त मादेवमेवाहमा थतः॥१॥
janaka uvāca

kāya-kṛtyāsahaḥ pūrvaṁ tato vāg-vistarāsahaḥ,

atha cintāsahas-tasmād-evame-vāham-āsthitaḥ. (1)

कायकृ यअसहः – intolerant of physical action; पूवम् – at first; ततः –

then; वा व तरअसहः – intolerant of extensive speech; अथ –
then; च ताअसहः – intolerant of thought; त मात् – therefore; एवम्
– thus; एव – indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide

Janaka said:
1. I became intolerant first of physical action, then of
extensive speech and then of thought. Thus do I, therefore,
abide in myself.

Activities spring forth mainly from three sources – physical,

oral and mental. Earlier seekers are advised to discipline
their physical activities, their speech and their thoughts in
such a way that all of them are geared to the thoughts of
the Divine and thereby the seeker is helped to turn his
attention away from its usual preoccupations with the world
of sense gratifications.

Religious activities like yajña, pūjā and so on and

dedicated secular activities as social work, political work
and so on, are the methods by which the physical activities
are divinised. Similarly, singing the glories of the Lord,
reading the scriptures aloud, repeating an inspiring mantra
according to the technique of japa, are all accepted
methods by which speech can be disciplined to turn towards
the spiritual path. Again, thoughts which are generally
running out into the world of sense objects, when turned to
contemplate upon the Lord of the universe, constitute the
thought discipline for a strict spiritual life.

When a student, having disciplined his body, speech and

mind, practises meditation for long, he slowly climbs into
the higher scales in meditation. Therein, he discovers that
even these prayerful exercises of the body and the study of
the scriptures at the speech level, and all the conscious
attempts at concentration in the practice of meditation at
the intellectual level, are all distractions for him in his higher
flights into subtler meditation.

In this spiritual autobiography of Janaka, the royal-saint

confesses that he could no longer stand distractions caused
by his dedicated physical activities, by prayers, by silent
japa, and even by contemplation. He gave them all up. And
he says, ‘Thus do I, therefore, abide in myself’.

This is no blasphemy. The earlier sādhanās such as

services of mankind and rituals, kīrtana and pūjās, practice
of truthfulness and self-control, concentration and
contemplation and so on, are all of immense significance to
the seeker, because they, in their totality, shall lead the
student to the take off pad for higher meditation. At this
stage, in his subtle vision, he gains convincing glimpses of
the oneness of the divine Self everywhere. As Yogavāsiṣṭha
says: ‘The body is nothing but the effects of the past
actions; and the mind that prompts the body is itself
dynamised by the intelligent-ego (jīva); and this jīva is itself
the expression of the Lord; and this Lord is the
manifestation of the Ᾱtman, the Self. In short, in one word,
we say everything is the one Śiva.’ Moments of such
understanding are moments when the earlier paths of
sādhanā are themselves insufferable mental distractions.1

ी यभावेन श दादेर य वेन चा मनः।

िव ेपक
ै ा दय एवमेवाहमा थतः॥२॥
prītyabhāvena śabdāder-adṛśyatvena cātmanaḥ,
vikṣepaikāgra-hṛdaya evam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (2)

ी तअभावेन – for want of satisfaction (attachment); श दादेः – of

sound and so on; अ य वेन – being no object of perception; च
– and; आ मनः – of the Self; िव ेपएका दय – with mind freed from
distractions and rendered single pointed; एवम् – thus; एव –
indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in myself

2. Having no satisfaction (attachment) in sound and the

other sense objects and the Self being no object of
perception, I have my mind freed from distractions and
rendered single pointed. Thus do I, therefore, abide in
myself.

Explaining the stages by which Janaka walked into the

palace of Truth in himself, he confesses here that at this
stage he has felt a growing dissatisfaction with ‘sound and
so on’ – meaning in the study of the scriptures and
discussions, in reflection, in japa and so on and, therefore,
he dropped them. Again, he found that even contemplation
is meaningless, because meditation is a process whereby
the mind is trying to visualise, think and experience the Self
which is invisible, unthinkable. Therefore, he has left even
all conscious attempts at contemplation and meditation.
Honest to himself, the disciple declares to his Teacher, ‘Thus
do I, therefore, abide in myself’.

समा यासािदिव ौ यवहारः समाधये।

एवं िवलो य िनयममेवमेवाहमा थतः॥३॥
samādhyās-ādi-vikṣiptau vyavahāraḥ samādhaye,
evaṁ vilokya niyamam-evam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (3)

समअ यासआिदिव ौ – in the distractions caused by our

superimpositions and so on; यवहारः – activity; समाधये – for
samādhi; एवम् – thus; िवलो य – seeing; िनयमम् – rule; एवम् – thus;
एव – indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in myself

3. An effort has to be made for samādhi (for concentration)

only when there is distraction of the mind due to one's own
superimpositions. Seeing this to be the rule, thus do I,
therefore, abide in myself.
The efforts at concentration (samādhi) are only for those
who have their minds distracted by their own illusory
superimpositions. The body, the mind, the ego and their
objects are all illusory projections made by the mind and
thereafter the mind gets fascinated by them and, so it is not
available for the steady contemplation upon the Self. When
this law is clearly understood by me, Janaka confesses: ‘I
realised that the practice of meditation is only for those who
are in ‘ignorance’ suffering from the aftermath of their
spiritual ‘ignorance’. Therefore, I left meditation and thus do
I, therefore, abide in myself.’ When all superimpositions
(adhyāsa) are left, the seeker realises the Self and the Self-
realised, who is awakened to the plane of infinite
Consciousness, can no longer meditate because he has no
equipment to meditate with, nor any more need for it.

हेयोपादेयिवरहादेवं हषिवषादयोः।
अभावाद हे ेवमेवाहमा थतः॥४॥
heyopādeya-virahād-evaṁ harṣa-viṣādayoḥ,
abhāvād-adya he brahmannevam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (4)

हेयोपादेयिवरहात् – in the absence of both the rejectable and the

acceptable; एवम् – as well as; हषिवषादयोः – of joy and sorrow;
अभावात् – because of absence; अ – today; हे – O; न् –
Brahman; एवम् – thus; एव – indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in
myself

4. Finding nothing as acceptable and nothing as rejectable

and having neither joy nor sorrow, ‘O Brahman!’ thus do I,
therefore, now abide in myself.

Addressing his Teacher as, ‘O Brahman!’ and, thereby

eloquently expressing his gratitude to his Teacher, who is, to
the disciple, as great as the Self Supreme, the royal saint
continues to explain how he scrambled to the next stage of
the higher meditation.

To a seeker, good is acceptable and evil is rejectable; and

the good and the evil are the judgements of the intellect.
Having risen above the intellect, the yogī reaches a state
wherein there is nothing for him to accept or to reject. He
comes to dwell in the Self which illumines both the concepts
of the good and the bad that rise as thoughts at the
intellectual level. Having pursued the good, as its reward,
we experience our life's joys and as a reward of evil we have
life's sorrows. Joys and sorrows are emotions at the mental
level. When the meditator rises above the mind and
intellect, he transcends both the joys and sorrows of the
mind and the good and the bad concepts of the intellect. ‘O
Brahman! thus do I, now abide in myself as pure infinite
Consciousness Divine.’

आ माना मं यानं च वीकृतवजनम्।

िवक पं मम वी यैतरै व
े मेवाहमा थतः॥५॥
āśramānāśramaṁ dhyānaṁ citta-svīkṛta-varjanam,
vikalpaṁ mama vīkṣyaitairevam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (5)

आ मअना मम् – a particular stage of life or no stage of life;

यानम् – meditation; च वीकृतवजनम् – control of mental
functions; िवक पम् – distraction; मम – my; वी य – seeing; एतैः –
by these; एवम् – thus; एव – indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in
myself

5. A particular stage of life, or negation of it, meditation,

control of mental functions (mind) recognising these as
cause of distractions in me, thus do I, indeed, abide in
myself.

‘A particular stage of life’ here refers to the traditional

divisions of the Hindu life into four stages. These four stages
in life have each its own distinct duties and disciplines.2
Each stage in life has its encumbrances of duties and
anxieties, which are to Janaka distractions in his abiding
experience of the infinite Self. These various stages have a
meaning only with reference to the individual's spiritual
‘ignorance’ and his consequent identification with his body
and the world around.

Similarly, ‘meditation’ to a Man of Perfection, whose mind

is at rest, is a wasteful exertion. How can he control his
mind from wandering into sense objects, when from his
vision there is nothing but the Self everywhere. Thus, from
his eminence in meditation, he finds all these as distractions
and, therefore, he drops them all. And Janaka says, ‘Thus,
do I, indeed, abide in myself.’

The state Janaka indicates now is beyond all the four

stages in life called in Hindu textbooks as the āśramas. This
trans āśrama state is called as ‘ativarṇāśrami’ or the state
of the avadhūta. One who is in this state of super āśrama
has been defined in our śāstras very precisely as follows,
‘He who has come to realise that he is the ‘witness entirely
separate from the body and the sense organs, the supreme
Self, blissful and self-effulgent, he becomes, beyond all
castes and creeds living the super state (ativarṇāśrami).’3

कमानु ानम ाना थैवोपरम तथा।

बु वा स यिगदं त वमेवमेवाहमा थतः॥६॥
karmānuṣṭhānam-ajñānādyathaivoparamas-tathā,
buddhvā samyag-idaṁ tattvam-evam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (6)

कमअनु ानम् – undertaking of actions; अ ानात् – from ignorance;

यथा – as; उपरमः – cessation; तथा एव – even as; बु वा – knowing;
स यक् – fully; इदम् – this; त वम् – truth; एवम् – thus; एव – indeed;
अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in myself

6. Abstention from action is as much the outcome of

ignorance as the undertaking of action. Knowing this truth
fully well, thus do I, indeed, abide in myself.

What is to be done and what is not to be done are both

judgements of the intellect and intellect itself has
manifested from the spiritual ignorance. As long as the
individualised ego is asserting arrogantly, in order to tame
and quieten it, selfless dedicated actions are prescribed and
certain activities which express shamelessly the lower
nature of the ego are forbidden, for those who are walking
the spiritual path. But these rules of do’s and don'ts are
made for the ignorant ego – ‘the Self-forgetful-self’.

So long as one is ill, one should strictly follow the

medicines prescribed and obey the dietetic regulation laid
down by his doctor. But when the illness has left and full
health has come back, the individual pursues his normal
habits of healthy living. Similarly, the disciplines of life, laid
down by the kindly Masters, are all meant essentially for the
rediscovery of mental equipoise in the agitated bosom of
the one who is groping in the darkness of ‘ignorance’.

‘Knowing this truth fully well’, says Janaka, in his new

found wisdom, ‘thus do I, indeed, abide in myself’.

ो ि ौ
अ च यं च यमानोऽिप च ता पं भज यसौ।
य वा त ावनं त मादेवमेवाहमा थतः॥७॥
acintyaṁ cintyamāno'pi cintārūpaṁ bhajatyasau,
tyaktvā tadbhāvanaṁ tasmād-evam-evāham-āsthitaḥ. (7)

अ च यम् – the unthinkable; च यमानः – thinking; अिप – even;

च ता पम् – a form of thought; भज त – resorts to; असौ – one;
य वा – giving up; तत् – that; भावनम् – thought; त मात् – so; एवम् –
thus; एव – indeed; अहम् – I; आ थतः – abide in myself

7. Thinking on the unthinkable One, one resorts only to a

form of (one's own) thought. Therefore, giving up that
thought, thus do I, indeed, abide in myself.

The infinite Self, is the very ‘light’ of Consciousness that

illumines all our thoughts and without which our intellect
becomes an inert equipment of matter. Naturally, the
intellect cannot by its activities comprehend the Self, the
very essence behind it. The light in the bulb of a torch can
never illumine the battery behind it! No telescope can
achieve seeing, even dimly, the viewer behind its eyepiece!
Therefore, the Self and its light of Consciousness that
enlivens our life in our bosom is declared by the great ṛṣis
as unthinkable.4

To reflect and contemplate upon this Self, which is

unthinkable, is itself again a play of our thoughts. In the
early stages of sādhanā this method is extremely valid, as
all other restlessness of the intellect gets quietened by the
thought of the unthinkable! But to one who has already
exploded into the higher plane of Consciousness and who is
living vividly the experience of the infinite Self, for him to sit
in meditation, to contemplate upon the unthinkable is to
come out of the thoughtless state into the restlessness of
thought! ‘Therefore’, says Janaka, ‘giving up that thought,
do I, indeed abide in myself’.

एवमेव कृतं येन स कृताथ भवेदसौ।

एवमेव वभावो यः स कृताथ भवेदसौ॥८॥
evam-eva kṛtaṁ yena sa kṛtārtho bhaved-asau,
evam-eva svabhāvo yaḥ sa kṛtārtho bhaved-asau. (8)

एवम् – thus; एव – even; कृतम् – accomplished; येन – by whom;

कृताथः – fulfilled; भवेत् – becomes; सः असौ – he (the man); एव –
indeed; एवं वभावः – by such nature; यः – who; सः असौ – he;
कृताथः – fulfils himself; भवेत् – becomes

8. Blessed is the man who has accomplished this. Blessed is

he who thus fulfils himself by his nature divine.

Almost tapping on his own back, as it were, in the ecstasy of

his ‘infinite satisfaction’, Janaka blesses himself through his
hallelujah for the man who has attained Godhood even
while living (Jīvanmukta). Śaṅkara defines Videhamukti and
Jīvanmukti as follows.5

When through sādhanā a seeker comes to a stage when

all sādhanās drop off in his own achieved experience of the
infinite Self, he is a unique individual, who though bodily
lives amidst us, has already become the universal Reality.
The experience of the Higher, in him, is spontaneous,
effortless, natural. Nothing more can be said of him. He is
verily a God living amidst us. He alone is the blessed one!
He alone is the blessed one!!

1 karmaiva deho nanu deha eva cittaṁ tadevāhamitīha jīvaḥ,

saḥ jīva-eveśvaracit sa ātmā sarvaḥ śivastvekapadoktametat.
 – Yogavāsiṣṭha-3.65.13

2 Student’s life (brahmacarya); householder’s life (gṛhastha); hermit’s life

(vānaprastha); and ascetic’s life (sannyāsa). These are the four stages
(āśramas) in the Hindu way of life prescribed in our scriptures.

3 yaḥ śarīrendriyādibhyo vibhinnaṁ sarvasākṣiṇam,

pāramārthikavijñānaṁ sukhātmānaṁ svaprabham,
paramatattvaṁ vijānāti so ativarṇāśramī bhavet.

4 sūkṣmatvāttadavijñeyam – Bhagavad-gītā-13.15

5 brahmaivāhamasmītyaparokṣa jñānena
nikhilakarmabandha vinirmukto jīvanmuktaḥ.
dehapātānantaraṁ muktiḥ videhamuktiḥ.
 Chapter – 13
The Bliss Absolute
Introduction

The concluding verse of the previous section opens a vein of

poetry in Janaka and the Liberated in life, the royal saint
expounds, in this section, the absolute Bliss as the very
nature of the supreme Reality.

It was already explained by the king that one who totally

gives up all actions of his body, mind and speech alone can
reach to abide in his own real nature. In the pure infinite
Consciousness there is neither action nor inaction, neither
joy nor sorrow, neither good nor bad. These are all values at
the body, mind and intellect levels. The Consciousness, the
Self is the illuminator of all these and, therefore, is of a
different category and order.

These seven pregnant verses have succeeded in giving

us an exhaustive estimate of the rewards lived by one who
is liberated in life, while the Upaniṣads have perceptibly
failed to communicate to the students the magnitude of the
bliss and glory experienced by a ‘Jīvanmukta’.

Inner renunciation of all our identifications with the

perceptions, emotions and thoughts at the body, mind and
intellect levels is a much more valid relinquishment than a
hasty discarding of one's earthly possessions. The
traditional picture of an ascetic is that he has only a single
loincloth and a begging bowl as his own and lives under
some way-side tree. But even in this condition of voluntary
poverty, attachment to that meagre loin cloth (underwear)
and insignificant coconut shell (kamaṇḍalu) can chain his
mind down, refusing him admission into the Highest. Janaka
seems to remember the stinging words of criticism of his
Teacher in the earlier chapter. Janaka lives in a palace
amidst all the apparently worldly luxuries. What has he
renounced? Here is the answer from the royal saint himself.

From this concept of the state of supreme non-dual Self

which remains the same in all the three periods of time,
Immutable and Eternal springs forth the subtle doctrine of
Vedānta that is ‘non-origination’ (ajāta-vāda). In fact, the
fragrance and beauty of this doctrine, are from the flowers
of the Upaniṣads. We must, as students of the Hindu
philosophical thoughts admit that Sage Aṣṭāvakra was,
perhaps, the first to recognise and express this suggestion
given by Upaniṣads roughly into the form of a doctrine of
Vedānta. Later on in Māṇḍūkya Kārikā we find this doctrine
elaborate and expounded into a logical and acceptable
philosophical thought.

The state of experience expounded here lies beyond the

storms and agitations of the matter equipments in man, and
therefore, this transcendental state is the state of Bliss, ever
undisturbed and absolute.

जनक उवाच
अिक नभवं वा यं कौपीन वेऽिप दल ु भम्।
यागादाने िवहाया मादहमासे यथासुखम्॥१॥
janaka uvāca
akiñcanabhavaṁ svāsthyaṁ kaupīnatve'pi durlabham,
tyāgādāne vihāyāsmād-aham-āse yathāsukham. (1)

अिक नभवम् – born of the Consciousness that nothing else

exists; वा यम् – tranquillity; कौपीन वे – in the state of wearing
just a loin cloth; अिप – even; दल ु भम् – rare; यागादाने – (ideas of)
renunciation and acceptance; िवहाय – giving up; अ मात् –
therefore; अहम् – I; आसे – live; यथासुखम् – a true happiness

Janaka said:

1. The tranquillity, which is born of the awareness that there

is nothing else but the Self, is rare even for one who wears
just a loin cloth. Therefore, by giving up the ideas of
renunciation and acceptance, I live in true happiness.

We have already mentioned in the introduction to this

section that mere external relinquishment of our
possessions is not the true dispassion that can lead us near
to the state of spiritual tranquillity. Even for one who has
thus renounced everything and has only the barest
minimum of his essential requirements of life, such as food ,
clothing and shelter, even to such an individual the
experience that ‘there is nothing but the Self (akiñcana–
bhavam) and, therefore, nothing else has ever been born as
the universe’ is indeed rare. To renounce or to accept, there
must be the still lingering shades of one’s individualised
ego. Where the ego has completely ended, there is none in
the individual either to accept anything or to renounce
anything and that is the state of supreme Bliss. Therefore
says Janaka, ‘By giving up the ideas of renunciation and
acceptance, I live in true happiness.’

Although in almost all the Upaniṣads there is a different

theory of creation expounded by the different ṛṣis, any deep
student of the Upaniṣads can very easily detect that the
ultimate anxiety of the scriptures is to lead the student to a
state, beyond mind and intellect, to recognise and
experience therein the infinitude of the divine substratum.
Viewed from this state of pure Consciousness there is no
illusory world, nor are there the delusions of the body, mind
and intellect. In all Its aloneness the glory of the Self
pervades everywhere, immutable, eternal and tranquil.

Thus from the transcendental viewpoint, gained from the

Self, never was there a universe ever projected! This theory
of ‘non-origination’ (ajāta-vāda) is the doctrine that is
inherent in the Upaniṣads and it is only very subtly
suggested therein. Aṣṭāvakra emphasises it to explain it.
Gauḍapāda later on took it up for an exhaustive treatment
and gave a total philosophical exposition of it in his Kārikā
to Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad (Advaita Prakaraṇa): ‘From which
nothing is, in reality, born; though it appears to have
manifested in endless forms.’1

Again, Gauḍapāda clarifies in his Kārikā and concludes

his chapter on non-dualism (Advaita Prakaraṇa) with the
following unambiguous and eloquent verse: ‘No jīva, the
egocentric separative creature, is ever born. There does not
exist any cause which can produce them as its effect. This is
the highest Truth where nothing is ever born.’2

कु ािप खेदः काय य ज ा कु ािप ख ते।

मनः कु ािप त य वा पु षाथ थतः सुखम्॥२॥
kutrāpi khedaḥ kāyasya jihvā kutrāpi khidyate,
manaḥ kutrāpi tattyaktvā puruṣārthe sthitaḥ sukham. (2)

कु अिप – somewhere; खेदः – weariness; काय य – of body; ज ा –

tongue; कु अिप – somewhere; ख ते – is fatigued; मनः – mind;
कु अिप – somewhere; तत् – this; य वा – having renounced;
(अहम् – I); पु षाथ – in life’s goal; थतः – established (अ म –
am); सुखम् – in true happiness

2. There is weariness of the body here, fatigue of the tongue

there and distress of the mind elsewhere. Having renounced
this in life's goal, I live in true happiness.

The main three sources of weariness and consequently of

restlessness, have already been enumerated earlier as
physical, oral and mental. Janaka in his wisdom discovers
that there is weariness brought to his life by his body. The
sense organs are all channels of sorrow that pour into our
bosom restlessness and agitations. In Yogavāsiṣṭha we read
this idea most poetically put: ‘The deer, black bee, butterfly,
elephant, fish each one of these meets with its death
because of its attachment to one or the other of its sense
organs. The ignorant man is attached to all his five senses,
and how can he ever find happiness in this world.’3

Physical senses alone are not the sole cause for the
sorrows mentioned here, but all physical penance can also
bring about weariness of the body for one who is in the
‘higher state of meditation’, as Janaka was.

The study of scriptures and repetition of mantras in the

pursuit of japa-yoga can also ‘make the tongue fatigued’.
The attempt at meditation is the cause for the distress of
the mind, mentioned here. Therefore, Janaka renounced all
these three in the supreme experience of the infinite Self –
the goal of life – and thereby, ‘I live in true happiness’,
declared the king.

ि ि ै ि
कृतं िकमिप नैव यािद त स य त वतः।
यदा यत् कतुमाया त त कृ वासे यथासुखम्॥३॥
kṛtaṁ kimapi naiva syād-iti sañcintya tattvataḥ,
yadā yat kartumāyāti tatkṛtvāse yathā-sukham. (3)

कृतम् – done (by the Self); िकम् अिप – nothing whatever; न – not;
एव – certainly; यात् – is; इ त – thus; स य – understanding
fully; त वतः – in reality; यदा – when; यत् – what; कतुम् – to do;
आया त – comes; तत् कृ वा – that doing; आसे – (I) live; यथासुखम् – in
true happiness

3. Understanding fully that nothing whatsoever is really

done by the Self, I do whatever presents itself to be done
and so, I live in true happiness.

Actions are the expressions of thoughts and they are the

disturbances in the mind caused by desires which are
manifestations of our vāsanās. Where vāsanās have ended,
desires cease. Naturally, mind becomes calm of thought
disturbances and the egocentric aggressive actions can no
longer spring from that individual. That is the state of pure
Consciousness. The Self is actionless as it is full and all-
pervading. In this great understanding, born out of direct
subjective experience, Janaka withdraws from all his fields of
endeavour and extinguishes the ‘I do mentality’ (ahaṅkāra)
in him.

However, continues Janaka, whenever he is goaded to

act in the world outside due to the pressure of his
prārabdha, he does it willingly ‘as an agent’ of the Lord, the
Self.

With his abdication from the seat of the ego, his entire
kingdom of delusion has rolled away from him and ‘so’, says
Janaka, ‘I live in true happiness’.

कमनै क यिनब धभावा देह थयोिगनः।

संयोगायोगिवरहादहमासे यथासुखम्॥४॥
karma-naiṣkarmya-nirbandha-bhāvā dehastha-yoginaḥ,
saṁyogāyoga-virahād-aham-āse yathā-sukham. (4)

कमनै क यिनब धभावाः – who insist upon action or inaction;

देह थयोिगनः – the yogīs who are attached to the body; संयोग
अयोग िवरहात् – divorced from association and dissociation; अहम्
– I; आसे – live; यथासुखम् – in true happiness

4. The spiritual seekers (yogins), who are attached to the

body, insist upon action or inaction. Divorced from both
association and dissociation, I live in true happiness.

Even among the great Masters there are some who

definitely seem to emphasise a dynamic life of dedicated
service to the society. There are other Masters who address
the student pleading for a life of retirement and utter
quietude – inaction at the body, mind and intellect levels.
There is Bhagavad-gītā, which wants us to see ‘action in
inaction and inaction in actions’. Each one of these great
advices is addressed to the students at varying levels of
their own body consciousness.

Tāmasika people must undertake vigorous programmes

of work, prompted by extreme selfish motives, in order to
generate in them the dynamism of rajas. The rājasika
sādhakas should learn to act vigorously, in a spirit of selfless
dedication, in order to generate the brilliance of ‘sattva’ in
their bosom. Again, the fully developed sāttvika students, in
alert and vigilant moments of ‘actionless action’ must heave
themselves to reach the larger awakening into the higher
Consciousness in them.

Janaka at the peak of his Realisation has given up both,

his association with the body and has relinquished all his
efforts in dissociating himself with his body. His ego has
ended and he sees nobody to accept or to reject. Thus, ‘I
live in true happiness’, confesses the royal saint.

अथानथ न मे थ या ग या वा शयनेन वा।

त न् ग छन् वपन् त मादहमासे यथासुखम्॥५॥
arthānarthau na me sthityā gatyā vā śayanena vā,
tiṣṭhan gacchan svapan tasmād-aham-āse yathā-sukham.
(5)

अथानथ – good or evil; न – not; मे – my; थ या – by staying; ग या

– by going; वा – or; शयनेन – by sleeping; वा – or; त न् – staying;
ग छन् – going; वपन् – sleeping; त मात् – so; अहम् – I; आसे – live;
यथासुखम् – in true happiness

5. No good or evil can be associated with my staying, going

or sleeping. So whether I stay or go or sleep, I live in true
happiness.

No action by itself is either good or bad. The intention

behind the action determines its quality with reference to
the doer. To an egoless one, therefore, actions are motivated
neither by good nor evil. They are spontaneous expressions
of the divine will cascading through such perfect Masters.
Sitting or going or sleeping, in short, under all conditions of
stability, movement and rest of the body, such an egoless
Master is ever in perfect attunement with the blissful Self,
and Janaka, the Man of Realisation confesses here, ‘I live in
true happiness’.

वपतो ना त मे हािनः स य नवतो न वा।

नाशो ासौ िवहाया मादहमासे यथासुखम्॥६॥
svapato nāsti me hāniḥ siddhir-yatnavato na vā,
nāśollāsau vihāyāsmād-aham-āse yathā-sukham. (6)

वपतः – sleeping; न – not; अ त – is; मे – my; हािनः – loss; स ः –

success; य नवतः – striving; न – not; वा – or; नाशो ासौ – loss or
delight; िवहाय – forgoing; अ मात् – so; अहम् – I; आसे – live;
यथासुखम् – in true happiness

6. I do not lose anything by sleeping, nor gain anything by

striving. So giving up thoughts of loss and delight, I live in
true happiness.

Having gained the infinite Bliss, to the Man of Perfection

there is nothing to gain by the diligent and exhausting
efforts, nor can anything be taken away from his inner
spiritual sovereignty, if he rests in total peace, apparently
undertaking no activities and so living a life of ‘sleep’. In his
inner state of fullness there is nothing for him to gain by
actions, nor can he lose anything from the treasures of his
inner tranquillity, by not acting. All his anxieties for
happiness or his fears for the losses, have been totally given
up along with his sense of ego and thus, declares Janaka ‘I
live in true happiness’.

सुखािद पािनयमं भावे वालो य भू रशः।

शुभाशुभे िवहाया मादहमासे यथासुखम्॥७॥
sukhādi-rūpāniyamaṁ bhāveṣvālokya bhūriśaḥ,
śubhāśubhe vihāyāsmād-aham-āse yathā-sukham. (7)

सुखािद पअिनयमम् – fluctuations of the forms of pleasure and so

on; भावेषु – in different conditions; आलो य – observing; भू रशः –
again and again; शुभाशुभे – good and evil; िवहाय – renouncing;
अ मात् – so; अहम् – I; आसे – live; यथासुखम् – in true happiness

7. Observing again and again, the fluctuations of the forms

of pleasures and so on, in different circumstances, I have
renounced good and evil and I live in true happiness.

An ordinary man is tempted to pursue good and avoid evil,

because he is seeking his future happiness. The man of evil
is pursuing diligently his evil ways of life only because he is
convinced that he thereby can have his immediate
happiness. In short, search for happiness is the spring of all
activities, both good and evil.

A little deeper investigation into the happenings around

us can make it vividly clear that the people who pursue the
good are seen as often suffering as the evil minded men
enjoy happily in life! So, it is an observed fact that there are
fluctuations of pleasure and pain depending upon the
changes in the external environments and the available
circumstances around the individual. Happiness and sorrow
ultimately depend upon our own mental conditions.
Transcending the mind and, therefore, renouncing both good
and evil, Janaka admits, ‘I live in true happiness’ as the
blissful infinite Self.

1 yathā na jāyate kiñcit jāyamānaṁ samantataḥ. – Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad-3.2

2 na kaścijjāyate jīvaḥ sambhavo'sya na vidyate,

etattaduttamaṁ satyaṁ yatra kiñcinna jāyate. – Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad-3.48
3 kuraṅgālipataṅgebhamīnāstvekaikaśo hatāḥ,
sarvaiyuktairanarthaistu vyāptāsyājña kutaḥ sukham. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.52.21
 Chapter – 14
Tranquillity
Introduction

This section consists of only four verses and can be

considered as a sacred ‘Psalm on Peace’, wherein the
infinite peace of the transcendental state is invoked and
glorified. Mind is a thought flow. In a Liberated in life, there
can be no desires, as he is experiencing in his own Self, the
infinite fullness; and since he has no desires he has no
thoughts, naturally, he becomes of an empty mind – Void
mind (śūnya cittaḥ). One whose mind is thus completely
dissolved in the voiceless experience of the Infinite, is
asleep to the world of objects and its enchantments. He is
awake only to the spiritual world of this peaceful Self. Janaka
concludes this section by declaring that such an awakened
Man of Wisdom can be fully understood only by another,
who like him, has experienced the same state of pure
Consciousness.

जनक उवाच

कृ या शू य च ो यः मादा ावभावनः।
िनि तो बो धत इव ीणसंसरणो िह सः॥१॥

janaka uvāca
prakṛtyā śūnyacitto yaḥ pramādād-bhāva-bhāvanaḥ,
nidrito bodhita iva kṣīṇa-saṁsaraṇo hi saḥ. (1)

कृ या – by nature, spontaneously; शू य च ः – empty-minded;

यः – who; मादात् – through inadvertence; भावभावनः – thinking of
objects by chance; िनि तः – asleep; बो धतः – awake; इव – as if;
ीणसंसरणः – one whose recollections of worldly life are
extinguished; िह – indeed; सः – he

Janaka said:

1. He indeed has his recollections of worldly life

extinguished who becomes void minded spontaneously, who
thinks of sense objects only by chance and who is, as it
were, awake though physically asleep.

Language can never express experiences beyond the

physical level and, therefore, wherever mystic sages have
tried to communicate their subtle transcendental spiritual
experiences, they have always stammered through their
brimful descriptions. Here is a typical example wherein
Janaka is trying to explain the inner condition and the outer
behaviour of one, whose mind has become still and empty
of all thought movements (śūnya cittaḥ).

The memories of past experiences in the world of

objects, recorded in our personality for future reference, are
called vāsanās. It is these vāsanās that produce fresh
impulses of desires which procreate the mental and the
physical disturbances in the individual ego. The Man of
Perfection is one who has gone beyond his vāsanās and,
therefore, he is described here as ‘one who has
extinguished all his worldly memories’. This state of
vāsanālessness is a state of utter mental stillness in
supreme meditation, and this state of total mental poise is
gained by a Man of Realisation spontaneously, without any
conscious effort (prakṛtyā).

Even though he is constantly in the vivid experience of

the infinite Reality, as long as his physical body exists,
forced by its prārabdha, he will be involuntarily forced into
some fields of sense objects. He goes through the world of
happenings as though one who is asleep to the enjoyments
of the world around him. He is aware and supremely awake
only to the state of God-consciousness.

This is not a mental state that has been reached through

pills or drugs, nor is it achieved through effort and yoga.
One who is established in his spiritual Awareness, to him
this is a spontaneous vision, constant and effortless. He only
becomes casually conscious of the world of plurality – a
beautiful disturbance, dim and distant, on the horizon of his
infinite Bliss!

व धनािन व िम ा ण व मे िवषयद यवः।

व शा ं व च िव ानं यदा मे ग लता पृहा॥२॥

kva dhanāni kva mitrāṇi kva me viṣaya-dasyavaḥ,

kva śāstraṁ kva ca vijñānaṁ yadā me galitā spṛhā. (2)

व – where; धनािन – riches; व – where; िम ा ण – friends; व –

where; मे – my; िवषयद यवः – thieves in the form of sense
objects; व – where; शा म् – scriptures; व – where; चः – and;
िव ानम् – knowledge; यदा – when; मे – my; ग लता – has melted;
पृहा – desires

2. When once the desires have melted away, where are my

riches, where are my friends, where are the thieves in the
form of sense objects, nay, where are the scriptures and
knowledge itself?
Riches (dhanāni), friends (mitrāṇi), scriptures (śāstram),
knowledge (vijñānam) are all of great value for one's
security, comfort and satisfaction while living as an ego
amidst the sense objects. As an ego, when we are living in
the world, no doubt, sense objects with their powerful
enchantments can steal into our bosom and plunder away
our peace and tranquillity, our discrimination and
understanding, even our education and culture. True, very
very true. But, when desires have melted away, to one who
has thus come to experience the infinite blissful Self, of
what value are these external scaffoldings – riches, friends,
scriptures or knowledge – which hold together for us our
illusory world of pleasure and pains?

To one who has realised the Self, of what value are the
scriptures – of what use is knowledge, spiritual as well as
secular? This same idea is much more poetically put in the
Bhagavad-gītā: ‘To the Brāhmaṇa, who has known the Self,
all the Vedas are of so much use as is a reservoir of water in
a place where there is flood everywhere.’1

िव ाते सा पु षे परमा मिन चे रे।

नैरा ये ब धमो े च न च ता मु ये मम॥३॥

vijñāte sākṣi-puruṣe paramātmani ceśvare,

nairāśye bandha-mokṣe ca na cintā muktaye mama. (3)

िव ाते – having realised; सा पु षे – Self who is the ‘witness’;

परमा मिन – the supreme Self; च – and; ई रे– Lord; नैरा ये –
desirelessness; ब धमो े – in bondage and Liberation; च – and;
न – not; च ता – anxiety; मु ये – for emancipation; मम – my

3. As I have realised the supreme Self who is the ‘witness’

and the Lord, the Puruṣa and have become indifferent both
to bondage and Liberation, I (now) feel no anxiety for my
emancipation.

In this four versed chant upon the sense of infinite

tranquillity (śānti catuṣṭaya), Janaka is trying to
communicate to us why this spiritual state is so peaceful
and how this state of tranquillity is never disturbed by the
usual storms from the worlds of the body, mind and
intellect.

The supreme Self, the pure Consciousness, is ever

illumining as a ‘witness’ of all that is happening within and
without (sākṣi-puruṣa). It is the one enlivening presence
which orders, governs, regulates all activities of the whole
universe and as such is the Lord of the universe (Īśvara). On
rediscovering that this is the seeker's own divine nature, he
becomes indifferent to both bondage and Liberation.
Liberation is only for one who is in bondage. To the
liberated, there can be neither the sorrows of bondage nor
the bliss of Liberation.

Being already emancipated from the sorrowful world,

constituted by his own passions of the body, emotions of the
mind and agitations of the intellect, the Man of Realisation
cannot have even the anxiety for ‘Liberation’.

This state of infinite peace can never be comprehended

by us, as the instruments of comprehension that we have at
this moment are incapable of conceiving dimensions of the
Infinite. By a teaspoon can we ever empty an entire ocean?
Can limited mind comprehend the unthinkable Self and Its
peace infinite?

अ त वक पशू य य बिहः व छ दचा रणः।

ा त येव दशा ता ता ता शा एव जानते॥४॥
antar-vikalpa-śūnyasya bahiḥ svacchanda-cāriṇaḥ,
bhrāntasyeva daśāstāstās-tādṛśā eva jānate. (4)

अ तः – within; िवक पशू य य – devoid of thoughts; बिहः – outside;

व छ दचा रणः – one who roams about at his own pleasure;
ा त य इव – like a deluded one; दशाः – conditions; ताः ताः – such
and such; ता शा – those like him; एव – surely; जानते – know

4. The different conditions of a wise man, who, devoid of

any thoughts within, outwardly roams about at his own
pleasure like a deluded man, can only be understood by
those like him.

The Man of Perfection established in the higher planes of

Consciousness, has transcended his mind and, therefore, his
mind is silent and void of all thoughts (śūnya cittaḥ).
Naturally, he is free of all hesitations, doubts, uncertainties
and confusions. He lives, thereafter, the spontaneous Life
Divine. In him there is no ego sense at all. No social or
political or religious laws are applicable to him. He lives
careless of the consequences. He wants nothing, needs
nothing. He has no demands, no desires. He is full in
himself. He has become the native of the divine fields of
Consciousness; He is only a temporary sojourner amidst us!
Thus lived all Men of Wisdom as guiding light for their
generations, but at the same time, apparently a threatening
danger to the existing social rules, political systems,
religious traditions!! Always a law unto themselves.

How can such a man be judged except by men of equal

vision and, therefore, of equal evolution? It is not in every
Man of Realisation that we find a definite clue to their
inward illumination in their outward behaviour.

Such a Man of Realisation is extolled in Yogavāsiṣṭha:

‘One who has unveiled the Truth in himself, sits ever
contented in enjoying the nectar of his own infinite peace,
his mind and intellect completely at rest, with no inner
thought disturbances revelling in his own real nature.’2

1 yāvānartha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake,

tāvānsarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.46

2 saṁśāntāntaḥkaraṇo galitavikalpaḥ svarūpasāramayaḥ,

paramaśamāmṛtatṛptastiṣṭhati vidvānnirāvaraṇaḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha
 Chapter – 15
Brahman – The Absolute Reality
Introduction

This is perhaps one of the most pregnant and significant

sections in the entire Aṣṭāvakra-gītā. The one ultimate
Reality, the Self, is declared here in unequivocal words: ‘The
one Self in all existence and all existence in the one Self’.
The supreme Wisdom, God, indicated in the scriptures by
the term ‘That’ has no birth, no action, no ego. Such a
concept of the Absolute implicitly implies in Itself the
doctrine of non-origination (ajātavāda). All that falls under
the cause-effect system of the mind is nothing but the Self
misapprehended as the illusory world of names and forms.

Aṣṭāvakra lovingly insists, ‘Have faith, my son, have faith

(śradhasva-śradhasva) in this grand majestic Truth.’ The Self
is not only pure Consciousness, which expresses uniformly
in all other planes of Consciousness, but is also something
worshipful, supremely to be revered as God, Bhagavān.

In this chapter thus, the nature of Brahman is brought

out for a direct and immediate apprehension of all the
seekers. Aṣṭāvakra here talks directly from his own mystic
experiences. Even in the rich treasure houses of the Indian
mystic literature, we may not find a parallel textbook that
can be compared favourably with the sure depth of vision
and clarity of expression of this Gītā. It is at once profound
and practical. It is profound in its powers of suggestiveness
which can take a meditative mind to the very peaks. It is
practical inasmuch as in other textbooks we do not find such
subtle instructions to help those who are groping along the
summits of the higher meditation.

अ ाव उवाच

यथातथोपदेशेन कृताथः स वबु मान्।

आजीवमिप ज ासुः पर त िवमु त॥१॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

yathā-tathopadeśena kṛtārthaḥ sattva-buddhimān,

ājīvam-api jijñāsuḥ parastatra vimuhyati. (1)

यथा तथा – in whatever manner, casually; उपदेशेन – by

instruction; कृताथः – gains his end; स व बु मान् – a person of
pure Intelligence; आजीवम् – throughout his life; अिप – even; एव
– indeed; ज ासुः – desirous to know; परः – the other; त –
there; िवमु त – is confused

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. A person of pure Intelligence realises the Self even by

instruction casually imparted. A man of impure intellect is
confused in trying to realise the Self, even after enquiring
throughout his life.

The textbook remaining the same and even when the same
Teacher is explaining and expounding the Truth of Vedānta,
we find that different students are benefitted by the same
instructions to different degrees! The text-books of Upaniṣad
explain these phenomena and attribute the success or
failure of the student to the student's own preparedness or
unpreparedness in themselves to receive the great
Knowledge Divine.

A mind rich in ‘sattva’ is calm and serene and is most

receptive to the spiritual ideas discussed in the Upaniṣads.
But when the mind is disturbed by agitations (rajas) or when
the intellect is clouded by dullness (tamas), the equipment
is not tuned to receive the profound inner secrets of the
scriptural declarations. When a mind is stilled and well
protected from the onslaughts of passions and desires, it is
considered as ‘pure Intelligence’ which alone will have the
required receptivity to apprehend the Truth.

When thus the student is ready to receive the divine

message, a casual instruction from the Teacher is more than
sufficient to set the student on the flight to the state of pure
Consciousness.

However, if the student’s inner bosom is not disciplined

enough and his mind and intellect are extremely disturbed
by the continuous waves of passions and desires, such an
individual, even after deep enquiries throughout his life,
remains bewildered and confused in himself without having
even a moment’s spiritual experience.

That is the reason why Yogavāsiṣṭha advises all Teachers:

‘In the beginning examine the student carefully for qualities
of self-control and inner quietude; thereafter, advise him –
Thou art the pure Brahman who is the essence in all this
universe’.1

मो ो िवषयवैर यं ब धो वैष यको रसः।

एतावदेव िव ानं यथे छ स तथा कु ॥२॥
mokṣo viṣaya-vairasyaṁ bandho vaiṣayiko rasaḥ,
etāvad-eva vijñānaṁ yathecchasi tathā kuru. (2)

मो ः – Liberation; िवषयवैर यम् – distaste for sense objects; ब धः –

bondage; वैष यकः – sensual; रसः – passion; एतावत् – such is; एव –
indeed; िव ानम् – knowledge; यथा – as; इ छ स – you wish; तथा –
so; कु – do

2. Distaste for sense objects is Liberation; passion for sense

objects is bondage. Such indeed is Knowledge. Now you do
as you please.

In a very direct and aphoristic style Aṣṭāvakra here defines

what constitutes bondage and what exactly is the nature of
Liberation as far as a seeker is concerned. The arrogant ego,
seeking its satisfaction, hungers for sense gratifications and
its entire attention gets dissipated into the world of sense
objects. This is the state of bondage.

The ego ends as it awakens to the higher experience of

the universal spiritual Essence. In the rising waves of
fulfilment, not only the ego ends, but it has no more any
craving for sense gratifications. This distaste for sense
objects is a sign of ‘Liberation’.

Having explained thus, the seer of Vedānta in Aṣṭāvakra

gives the student full freedom to plan his own life and live
his days in complete freedom, as he likes. Those who have
yet vāsanās to fulfil, they must continue living in the sense
world for exhausting them. There is no other way. Those in
whom the vigour of vāsanās has calmed down, in them
there is a natural sense of growing distaste towards sense
objects.

Force and compulsion can do nothing in this great path of

Self-rediscovery. It is an evolution and not a revolution. As
such, all Masters, after their advice, leave the student to
plan out his life, according to his own inner impulses. In the
concluding verse with which Kṛṣṇa ends His main discourse
in the Bhagavad-gītā we hear again a similar sentiment
expressed by the Lord: ‘Thus has the wisdom, more secret
than all secrets, been declared to you by Me, having
reflected over it fully, you act as you choose.’2

The direction of the mind determines whether the

individual is living in bondage or aspiring for Liberation, say
the wise sages : ‘Mind alone is the cause for both bondage
and Liberation; sensuous mind causes bondage, peaceful
mind leads one to Liberation.’3

वा म ा महो ोगं जनं मूकजडालसम्।

करो त त वबोधोऽयमत य ो बुभु ु भः॥३॥

vāgmi-prājña-mahodyogaṁ janaṁ mūka-jaḍālasam,

karoti tattva-bodho'yam-atastyakto bubhukṣubhiḥ. (3)

वा म ा महा उ ोगम् – eloquent, wise and active; जनम् – man; मूक

जड अलसम् – mute, inert and passive; करो त – makes; त व बोध –
knowledge of the Truth; अयम् – this; अतः – so; य ः – is
shunned; बुभु ु भः – by those who want to enjoy

3. This knowledge of the Truth makes an eloquent, wise and

active person, mute, inert and passive. Therefore, it is
shunned by those who wish to enjoy (the world).

For the material success in the world of sensuality, as it is

available for us in this competitive world, eloquence, worldly
wisdom and vigorous dynamism are unavoidable. The
meditative man, who withdraws from the world of
‘ignorance’ seeking to experience and live the joys of the
Self would naturally become unfit for worldly success,
during his sādhanā period, because a seeker becomes
‘mute, inert and passive’.

These words should not give us the misconception that

spirituality is an undynamic way of living. Buddha under the
tree will be criticised by the men of the world as a useless,
idler, a liability to the community and unfit to live a social
life. Only on becoming fully enlightened, Bhagavān Buddha
moved out from under the tree, to serve the world and
came to earn the eternal gratitude of mankind as a prince of
compassion. The profit motivated, impatient man of the
world would naturally consider the spiritual path as too
passive and inert for his taste. They, with abhorrence, would
reject the path of retirement and steady contemplation,
because they want to enjoy the world of sense objects and
thus exhaust their vāsanās.

The explanation in this verse justifies what Aṣṭāvakra has

said to his disciple in the previous verse: ‘Now do as you
please’.

न वं देहो न ते देहो भो ा कता न वा भवान्।

च ूपोऽ स सदा सा ी िनरपे ः सुखं चर॥४॥

na tvaṁ deho na te deho bhoktā kartā na vā bhavān,

cidrūpo'si sadā sākṣī nirapekṣaḥ sukhaṁ cara. (4)

न – not; वम् – you; देहः – body; न – not; ते – your; देहः – body;

भो ा – enjoyer; कता – doer; न – not; वा – or; भवान् – you; च ूपः –
Consciousness itself; अ स – are; सदा – ever; सा ी – witness;
िनरपे ः – indifferent; सुखम् – happy; चर – go about

4. You are not the body, nor is the body yours. You are
neither the ‘doer’ nor the ‘enjoyer’. You are Consciousness
itself, the eternal, indifferent witness. You go about happily.

To those of his students who have the taste to walk the

spiritual path, Aṣṭāvakra continues. In the false
understanding that we are body, we run after the sense
objects for our satisfaction and happiness. Here the Teacher
advises us that neither are we the bodies, nor are the
bodies ours. We must avoid both our sense of ‘I-ness’ and
‘mine-ness’ with the body. One is not the ‘doer’ who does
his activities through the body; nor is one the ‘enjoyer’ who
enjoys the outer world, again through the body. The
‘doership’ and the ‘enjoyership’ together constitute the ego
sense in us; this is to be completely negated.

After thus negating the gross and the subtle bodies, the
sage directly points out what the true spiritual nature of
man is, ‘You are pure Consciousness’. And as the light of
Intelligence in the individual, you are a witness of all the
experiences of the body, mind and intellect and you are
ever indifferent to both the joys and sorrows of the
equipments. Understanding this, may ‘you go about happily’
thus blesses sage Aṣṭāvakra.

राग ेषौ मनोधम न मन ते कदाचन।

िन वक पोऽ स बोधा मा िन वकारः सुखं चर॥५॥

rāga-dveṣau mano-dharmau na manaste kadācana,

nirvikalpo'si bodhātmā nirvikāraḥ sukhaṁ cara. (5)

राग ेषौ – passions and aversions; मनोधम – qualities of mind; न –

not; मनः – mind; ते – your; कदाचन – ever; िन वक पः – free from
fluctuations; अ स – are; बोधा मा – Intelligence itself; िन वकारः –
changeless; सुखम् – happily; चर – go about
5. Passions and aversions are the qualities of the mind. The
mind is never yours. You are Intelligence itself free from all
fluctuations and changeless. You go about happily.

The passions and lusts, likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows –
these are all fluctuations in the mental stuff and they all
belong to the mind. As the pure infinite Consciousness you
are the Illuminator of them all; you are not the mind.
Consciousness alone illumines the oscillations of the mind
and its inner conflicts. As the Illuminator, you are beyond all
restlessness of the mind, ever the same blissful Self. Having
realised thus, Aṣṭāvakra says, ‘You go about happily’.

सवभूतेषु चा मानं सवभूतािन चा मिन।

िव ाय िनरहंकारो िनमम वं सुखी भव॥६॥

sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ sarva-bhūtāni cātmani,

vijñāya nirahaṅkāro nirmamas-tvaṁ sukhī bhava. (6)

सवभूतेषु – in all beings; च – also; आ मानम् – Self; सवभूतािन – all

beings; च – also; आ मिन – in the Self; िव ाय – knowing
(realising); िनरहंकारः – free from I-ness; िनममः – free from mine-
ness; वम् – you; सुखी – happy; भव – be

6. Realising the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self,
free from 'I-ness' and free from ‘mine-ness’, May you be
happy.

The twin expressions of the ego are the ‘I-ness’ and the ‘my-
ness’. The arrogance of individuality in our bosom
expressing as ‘I-ness’ creates the delusory idea of
possession towards some of the objects outside expressed
as ‘my-ness’. To transcend the ego is to end all the sorrow
created by these two illusory concepts of ‘I-ness’ and ‘my-
ness’. To experience that the Consciousness in each one is
the Consciousness everywhere present, is to understand
infinite Consciousness; and this is the highest state of
Realisation where the sense of ego has totally ended.

Aṣṭāvakra accepts Gītā’s concept that the Supreme is at

once transcendental and immanent. The first line of this
verse is bodily lifted from Gītā verse, wherein Bhagavān
says: ‘With the mind harmonised by Yoga he sees the Self,
abiding in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the
same everywhere.’4

Thus recognising your oneness with the whole cosmos,

released from all tensions and conflicts, advises the sage,
‘May you be happy’.

िव ं फुर त य ेदं तर ा इव सागरे।

त वमेव न स देह मूत िव वरो भव॥७॥

viśvaṁ sphurati yatredaṁ taraṅgā iva sāgare,

tat-tvam-eva na sandehaścinmūrte vijvaro bhava. (7)

िव म् – universe; फुर त – is manifested; य – in which; इदम् –

this; तर ाः – waves; इव – like; सागरे – in the ocean; तत् – that;
वम् – you; एव – indeed; न – not; स देहः – doubt; च मूत – O! you
pure Intelligence; िव वरः – free from fever; भव – be

7. O you, pure Intelligence! In you the universe manifests

itself like waves in the ocean. Be you free from the fever of
the mind.

One of the four mighty spiritual commandments in the

Hindu Vedas is the declaration: tat tvam asi – ‘That thou
art’. This statement is resoundingly echoed in this verse of
Aṣṭāvakra. The sage instructs the student, ‘You are That
from which the apparent illusions of the world rise up, play
for a while and disappear, as the waves from the ocean. You
are that pure Intelligence (cin-mūrti).’

To realise our real nature to be the pure light of

Consciousness is to disassociate ourselves from our
identifications with our mind and, therefore, from all desires.
The outer worldly objects, by themselves, cannot bring any
agitation and fever to the mind. It is our desire to possess
and enjoy the sense objects that lends to the objects the
power and the strength to tyrannise us. When the desires
have ended, the mind suffers no more any feverish
excitements, and can have none of its terrifying deliriums.
The mind becomes calm and serenely happy.

व तात व ना मोहं कु व भोः।

ान व पो भगवाना मा वं कृते परः॥८॥

śraddhasva tāta śraddhasva nātra mohaṁ kuruṣva bhoḥ,

jñāna-svarūpo bhagavān-ātmā tvaṁ prakṛte paraḥ. (8)

व – have faith; भोः तात – O! son; व – have faith; न – not;

अ – in this; मोहम् – delusion; कु व – make; ान व पः –
Knowledge itself; भगवान् – Lord; आ मा – Self; वम् – you; कृतेः परः
– beyond nature

8. Have faith, my son, have faith! Have no delusion about

this! You are Knowledge itself. You are the Lord. You are the
Self. You are beyond nature.

It has been emphasised in the Bhagavad-gītā also that a

man of faith alone can gain the spiritual wisdom: ‘The man
who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, and who has
subdued the senses, obtains (this) Knowledge and having
obtained Knowledge he goes ere long to the supreme
peace.’5
 Here we must stop for a moment and understand the
exact import of this term faith (śraddhā). No other word in
the spiritual diction has been, perhaps, so much abused by
the organised religions of the world. Faith, as generally
understood, is a ‘blind belief’, an empty concurrence with all
half-truths! In effect ‘faith’ has come to clamp on an
unhealthy control over the intellect to question and to
investigate; to argue and to understand. This is not the
sense in which the term ‘śraddhā’ is employed in literature
of Vedānta. Śaṅkara is forced to define in the
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi indicating that the term ‘śraddhā’ only
implies the ability of the human intellect in educating itself
through study and direct diligent enquiry, in the following
words: ‘That is called the spirit of faith (śraddhā) by which
an individual understands readily the exact import of the
scriptural texts, as well as the pregnant words of advice
given by the preceptor, by which alone the reality of things
becomes manifestly clear.’6

In short, faith is a belief in what I don't know at this

moment, so that I may come to know what I merely believe
in today. Aṣṭāvakra emphasises the utter need for
maintaining brilliant enquiry, to have an alert intellect and
mind and to believe in one's own intellectual and spiritual
convictions. Without faith in oneself and in one's own goal,
self unfoldment is impossible.

In this connection, we are reminded of Yogavāsiṣṭha's

declaration and the advice: ‘You deserve to accept with an
‘Om’ all that what we are now telling you. We have for long
enquired and searched for this Truth, and you need not
enquire or discuss.’7 Have faith and accept the authority of
the mystic statements.

If this kind of enlightened attitude of faith is not

constantly maintained in our bosom, the mind will not be
quiet and serene and, therefore, the student’s meditation
would naturally become ineffectual. Mind at rest alone is the
‘peep-hole’ through which the seeker rediscovers his real
nature. Declares Mahopaniṣad: ‘That mind which is
agitationless, that is Immortality, that alone is tapas. In the
texts of Upaniṣads this is what they call as Liberation
(mokṣa).’8

गुणःै संवेि तो देह त याया त या त च।

आ मा न ग ता नाग ता िकमेनमनुशोच स॥९॥

guṇaiḥ saṁveṣṭito dehas-tiṣṭhatyāyāti yāti ca,

ātmā na gantā nāgantā kim-enam-anuśocasi. (9)

गुणःै – by the constituents of nature; संवेि तः – enclosed; देहः –

body; त त – stays; आया त – comes; या त – goes; च – and; आ मा
– Self; न – not; ग ता – goes; न – not; आग ता – comes; िकम् – why;
एनम – it; अनुशोच स – lament, mourn

9. The body composed of the constituents of nature, comes,

stays and goes away. The Self neither comes nor goes. Why,
then, do you mourn over it?

The body made of the five great elements must necessarily

go back to the elements. While the body exists, it functions
under its predominant qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas.
The body has manifested in order to supply us with our
required experiences of the outer and inner worlds. The ego
possesses the body and through it the ego enjoys the world.
In all these patterns of existence, the Self, as the pure
Consciousness, is the ‘Illuminator’ of them all. The eternal
Self never came, never played, never ended. It was, is and
shall ever be. That supreme Truth is your real nature. Then
why should you mourn over the death of your body? Should
the ocean feel miserable for all the waves that have died?

The tone of expression and the idea expressed both

remind us of the Bhagavad-gītā.9

देह त तु क पा तं ग छ व ैव वा पुनः।
व वृ ः व च वा हािन तव च मा िपणः॥१०॥

dehas-tiṣṭhatu kalpāntaṁ gacchatvadyaiva vā punaḥ,

kva vṛddhiḥ kva ca vā hānistava cinmātra-rūpiṇaḥ. (10)

देहः – body; त तु– let remain; क पा तम् – till the end of the
cycle; ग्◌ा छतु – let go; अ – today; एव – itself; वा – or; पुनः –
again; व – where; वृ ः – increase; व – where; च – and; वा –
or; हािनः – decrease; तव – of you; च मा िपणः – who are pure
Intelligence

10. Let the body last to the end of the ‘cycle’ (kalpa) or let it
go just today itself! Where is there any increase or decrease
in you, who are pure Intelligence?

The body exists and plays out in the Self, springing from the
illusions of the observing mind. The existence of the world,
or its dissolution cannot add or take away anything from the
Self; just as a post is unaffected by the appearance of the
ghost or its disappearance. Why then should a sincere
seeker ever feel afraid of death? The body has nothing to do
with the Self, which is the true nature of man.

व यन तमहा भोधौ िव वी चः वभावतः।

उदेतु वा तमायातु न ते वृ न वा तः॥११॥
tvayyananta-mahāmbhodhau viśvavīciḥ svabhāvataḥ,
udetu vāstam-āyātu na te vṛddhirna vā kṣatiḥ. (11)

व य – in you; अन तमहा भोधौ– in the infinite ocean; िव वी चः – the

waves of the universe; वभावतः – spontaneously; उदेतु – let
them rise; वा – or; अ तम् आयातु – let them subside, disappear;
न – not; ते – your; वृ ः – gain, increase; न – not; वा – or; तः –
loss

11. In you, who are the infinite ocean (of Consciousness), let
the waves of the universe spontaneously rise and disappear.
There can be no gain or loss to you.

That the universe is spontaneously rising and merging into

the ‘Self’, is a repetition of the thought already given out in
Janaka's discourse on ‘The Self Supreme’.10

Creations and dissolutions of the universes are the

illusions of the mind. They are valid only at the plane of the
ego; they have no existence at all in the state of pure
Consciousness. Let dreams come, stay and disappear. How
does it add to or take away anything from the waker?

तात च मा पोऽ स न ते भ िमदं जगत्।

अतः क य कथं कु हेयोपादेयक पना॥१२॥

tāta cinmāt-rarūpo'si na te bhinnam-idaṁ jagat,

ataḥ kasya kathaṁ kutra heyopādeya-kalpanā. (12)

तात – son; च मा पः – pure Intelligence itself; अ स – you are; न

– not; ते – from you; भ म् – different; इदम् – this; जगत् – world;
अतः – therefore; क य – whose; कथम् – how; कु – where; हेय-
उपादेय क पना – the thought of the rejectable and the
acceptable
12. O Son! You are pure Intelligence itself. This universe is
nothing different from you. Therefore, how, where and
whose can be the ideas of acceptance and rejection?

How can anyone accept or reject oneself? There is only one

infinite Self everywhere; ‘That Self am I’; then what is there
for me to accept other than myself? How can I reject myself
as where is anything other than myself?

The ideas of accepting something as real and rejecting

those that are unreal, false or delusory, are all functions of
the mind. I am the pure Intelligence; there is no mind in me.
Therefore, there is no meaning in my accepting anything as
real or rejecting anything as unreal. I alone am the Reality.
There is nothing beyond me.

In Yogavāsiṣṭha, we read : ‘In the bright hot summer

noon just as we see different colours in the sky, so too, are
the infinite powers divine, in Him who is both existence and
non-existence.’11

एक म यये शा ते चदाकाशेऽमले व य।
कुतो ज म कुतो कम कुतोऽहंकार एव च॥१३॥

ekasminn-avyaye śānte cidākāśe'male tvayi,

kuto janma kuto karma kuto'haṅkāra eva ca. (13)

एक मन् – in the one; अ यये – undecaying; शा ते – serene; चदाकाशे

– the space which is Consciousness; अमले – pure; व य – in
you; कुतः – from where; ज म – birth; कुतः – from where; कम –
activity; कुतः – from where; अहंकार – ego; एव – even; च – and

13. From where will there be birth, activity and even the ego
sense, for you who are the one, immutable, serene,
stainless, pure Consciousness?
The non-dual infinite Reality should be immutable, for
change is the signature of the limited and the many. Since
the Consciousnesss is beyond the realm of the mind, it
should be serene as none of the disturbances of the mind
can even reach the realm of the Self. The light of
Consciousness is that which illumines even the vāsanās.
Therefore, in the Self there cannot be vāsanās hence it is
indicated as stainless. ‘Thus the one, immutable, stainless,
pure Consciousness (cidākāśa ) is your real nature,’ is the
declaration of the Sage Aṣṭāvakra.

Naturally, there cannot be, in you, either birth or action

or ego – all these three are expressions of the ‘non-
apprehension of Reality’ which is called the spiritual
‘ignorance’.

The term ‘cidākāśa’ is an original phrase used with much

dexterity and daring; and in Yogavāsiṣṭha and other text-
books we find it freely copied and very readily popularised.
Space (ākāśa) is that which gives accommodation to things.
In space alone objects can exist and they can be perceived.
The space in which the worldy objects exist and in which
they are perceived is called ‘mahākāśa’. The space in which
thoughts exist and are perceivable is called ‘citta-ākāśa’and
the space of intelligence is called ‘cidākāśa’, wherein the
infinitude of the Self is intuitively perceived. In the verse,
the real nature of the student is indicated as this ‘cidākāśa’.

य वं प य स त क
ै वमेव तभाससे।
क पृथ भासते वणात् कटका दनूपुरम्॥१४॥

yat-tvaṁ paśyasi tatraikas-tvam-eva pratibhāsase,

kiṁ pṛthag-bhāsate svarṇāt kaṭakāṅgada-nūpuram. (14)
यत् – what; वम् – you; प य स – see; त – there; एकः – alone; वम् –
you; एव – verily; तभाससे – manifesting or reflecting; िकम् –
what; पृथक् – different; भासते – appears; वणात् – from gold; कटक
अ द नूपुरम् – bangles, armlets and anklets

14. You alone manifest as whatever you perceive. Do

bangles, armlets and anklets appear different from gold?

The ornaments are different in names and forms, yet they

are not different from gold, the material from which they are
made. The universe of names and forms has sprung from
the Consciousness, which is your true nature. Therefore, can
there be anything in the universe which is not yourself?

The Chāndogya-upaniṣad also declares in one of her

most famous statements: ‘Dear son, by knowing one piece
of mud, all things made of mud are understood, in fact, the
mud alone is the substance, the names and forms are mere
words.’12

In short, all effects are nothing but the cause itself in

another form. As such the universe is nothing but the
infinite Self experienced yet in another form.

अयं सोऽहमयं नाहं िवभागिम त स यज।

सवमा मे त िन य िनःसंक पः सुखी भव॥१५॥

ayaṁ so'ham-ayaṁ nāhaṁ vibhāgam-iti santyaja,

sarvam-ātmeti niścitya niḥsaṅkalpaḥ sukhī bhava. (15)

अयम् – this; सः – He; अहम् – I; अयम् – this; न – not; अहम् – I; िवभागम्

– distinction; इ त – this; स यज – giving up totally; सवम् – all;
आ मा – Self; इ त – this; िन य – realising; िनःसंक पः – free from
desire; सुखी – happy; भव – be
15. Totally give up all such distinctions as ‘I am He’ and
‘This I am not’. Consider all as the Self and be desireless
and happy.

According to Aṣṭāvakra, the transcendental Reality and the

universe of names and forms are not distinct and separate
factors. The waves themselves are nothing but the ocean
itself, in a state of disturbance. Consciousness under the
stress of desire ‘universes’ into the multiple names and
forms. Whatever their apparent nature be, they are all
nothing but the supreme Self.

When thus one has realised that the objects outside are
nothing other than one's own Self, how can that one ever
have any passion or desire? How can he yearn to possess,
to enjoy and thereby seek his satisfaction in the sense
objects? We are fascinated by the objects only when we
consider them as something different from ourselves.

In the awakened state of spiritual experience, the ṛṣis of

the Upaniṣads declare: ‘These are all nothing but the Self’13.
‘The entire universe of change is, in essence, nothing but
Brahman’14.

Therefore, the idea that ‘The Self in me is He, the

supreme Reality’, is an assertion which expresses the
‘ignorance’ of the Self ! The negations, ‘I am not the body,
or the objects outside’ is an empty childish game, the mad
blabberings of the limited, deluded ego!!

‘I am the all – there is nothing besides me. I can neither

assert my nature, nor negate anything in me. I am the one,
the all-pervading’. Having realised this State Supreme, may
you remain, without any mental oscillations of acceptance
or rejection of anything, still, calm, serene in your own Self –
be happy!
तवैवा ानतो िव ं वमेकः परमाथतः।
व ोऽ यो ना त संसारी नासंसारी च क न॥१६॥

tavaivājñānato viśvaṁ tvam-ekaḥ paramārthataḥ,

tvatto'nyo nāsti saṁsārī nāsaṁsārī ca kaścana. (16)

तव – your; एव – alone; अ ानतः – through ignorance; िव म् –

universe; वम् – you; एकः – One; परमाथतः – in reality; व ः – than
you; अ यः – other; न – not; अ त – is; संसारी – transmigratory
ego (jīva); न – not; असंसारी – non-transmigratory
(transcendental Self); च – and; क न – any

16. It is through your ‘ignorance’ alone that the universe

appears to exist. In reality you are the One. Other than you
there is no individual self (jīva) nor supreme Self (Ᾱtman).

So long as the mind functions, there is the ego, the

perceiver, who perceives the universe. For the universe,
there must be a Creator (God); for the God, there must be a
supreme Consciousness (Brahman); for the individual ego
(jīva), there must be the Consciousness that is the Self
(Ᾱtman) behind it. Thus, once we perceive the world of
plurality (jagat), we must recognise the Lord (Īśvara), the
Self (Ᾱtman) and the supreme Reality (Brahman). All these
distinctions are only to help the individual, step by step,
stage by stage, in his unfoldment to realise and awake to
the one Infinitude.

‘In reality you are the One; other than you there is
neither an individual ego (jīva) nor a supreme Self (Ᾱtman).’
Just as on awakening from a dream there is no more a
dreamer, nor a dreamworld. All have merged to become the
waker’s own mind!
 The sense of ego and its sorrow (saṁsāra) are all not
because of your equipments, but because of your
extrovertedness. Even when the equipments are there, as in
the case of great sages, when you develop the inward gaze
to recognise and experience the presence of the divine seat
of Consciousness in yourself, you are ever in Bliss. In clear
vivid words we read this very idea in the Saṅkṣepa Śārīraka:
‘Because of your extrovertedness if you are not able to
recognise your own Self, then the equipments that
constitute your form indeed becomes a painful calamity.
When this veiling of ignorance is removed, and you realise
the Self, this very same form of yours, made up of your
equipments becomes completely satisfactory.’15

ा तमा िमदं िव ं न िक िद त िन यी।

िनवासनः फू तमा ो न िक िदव शा य त॥१७॥

bhrānti-mātram-idaṁ viśvaṁ na kiñcid-iti niścayī,

nirvāsanaḥ sphūrtimātro na kiñcid-iva śāmyati. (17)

ा तमा म् – mere illusion; इदम् – this; िव म् – universe; न – not;

िक त् – anything; इ त – this; िन यी – one who understands with
certitude; िनवासनः – desireless; फू तमा ः – Intelligence itself; न
– not; िक त् – anything; इव – as if; शा य त – finds serenity

17. One who understands with certitude that this universe is

but an illusion and is nothing, becomes desireless and pure
Intelligence and finds serenity, as if nothing exists.

Through one’s own direct experience of the Self, when one

understands with certitude (niścaya) that everything else is
delusion – the Self alone is the Reality – he must thereafter
become completely desireless. How can he desire anything
when there is nothing other than himself ? Spontaneously
he must come to experience a supreme serenity of the
mind, ‘as if nothing exists’ to disturb his mind from the
outer world of objects or from the inner world of passions! A
Man of Perfection also lives in this world – the world familiar
to us, the world of enchanting sense objects. Whenever the
wise man looks out into the world, through his physical and
mental equipments, certainly, he too will be recognising the
world of objects and emotions. He recognises them, but
they cannot affect him, as his realisation that nothing else
exists but the Self, is continuous, powerful and constant.

एक एव भवा भोधावासीद त भिव य त।

न ते ब धोऽ त मो ो वा कृतकृ यः सुखं चर॥१८॥

eka eva bhavāmbhodhāvāsīd-asti bhaviśyati,

na te bandho'sti mokṣo vā kṛtakṛtyaḥ sukhaṁ cara. (18)

एकः – one; एव – only; भवा भोधौ – in the ocean of the existence;

आसीत् – was; अ त – is; भिव य त – will be; न – not; ते – your; ब धः
– bondage; अ त – is; मो ः – Liberation; वा – or; कृतकृ यः –
contented, fulfilled; सुखम् – happily; चर – roam about

18. In the ocean of existence the one Self only was, is and
will be. There is neither bondage nor Liberation for you. Live
fulfilled and roam about happily.

The names and forms are different to any casual observer;

yet, a little deeper contemplation can explain to us that
individually every object exists – the tree exists, the animal
exists, the man exists, I exist, you exist, he exists. The
'Existence' is apparently a common factor in you, me and
him. Individuals may be different from each other, the tree
is not the animal; the animal is not the human. But the
‘Existence’ in a stone, in a flower, in an animal, in a plant, in
the star and in the sun and moon seems to be one and the
same. There is one Existence (sattā) in which things ‘exist’.
This Existence is the expression of the infinite Reality behind
names and forms and thereafter, It was, is and will be.

This one Self is your real nature. As such there cannot be

for you either bondage or Liberation. You alone are !! What
can then bind you? From what to liberate yourself ? Do you
mean to say that you have bound yourself with yourself, in
yourself, by yourself!! Bondage (bandha) and Liberation
(Mokṣa) have both no meaning at all to one who has
realised his oneness with the Self. ‘Life, thus fulfilled’
Aṣṭāvakra recommends, ‘roam about happily’.

मा स पिवक पा यां च ं ोभय च मय।

उपशा य सुखं त वा म यान दिव हे॥१९॥

mā saṅkalpa-vikalpābhyāṁ cittaṁ kṣobhaya cinmaya,

upaśāmya sukhaṁ tiṣṭha svātmanyānanda-vigrahe. (19)

मा – not; स पिवक पा याम् – by affirming and negating; च म् –

mind; ोभय – disturb; च मय – O! pure Intelligence; उपशा य –
silencing; सुखम् – happily; त – abide; वा मिन – in your own
Self; आन द िव हे – in the embodiment of Bliss

19. O pure Intelligence! Do not disturb your mind by

affirming and negating things. Silencing them, abide happily
in your own Self, which is an embodiment of the Bliss
Absolute.

You are by nature nothing but the pure infinite

Consciousness. There is nothing for you to affirm nor is
there anything for you to negate. In the Self there are
neither the bodies nor the mind nor the intellect. These
belong to the realm of delusion. To the awakened Self, there
is nothing to assert or to negate. Therefore, ‘silencing them’
live happily in your divine spiritual nature. As the divine
Spirit you are a mass of Bliss. None of the disturbances of
the pluralistic world can rise to shatter the one light of
Consciousness.

In Yogavāsiṣṭha, the sage asks : ‘The idea of ‘I am’ takes you

to bondage; the idea ‘I am not’ leads you to Liberation. This
is what the bondage is, which is in your own hands. Why
feel incompetent to reach freedom?’16

It is in your own free will to liberate. Yogavāsiṣṭha adds:

‘The idea of ‘this is mine’ takes you to bondage; the idea ‘I
am not’ leads you to Liberation. This is what bondage is,
which is in your own hands. Why feel you are in ‘ignorance’?
17 There is nothing for you to affirm or negate. Therefore

end this agitation. You are the Self!

यजैव यानं सव मा िक िद धारय।

आ मा वंमु एवा स क िवमृ य क र य स॥२०॥

tyajaiva dhyānaṁ sarvatra mā kiñcid-hṛdi dhāraya,

ātmā tvaṁ-mukta evāsi kiṁ vimṛśya kariṣyasi. (20)

यज – give up; एव – even; यानम् – contemplation; सव –

everywhere; मा – not; िक त् – anything; िद – in the mind; धारय
– hold; आ मा – Self; वम् – you; मु ः – free; एव – indeed; अ स –
are; िकम् – what; िवमृ य – thinking; क र य स – will do

20. Completely give up even contemplation and hold

nothing in your mind. You are indeed the Self, ever free.
What will you do by meditation?

To one who has slept, there can be no more any ‘attempt to

sleep’. To the sleeper there is no more any anxiety to sleep,
he is already asleep. Similarly, once you have realised that
‘You are indeed the Self, ever free’ thereafter, to think, to
contemplate or to meditate upon the nature of the Self,
would be to recrystallise your ego and disturb your
Experience Divine, with the flutterings of your mind.

In short, to give up meditation through meditation is the

highest meditation! There is no greater meditation than the
meditationless-meditation. It is infinite fulfilment. It is the
end of the way and the last leap into the goal. Here yoga
ends. The dream of the ego has rolled away. The Self, as the
Self, revels in the Self. The meditator has become the
meditated. Man has stepped onto the throne of God!

This is no poetic exaggeration of Aṣṭāvakra. Yogavāsiṣṭha

also roars the same naked truth: ‘Self being infinite,
delusion in It is impossible; sādhanā to realise the
changeless mass of Consciousness is indeed a delusion
only.’18

1 ādau śamadamaprāyairguṇairśiṣyaṁ viśodhayet,

paścātsarvamidaṁ brahma śuddhastvamiti bodhayet. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-4.39.23

2 iti te jñānamākhyātaṁ guhyādguhyataraṁ mayā,

vimṛśyaitadaśeṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru. – Bhagavad-gītā-18.63

3mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandhamokṣayoḥ,

bandhāya viṣayāsaktaṁ muktyai nirviṣayaṁ smṛtam. – Amṛtbindu Upaniṣad-2

4 sarvabhūtasthamātmānaṁ sarvabhūtāni cātmani,

īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-6.29

5 śraddhāvāṁllabhate jñānaṁ tatparaḥ saṁyatendriyaḥ,

jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śāntimacireṇādhigacchati. – Bhagavad-gītā-4.39

6 śāstrasya guruvākyasya satyabuddhyavadhāraṇā,

sā śraddhā kathitā sadbhiryayā vastūpalabhyate. – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-25
7 yadidaṁ vacmi tatsarvaṁ omityādātumarhasi,
asmābhiściramanviṣṭaṁ nātra kāryā vicāraṇā. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-7.7.5

8 yattu cañcalatāhīnaṁ tanmano'mṛtamucyate,

tadeva c tapaḥ śāstrasiddhānte mokṣa ucyate. – Mahopaniṣad-4.101

9 Bhagavad-gītā – 2.11 to 13 and 16 to 18

10 Aṣṭāvakra-gītā – 6.2

11 vicitravarṇatā yadvad dṛśyate kaṭhinātape,

vicitraśaktitā tadvad deveśe sadasanmayī. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-4.11.53

12 yathā somyaikena mṛtpiṇḍena sarvaṁ mṛṇmayaṁ vijñātam̐

syād vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttiketyeva satyam.
– Chāndogya-upaniṣad-6.1.4

13 ātmaiva idaṁ jagat sarvam.

14 sarvaṁ brahmaiva jagat.

15 tava rūpameva tava duḥkhakaraṁ yadi tanna paśyasi bahirmukhadhīḥ,

tava rūpameva tava tṛptikaraṁ yadi tatprapaśyasi nivartya tamaḥ.
– Saṅkṣepa Śārīraka

16 ahamityeva bandhāy nāhamityeva muktaye,

etāvanmātrake bandhe svāyatte kimaśaktatā. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-7.25.20

17 mamedamiti bandhāya nāhamityeva muktaye,

etāvanmātrake vastunyātmāyatte kimajñatā. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-7.25.22

18 anantatvāt anantasya bhrāntirnāsti ca samprati,

abhyāsa bhrāntirakhilaṁ mahācidghanamakṣatam. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-7.190.37
 Chapter – 16
Self-abidance – Instructions
Introduction

If the previous chapter is a very significant lesson for the

highest students in Vedānta, the present chapter is the most
profitable one for the students of a lesser order, who are yet
striving to come out of their delusory misconceptions. Here,
in this chapter, we have some special instructions, reliable
tips for the great race. Sage Aṣṭāvakra suggests some
sacred means for Self-abidance.

To end in the knowledge of the Self, all perceptions of the

world, and to destroy all our desires for sense objects, is the
unique state of Liberation. Many fail to get established in
this grand state of Consciousness, though it must be
admitted, very many seekers do get some exotic glimpses
of the blissful state. What cheats them of their Self-
abidance? Why this tragedy in the life of some seekers?
Aṣṭāvakra gives us a very satisfactory explanation in this
chapter. He also provides us with some very effective tips to
correct our ways, to avoid the pitfalls in the path and make
a pleasant dash to our spiritual Goal Divine.

The world is recognised and we communicate with the

world by our mind. When this mind is merged in the Self,
our world perceptions must totally disappear into the vision
of supreme Self, the all-pervading Consciousness.
Effortlessness is the essence of the attitude of a Man of
Perfection. He is a master idler (ālasya dhurīṇaḥ), in the
eyes of men of the world.

The instructions contained in these verses are really

most precious tips for the evolved sādhakas who are yet
struggling in the higher levels of meditation. These are
meant for those who seem to get themselves, again and
again, forcibly necked out from the blazing gateway of the
heart's entrance! This chapter is most effective for those
students who jerk themselves into their ego sense at the
highest moments of their meditation, all by themselves,
most involuntarily.

अ ाव उवाच
आच व णु वा तात नानाशा ा यनेकशः।
तथािप न तव वा यं सव िव मरणा ते॥१॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca

ācakṣva śruṇu vā tāta nānā-śāstrāṇyanekaśaḥ,

tathāpi na tava svāsthyaṁ sarva-vismaraṇād-ṛte. (1)

आच व – speak; णु – hear; वा – or; तात – son; नाना शा ा ण –

diverse scriptures; अनेकशः – many times and many ways;
तथािप – still; न – not; तव – your; वा यम् – Self-abidance; सव
िव मरणात् – through forgetting all; ऋते – except

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. My son! You may speak many times in many ways, upon

the various scriptures, or hear them. But you cannot get
established in the Self, unless you forget all.
As an absolutist, Sage Aṣṭāvakra, does not recognise the
existence of anything as God or the universe or the ego
other than the one transcendental Self. In the infinite Self, in
Its homogeneous state, there are no objects or thoughts.
The perception of anything, be it or within without the
bosom, can be only the delusory imaginations of a confused
mind.

Therefore, the Teacher says, ‘You may study all the

scriptures of the world, nay, even become so proficient in
the contents of the Upaniṣads that you give eloquent
discourses upon all of them; yet, you have only understood
the word meaning of the scriptures and not the Truth that is
indicated by these brilliant statements of the scriptures.
Until you realise this magnificent state of the peaceful Self,
Self-abidance (svāsthyam) cannot be gained.’

In the Self there is no universe of plurality. Hence, the

seeker must learn to forget all the memories of illusory
objects experienced in the past. This total forgetfulness
(sarva vismaraṇa) alone is the ‘way’. Where the meditator
forgets his body, mind and intellect and his world of objects,
emotions and thoughts, the perceiver-ego in him ends, and
this is the point wherein the ego disappears into the vision
of the Reality. Even the knowledge of the scriptures is only a
memory; it also crystallises the ego.

In fact, the ego itself is ‘a bundle of memories’. If a

stranger comes and asks you, ‘Who are you?’ – meaning,
‘Please explain the individuality in you’, what you would talk
from your autobiographical story, are all nothing but
memories. Wherein all memories are lost, while in sleep,
swooning, under chloroform or even in the state of
madness, therein the ego ends.
 Today our mind is constantly preoccupied with the
memories of our past experiences and, therefore, we have
forgotten our real nature. This is the state of ‘bondage’. The
state of ‘freedom’ is the reverse of it. In that state you are
not able to grasp any of your phenomenal experiences,
because you have merged into the higher plane of
Consciousness. The dream ends, when the waking comes.

The criticism of the mere book knowledge of paṇḍitas

hinted here in the verse echoes the loud condemnation of
mere book knowledge in the Kaṭhopaniṣad: ‘This Ᾱtman
cannot be attained by study of the Veda, nor by intelligence,
nor by much hearing, It is gained by him who chooses It
alone; to him this Ᾱtman reveals Its true nature.’1

The same idea is vividly put in Pañcadaśī: ‘An intelligent

student after studying the text and after reflecting upon its
ideas, again and again, he must throw away all texts, as the
seeker of the grains throws away the husk.’2

Here ‘throw away’ means forget the letter of the text,

and accept and live the spirit of the text.

भोगं कमसमा ध वा कु िव तथािप ते।

च ं िनर तसवाशम यथ रोच य य त॥२॥
bhogaṁ karma-samādhiṁ vā kuru vijña tathāpi te,
cittaṁ nirasta-sarvāśam-atyarthaṁ rocayiṣyati. (2)

भोगम् – enjoyment; कम – work; समा धम् – mental concentration;

वा – or; कु – do; िव – O! wise one; तथािप – yet; ते – your; च म् –
mind; िनर तसवाशम् – in which all desires are extinguished;
अ यथम् – that which is beyond objects; रोच य य त – will you
yearn for
2. O wise one! You may enjoy the world or undertake work
or practise mental concentration (samādhi). But your mind
will still yearn for your own true nature, which is beyond all
objects and in which all desires are extinguished.

The very fact that every man is impatient with his desires
and wants to fulfil them shows the inherent demand of the
human mind to end desiring and go beyond it. The mind
getting restless for the possession and enjoyment of an
object is called ‘mind desiring for that object’. This condition
of the mind invites tremendous disturbances and drags the
individual away from his real nature of peace and
tranquillity. Confused and confounded the individualised ego
struggles hard to acquire and possess the objects of his
desire. When he thus fulfils the desire, there is a burst of
peace and joy and a foolish individual attributes this sense
of satisfaction experienced in him to the ‘object’ gained!

Viewed more scientifically, it would become easily clear

that by the fulfilment of a desire the mind has become calm
and our real spiritual nature is no more veiled by the
thought curtain that was raised by the mind in agitation.

This silent and eternal yearning of the human mind to

realise its real nature is the explanation why no man is
totally satisfied by all that he possesses. Even if he were to
possess the whole universe, still there is in him a sense of
discontentment, a bitter taste of non-fulfilment! Keeping this
fundamental idea in mind, here the saintly Teacher declares
that a man may engage himself in sensuous enjoyments or
in fulfilling his duties or spend his time in a life of secular or
sacred contemplation.

Note carefully that here ‘enjoyment’ is at the level of

mind, ‘work’ at the level of the body and ‘contemplation’ at
the level of the intellect. In spite of his so fully engaging
himself at all the levels of his personality, even if he be
totally successful in all of them, still there will be a residual
sense of imperfection, ever nibbling at the vitals of his
heart, providing for him a lingering sense of disappointment
and dejection.

Man is never satisfied until he rediscovers his real nature

beyond all equipments and their objects of pleasure, beyond
all passions and desires.

आयासात् सकलो दःु खी नैनं जाना त क न।

अनेनव
ै ोपदेशेन ध यः ा नो त िनवृ तम्॥३॥
āyāsāt sakalo duḥkhī nainaṁ jānāti kaścana,
anenaivopadeśena dhanyaḥ prāpnoti nirvṛtim. (3)

आयासात् – from efforts; सकलः – all; दःु खी – miserable; न – not;

एनम् – this; जाना त – knows; क न – anyone; अनेन – by this; एव –
alone; उपदेशेन – instruction; ध यः – blessed one; ा नो त –
attains; िनवृ तम् – Liberation

3. Because they exert themselves, all are unhappy. But

none (knows) appreciates this. Through this instruction
alone the blessed one attains Liberation.

When each member of the community is to scramble in a

society to fulfil their unbridled gush of desires, each will
have to step on the toes of the many and the many
unconsciously are compelled to dig at the ribs of each one
in the community! Every individual is, in honest freedom,
striving to discover his happiness. Unfortunately, in the
world, desirable objects are less in number and the desirers
are many. If hundred people desire one and the same
object, it is evidently clear that ninety-nine of them will have
to end in disappointment. This daily struggle, artificially
created by the total stupidity of the entire community, has
been glorified in the modern secular age, by a glamorous
term ‘healthy, competitive life’. Those who stand apart and
with their peaceful bosom, watch the maddening cruelty of
this meaningless struggle, they are compelled to call the
modern life of self-exhausting competitions as a ‘rat race in
a trap’. In whatever way we may glorify this way of life, in
essence, it is but the glorification of a tragedy!!

The exhausting exertions of life make everyone unhappy

and the paradox is that none understands this. We are
reminded of words of the Yogavāsiṣṭha: ‘In his ignorance of
the supreme state, ever exhausting himself in activities,
tired with his constant anxiety for results, alas! man never
contemplates upon the Reality. There is no greater state of
existence than the silence of the mind, wherein all vāsanās
have been renounced.’3

This instruction is more than sufficient for any intelligent

student to understand where the harbour of life is and how
to pilot the vessel of his life, away from the treacherous sea
of passions, into the safety and security of the Self.

यापारे ख ते य तु िनमेषो मेषयोरिप।

त याल यधुरीण य सुखं ना य य क य चत्॥४॥
vyāpāre khidyate yastu nimeṣonmeṣayorapi,
tasyālasya-dhurīṇasya sukhaṁ nānyasya kasyacit. (4)

यापारे – in the activity; ख ते – feels pain; यः – who; तु – indeed;

िनमेष-उ मेषयोः – of closing and opening the eyelids (winking);
अिप – even; त य-आल यधुरीण य – of that master idler; सुखम् –
happiness; न – not; अ य य – other; क य चत् – of anyone
4. Happiness belongs to that master idler who feels
distressed even at the effort of opening and closing his
eyes! It belongs to none else.

Activities in the outer world are expressions of inner thought

disturbances. To the desireless, there is no ‘thought flow’; to
such an individual, who has transcended the mind, no
physical activities are ever possible.

He is in the Self, living the blissful, Infinite. He is

unconscious of his body, nor is his consciousness disturbed
by the perception of the world of plurality. This is the state
of samādhi. Spontaneously to maintain this experience as a
constant way of life is a rare privilege of the few and such a
spiritual state is termed in terminology of Vedānta as
‘sahaja samādhi’. In this state of abidance in Self, to initiate
a thought is the most painful fall and hence it is stated here:
‘Even winking is an insufferable affliction to him’.

From the standpoint of a sweating labourer, who is

working in the midday sun, a doctor in his comfortable air-
conditioned operation theatre is an idler! And the Chief
Justice of the country, who is working only for five days of
the week and perhaps four hours a day, is an escapist
getting exorbitant pay for almost no work at all!!

From the standpoint of the noisy politician or a busy

commercial agent or a restless social worker, a scientist or a
philosopher may appear to be an idler! The subtler the field
of investigation, the more the intellect and the mind has to
function in single pointed concentration and the body then
seems to relax with no apparent activity outside. From the
gross viewpoint of the thoughtless majority, all such
physical relaxations are labelled as idleness.
 Thus viewed, a mystic meditator, at the seat of his
meditation experiencing the infinite tranquillity or the
transcendental state, should certainly be considered as the
‘master idler’. A wheel turning on its oiled ball bearing at a
tremendous velocity of thousands of revolutions per second
would appear to the human eye as inert and motionless,
while the slow moving water wheel would appear as
constantly in action!

In the most intense activity is an illusion of inaction. In

this sense, a man in samādhi would be considered in any
society of vigorous material activities as a ‘colossal idler’
(ālasya dhurīṇaḥ), to whom even involuntary winking of his
eyelids is an agony, a death pang!! But we will never
understand that this genius of idleness abides in the
absolute aloneness of the Self Divine.

इदं कृतिमदं ने त ैमु ं यदा मनः।

धमाथकाममो ेषु िनरपे ं तदा भवेत्॥५॥
idaṁ kṛtamidaṁ neti dvandvair-muktaṁ yadā manaḥ,
dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣeṣu nirapekṣaṁ tadā bhavet. (5)

इदम् – this; कृतम् – done; इदम् – this; न – not; इ त – this; ैः –

from the pairs of opposites; मु म् – freed; यदा – when; मनः –
mind; धमाथकाममो ेषु – in righteousness (work of religious
merit), wealth (worldly prosperity), desire (sensual
enjoyment) and Liberation (spiritual emancipation); िनरपे म् –
indifferent; तदा – then; भवेत् – becomes

5. When the mind is free from such pairs of opposites as

‘this is done’ and ‘this is not yet done’, it becomes
indifferent to righteousness, wealth, desire and Liberation.
So long as we are conditioned by and functioning in the
mind, we cannot escape the plurality of experiences. There
cannot be joy without sorrow and sorrow has no meaning
without joy. A white dot on a white paper is not perceptible.
In order to recognise whiteness there must be a black
background; a black spot against a white background alone
is perceivable. Thus heat and cold, joy and sorrow and such
other pairs of opposites are all not quite contrary and
different factors but they are the two ‘poles’ of the same
experience. We cannot ever have a magnet without a south
and a north pole!

On transcending the mind, these relative fields of

experiences are transcended and to such an individual there
are no more any ‘goals’ to be reached.

In the Hindu way of life, we have already mentioned

earlier, the ‘goals’ to be aspired for, in different stages of
man's growth, are laid out as (1) righteousness (work of
religious merit), (2) wealth (worldly prosperity), (3) desire
fulfilments (sensual enjoyment) and (4) Liberation (spiritual
emancipation). To one who is living in the Self, all these
worldly goals have no meaning or purpose. He has no more
duties to, nor has he any rights in, the social systems of
human communities. There cannot be a duty without desire;
he has become desireless. If he is served by the world, it is
only for his wisdom and clarity of vision – the state of
perfection in which he revels in his higher Consciousness.

िवर ो िवषय े ा रागी िवषयलोलुपः।

हमो िवहीन तु न िवर ो न रागवान्॥६॥
virakto viṣaya-dveṣṭā rāgī viṣaya-lolupaḥ,
graha-mokṣa-vihīnastu na virakto na rāgavān. (6)
िवर ः – not-sensual, unattached; िवषय े ा – one who has
aversion for sense objects; रागी – attached; िवषयलोलुपः – one
who hankers after sense objects; हमो िवहीनः – one who does
not accept or reject; तु – but; न – not; िवर ः – unattached; न –
not; रागवान् – attached, sensual

6. One who has aversion for sense objects is considered as

'not-sensual', and one who covets them is ‘sensual’. But he
who does not accept or reject is neither 'sensual' nor 'not-
sensual'.

From the standpoint of a Man of Perfection, since he is

awakened to the pure Consciousness, there is no world of
plurality nor a mind in him that should consciously accept
the world or reject it. The play of the mind in the world of
objects, with passion and lust, is called sensuality. When the
mind abhors the sense objects and rebounds from them,
then the mind is ‘not-sensual’. When there are no objects
perceivable, nor is there a perceiving mind, there can
neither be acceptance nor rejection, neither can you label
such an individual as ‘sensuous’ nor as ‘not-sensuous’.

हेयोपादेयता तावत् संसार िवटपा ु रः।

पृहा जीव त याव ै िन वचारदशा पदम्॥७॥
heyopādeyatā tāvat saṁsāra viṭapāṅkuraḥ,
spṛhā jīvati yāvadvai nirvicāra-daśāspadam. (7)

हेेयोपादेयता – the sense of acceptance and aversion; तावत् – so

long; संसारिवटपा ु रः – the branch and sprout of saṁsāra; पृहा –
desire; जीव त – lives; यावत् – as long as; वै – indeed; िन वचार
दशा पदम् – the seat of the state of non-discrimination
7. As long as desire, which is the root of the state of non-
discrimination, exists, so long there will indeed be the sense
of acceptance and aversion which are the branch and sprout
of the tree of saṁsāra.

We are reminded of the brilliant examination, of the ‘path of

fall’ of man through careless mental life, in the Bhagavad-
gītā: ‘When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them
arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire arises
anger; from anger comes delusion; from delusion loss of
memory; from loss of memory the destruction of
discrimination; from destruction of discrimination he
perishes.4

Desires are the very springs of non-discrimination,

inasmuch as the mind that is stormed by desires loses its
ability to judge the situations correctly. When our
understanding is weak, we will be tossed about in the
confusion of acceptance and aversion, likes and dislikes,
towards the available objects around us. Aṣṭāvakra
describes here that the entire tree of worldly life (saṁsāra)
stems forth from desires; the branches and twigs of the
‘tree of life’ are all constituted of the individual's likes and
dislikes, love and aversion.

वृ ौ जायते रागो िनवृ ौ ेष एव िह।

िन ो बालव ीमानेवमेव यव थतः॥८॥
pravṛttau jāyate rāgo nivṛttau dveṣa eva hi,
nirdvandvo bālavad-dhīmān-evam-eva vyavasthitaḥ. (8)

वृ ौ – in activity; जायते – is born; रागः – attachment; िनवृ ौ – in

abstention; ेषः – aversion; एव – surely; िह – indeed; िन ः –
free from the pairs of opposites; बालवत् – like a child; धीमान् –
the wise man; एवम् – thus; एव – indeed; यव थतः – is
established

8. Activity begets attachment and abstention from it

generates aversion. The wise man is free from the pairs of
opposites, like a child and indeed, is well-established in the
Self.

Without desire activity is impossible. The more we act in a

field, our desires in that field increase. Mental
entanglements with the world outside are attachment. Thus
‘activity begets attachment’.

Certain fields of activities are rejected by us because we

know that they are not conducive to us. This rejection or
abstention implies our aversion towards certain kinds of
experiences. The liberated is free from all pairs of opposites;
he has neither attachment nor aversion. He lives in the
infinite bliss of the Self and, therefore, he meets life head-
on, as it comes to greet him! He neither runs after objects,
nor runs away from them. Such a man is well-established in
the Self Divine.

Here Aṣṭāvakra uses the very familiar and popular simile

used to describe a wise man, ‘like a child’. In almost all the
scriptures this simile is used to explain the attitude of a Man
of Perfection in his dealings with the world around him. This
is to be carefully analysed and understood. If once we
remove our sentimental prejudices and come to judge
scientifically, it must be confessed that a child is an idiot, as
it has not yet developed its powers of judgement and its
faculty of rational thinking. To compare a wise man to a
child is, therefore, obviously unhappy, unbecoming. But in
all scriptures we find it repeated; then, there must be, for it,
a deeper and valid significance.
 A child expresses both anger and love according to its
mood of the moment. But the child immediately forgets its
earlier mood; meaning, the child refuses to poison the
present moment with the memories of its past moments! In
short, a wise man, like a child, meets every moment afresh;
he never allows the memories of the past to muddy his
present nor does a wise man break the harmony of the
present with the discordant notes of his own anxiety for the
future. Moment-to-moment he lives happily, dynamically,
boldly facing his circumstances around him and his moods
within. It is in this sense that we must understand a wise
man’s life, when it is described as ‘like a child’.

हातुिम छ त संसारं रागी दःु ख जहासया।

वीतरागो िह िनदःख
ु त म िप न ख त॥९॥
hātum-icchati saṁsāraṁ rāgī duḥkha-jihāsayā,
vītarāgo hi nirduḥkhas-tasminnapi na khidyati. (9)

हातुम् – to renounce; इ छ त – desires; संसारम् – world; रागी – one

who is attached; दःु ख जहासया – wishing to avoid sorrow; वीतरागः
– one who is free from attachment; िह – indeed; िनदःखः ु – free
from misery; त मन् – therein; अिप – even; न – not; ख त – feels
miserable

9. One who is attached to the world, wants to renounce it in

order to avoid its miseries; but one without attachment is
free from sorrow and does not feel miserable even in the
world.

The general notion of the thoughtless majority is that they

are suffering because of the world. The world is constituted
of inert matter and the objects outside can really never
convey, all by themselves, any misery or joy to man's mind.
An object can give us joy only when it is conducive to our
mind; when an object is contrary to our mental demand,
that object gives us sorrow. To a smoker cigarette is a joy; to
the non-smoker that very same cigarette is a sorrow.

It is the human mind's valuation, demands and cravings

that lend the power and the might to the inert objects to
molest man with their joys and sorrows. An ordinary worldly
man, living his egocentric life of passions and desires, feels
exhausted and shattered by the miseries that are supplied
by the world of circumstances around him. These repeated
lashes of sorrows and tragedies goad man to renounce the
world and seek a more satisfactory and happy condition of
existence, wherein he can feel a better sense of fulfilment.

A Man of Perfection has no demand or desire and

therefore, no attachment with the world around him. When
he lives in perfect detachment, there is an extra inner
freedom of the mind and the world around him must then
fail to convey to him either joy or sorrow. With his bosom
emptied of the monstrous ego sense, he lives fully in his
inner happiness, under all conditions and circumstances. A
wise man, thus abiding in his Self, is unattached to the
world of objects and beings. Even in hell he cannot be
miserable; the Bliss in him is infinite.

य या भमानो मो ेऽिप देहेऽिप ममता तथा।

न च ानी न वा योगी केवलं दःु खभागसौ॥१०॥
yasyābhimāno mokṣe'pi dehe'pi mamatā tathā,
na ca jñānī na vā yogī kevalaṁ duḥkhabhāgasau. (10)

य य – whose; अ भमानः – vanity, ego sense; मो े – in Liberation;

अिप – even; देहे – in the body; अिप – even; ममता – sense of
possessiveness or mine-ness; तथा – also; न – not; च – and;
ानी – wise; न – not; वा – or; योगी – yogin; केवलम् – only; दःु खभाक् –
sufferer of misery; असौ – he

10. He who has an ego sense even towards Liberation and

he who considers even his body as his own, he is neither a
jñānī nor a yogin. He is merely a sufferer of misery.

Sense of ‘doership’ and ‘enjoyership’ together constitute the

ego and so long as the ego revels in the bosom of a man, he
cannot have any spiritual vision or divine experience. The
very vanity that he is a spiritual seeker or that he has
spiritual experiences crystallises his ego sense and so he
cannot enter into the total state of absolute Bliss. Similarly,
if there is a vague sense of possession of the body and even
a dim anxiety for its security and comfort, the consequent
sense of limitations, fattens the ‘ego’ and the experience
transcendental gets clouded off immediately!

Aṣṭāvakra declares that when one has the ego sense and
the self-conceit towards Liberation – ‘I am liberated’ – or
when one has a sense of possession even towards his body
– ‘this is my body’ – such an individual is neither a jñānī nor
a yogin. As he has not freed himself from his sense of ‘I-
ness’ and ‘my-ness’, he should get necessarily tossed about,
by his own likes and dislikes, in a world of restless miseries.

हरो य प
ु दे ा ते ह रः कमलजोऽिप वा।
तथािप न तव वा यं सव िव मरणा ते॥११॥
haro yadyupadeṣṭā te hariḥ kamalajo'pi vā,
tathāpi na tava svāsthyaṁ sarva-vismaraṇād-ṛte. (11)
हरः – Śiva; यिद – if; उपदे ा – instructor; ते – your; ह रः – Viṣṇu;
कमलजः – lotus born, Creator Brahmā; अिप – even; वा – or; तथािप
– yet; न – not; तव – your; वा यम् – abidance in the Self; सव
िव मरणात् ऋते – without forgetting all

11. Even if Śiva, Viṣṇu or the lotus born Creator – Brahmā –

be your instructor, yet, unless you forget all, you cannot
achieve abidance in the Self.

There is no meaning in complaining about the quality and

ability of the spiritual Teachers. Their capacity to convey
experiences to the students are limited and the grace lies
not in the Guru but in the students themselves. The seekers
themselves block their minds from the flood of spiritual
grace that reaches them from their Teachers. This blockage
is built up by the seekers, own memories of the past
experiences in the world of plurality. We had already shown
earlier that the bundle of all one’s memories together
constitutes the ‘ego’.

Unless these are obliterated, destroyed and discarded,

the ego cannot be eliminated and the flight to the infinite
Self can never happen. In order to emphasise this idea,
Aṣṭāvakra here exclaims that even if you get direct
instructions and guidance from the Trinity themselves, yet,
the student cannot awake to the higher plane of Godhood
unless he, himself, cuts off his attachments to his past
memories.

Yogavāsiṣṭha exclaims: ‘Even Lord Mādhava cannot give

wisdom to the one who has not contemplated upon the Self,
even though he may be one who has for long worshipped
the Lord and is one who has supreme devotion for the
Lord.’5
1 nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena,
yamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyastasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām.
– Kaṭhopaniṣad-1.2.23

2 granthamabhyasya medhāvī jñānavijñānatatparaḥ

palālamiva dhānyārthī tyajet granthamaśeṣataḥ. – Pañcadaśī-1.5.46

3 ajñānātaparamārthena kriyāmātre ca tiṣṭhati,

phalakārpaṇyayuktena puṁsā tattvaṁ na cintyate. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-3.96.52
…………………………………
santyaktavāsanānmaunādṛte nāstyuttamaṁ padam. – Yogavāsiṣṭha

4 dhyāyato viṣayānpuṁsaḥ saṅgasteṣūpajāyate,

saṅgātsañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmātkrodho'bhijāyate.
krodhādbhavati saṁmohaḥ saṁmohatsmṛtivibhramaḥ,
smṛtibhraṁśād buddhināśo buddhināśātpraṇaśyati. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.62.63

5 ciramārādhito'pyeṣa paramaprītimānapi,
nāvicāravato jñānaṁ dātuṁ śaknoti mādhavaḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.43.10
 Chapter 17
Aloneness of the Self
Introduction

The rhythm in the thought development here adds an

enchanting extra beauty to the chapter. Verse after verse
adds to the total picture of a Man of Perfection living amidst
us and yet totally unaffected by the endless miseries, which
we are all destined to suffer in this world. Though such
descriptions of physical behaviours, mental attitudes and
intellectual reactions of a Man of Perfection to the world of
objects, emotions and thoughts are met with in our
literature of Upaniṣad, they are unfortunately lying very
much scattered in the gardens of the Vedas.

Bhagavān Vyāsa did collect them and Lord Kṛṣṇa tied

them up into an attractive bouquet and presented it to the
Pāṇḍava prince in the battlefield of Mahābhārata, during the
close of the second discourse, in His immortal Bhagavad-
gītā. Here we find in this chapter Aṣṭāvakra strings these
ideas together, not into a bouquet to be held in the hand or
kept in a vase, but as a garland for the student to wear
constantly around his neck!

This chapter sings a hymn to the aloneness of the Self

(kaivalya). The one blissful Self envelopes all. In that state
of Bliss, one who has awakened to the pure Consciousness
finds that all his desires have ended; all goals have been
reached; even his anxiety for Liberation ceases. His mind
rolls away; all its agitations suddenly calm themselves into
an infinite dynamic peace all by themselves,
spontaneously!! The body and the senses halt in their
functions. Far beyond all traces of identification with the
body, mind and intellect, calm and serene, the seeker now
comes to experience the kaivalya state of the Self, all-
pervading and immutable.

To extol this state of Self-realisation and also to

encourage others to walk this noble path of seeking the Self,
the sage vividly paints here the nature of Man of Wisdom.
The chapter expounds the fabulous rewards enjoyed by the
man who has unfolded himself to experience the infinite
Self. Here is a complete word picture of the Man of
Perfection, in a twenty poetic strokes, on the canvas of the
student's mind, held steady in his deep meditations.

अ ाव उवाच

तेन ानफलं ा ं योगा यासफलं तथा।

तृ ः व छे यो िन यमेकाक रमते तु यः॥१॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca

tena jñāna-phalaṁ prāptaṁ yogābhyāsa-phalaṁ tathā,

tṛptaḥ svacchendriyo nityam-ekākī ramate tu yaḥ. (1)

तेन – by whom; ानफलम् – fruit of knowledge; ा म् – has

gained; योगअ यासफलम् – the fruit of practice of yoga; तथा – as
well as; तृ ः – contented; व छे यः – purified in his senses;
िन यम् – ever; एकाक – alone; रमते – revels; तु – indeed; यः – who

Aṣṭāvakra said:
1. He has gained the fruit of knowledge as well as the fruit
of practice of yoga, who, contented and purified in his
senses, ever revels in his 'aloneness' indeed.

Until the seeker gets awakened to this transcendental state

of pure Awareness, neither his jñāna nor his yoga is fulfilled.
Seeking is fulfilled only in gaining the sought. In its great
awakening, only when the ego merges into the infinite Self,
where nothing else exists, in the state of aloneness is the
goal reached, the destination arrived, the supreme state of
total satisfaction gained. In this awakening alone, can all
seeking end.

Describing the approach to this gateway of the state of

‘perfection and narrating the experience of aloneness’
therein, with a unique beauty of an arresting drama,
Prahlāda sings in Yogavāsiṣṭha. Prahlāda describes the
experience of his mind as it gets dissolved into samādhi:
‘Lo! my mind has expanded even beyond the Brahmaloka to
embrace the Reality and even now, it is still expanding. I
cannot call it back again now anymore.....’1

We must carefully note that even at this moment

Prahlāda is still a saṁsārīn, because he is aware of his
mind's expansion and he still claims that he is a mind; he
has still the 'ego' in him. This is the state of 'savikalpa
samādhi'; residual ego is here only panting in its death
agony, but not yet dead!

In the final stage Yogavāsiṣṭha, declares the mystic words

of the perfect Master, the fulfilled God in Prahlāda: ‘Lord
Hari of the name of Prahlāda is me alone and there is no
Hari other than me. This is my true realisation. I pervade
everywhere and am within everything.’2
 This state of aloneness (kaivalya) is the state of supreme
and infinite Consciousness, the state of nirvikalpa samādhi.

न कदा च ग य मन् त व ो ह त ख त।
यत एकेन तेनेदं पूण ा डम डलम्॥२॥

na kadācijjagatyasmin tattvajño hanta khidyati,

yata ekena tenedaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahmāṇḍa-maṇḍalam. (2)

न – not; कदा चत् – ever; जग त – in the world; अ मन् – this; त व ः –

knower of Truth; ह त – Oh; ख त – feels misery; यतः – for; एकेन
– alone; तेन – by himself; इदम् – this; पूणम् – filled; ा ड म डलम् –
whole universe

2. Oh! The knower of Truth knows no misery in this world,

for the whole universe is filled by himself alone.

To recognise the world as something different from you is to

feel immediately the insignificant existence of yourself in
the total existence of the cosmos. Thereafter the limited
body, mind and intellect feel mercilessly crashed by the
crowded universe spread all around. You feel alienated from
the grand total and in this lies the roots of all your miseries.
The individual in you then struggles hard to acquire and to
possess, at least a part of the universe to be his own,
whereby he feels he mitigated much of his growing sense of
alienation!

The ego can recognise the world only through its

instruments of sense organs, mind and intellect. As a limited
ego it cannot but feel flabbergasted at the force, might and
extent of the universe around it. Hence its miseries.

To the sage who has discovered himself to be the Self,

the universe is nothing but waves of disturbances rising in
him, the ocean of Consciousness. He realises his oneness
with the entire universe. There is no more, in him, any sense
of alienation. The whole universe is filled up by himself
alone and, therefore, the ‘Knower of Truth knows no misery
ever in this world’.

The Hindu textbooks are never satisfied by glorifying

such a perfect sage. In Bhāgavata we read Lord Kṛṣṇa
Himself confessing: ‘The peaceful sage who in his equal
vision moves about in the world with hatred to none, ever
free, I constantly follow him from behind, seeking to purify
Myself with the dust of his feet.’3

न जातु िवषयाः केऽिप वारामं हषय यमी।

स क प व ीतिमवेभ बप वाः॥३॥

na jātu viṣayāḥ ke'pi svārāmaṁ harṣayantyamī,

sallakī-pallava-prītam-ivebhan-nimba-pallavāḥ. (3)

न – not; जातु – at any time; िवषयाः – objects; के अिप – any; वारामम्

– one contented in the Self; हषय त – please; अमी – those;
स क प व ीतम् – who delights in sallakī leaves; इव – as; इभम् –
elephant; िन बप वाः – leaves of the margosa (nīma) tree

3. No sense objects ever please the one who is contented in

the Self, just as the margosa (nīma) leaves do not please an
elephant who delights in sallakī leaves.

More delicious in taste are the sallakī leaves for an elephant.

An elephant who is fed on this most satisfying diet, will he
ever feel attracted towards the bitter nīma leaves, however
green and tender they may be? The sage, who is living in
the infinite Bliss of the Self, is so completely contented and
fulfilled in his experience of the universal Self, how can he
ever get enchanted by the bitter ridden illusory joys of the
miserable sense objects?

In Yogavāsiṣṭha we read a brilliant description of the

infinite Bliss experienced by the sage in his Self: ‘The joy
that fills a mind, which is thoughtless and undisturbed, such
a perfect joy is not found in the pleasing moon, nor in the
palace of the Creator, nor for the king of gods, Indra,
himself.’4

य तु भोगेषु भु े षु न भव य धवा सताः।

अभु े षु िनराका ी ता शो भवदल ु भः॥४॥

yastu bhogeṣu bhukteṣu na bhavatyadhivāsitāḥ,

abhukteṣu nirākāṅkṣī tādṛśo bhava-durlabhaḥ. (4)

यः – who; तु – indeed; भोगेषु – in the object of enjoyment; भु े षु –

experienced; न – not; भव त – is; अ धवा सताः – on whom
impressions are left; अभु े षु – in things not yet enjoyed;
िनराका ी – not hankering after; ता शः – such a one; भवदल ु भः –
rare in the world

4. Rare in the world is he on whom impressions are not left

of things which he had experienced or one who does not
hanker after things not yet enjoyed.

He is a sage who has dissolved his ego in the experience of

his oneness with the universal Self. Thereafter he meets the
world as it turns up, meeting experiences from moment-to-
moment, with a spontaneity which never gets dimmed by
his anxiety to enjoy or his hunger to repeat his experiences.
Egoless actions are always unmotivated and they are play of
body-mind equipments. Egoless activities cannot leave any
impressions; they are expressions of the past (prārabdha).
Therefore, Aṣṭāvakra indicates that the pseudo activities of
a Man of Perfection cannot entangle him with their vāsanās.

Being the infinite blissful Self himself, the sage can

entertain no restless desires seeking fulfilment in the empty
sense objects. His bodily functions are all apparent activities
seen by the worldly men around, but they cannot entrap the
personality of the sage. He belongs to a category totally
different from ours; he is a law unto himself!!

बुभु ु रह संसारे मुमु ुरिप यते।

भोगमो िनराका ी िवरलो िह महाशयः॥५॥

bubhukṣuriha saṁsāre mumukṣurapi dṛśyate,

bhoga-mokṣa-nirākāṅkṣī viralo hi mahāśayaḥ. (5)

बुभु ुः – one who seeks worldly enjoyments; इह – here; संसारे –

in the world; मुमु ुः – one who desires Liberation; अिप – also;
यते – is seen; भोगमो िनराका ी – not desirous of enjoyment or
Liberation; िवरलः – rare; िह – indeed; महाशयः – noble-minded
sage

5. Those who seek worldly enjoyments and those desirous

of Liberation, both are found in this world. But rare indeed is
the noble-minded sage who is not desirous of either
enjoyment or Liberation.

For one who is hungry, it is natural that he will be anxious to

enjoy his dinner. One who is drowning, certainly, he is
anxious to be saved. A miserable and imperfect
individualised entity must necessarily seek the satisfaction
of his sense objects. The limited must revolt against his
bondages and should be impatient to liberate his own
personality. A sage who has already liberated himself from
the thraldom of matter and who has realised the infinite
Bliss, he, thereafter, ‘is not desirous of either enjoyment or
Liberation’. Of course, such a perfect sage (mahāśaya) is
indeed very rare.

धमाथकाममो ेषु जीिवते मरणे तथा।

क या यद
ु ार च य हेयोपादेयता न िह॥६॥

dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣeṣu jīvite maraṇe tathā,

kasyāpyudāra-cittasya heyopādeyatā na hi. (6)

धम – piety; अथ – wealth (worldly prosperity); काम – desire

(sensual enjoyment); मो – Liberation (spiritual
emancipation); जीिवते – in life; मरणे – in death; तथा – as well as;
क य अिप – rare; उदार च य – of a broad-minded person; हेय
उपादेयता – attraction or aversion; न – not; िह – indeed

6. Rare is the broad-minded person who has neither

attraction for nor aversion to piety, worldly prosperity, desire
fulfilment and Liberation as well as any attraction for life or
aversion to death.

The four different 'goals' in life, indicated by the Hindu ṛṣis

as wayside halting places enroute the pilgrimage to the
ultimate Self, are all disciplines for the ego to lift itself from
its present state of consciousness onto the infinite plane of
God-consciousness. So long as the ego persists, duties
pertaining to these four ‘goals’ of life are to be certainly
respected and followed faithfully, as they can prepare the
ego for its final merger in the infinite Self.

Rare indeed, is that Man of Wisdom, the true sage, who

has risen above these four worldly ‘goals’ of life, meaning
who has ended his ego and, therefore, has become
indifferent to all of them, nay, even to life and death.
 Life and death are conditions of the body, over which the
ego alone can, in its delusion, grow anxious! To the immortal
Self the existence or the absence of the illusory body is of
no consequence at all. Why should the ocean worry over the
birth and death of a wave?

वा छा न िव िवलये न ष
े त य च थतौ।
यथा जीिवकया त मा य आ ते यथासुखम्॥७॥

vāñchā na viśva-vilaye na dveṣastasya ca sthitau,

yathā jīvikayā tasmād-dhanya āste yathā-sukham. (7)

वा छा – longing; न – not; िव िवलये – in the dissolution of the

universe; न – not; ेषः – aversion; त य – its; च – and; थतौ – in
existence; यथा जीिवकया – with whatever living (subsistence)
turns up by itself; त मात् – so; ध यः – the blessed one; आ ते –
lives; यथासुखम् – happily

7. The Man of Wisdom does not feel any longing for the
dissolution of the universe or any aversion towards its
existence. He, the blessed one, therefore, lives happily in
whatever subsistence turns up, as his lot, unasked.

Living in the Self as the Self, the Man of Wisdom has gained
all that is to be gained. He has no desires for anything. He
demands nothing. He is above all needs. He is full. The
whole universe is to him a disturbance in the infinite
Consciousness which is his own nature. In That, this
universe is a dust particle; where is then his physical body?
Whether it exists or not can be of no concern for him. He
has pulled down the veil of ‘ignorance’ in him and he has
rediscovered his divine nature. He has no identification with
his body any more.
 Such a sage is not anxious any longer for the dissolution
of the universe; he has no aversion towards its play of
plurality. The Man of Truth has awakened from all his
illusions.

Yet from our viewpoint he is still a member of the

community with a physical body and should not, at least, his
body have the bare necessities of existence – food, clothing
and shelter? Aṣṭāvakra explains that a Man of Perfection
lives in his own world of perfect Bliss and his body continues
its existence living upon whatever comes to him unasked.
Such a Master, though he lives with us, is no more a native
of this world.

कृताथ ऽनेन ानेने येवं ग लतधीः कृती।

प यन् ृ वन् पृशन् ज न् अ न् आ ते यथासुखम्॥८॥

kṛtārtho'nena jñānenetyevaṁ galita-dhīḥ kṛtī,

paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighran aśnan āste yathāsukham. (8)

कृताथः – fulfilled; अनेन – by this; ानेन – by wisdom; इ त एवम् –

thus; ग लतधीः – with the mind absorbed; कृती – contented; प यन्
- seeing; ृ वन् – hearing; पृशन् – touching; ज न् – smelling;
अ न् – eating; आ ते – lives; यथासुखम् – happily

8. Being fulfilled by this wisdom of the Self and with his

mind absorbed and contented in the Self, the wise man lives
happily – seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and eating.

Human mind asserts in its restlessness only when it is under

the thraldom of its discontentment. When the mind is
discontented, desires rise to generate storms in the thought
content of the mind. Seeking fulfilment through its desire
gratifications in the sense world, the mind dashes into the
world of objects, to acquire and to enjoy.
 The mind of the Man of Perfection has discovered a
complete sense of fulfilment in the experience of the infinite
Self and, therefore, there is no question of his mind roaming
away from him, into the world of sense pleasures, of its own
initiative. He remains at peace with himself and with the
world around.

He is in harmony with everything as they are around him,

under all circumstances. Externally when the world lashes
on him, he receives them, but he never reacts to them!
Inwardly, in his supreme happiness he lives – seeing,
hearing, touching, smelling, eating – in short, he never runs
away from the world, nor has he any aversion towards the
world. Assimilating sense experiences he spends his days
peacefully, eating in the world through all his mouths! It is
not external behaviour, but the state of his inner
Consciousness that distinguishes a Man of Knowledge from
an ordinary worldly sensuous being. Since the wise man
lives in the same world, externally he must behave as any
other human being. In his inner wisdom alone he is a
superman, not in anything else.

शू या ि वृथा चे ा िवकलानी या ण च।
न पृहा न िवरि वा ीणसंसारसागरे॥९॥

śūnyā dṛṣtir-vṛthā ceṣṭā vikalānīndriyāṇi ca,

na spṛhā na viraktirvā kṣīṇa-saṁsāra-sāgare. (9)

शू या – vacant; ि ः – look; वृथा – purposeless; चे ा – action;

िवकलािन – inoperative; इ या ण – senses; च – and; न – not; पृहा –
attachment; न – not; िवरि ः – aversion; वा – or; ीणसंसारसागरे –
for one in whom the ocean of the world has dried down

9. There is no attachment or aversion for one in whom the

ocean of the world has dried up. His gaze becomes vacant.
His bodily actions are purposeless and his senses
inoperative.

Even after having awakened to the larger plane of

consciousness, his body has to remain in our plane and act
according to the laws of the human behaviour in his society.
Never does he lose sight of his own inner kingdom of the
experience of the Self. This is a kind of Liberated in life
(Jīvanmukta). He lives in a state of unbroken samādhi even
while he is living and acting as a member of the community.

‘His gaze is vacant’ because even when he is looking at

the world of objects, he is seeing nothing but the continuous
play of the infinite Self. His actions are not springing forth
from any definite motive or profit nor have they any purpose
to fulfil. They are spontaneous actions, not reactions, from
the vāsanās in himself, because he has none.

His ‘senses have become inoperative’ inasmuch as in the

ordinary man the senses bring into his bosom the
enchanting informations regarding the fabulous world
around. The Man of Perfection sees, hears, smells, tastes
and touches; his senses are functioning; but none of them
can bring their share of storms into the bosom of the sage,
since his mind has already merged in the universal
Consciousness.

In short, in his saṁsāra, the devastating storms of

thoughts have ceased. ‘In him the ocean of the world has
dried up’. Therefore, he is standing at the bottom of the
ocean and no longer swimming among the heaving bosom
of the relentless waves. To such a wise man, so firmly
established in the substratum, there can be neither any
attachment nor aversion towards the outer world of objects,
of beings and of happenings.
न जाग त न िन ा त नो मील त न मील त।
अहो परदशा वािप वतते मु चेतसः॥१०॥

na jāgarti na nidrāti nonmīlati na mīlati,

aho paradaśā kvāpi vartate mukta-cetasaḥ. (10)

न – not; जाग त – keeps awake; न – not; िन ा त – sleeps; न – not;

उ मील त – opens his eyes; न – not; मील त – closes his eyes; अहो
– Oh; परदशा – the supreme state of Consciousness; व अिप –
anywhere; वतते – is; मु चेतसः – the liberated soul

10. The Man of Wisdom neither keeps awake nor sleeps. He

neither opens nor closes his eyes. Oh! The liberated soul
anywhere enjoys the supreme state of Consciousness.

The inner state of a Man of Perfection revelling in his

enlightenment is difficult to comprehend and much more
difficult to express. Even the most suggestive diction can
give us but a set of pleasant contradictions rather than a
sustained intelligent description. In the Bhagavad-gītā also
Lord Kṛṣṇa had exhausted Himself in trying to describe the
state and the Lord also had failed as much as the ṛṣis of
Upaniṣads themselves when he says: ‘That which is night to
all beings, in that the self-controlled man wakes; where all
beings are awake, that is the night for the sage (Muni) who
sees.’5

The liberated is identified here with ultimate ever shining

Self and hence the difficulty for us to comprehend such a
divine Being. He never ‘keeps awake’ in the sense that in all
the waking moments we are living in a world of perceptions,
with which we react with our likes and dislikes. The wise
man is ‘never awake’ to our world of sensuality and its
enchantments; he is ‘awake’ to the state of Selfhood.
 He ‘never sleeps’ meaning inertia (tamas) can no longer
affect his Consciousness and make It dull and dim, unable to
recognise Itself. We are asleep to the great and divine
presence in our bosom; the wise man ‘never sleeps’ like us!

He ‘never winks’. Winking is the physical expression of

one's mental and intellectual restlessness. Animals do not
wink; intelligent man alone winks. That the Master has not
any mental agitations, is all that is meant when Sage
Aṣṭāvakra characterises a Liberated man as one who ‘never
winks’.

In spite of all these hints, the state of a Man of Wisdom

cannot be intelligible to us. He is unique. He is understood
only by yet another sage! He is totally dead to the relative
world of plurality and yet, cannot be considered as
‘sleeping’ as he is ever awake to the joyous state of the
blissful Self.

सव यते व थः सव िवमलाशयः।
सम तवासनामु ो मु ः सव राजते॥११॥

sarvatra dṛśyate svasthaḥ sarvatra vimalāśayaḥ,

samasta-vāsanā-mukto muktaḥ sarvatra rājate. (11)

सव – everywhere; यते – is seen; व थः – abiding in the Self;

सव – always; िवमलआशयः – undefiled by desires; सम त वासनामु ः
– free from all vāsanās; मु ः – liberated person; सव – under
all conditions; राजते – revels

11. The liberated one is found everywhere abiding in the

Self and is undefiled by desires under all conditions. Freed
from all vāsanās, he revels.
In the verse, three times, the term ‘sarvatra’ is repeated;
this is to indicate at all places, at all times, under all
conditions. A Man of Perfection, irrespective of place, time
and condition, is untouched by passions and desires.
Liberated from all his vāsanā entanglements, he revels in
his own supreme glory. He has realised his oneness with all-
full Self and as the infinite blissful Self, he has no more
desires. He has no vāsanās as he has transcended the
causal body, which is otherwise called ‘ignorance’ (avidyā).
On realising the Self, the non-apprehension of Reality
(ignorance) has ended in him.

प यन् वन् पृशन् ज न् अ न् गृ न् वदन् जन्।

ईिहतानीिहतैमु ो मु एव महाशयः॥१२॥

paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighran aśnan gṛhṇan vadan vrajan,

īhitān-īhitair-mukto mukta eva mahāśayaḥ. (12)

प यन् – seeing; वन् – hearing; पृशन् – touching; ज न् –

smelling; अ न् – eating; गृ न् – accepting; वदन् – speaking; जन्
– walking; ईिहतान् ईिहतैः मु ः – free from attachment and
aversion; मु – liberated; एव – indeed; महाशयः – the noble-
minded one

12. Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, accepting,

speaking and walking, the noble-minded one, free from all
attachments and aversions, is indeed liberated.

The Man of Perfection, liberated from the snares of life, does

not run away from this world, but he has to continue living
in this very same world of ours so long as his physical body
lingers about him. He responds to the external stimuli, with
all the instruments of action and perception, exactly like any
other man in the world. The uniqueness of the Man of
Perfection is not in the complete cessation of all his
activities in the world outside, but in the quality of his heart
wherein there will not be even a trace of attachment! Since
he has no vāsanās of his own, he is no more reacting with
the world outside as we do and we cannot but entertain
some attachments and, therefore, some aversions.

The expressive language of Sanskrit has an eloquence of

its own, which is never seen in any other language in the
world. The term used here ‘īhitān-īhitaiḥ’ stems from the
root ‘iha’ which means ‘ambition’ (vāñchā), ‘desire’ (icchā),
‘action’ (ceṣṭā) and ‘effort’ (udyama). Thus the phrase used
by Aṣṭāvakra is so commodious that a mountain of
meanings can be seen packed into it. The bosom of the Man
of Perfection is not only free from all attachments and
aversions but he has neither ambitions nor desires nor
activities nor efforts. He who recognises the one Self alone
everywhere, to him such a state of mind should be natural.

न िन द त न च तौ त न य त न कु य त।
न ददा त न गृ ा त मु ः सव नीरसः॥१३॥

na nindati na ca stauti na hṛṣyati na kupyati,

na dadāti na gṛhṇāti muktaḥ sarvatra nīrasaḥ. (13)

न – not; िन द त – abuses; न – not; च – and; तौ त – praises; न –

not; य त – rejoices; न – not; कु य त – is angry; न – not; ददा त –
gives; न – not; गृ ा त – receives; मु ः – the liberated one; सव –
in all objects; नीरसः – free from enjoyment

13. The liberated one neither abuses nor praises. He neither

rejoices nor is he angry. He neither gives nor receives. He is
free from enjoyment in all objects.
Feeling sure that he has not succeeded in painting a
liberated man’s mental attitude towards his world around,
Aṣṭāvakra is making yet another futile attempt at describing
the unearthly beauty, balance and brilliancy of the Man of
Perfection. He has no vāsanās, therefore, no attachments
and naturally, there is no sense enjoyment left in his bosom,
even when he is contacting the sense objects. Such a man,
Liberated in life (Jīvanmuktaḥ) is identified here with the
supreme Self which is never involved in the activities of the
body and the mind.

The intellect ‘abuses and praises’. The mind ‘rejoices and

feels angry’. The body ‘receives and gives’. None of these
activities are his. As the Self, in his divine presence, his
equipments function and in them the wise man is not in the
least involved nor is he responsible for his own spontaneous
actions. The equipments gather their vitality and awareness
from the Self in all of us; they act all by themselves
according to their vāsanās; while in the Master there are no
vāsanās and, therefore, he is not at all affected by the
physical activities that are going on around him. These are
mere illusions, apparent actions, which can produce no
results, cause no reactions in him.

सानुरागां यं ा मृ यंु वा समुप थतम्।

अिव लमनाः व थो मु एव महाशयः॥१४॥

sānurāgāṁ striyaṁ dṛṣṭvā mṛtyuṁ vā samupasthitam,

avihvala-manāḥ svastho mukta eva mahāśayaḥ. (14)

सानुरागाम् – loving, passionate; यम् – a woman; ा – seeing;

मृ यम
ु ् – death; वा – or; समुप थतम् – near at hand; अिव लमनाः –
unperturbed in mind; व थः – self-poised; मु ः – emancipated;
एव – indeed; महाशयः – the noble-minded one
14. The noble-minded one is not perturbed and remains self-
poised at the sight of a woman full of passion, as well as of
approaching death. He is, indeed, liberated.

His supreme balance of mind, under all conditions outside,

is the final test to know a liberated person. If the man is not
excited by the presence of a passionate, young, beautiful
woman nor is he perturbed by the threatening approach of
imminent death, then the individual has already
transcended the body-mind-intellect equipment and he is
awakened to the infinite Self. Neither the beloved of the
dream, nor the tiger of the dream can ever bring any mental
disturbance in one who has awakened from his dream!

When the great courtesan beautifully dressed in muslin

and pearls, carrying fruits in a plate, at dead of night
approached the temple where Buddha was resting for the
day, and knocked at the door, the Lord of compassion woke
up, opened the door and met the lusty girl who had reached
to tempt the young brilliant man in Buddha. Unperturbed,
the man of peace, smilingly approached her, touched her
feet and with head bent in humble reverence, said: ‘Mother,
how can your son serve you?’ With tears falling from her
eyes she fell prostrate, apologised and returned to her
nearby residence. In time she became one of the greatest
workers in the Master’s camp.

Here is the example of the serene tranquillity of the mind

of the Liberated in life. For such a mind, death has no
ferocity; love no enchantment. Power has no satisfaction;
wealth has no charm for the true Man of Wisdom.

सुखे दःु खे नरे नाया स प सु च िवप सु च।

िवशेषो नैव धीर य सव समद शनः॥१५॥
sukhe duḥkhe nare nāryāṁ sampatsu ca vipatsu ca,
viśeṣo naiva dhīrasya sarvatra sama-darśinaḥ. (15)

सुखे – in happiness; दःु खे – in misery; नरे – in man; नायाम् – in

woman; स प सु – in fortune; च – and; िवप सु – in misfortune; च –
and; िवशेषः – difference; न – not; एव – indeed; धीर य – of the
wise one; सव – everywhere; समद शनः – seeing the same

15. The wise one who sees the same everywhere, sees no
difference between happiness and misery, man and woman,
fortune and misfortune.

Under all conditions – happiness and misery, among all

beings – men or women, amidst all conditions of
arrangement of things – fortune and misfortune, the Man of
Perfection is ever rooted in his own Self and he never gets
disturbed.

The outer objects, by themselves, cannot disturb an

individual nor can the mind by itself create any restlessness.
Only when the mind comes in contact with the world of
objects and reacts, then alone storms are raised in the
bosom. The mind reacts, because of the vāsanās in the
mind. Man of Perfection is one who has emptied his mind of
all its memories of the past vāsanās. The serene, tranquil
mind of the Liberated can no longer react with the world
around, it has become a true instrument to act with.

The wise one is never blind to the source from which his
thoughts arise; the ignorant is never conscious of the
source. Even if the thoughts gurgle out and among
themselves weave the enchanting world of objects, beings
and situations, they cannot any longer upset the man, who
is continuously conscious of the source. We can watch a
magician's creations with no perplexity and even
wonderment, because we do not forget that it is magic!
 He who is thus continuously well-established in the
source, the Consciousness of the Self, even while he is
playing in the world of plurality, he in his wisdom knows that
all these are the play of the Consciousness Supreme,
nothing else.

This verse is to be understood only with reference to the

state of the Self; it should not be dragged to the plane of
our consciousness. In our social and communal living – since
we are then recognising the plurality – the descriptive
declarations of the saints and sages cannot be and should
not be practised. If the soldier has the right to shoot and kill,
it is only when he is acting as a soldier under the command
of his officers. He will be doing a crime if he, in his village,
shoots down with his army weapon, his neighbour out of his
personal grudge! Do not quote this verse as your excuse for
your base, vulgar and immoral life in the community!

न हसा नैव का यं नौ यं न च दीनता।

ना य नैव च ोभः ीणसंसरणेनरे॥१६॥

na hiṁsā naiva kāruṇyaṁ nauddhatyaṁ na ca dīnatā,

nāścaryaṁ naiva ca kṣobhaḥ kṣīṇa-saṁsaraṇe nare. (16)

न – not; हसा – violence, desire to harm; न – not; एव – indeed;

का यम् – mercy, compassion; न – not; औ यम् – pride; न – not;
च – and; दीनता – humility; न – not; आ यम् – wonder; न – not; एव –
surely; च – and; ोभः – agitation; ीणसंसरणे – whose worldly life
is exhausted; नरे – in that man

16. In the man, whose worldly life is exhausted, there is

neither compassion nor violence, neither humility nor pride;
neither wonder nor agitation.
In short, the illumined one in his new vision of the infinite
peace in himself does not react at the levels of his body,
mind and intellect, as others would in their ‘ignorance’ of
the higher Reality. Living in the Self, as the Self, the sage is
never involved in his physical, psychological and intellectual
contacts with the world around. His body-mind equipment
may function in the world in its unchaste impulses, but he,
as Consciousness, is only an indifferent witness of it all. The
Liberated in life (Jīvanmukta) is not personally involved in
the activities of his body or mind; there is no ‘he’ and ‘him’!
The illumined one is unique and is ever a law unto himself.
He cannot be compared with anyone, not even with the
gods!!

न मु ो िवषय े ा न वा िवषयलोलुपः।
असंस मनाः िन यं ा ा ा मुपा ुते॥१७॥

na mukto viṣaya-dveṣṭā na vā viṣaya-lolupaḥ,

asaṁsakta-manāḥ nityaṁ prāptāprāptam-upāśnute. (17)

न – not; मु ः – the liberated one; िवषय े ा – has aversion for the

objects of the senses; न – not; वा – or; िवषयलोलुपः – cravings for
the objects of the senses; असंस मनाः – with a detached mind;
िन यम् – ever; ा – what is attained; अ ा म् – what is not
attained; उपा ुते – enjoys

17. The liberated one has neither aversion nor craving for
the objects of the senses. Ever with detached mind, he
experiences both what is attained and what is not attained.

Likes and dislikes, aversion and craving, love and hate –

these are emotions – that can reach the bosom of one, only
when one has a sense of attachment with a particular object
or objects around him. The liberated one has freed himself
from all his sense of attachment and, therefore, he cannot
feel any aversion for the world of objects, nor can he ever
hanker after sense satisfactions. With a mind detached from
all direct involvements, he lives through life meeting with all
that comes to him unasked in divine freedom. He neither
enjoys the objects that have come to him nor does he crave
for objects that have not reached him. He meets life
directly, head-on, accepting nothing, avoiding nothing! His
tranquillity is never disturbed.

समाधानासमाधानिहतािहतिवक पनाः।
शू य च ो न जाना त कैव यिमव सं थतः॥१८॥

samādhānāsamādhāna-hitāhita-vikalpanāḥ,
śūnyacitto na jānāti kaivalyamiva saṁsthitaḥ. (18)

समाधान असमाधान िहत अिहत िवक पनाः – the mental alternatives of

contemplation and non-contemplation, good and evil;
शू य च ः – of empty mind (wise man); न – not; जाना त – knows;
कैव यम् – in the state of Aloneness; इव – as it were; सं थतः –
abiding

18. The wise man of empty mind does not know the mental
alternatives of contemplation and non-contemplation, of
good and evil. He abides, as it were, in the state of
Aloneness.

An ordinary man, as an intelligent being, can never remain

without thoughts, he either thinks or he sleeps. Pure
Consciousness experienced in the dynamic state of
‘thoughtlessness’ is Godhood and this is not experienced by
the average man. The wise man, left to himself, has no
thoughts in him and as such the various mental alternatives,
right and wrong, good and evil, beautiful and ugly, heat and
cold, joy and sorrow, ad infinitum, do not at all affect him.
He is unattached to the world and as such the world cannot
in the least affect him. It is only in the lower, relative plane
that man suffers from his mental agitations. To the Realised,
there is no mental disturbance at all. He has transcended
his mind and intellect. He is beyond the beyond (parāt-
paraḥ). He abides in the aloneness of the absolute one
Reality.

िनममो िनरह ारो न िक िद त िन तः।

अ तग लतसवाशः कुव िप करो त न॥१९॥

nirmamo nirahaṅkāro na kiñciditi niścitaḥ,

antargalita-sarvāśaḥ kurvannapi karoti na. (19)

िनममः – devoid of my-ness; िनरह ारः – devoid of I-ness; न – not;

िक त् – anything; इ त – this; िन तः – knowing with certitude;
अ तग लतसवाशः – with all desires melted away from within; कुवन्
– doing; न – not; अिप – though; करो त – does (only appears to
do); न – not

19. Devoid of the feelings of 'I-ness' and 'my-ness', knowing

for certain that nothing is and with all his inner desires
melted away, the wise man does not act, though he may
appear to be acting.

The liberated man is one in whom the ego has ended. The
ego functions in two ways –

(a) Ego sense, which is experienced as the ‘I-ness’, and

(b) The ego feeling experienced as ‘my-ness’.

When these two are ended, the ego is lifted. The very
source of ego is the surge of desires. In the Man of
Perfection, the ego is ended along with its roots and so
Aṣṭāvakra clarifies, ‘With all his inner desires melted away’.

Egoless activities are no more actions. Impulse for action

is desire. The actor is the ego. When there is no actor, nor
the impulses of desire, there are only movements of the
equipment and not ‘action’. They can produce no result to
the Man of Liberation, there is no ego to claim it. An
equipment in which this ego has ended, is the empty reed
through which the Lord sings His Song Divine for the benefit
of mankind and for the welfare of the world. No more does
the individual mind act through him; the total mind
expresses through him as Its chosen Equipment Divine. In
this sense, one liberated in life is to be considered as God in
action.

मनः काशसंमोह व नजा िवव जतः।

दशां कामिप सं ा ो भवे लतमानसः॥२०॥

manaḥ prakāśa-saṁmoha-svapna-jāḍya-vivarjitaḥ,
daśāṁ kāmapi saṁprāpto bhaved-galita-mānasaḥ. (20)

मनः काशसंमोह व नजा िवव जतः – the functions of his mind have
ceased to operate and who is free from delusion, dreaming
and dullness; ( ानी – the sage); दशाम् – condition; काम्अिप –
indescribable; सं ा ः भवेत् – attains; ग लतमानसः – whose mind
has melted away

20. An indescribable state is attained by the sage whose

mind has melted away, whose functions having ceased to
operate and who is free from delusion, dreaming and
dullness.

After nineteen verses of inspired attempt in painting the

picture of the Man of Perfection, Aṣṭāvakra feels, in the last
verse here, that he has made only a fool of himself! He
confesses that this state of Selfhood cannot be described in
words.

All these twenty verses are, as it were, so many sign-

posts suggesting to the contemplative intellect, a certain
direction towards which it may turn its vision. Each student
will comprehend this state of Perfection to the extent he has
prepared his own equipment for the great understanding.

In the liberated one, his mind is completely dissolved.

Not even ‘sattva’ expresses through it; ‘rajas’ that creates
delusion and dreams has departed; ‘tamas’ that veils the
intellect from the perception of Reality has been pulled
down.

The inertia (tamas) veils the intellect and then the mind
becomes agitated (rajas) with its projections and
imaginations. Pure ‘non-apprehension’ of the Reality is
created by ‘tamas’ and the ‘misapprehensions’ are
produced by the ‘rajas’. When these two factors are
controlled through sādhanā, the ‘sattva’ predominates in
the mind and makes it more and more contemplative. In the
zenith of meditation, when even the last traces of ‘rajas’
and ‘tamas’ are ended, there the pure sāttvika mind
transcends itself and merges with the infinite
Consciousness. Māyā is crossed here. Avidyā is ended. In
pure Wisdom revels the wise man.

How can such a being be described by words as he

transcends the entire world of relative experiences, where
alone is language vehemently potent and extremely
efficient? At best, language stammers, pants and becomes
silent.
1 viriñcibhavanātpāre tattvānte'pyāharat padam,
prasaratyeva me rūpamadyāpi na nivartate. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.34.63

2 hariḥ prahlādanāmā yo matto nānyo hariḥ pṛthak,

iti niścayavānantarvyāpako'haṁ ca sarvataḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.31.41

3 nirapekṣaṁ muniṁ śāntaṁ nirvairaṁ samadarśanam,

anuvrajāmyahaṁ nityaṁ pūyeyetyanghrireṇubhiḥ. – Bhāgavata-11.14.16

4 yathā viviktamekānte mano bhavati nirvṛtam,

na tathā śaśibimbeṣu na ca brahmendrasadmasu. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-6.84.20

5 yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī,

yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-2-69
 Chapter – 18
The Goal
Introduction

Even the most potential man of achievement must have

been a helpless bundle of living limbs when he was in his
mother's womb. Limited by the shells of the mind and
intellect, the infinitely divine and omnipotent Reality lives
today as a helpless ego chained to our bosom! To release
this individuality out of its entanglements is to hatch it out
of its shell of time and space. It thereafter lives in the
realisation of its true infinite nature. This is the destination
of all evolutions; the goal to be reached.

This spiritual goal cannot be directly explained as it lies

beyond the embrace of words. It transcends the intellect.
This goal is not comprehended by our understanding but it
can be apprehended as our essential Being. Any discourse
upon the nature of this Reality can only be a futile attempt
on the part of the Teacher, because the student will never
be able to intellectually apprehend That which lies beyond
the compass of his intellect's understanding.

And yet, the intellectual students, naturally demand an

explanation, a discourse, an exhaustive description, a
comprehensive definition, a lucid exposition of the goal,
because the intellectual man cannot subscribe himself
enthusiastically to a path of life, without knowing its
declared purpose, its final goal and its true end.
 The scriptural Masters, thus compelled to explain the
inexplicable, to describe the indescribable or to define the
indefinable, had to adopt various techniques in suggesting
the understanding into the contemplative mind of their
students. One of the most effective methods adopted,
generally, by almost all Masters in India, in bringing to our
mind the unique perfections of the supreme Self, is by
helping us to closely observe the physical behaviour and the
mental attitude of a Liberated in life.

A sage in action is the infinite Reality visibly

demonstrated. The authors of the scriptures, as they explain
the behaviour of a Man of Perfection, they add copious foot-
notes to explain to us how and why the sage discovers so
much of peace and happiness even amidst adverse
circumstances, miserable conditions and even under grave
provocations.

This technique of pointing, through a sage in action the

unearthly beauties of perfection attained by him, is the
modus operandi that is followed in this brilliant eighteenth
chapter of the Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā. As in the Bhagavad-gītā,
here also we find this eighteenth chapter serves as a quick
summary of all that has been so far said and serves as a
thunderous peroration, richly paving the way to its final
conclusions.

The supreme goal of Selfhood given out here in this

chapter is neither discursive, nor descriptive; all along, in
every verse, even at his best, it is demonstrative, inasmuch
as the words of Aṣṭāvakra, while clearly painting the sage in
action, point to a divine Reality in and through the Liberated
in life. In short, these verses are packed with secret
instructions to all students of deep meditation upon how
they can proceed ahead blasting the fortress of ‘ignorance’
and bursting into the blissful Infinitude.
 A wealth of thoughts is scattered all along the chapter,
rich in their diction of Upaniṣads and deep philosophical
import. Into this enchanting edifice of majesty and
grandeur, the poetic pen of Aṣṭāvakra adds an unforgettable
charm and beauty with his originally coined shining terms
and blazing phrases. As they light up our path they spread a
constant sweetness with their captivating fragrance of deep
mystic truths. The Hindu Vaidika assertions – ‘This Self is
Brahman’ (ayam atmā brahma); ‘I am Brahman’ (aham
brahma asmi); ‘This universe of multiplicity is all nothing but
the Self’ (ātmaiva jagat sarvam) – are all echoing and re-
echoing in the chambers of these hundred verses. Original
phrases – as ‘niṣprapañca’ (beyond relativity); ‘nīrasa’
(flavourless); ‘nis-svabhāva’ (without natural attributes);
‘nirāyāsa’ (effortless) and so on – enrich and enlighten. All
together this chapter serves as sacred sanctum, a cherished
chapel consecrated to the self-effulgent universal
Consciousness, the one without a second! In it the universe
is but a mere hallucination of the restless mind!!

The magic of this chapter smuggles us into the

bewitching realm of the infinite Bliss. No student of
contemplative mind can safely stand away from the exotic
silence of Aṣṭāvakra's Experience Divine. The chapter, with
its conclusions, cascades into the immutable and
bewildering statements of deliberate and intentional
contradictions and of pleasant and purposeful paradoxes! To
ride with them is to end our ego and dash into the lap of
Experience Supreme!

The theme of this chapter is manifestly the life and

experience of a Man of Wisdom, who is fully established in
the Self. Its inescapable witchcraft is not as such in the
words employed, but, it lurks somewhere between its words
and between its lines. The enchantment of these verses can
give us a free ride to the spiritual goal, if we are accredited
pilgrims on the path of deep meditation.

By the end of this chapter even those students who have

failed to arrive at the goal are left, for all times to come,
with a sense of devotion and reverence towards all sages,
who are living spontaneous samādhi in life, enjoying the
infinite Bliss, which is the nature of the Self (pūrṇa svarasa
vigraha).

अ ाव उवाच
य य बोधोदये तावत् व नव व त मः।
त मै सुखक
ै पाय नमः शा ताय तेजसे॥१॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca

yasya bodhodaye tāvat svapnavad-bhavati bhramaḥ,

tasmai sukhaika-rūpāya namaḥ śāntāya tejase. (1)

य य – of which; बोध उदये – at the dawn of Knowledge; तावत् –

all; व नवत् – like a dream (unreal); भव त – becomes; मः –
delusion; त मै – to That; सुखक ै पाय – which is embodiment of
Bliss; नमः – salutations; शा ताय – serene; तेजसे – effulgence

Aṣṭāvakra said:

1. Salutations to That, which is the embodiment of Bliss,

serenity, effulgence, with the dawn of whose knowledge, all
delusions become unreal as a dream.

A mere intellectual study or reflection, by itself can never

lead the student on to the path of real meditation.
Meditation is an all out application of a total integrated
personality in the search of Truth. The external marks of
religiosity are merely physical; deep devotion and reverence
are emotional and a clear understanding of the nature of the
goal and the path pursued are intellectual aspects of the
spiritual life. All the three are unavoidable for success in
meditation, inasmuch as we have to bring therein our entire
personality. Even when Aṣṭāvakra is discussing the highest
absolute view-point of the non-dual Brahman, he
exemplifies the need for integration in a student of
meditation by dramatically adding this opening stanza here,
with which he so loudly salutes and so visibly prostrates to
the effulgent embodiment of Bliss, the Self within.

The seat of Consciousness, is indicated here as the

substratum for all the imaginary world of the body, mind
and intellect and their experiences. When the substratum
(adhiṣṭhāna) is realised, the superimposition (adhyāsa) is
instantaneously removed. On seeing the rope, the snake
vision is lost; on recognising the post, the fantasy of the
ghost is gone. On realising the Self, the misconceptions of
the ego end immediately. To recognise the apparent illusion
to be the real is called ‘superimposition’ (adhyāsa). Śaṅkara
defines superimposition as: ‘The illusion of seeing no
distinction between the Real and the false is
superimposition.’1

This reminds us of an equally attractive prostration to

‘the power of discrimination’ (viveka) offered in Yoga-
vāsiṣṭha: ‘O to thee, viveka! my salutations. Destroying the
powerful and strong enemy of my mind who confused me
with the delusions ‘I am this’, ‘This has come’, ‘This is mine’
and so on and has reached me to enjoy the unbroken
serenity of my bosom. Viveka, I salute thee.’2

ो ो
अज य वाऽ खलानथान् भोगाना नो त पु कलान्।
न िह सवप र यागम तरेण सुखी भवेत्॥२॥
arjayitvā-'khilān-arthān bhogān-āpnoti puṣkalān,
na hi sarvaparityāgam-antareṇa sukhī bhavet. (2)

अज य वा – acquiring; अ खलान् – all; अथान् – worldly objects; भोगान्

– enjoyments; आ नो त – attains; पु कलान् – abundant; न – not; िह
– surely; सवप र यागम् अ तरेण – without the renunciation of all;
सुखी – happy; भवेत् – becomes

2. One gets plenty of enjoyments by acquiring the manifold

objects of the senses. Surely one cannot be happy without
renouncing them all.

On the first reading it would sound as a contradiction, as the

former part of the statement positively declares that there is
joy in the sense objects; but it says, in its concluding part,
that happiness cannot be without renunciation of them all.
Here the confusion is generated in our minds only because
we are not alert enough to distinguish between ‘enjoyment’
and ‘happiness’. Happiness is the goal sought by every
human mind and the means employed by everyone is the
enjoyment of the sense objects. Generally man
misunderstands herein the means that is sense enjoyments,
to be the goal that is ‘happiness’.

Nobody denies that there are, but limited and

evanescent glimmers of enjoyments when the sense organs
come in contact with the sense objects. But what man
demands is a total satisfaction meaning happiness and not
sense gratification, enjoyments. In the renunciation of all
sense pursuits lies the path to permanent and satisfying
happiness. Desires create mental agitation and a mind
agitated is a mind in sorrow. By renouncing the desires, the
thoughts subside and a quiet mind is itself the glow of
happiness. Thus, lesser the desires, lesser the agitations
and more the joy. Least desires, least agitations and
maximum joy. Therefore, ‘no desires’ is a state of
thoughtlessness, which is the state of infinite Bliss, the Self.

In the absence of all objects, in the deep sleep state of

consciousness, there is joy for all, everywhere. In fact, at the
moment of enjoyment there is no presence of the object,
there is only the experience of the Bliss, which is the very
nature of the Self.

कत यदःु खमात ड वालाद धा तरा मनः।

कुतः शमपीयष ू धारासारमृते सुखम्॥३॥
kartavya-duḥkha-mārtaṇḍa-jvālā-dagdhāntarātmanaḥ,
kutaḥ praśama-pīyūṣa-dhārā-sāramṛte sukham. (3)

कत यदःु खमात ड वालाद धअ तरा मनः – of one whose inner

equipment has been scorched by the heat of sun of sorrow
of his deeds; कुतः – where (is); शमपीयूषधारासारमृते – except in
the continuous shower of the ambrosia of desirelessness;
सुखम् – happiness

3. One whose inner equipment has been scorched by the

heat of the sun of sorrow arising from his deeds, where can
he enjoy happiness, except in the continuous ambrosial
shower of desirelessness?

A mind that has been stormed by the passionate surge of

the continuous lashing waves of desires and their
consequent frothing, noisy deeds can calm itself only when
desireless-ness comes to play therein.
 The verse is a typical example of the pictorial style in
Sanskrit literature, especially employed in poetry. Here is an
attempt of the poet to communicate philosophical truth in
terms of our physical experiences. In the scorching heat of
the summer, except a heavy cool shower, nothing else can
cool us into comfort. The desire ridden bosom is ever in
agitation whipping the man into endless endeavours. With
the dawn of right knowledge, that the finite objects of the
world, with their limited joys, cannot give what our heart is
yearning for, will come the spirit of retirement and
relinquishment. Except in this state of intelligent
desirelessness, a storming passionate mind cannot calm
itself down. So long as this discriminating knowledge has
not dawned in an individual bosom, it has to suffer its
endless restlessness. Tranquillity of the mind and inner
peace are the rewards of wisdom and right understanding.

भवोऽयं भावनामा ो न िक त् परमाथतः।

ना यभावः वभावानां भावाभाविवभािवनाम्॥४॥
bhavo'yaṁ bhāvanā-mātro na kiñcit paramārthataḥ,
nāstyabhāvaḥ svabhāvānāṁ bhāvābhāva-vibhāvinām. (4)

भवः – universe; अयम् – this; भावना मा ः – mere mode of thinking;

न – not; िक त् – anything; परमाथतः – in reality; न – not; अ त –
is; अभावः – non-existent; वभावानाम् – the inherent nature;
भावअभाविवभािवनाम् – in the existent (Self) and the non-existent
(universe)

4. This universe is but a mode of thinking. In reality it is

nothing. The inherent nature of the existent (Self) and of the
non-existent (universe) are never lost.
Very often statements in Aṣṭāvakra-gītā are rendered
attractive not only because of their pithy style, but because
of their eloquent and ringing diction. Here is a typical
example. This universe is but a mode of thinking (bhavo-
yam bhāvanā-mātraḥ). This has become a famous saying in
the mouths of all scholars of Vedānta. On awakening to the
Reality, when the mind is hushed up from its thoughts, the
magic of the names and forms rolls away and the student
realises ‘In reality it is nothing’ (na kiñcit paramārthataḥ).
The Sage Aṣṭāvakra declares here the great philosophical
truth that the existent Self and the non-existent universe
both can never lose their individual nature.

The Self is eternal, permanent, changeless and infinite;

the universe is non-eternal, impermanent, ever-changing
and finite. Neither of them can change their essential
nature. In short, the Self alone is Real and It will ever remain
Real. The world of plurality is ever unreal and never can it
be real; the Self is existent. The world is non-existent. They
cannot change their nature.

न दरू ं न च स ोचा धमेवा मनः पदम्।

िन वक पं िनरायासं िन वकारं िनर नम्॥५॥
na dūraṁ na ca saṅkocāllabdham-evātmanaḥ padam,
nirvikalpaṁ nirāyāsaṁ nirvikāraṁ nirañjanam. (5)

न – not; दरू म् – far; न – not; च – and; स ोचात् – limited; ल धम् –

ever attained; एव – indeed; आ मनः पदम् – the nature of the Self;
िन वक पम् – absolute; िनरायासम् – effortless; िन वकारम् –
immutable; िनर नम् – stainless

5. The Self which is absolute, effortless, immutable and

stainless is not far away, inaccessible nor is It limited,
unattainable. It is indeed ever attained.

The supreme Consciousness in its absolute nature is

stainless, meaning, ‘It is beyond all passions and desires,
that is vāsanās’. ‘Perceptions’ of the body, ‘emotions’ of the
mind, ‘thoughts’ of the intellect are all exertions and,
therefore, to act with these equipments is always an effort.
The Ᾱtman, the Reality is explained here as ‘effortless’
(nirāyāsam), inasmuch as It is experienced when all
equipments are transcended, where the ego surrenders
completely and disappears into the vision of the Reality. This
great state is our own real nature and, therefore, It is ‘not
far away’ from us; It is not inaccessible to anyone.

The limited alone is attainable with our equipments. The

Self is infinite and, therefore, unlimited; naturally It is
‘unattainable’. It is the very being in us, the very Existence-
Knowledge in us; as such never is a time when we are away
from It. ‘It is indeed ever attained.’ In our delusion we
recognise not the constant presence of this divine Self.

Roars the ṛṣi in Muṇḍakopaniṣad: ‘Further than the

farthest, It is here within the body. The sages realise It verily
in this life as fixed in the heart.’3

यामोहमा िवरतौ व पादानमा तः।

वीतशोका िवराज ते िनरावरण यः॥६॥
vyāmoha-mātra-viratau svarūp-ādāna-mātrataḥ,
vītaśokā virājante nirāvaraṇa-dṛṣṭayaḥ. (6)

यामोह मा िवरतौ – as soon as illusion ceases; व प आदान-मा तः –

the Self alone is realised; वीतशोकाः – free from misery; िवराज ते
– (they) shine; िनरावरण यः – whose understanding (vision) is
fully unveiled

6. Those whose understanding (vision) is fully unveiled, they

shine free from misery. As soon as their illusion ceases, the
Self is realised.

The Self, which is the essential nature of the seeker, is not

realised by him only because of his ego and its illusion in
him. As an ego, he is preoccupied with his own miseries and
his understanding is clouded by ‘tamas’ and shattered by
‘rajas’. When these two moods of the mind are sublimated,
contemplativeness increases in mind and the contemplative
mind, during moments of its meditation cannot avoid
discovering its own illusion and eternal Reality behind them
all. Such perfect students shine in inner glory of their
directly experienced spiritual essence.

सम तं क पनामा मा मा मु ः सनातनः।
इ त िव ाय धीरो िह िकम य य त बालवत्॥७॥
samastaṁ kalpanā-mātram-ātmā muktaḥ sanātanaḥ,
iti vijñāya dhīro hi kim-abhyasyati bālavat. (7)

सम तम् – all that exists; क पना मा म् – mere imagination; आ मा –

Self; मु ः – free; सनातनः – eternal; इ त – thus; िव ाय – knowing;
धीरः – the wise man; िह – indeed; िकम् – does he; अ य य त –
acts; बालवत् – like a child

7. All that exists is mere imagination. The Self is free and

eternal, knowing thus, does the wise one act like a child?

On awakening from a dream, the waker realises that the

dream that he was seeing was mere imagination and that
the waker is the Reality. One who has awakened from the
ego’s usual plane of consciousness and its endless sorrows,
he realises that the worlds of experiences lived at the body,
mind and the intellect levels are all imaginations of a mind
fluttering in its restlessness. A wise man experiences the
infinite blissful Self. One who has thus awakened to the
higher plane of Consciousness, can he ever act like a child
in the world?

The example 'like a child' employed here, opens up many

possible explanations. Commentators differ in their opinions
on what exactly is suggested by Aṣṭāvakra here. Such a
wise man certainly will not act in the world thereafter (1)
irresponsibly, (2) foolishly, (3) mischievously, (4) playfully –
as a child! A child in his ignorance may invite harm unto
itself, and can innocently cause disastrous calamities to
others. A wise man, as long as he lives in this world, will
never initiate activities which would bring, even
unconsciously, sorrows to individuals or to the community.
He is so well-established in the harmony of the universal
Self that all his actions must bring only blessings to others;
even activities which look apparently ridiculous or immoral,
can but bring only, in the end, blessings to the community!
They can do no wrong, never!!

आ मा े त िन य भावाभावौ च क पतौ।
िन कामः क िवजाना त क ूते च करो त िकम्॥८॥
ātmā brahmeti niścitya bhāvābhāvau ca kalpitau,
niṣkāmaḥ kiṁ vijānāti kiṁ brūte ca karoti kim. (8)

आ मा – Self; – Brahman; इ त – thus; िन य – having known

with certitude; भाव-अभावौ – existence and non-existence; च –
and; क पतौ – imagined; िन कामः – desireless; िकम् – what;
िवजाना त – knows; िकम् – what; ूते – says; च – and; करो त – does;
िकम् – what

8. Having known with certitude that the Self is Brahman,

and the existence and non-existence are mere imaginations,
what can one, who is desireless, know, say or do?

Here the term ‘existence and non-existence’ is used as an

idiom to indicate the entire world of multiplicity which is
recognised in terms of the pairs of opposites, such as joy
and sorrow, heat and cold, good and bad, right and wrong
and so on. All of them are at once comprehended by this
suggestive term. This is a very popular and much used
philosophical idiom in Vedānta.

The pairs of opposites are expressions of the mind and

intellect and naturally, they are illusions projected by the
restless mind upon the substratum, the peaceful Self. One
who has awakened to the Self, has ended all his illusions –
one having seen the post, can he get any longer disturbed
by the ghost visions?

For such an individual, who has transcended the mind

and, therefore, has reached a state of perfect desireless-
ness, there can neither be an ego, nor any actions. He has
transcended all the three equipments of body, mind and
intellect and naturally, the Teacher asks, ‘What can one,
who is desireless, know, say or do?’ Here ‘knowing’ is the
function of the intellect, ‘saying’ represents all activities at
the body level and ‘doing’ all the functions of the mind. In
short, there will be no sense of ‘doership’ or ‘enjoyership’ in
that perfected Master.

An ancient sage has sung: ‘The liberated is ever the Self

beyond the mind and so not bound by anything; bondage
and Liberation are conditions that depend upon the mind.
One whose mind has become hushed up, his entire sense of
individuality has ended.’4

अयं सोऽहमयं नाहिम त ीणा िवक पनाः।

सवमा मे त िन य तू णी भूत य योिगनः॥९॥
ayaṁ so'ham-ayaṁ nāham-iti kṣīṇā vikalpanāḥ,
sarvam-ātmeti niścitya tūṣṇīm-bhūtasya yoginaḥ. (9)

अयम् सः – this is That; अहम् – I; अयम् – this; न – not; अहम् – I; इ त –

thus; ीणाः – extinguished; िवक पनाः – thoughts; सवम् –
everything; आ मा – Self; इ त – thus; िन य – knowing with
certitude; तू ण भूत य – become quiet; योिगनः – of the yogin

9. Such thoughts as ‘this is That,’ ‘I am That,’ and ‘I am not

this’ are extinguished for the yogin who has become quiet,
knowing with certitude that everything is Self only.

On realising the one infinite Self as all-pervading and

immutable, every kind of mental concept must completely
cease. That ‘I am the body, mind and intellect’, or that ‘I am
not the body, mind and the intellect’, or the idea that ‘I am
the Self’ – all these are conceptual and are, therefore, mere
mental disturbances and at their best only serious
intellectual approximations. To become the Self and to live
in the state of the Self, is to end all such artificial repetitions
and conceptual approximations. The Liberated in life directly
experiences the Self immutable.

In one who has realised, all such thought agitations are

extinguished, and he lives continuously in the awareness
that he is the Self and, therefore, he is the all.

ि े ो ै ो ो
न िव ेपो न चैका ्यं ना तबोधो न मूढता।
न सुखं न च वा दःु खमुपशा त य योिगनः॥१०॥
na vikṣepo na caikāgryaṁ nātibodho na mūḍhatā,
na sukhaṁ na ca vā duḥkham-upaśāntasya yoginaḥ. (10)

न – not; िव ेपः – distractions (agitations); न – not; च – and;

एका ्यम् – concentration; न – not; अ तबोधः – increase of
knowledge; न – not; मूढता – ignorance; न – not; सुखम् –
pleasure; न – not; च – and; वा – or; दःु खम् – pain; उपशा त य – who
has become serene; योिगनः – of yogin

10. The yogin who has attained serenity has no more

distractions, no concentration, no increase in knowledge, no
ignorance. He has neither pleasure nor pain.

The Liberated in life has transcended his mind-intellect

equipment and, therefore, in his serenity there is no
fluctuation of knowledge, or feeling, that might come to
disturb him ever. ‘Distractions’ are the experiences of
agitations in the mind. ‘Concentration’ is practised as a
discipline of the intellect over the distracted and wild mind.
Brilliancy of knowledge or dullness or ignorance are all
bright and dull conditions of the intellect. Pleasure and pain
are the experiences in the mind.

All these enumerated list of factors are to show that

there is no stormy state of restlessness in the bosom of a
Man of Perfection. Nothing disturbs his infinite serenity. He
experiences what Christ describes as, ‘The Peace, that
passeth all understanding’.

े ै ौ े े े
 वारा ये भै यवृ ौ च लाभालाभे जने वने।
िन वक प वभाव य न िवशेषोऽ त योिगनः॥११॥
svārājye bhaikṣya-vṛttau ca lābhālābhe jane vane,
nirvikalpa-svabhāvasya na viśeṣo'sti yoginaḥ. (11)

वारा ये – in the dominion of heaven; भै यवृ ौ – in beggary; च –

and; लाभअलाभे – in gain and loss; जने – in society; वने – in
forest; िन वक प वभाव य – whose nature is without desire
agitations; न – not; िवशेषः – difference; अ त – is, योिगनः – of the
yogin

11. Be he in heaven or be he in beggary, be he in gain or

loss, in company of society or lonely in forest, there is no
difference to the yogin, who is free from desire agitations.

The previous verse expounded the continuous state of

tranquillity of the inner equipments of the Liberated in life. It
is very well-known that a wise man also will have to
certainly live in the very same world of disturbances in
which we live. We know that there are thousands of
situations, where the outer world can blast our peace within
and storm our bosom with hordes of worldly agitations.
Here, in this verse, Aṣṭāvakra clearly declares that the outer
world of happenings, the circumstances and conditions
around a Man of Realisation will not affect him at all, at any
time.

Thus, let him be placed in a heavenly arrangement of

circumstances to give extreme happiness and pleasure or
let him be placed in the midst of poverty and privations
forcing him to live a life of beggary, his inward peace and
joy is not affected in the least! To him gain and loss are
insignificant fluctuations in the outer world. He gains
nothing by the worldly gains nor can his spiritual happiness
be lost by the loss of worldly objects!

Be he in a pleasant company in a city or be he lonely in a

forest, it is the same to him, he is ever in the Infinite. The
Liberated, who has conquered his desire-agitations, is no
more an ego conditioned by its mind and so he is
invulnerable to the persecutions of the world around him.

He lives with his head and heart lost in the

transcendental, though his feet are upon the earth where
we crawl about in our misery and self-created illusions of
our daily sorrows!!

व धमः व च वा कामः व चाथः व िववेकता।

इदं कृतिमदं ने त ैमु य योिगनः॥१२॥
kva dharmaḥ kva ca vā kāmaḥ kva cārthaḥ kva vivekatā,
idaṁ kṛtam-idaṁ neti dvandvair-muktasya yoginaḥ. (12)

व – where; धमः – righteousness; व – where; च – and; वा – or;

कामः – sense of enjoyment; व – where; च – and; अथः – wealth;
व – where; िववेकता – conscience; इदम् – this; कृतम् – done; इदम् –
this; न – not; इ त – thus; ैः – from pairs of opposites; मु य –
free; योिगनः – of the yogin

12. For a yogin, who has transcended such dual notions as

‘this is to be done’ and ‘this is not to be done’ where is
righteousness (dharma)? Where is sense enjoyment (kāma)?
Where is worldly prosperity (artha) and where is conscience
(vivekatā)?

In the relative fields of consciousness alone can the ego

function and all pairs of opposites are the agitations of the
ego. The idea that some things are ‘to be done’ and some
are ‘not to be done’ is based upon the delusion of seeking
one’s happiness in the world of objects and their
arrangements. One, in whom the ego has ended, can no
longer have in him the compulsions of the pairs of
opposites. To such an individual, who has already reached
the supreme goal, he has no more any use for the various
wayside stations which are the ‘goals of life’ (puruṣārthas),
as conceived by the Hindu way of living – dharma, artha and
kāma. He is not moving towards Mokṣa, he has reached
Liberation in life.

Man is often tempted to act at the body and mind levels

compromising his own intellectual convictions and ideals.
The passing fascination for some immediate gain forces the
mind and the body to revolt against the restraint of the
intellect and rush out to embrace these fanciful sense
objects. When the mind’s passion is satisfied, the intellect
regains its command and the mind feels a deep regret at
the honest criticisms of the intellect! These shooting pangs
of regrets of the mind for having disobeyed the nobler
discriminations of the intellect, are popularly called as the
‘conscience pricks’.

This is the lot of all educated, cultured people; frequently

we are compelled to compromise with our own right
understanding. To a Man of Perfection there is no such self-
criticism that can rise in his intellect, because he has
transcended all the equipments! He has no regrets in life,
even for ‘what he has done’, or regarding ‘what he has not
yet done.’ The term ‘vivekatā’ used here for ‘conscience’ is
a very novel term used with its own significant import.

कृ यं िकमिप नैवा त न कािप िद र ना।

यथा जीवनमेवेह जीव मु य योिगनः॥१३॥
kṛtyaṁ kimapi naivāsti na kāpi hṛdi rañjanā,
yathā jīvanam-eveha jīvanmuktasya yoginaḥ. (13)

कृ यम् – duty; िकम् अिप – any; न – not; एव – surely; अ त – is; न –

not; कािप – any; िद – at heart; र ना – attachment; यथाजीवनम् –
pertaining to present life; एव – only (is); इह – in this world;
जीवन्-मु य – Liberated in life; योिगनः – of the yogin

13. The yogin, who is Liberated in life, has neither any duty
nor any attachment at heart. His actions merely follow the
lot of his life.

On awakening to the higher plane, the Self, the Man of

Perfection has transcended his ego. Not only that he has no
more ego sense as ‘I’ but also has no more ego feeling as
‘my’. This is the very reason why he has neither desires – no
‘I’ to entertain them; nor attachments – no sense of
possession ‘my’ to feel attachments for. Generally, when a
man desires, then he will have attachments to his desired
objects. The Liberated in life has neither of them.

In the previous verse the Man of Realisation is described

as remaining in his highest state of experience in samādhi,
while here in this verse Aṣṭāvakra is describing the
Liberated in life as seen by others, functioning in society. We
see a sage acting in life so long as his body lives. The sage
takes up any work that turns up and lives any kind of life
that is available for him.

He is unique, inasmuch as an ordinary man is compelled

to choose a particular kind of work and to insist upon a
definite type of life that he wants to live. A worldly man
insists upon living his own chosen profession. To a Man of
Perfection there is no choosing; he never plans or demands;
he just lives.
 He seems to work in any field that comes to him
unasked; he lives upon that whatever comes to him by
chance! Under all conditions and circumstances, in all
companies, everywhere, at all times, he is supremely serene
and blissful in his greater identification with the infinite
Reality. He acts as forced by the prārabdha – resultant of the
past actions of his body!!

The body was initiated as a resultant of the past deeds. It

has arrived in this world to experience not only the rewards
of his past noble life but also pay for the bad deeds of the
past, in terms of exhausting strifes, sorrowful
circumstances, miserable diseases, and so on. But a
Liberated in life, with equal enthusiasm plunges joyously
into all such actions that reach him and his body vigorously
functions, wherein he is no ‘doer’, but only an indifferent
‘observer’, a patient ‘witness’. Hence, the deeds of a sage
are termed here as ‘yathā jīvanam’.

Even this descriptive explanation is merely to satisfy our

ignorant viewpoint wherein we see the body of the sage
functioning in our plane of consciousness. The Man of
Realisation is ever in the Self. He has become the Self. In
him all activities take place. He himself is ever an observer
of his own body functioning through its varied experiences
of joys and sorrows! He is never involved in them.

व मोहः व च वा िव ं व त ानं व मु ता।

सवस पसीमायां िव ा त य महा मनः॥१४॥
kva mohaḥ kva ca vā viśvaṁ kva taddhānaṁ kva muktatā,
sarva-saṅkalpa-sīmāyāṁ viśrāntasya mahātmanaḥ. (14)
 व – where; मोहः – delusion; व – where; च – and; वा – or; िव म् –
universe; व – where; (तत्-हानम् ) त -धानम् – its renunciation; व
– where; मु ता – Liberation; सवस पसीमायाम् – beyond the
borders of the world of desire agitations; िव ा त य – resting;
महा मनः – of the noble-minded one

14. Where is delusion? Where is the universe? Where is its

renunciation? Or, where is the Liberation itself for the noble-
minded one, who rests beyond the world of desire
agitations?

The 'ignorance' of the Self procreates the delusion of the

world of multiplicity. To a sage who has awakened himself to
the Self, there is no more any delusion nor does he
recognise any world of plurality other than the immutable
Self, the one without a second. Since he is not recognising
the world of objects, what is there for him to renounce?
Indeed, he rests in the Self, beyond the world of all passions
and cravings and their endless agitations. Calm and serene,
he lives the bliss of the peaceful Self.

येन िव िमदं ं स ना ती त करोतु वै।

िनवासनः क कु ते प य िप न प य त॥१५॥
yena viśvam-idaṁ dṛṣṭaṁ sa nāstīti karotu vai,
nirvāsanaḥ kiṁ kurute paśyannapi na paśyati. (15)

येन – by whom; िव म् – universe; इदम् – this; म् – is seen; सः –

he; न – not; अ त – is; इ त – thus; करोतु – may try to obliterate
it; वै – indeed; िनवासनः – one who is desireless; िकम् – what; कु ते
– has to do; प यन् – seeing; अिप – though; न – not; प य त –
beholds
15. He, who sees the universe, may try to obliterate it! What
has the desireless to do? He beholds it not, even though he
sees!!

It is the individualised ego that identifies with the body-

mind-intellect equipment and recognises through it the
world of objects emotions and thoughts. When there is a
subject to experience, there is also a world of objects to be
experienced, complete with its joys and sorrows. We are
now living at the level of the ego and as such we see only
our projected world of names and forms. In our present
state of consciousness, we have to accept what we perceive
and experience, as the only reality. We have no concept of
the subtler realm of the infinite Self. To the deluded the
ghost alone is real; there is no post at all! And the deluded
man must try to negate the ghost in his attempt to see the
post. One who beholds the post must necessarily fail to see
the ghost; one who beholds the Self, fails to see the world.

The desireless one has no ego in him, which is the

‘observer’ in the bosom. Where the ego has ended, the Self
is realised. Awakened to the perception of the Self, the sage
perceives nothing but the Self everywhere.

‘Seeing’ is the function of the fleshy eyes. The Man of

Perfection also sees through his eyes the world of objects;
yet, he cannot behold our world which is to us of infinite
enjoyments, powerful fascinations, with its tragic sorcery to
bring storms of agitations and sorrows into our bosom,
which destroy us completely in exertion, fatigue and
disappointment. The awakened Master, though he sees this
world with his eyes, fails to behold in it anything unholy and
threatening. He sees nothing but the peaceful Self, the
blissful Reality, spread everywhere within and without, in
which the world of names and forms, of joys and sorrows,
have no existence at all. The dream has ended; he has
awakened.

We see through our ignorance and understand the world

as substantial and real. The sage also sees the same world,
but through his understanding recognises it as insubstantial
and unreal. He sees the world as mere ‘castles in the sky’,
as the ‘mirage water’, as the ‘double moon’, as the
entertaining ‘creations of a magician’. The Man of
Realisation lives in our world, but his experience of the Self
helps him to evaluate life correctly.

येन ं परं सोऽहं े त च तयेत्।

क च तय त िन तो ि तीयं यो न प य त॥१६॥
yena dṛṣṭaṁ paraṁ brahma so'haṁ brahmeti cintayet,
kiṁ cintayati niścinto dvitīyaṁ yo na paśyati. (16)

येन – by whom; म् – is seen; परम् – supreme; – Brahman;

सः – he; अहं – I am Brahman; इ त – thus; च तयेत् – meditates
upon; िकम् – what; च तय त – meditates; िन तः – one who has
transcended thoughts; ि तीयम् – second; यः – who; न – not;
प य त – sees

16. He, who sees the supreme Brahman, meditates upon ‘I

am Brahman’. He who has transcended all thoughts and
when he sees ‘no second’, what should he meditate upon?

In the verse here, Aṣṭāvakra points out the subtle distinction

between the two higher states in meditation. At the earlier
stage the student, as a result of his deep study and long
reflection, becomes intellectually convinced of the one
infinite immutable Reality which is the substratum for the
illusory play of names and forms that constitute the
universe. Here, the student ‘sees the supreme Brahman’
meaning, he intellectually conceives the Existence and
understands the nature of the supreme Reality. At this stage
the student should strive to meditate on, ‘I am Brahman’
(aham brahmāsmi). Through this meditation and continuous
assertion ‘I am Brahman’ he achieves his total detachment
from his equipments and discovers his identity with the
infinite Self. This stage is defined as ‘samādhi with thought’
(savikalpa samādhi).

As a result of this spiritual practice and long self-

discipline, the ego ends, the illusory world of perceptions
cease and the seeker awakes to become the sage of direct
spiritual experience. He transcends his intellect and its
thoughts and experiences the one without a second. Having
thus reached this state of Consciousness, wherein he has
discovered his perfect identity with the Brahman, Aṣṭāvakra
asks very pertinently: ‘Upon what should he meditate?’

Until we sleep, we can try to sleep, but having slept who

is there to try? Having reached the state of Self, where is
the seeker to meditate? And try to reach what? On reaching
the goal the pilgrimage has ended. On realising the Self,
meditation has culminated. The meditator has become the
meditated. In this great awakening, the ego has ended
along with its dreams. The ego has become the one Self
everywhere.

Describing such a Man of Perfection, who has reached his

spiritual goal, Ᾱcārya Śaṅkara sings in his Vivekacūḍāmaṇi:
‘He who giving up all considerations of the fitness or
otherwise of objects of meditation, lives as the absolute
Ᾱtman. He is indeed Śiva Himself, the best among the
knowers of Brahman.’5

ो े ि े ोि ो े ौ
 ो येना मिव ेपो िनरोधं कु ते वसौ।
उदार तु न िव ः सा याभावा करो त िकम्॥१७॥
dṛṣṭo yenātma-vikṣepo nirodhaṁ kurute tvasau,
udārastu na vikṣiptaḥ sādhyābhāvāt-karoti kim. (17)

ः – is seen, experienced; येन – by whom; आ मिव ेपः –

distraction in himself; िनरोधं कु ते – practises self-control; तु –
indeed; असौ – he; उदारः – the noble-minded great one; तु – but;
न – not; िव ः – distracted; सा यअभावात् – having nothing to
accomplish; करो त – does; िकम् – what

17. He who experiences distractions in himself indeed must

control himself. But the noble-minded great one is not
distracted at all. Having nothing to accomplish, what should
he do?

At the ‘non-apprehension’ of the Reality ‘misapprehensions’

are entertained by the mind. Spiritual ‘ignorance’ is,
therefore, the cause for the ego and its perceptions of the
world. As a limited ego when it recognises the world of
plurality, it gets distracted with enjoyments of the perceived
world. As a spiritual seeker then, the egocentric sādhaka
must necessarily practise ‘self-control’ in order to turn his
mind away from the fields of his passions and to persuade it
to contemplate upon the peaceful Self. The imperfect must
strive to reach perfection.

But to the sage, who is Liberated in life, who knows no

distractions, who is ever living the blissful peace of the
infinite Perfection, he has nothing to accomplish and,
therefore, what has he to do? He has nothing more to gain!
He has become the Self. His mind has ended. His ego has
merged. The world dream has rolled away from him. He is
the Self – ever all-pervading and immutable. A sage knows
no meditation.

धीरो लोकिवपय तो वतमानोऽिप लोकवत्।

न समा ध न िव ेपं न लेपं व य प य त॥१८॥
dhīro loka-viparyasto vartamāno'pi lokavat,
na samādhiṁ na vikṣepaṁ na lepaṁ svasya paśyati. (18)

धीरः – the wise man; लोकिवपय तः – reverse of the common

man; वतमानः – existing; अिप – though; लोकवत् – like an ordinary
man; न – not; समा धम् – absorption; न – not; िव ेपम् – distraction;
न – not; लेपम् – involvement; व य – of his own; प य त – sees

18. The wise man though living like an ordinary person is

the reverse of the common man. He sees neither
absorption, nor distraction nor involvement of himself.

A sage of spiritual vision lives like any other ordinary man in

the world and he pursues normal life. Yet, he is the reverse
of the common man in his estimate of himself and the world
around. We, the common folk, consider the world of sense
objects as real and to us spiritual essence is a matter of
doubt, a questionable hypothesis of the subtle philosophers.
To the Realised sage, the Self alone is the one Reality and he
lives It constantly in his experience. To him the world of
objects are all illusions of the human mind.

A sage of inward constant Experience Divine recognises

nothing – neither absorption (samādhi), nor distraction
(vikṣepa) – for he has transcended his mind, and samādhi
and vikṣepa are the conditions of the mind, nor does he
himself ever get involved (lepam) in the world of activity.
This does not mean that he will not act. He constantly
serves the world; but he never gets involved meaning, he
never acts with ego and egocentric desires and as such, no
vāsanās are created in him by his activities. Thus ‘he is the
reverse of the common man’.

भावाभाविवहीनो य तृ ो िनवासनो बुधः।

नैव िक त् कृतं तेन लोक ा िवकुवता॥१९॥
bhāvābhāva-vihīno yastṛpto nirvāsano budhaḥ,
naiva kiñcit kṛtaṁ tena loka-dṛṣṭyā vikurvatā. (19)

भाव अभाविवहीनः – transcends existence and non-existence; यः –

who; तृ ः – contented; िनवासनः – free from desires; बुधः – wise;
न – not; एव – even; िक त् – anything; कृतम् – done; तेन – by him;
लोक ा – in the sight of the world; िवकुवता – acting vigorously

19. He, who transcends existence and non-existence, who is

wise, contented, free from desires, does nothing, even if he
be acting vigorously in the eyes of the world.

In the world outside, the public may recognise that the

Liberated in life is dynamically engaging himself in vigorous
programmes of service to the society. Yet, a Man of
Perfection ‘does nothing’, in the sense that his actions are
not actions at all, in the ordinary sense of the word.

We act in the world, motivated by our egocentric desires.

Such actions, undertaken with ego and egocentric desires,
leave their reactions upon us in the form of vāsanās. A Man
of Realisation has ended his ego. ‘He is contented and free
from desires’ and, therefore, his actions are no more
actions.
 ‘He has transcended both existence and non-existence’.
Existence meaning here his identification with the body,
mind and intellect and non-existence standing for the subtle
unmanifested vāsanās left in him by his past actions. Since
he has no identification either with his gross or subtle or his
causal body, his actions can be considered neither as selfish
nor selfless works. At best they can be considered only as a
sport, a play (līlā).

When a child is at play, we cannot call it ‘a work’ though

the child expresses its intelligence and exhausts its energy.
It has nothing to gain by the play nor will the child lose
anything by not playing. Its play is but a natural explosion of
its energy! Thus ‘works’ the Liberated in life, in any field
that comes to him unasked. There is no impulse of desire
behind any of his activities.

These few verses form a beautiful and exhaustive

discourse upon the ‘actionless action’ recommended by the
Bhagavad-gītā: ‘He who recognises inaction in action and
action in inaction is wise among men; he is a yogī and a true
performer of all actions.’6

वृ ौ वा िनवृ ौ वा नैव धीर य द ु हः।

यदा य कतुमाया त त कृ वा त तः सुखम्॥२०॥
pravṛttau vā nivṛttau vā naiva dhīrasya durgrahaḥ,
yadā yatkartum-āyāti tatkṛtvā tiṣṭhataḥ sukham. (20)

वृ ौ – in activity; वा – or; िनवृ ौ – in inactivity; वा – or; न – not;

एव – surely; धीर य – of the wise one; द ु हः – trouble,
uneasiness; यदा – which; यत् – what; कतुम् – to do; आया त –
comes; तत् – that; कृ वा – doing; त तः – living; सुखम् – happily
20. The wise one, who lives on happily, doing what comes to
him to be done, does not feel trouble (uneasy) either in
activity or in inactivity.

The Man of Realisation has nothing to gain for himself by

undertaking an activity nor has he to lose anything by not
doing; yet, he is seen to be constantly engaged in various
programmes of service. This is explained in the following
verse by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Gītā: ‘Nor is there anything
unattained that should be attained by Me; yet, I engage
Myself in action’7.

Aṣṭāvakra here explains that into the activities that reach

him uninvited – as demanded by his age, for the benefit of
the community – he plunges fully, recognising them as his
prārabdha.

While his body, mind and intellect are functioning in their

respective fields, he remains unaffected, constantly rooted
in his experience of the divine Self, observing, along with
the universe around him, his own equipments expressing in
the field of action. Since he is so fully established in the
experience of the one Self everywhere, his equipments can
never dance except to the melody of Life Divine. No
discordant note can ever come into the songful actions of
such a perfect Master.

Be he in the fields of activity or be he in retirement, he is

equally peaceful, contented and blissful. In no activity is he
ever a ‘doer’ or an ‘enjoyer’. There is no ego in him. He
revels as the Self, his equipments act in His divine presence
within!!

ि ोि ो
िनवासनो िनराल बः व छ दो मु ब धनः।
ः सं कारवातेन चे ते शु कपणवत्॥२१॥
nirvāsano nirālambaḥ svacchando mukta-bandhanaḥ,
kṣiptaḥ saṁskāra-vātena ceṣṭate śuṣka-parṇavat. (21)

िनवासनः – desireless; िनराल बः – autonomous (independent);

व छ दः – free; मु ब धनः – free from bondage; ः – blown;
सं कारवातेन – by wind of effects of past actions; चे ते – moves;
शु कपणवत् – like a dry leaf

21. Blown by the wind of effects of the past actions

(saṁskāras), the desireless, independent, free and liberated
person moves about like a dry leaf.

To one who has realised the Infinitude, he has no more

vanity of his body, in fact, he has no more use for it. It is
something like a dry leaf that has fallen away from a tree,
when its functions are ended for the tree! The body-mind-
intellect equipments have already dried up, curled and
fallen away from the wise man; they are of no use to him,
the Self-realised.

Not only the leaf dances on the branches of the tree, but
the fallen leaf again, apparently seems to be very dynamic
and active when it is blown hither and thither by the passing
breeze! To the ignorant eyes of men, a sage also seems to
be acting in the world outside. The body of the enlightened,
when it functions in the world, does so not prompted by his
ego and egocentric desires. Aṣṭāvakra explains that like a
dry leaf that is blown here and there by the whimsical
breeze, so too, the equipments of a Man of Perfection move
about in different directions set by its prārabdha.
 The past actions leave deep and powerful vāsanās, which
channelise all the thought flow into definite directions, in
each individual. These thought channels, that determine the
character of an individual, made by the cumulative effects
of his entire past, are called saṁskāras. One yogī may
spend all his lifetime in quietude, in a solitary cave plunged
in samādhi. Another one may move about in the society, like
a mad man, miserably clad, careless of his food, sleeping
perhaps on the footpath, exposed to the sun and rain! Yet
another, may take great programmes for the cultural revival
of a country and for the moral rehabilitation of his
community! One may found a religion, and another may
float a mission! None of them is responsible for any of his
actions because there is no doer ego in any one of them.
Their actions are determined by their prārabdha and they
are never involved in any of their activities. They live in a
realm where our praises and abuses cannot even reach
them!

The analogy of the dry leaf moving without any purpose,

shunted here and there, by the amorous breeze, is a very
striking example for the propelling force working behind a
spiritual Master in his life after his Self-rediscovery.

असंसार य तु वािप न हष न िवषादता।

स शीतलमना िन यं िवदेह इव राजते॥२२॥
asaṁsārasya tu kvāpi na harṣo na viṣādatā,
sa śītalamanā nityaṁ videha iva rājate. (22)

असंसार य – one who has transcended worldly experience;

तु – indeed; व-अिप – anywhere; न – not; हषः – joy; न – not;
िवषादता – sorrow; सः – he; शीतलमना – tranquil minded; िन यम् –
ever; िवदेहः – one without a body; इव – as if; राजते – exists
22. Never is joy or sorrow, for one who has transcended the
worldly experiences. Tranquil in mind, he lives like one
without a body.

Once the ego is transcended, the identifications with the

body and the mind have also ended. In the mind alone the
sensations of joy and sorrow can arise. These are different
modifications of the mind. These disturbances can reach the
mind only with reference to a desire fulfilled or a desire
flouted. To the Realised saint there are neither ego nor
desires and, therefore, his mind is ever tranquil, as thought
agitations cannot rise to disturb his bosom.

In this divine inner peace, the Man of Perfection

constantly experiences the supreme state of infinite
Consciousness and his body, as explained earlier,
unmotivated by personal desires, moves about prompted by
its own prārabdha. In his physical reactions with the world
around, he seems to be so careless about his body, as he is
not himself constantly conscious of his equipments.
Aṣṭāvakra here points out the stepmotherly attitude of a
Man of Perfection towards his own body and its destiny, and
the sage exclaims in his song, that the Liberated in life ‘lives
like one without a body’.

This supreme state is practically described in Yoga-

vāsiṣṭha: ‘Later, having reached holy of the holies, this
unborn state, his tranquil mind established in It, he never
grieves even amidst the greatest calamities.’8

कु ािप न जहासाऽ त नाशो वाऽिप न कु चत्।

आ माराम य धीर य शीतला छतरा मनः॥२३॥
kutrāpi na jihāsā'sti nāśo vā'pi na kutracit,
ātmārāmasya dhīrasya śītalācchatarātmanaḥ. (23)

कु ािप – anywhere; न – not; जहासा – desire to renounce; अ त –

is; नाशः – loss; वा – or; अिप – even; न – not; कु चत् – anywhere;
आ माराम य – one who delights in the Self; धीर य – of the wise
man; शीतल अ छतर आ मनः – whose mind is serene and pure

23. The wise, who delights in the Self, whose mind is serene
and pure, has no desire to renounce anything whatsoever,
nor does he feel any loss anywhere.

On transcending the mind alone is the state of Self-realised.

The thought flow that constitutes the mind cannot dry up
until its source, the egocentric desire, has been completely
eliminated. When thus the ego has ended and the mind
flouted, the delusory vision of the world should completely
end and, therefore, to the ‘the wise man who delights in the
Self’, there can be ‘no desire to renounce anything
whatsoever’. He sees nothing to be renounced! His mind is
serene and pure (śītalācchatarātmanaḥ). Serene and
extremely pure, meaning completely ‘agitationless’9.

This does not mean that he will hold on to everything in

the world! For, a worldly man also does not want to
renounce anything! To clarify this position the sage
continues: ‘Nor does he feel any loss anywhere’. The man of
enlightenment comes to live in such a different dimension
altogether that no loss in the relative world of finite objects
around him nor within him, can affect, even in the least, the
infinite joys of the immutable Self. Transcending the body
and mind, the ego in the wise man, has now awakened to
the blissful Self.

ो
 कृ या शू य च य कुवतोऽ य य छया।
ाकृत येव धीर य न मानो नावमानता॥२४॥
prakṛtyā śūnya-cittasya kurvato'sya yadṛcchayā,
prākṛtasyeva dhīrasya na māno nāvamānatā. (24)

कृ या – by nature; शू य च य – void in mind; कुवतः – doing; अ य

– this; य छया – what comes of itself unasked; ाकृत य इव – like
a common man; धीर य – of the wise one; न – not; मानः –
honour; न – not; अवमानता – dishonour

24. Void in mind by nature and doing what comes of itself

unasked, the wise one, unlike a common man, is not
affected by honour or dishonour.

The Liberated in life by his very nature becomes ‘void in

mind’ as the thought flow in him has ceased. He has
transcended his mind. No modifications can disturb the
mental stuff in him. He spends his time performing
whatever work comes to him unasked, prompted by his
prārabdha! Though he is thus living in our world, functioning
like any one of us, unlike us, it is immaterial for him whether
he is revered or cursed for his activities. His body acts on
the stage of the world as the dry leaves which are blown
here and there by the passing breeze. The wise man’s
actions are all prompted by a higher will, ever divinely kind
and always sweetly merciful. The Lord of the universe
(Jagadīśvara) functions through him. Honour and dishonour
are judgements of the intellect; to one who has transcended
his intellect, where is the honour? What is the dishonour?

कृतं देहेन कमदं न मया शु िपणा।

इ त च तानुरोधी यः कुव िप करो त न॥२५॥
kṛtaṁ dehena karmedaṁ na mayā śuddha-rūpiṇā,
iti cintānurodhī yaḥ kurvannapi karoti na. (25)

कृतम् – done; देहेन – by the body; कम – work; इदम् – this; न – not;

मया – by me; शु िपणा – of pure nature; इ त च ता अनुरोधी – thus
confirming to such thoughts; यः – who; कुवन् – acting; अिप –
though; करो त – acts; न – not

25. One who acts in conformity with thoughts such as: ‘This
is done by the body and not by me, the pure Self’ – such a
person even though acting does not act.

An action is not a mere movement of limbs. Without a wilful

ego an action is never performed. In deep sleep, if you kick
with your foot, even your own Guru, it is not an act.
Whatever a child does is not considered as an action. Action
is an action where there is an egocentric wilfulness.

A Liberated in life is one who lives constantly in the

experience that he is the Self and that all activities done in
the world are done by his body and mind, drawing their
vitality from the Self, all by themselves and that he is not
involved in these activities. Thus, there is no ego to receive
the results of those actions of the body and therefore,
Aṣṭāvakra-gītā here declares: ‘Even though acting he does
not act’ (kurvannapi karoti na).

This idea is one of the vibrant thoughts running through

and through the Bhagavad-gītā.10 Upaniṣads repeatedly
thunder this idea. Mystic Masters of all eras in India have
again and again confirmed the truth of this statement with
their own inward experiences.

ी े े ि
अत ादीव कु ते न भवेदिप बा लशः।
जीव मु ः सुखी ीमान् संसर िप शोभते॥२६॥
atad-vādīva kurute na bhaved-api bāliśaḥ,
jīvanmuktaḥ sukhī śrīmān saṁsarannapi śobhate. (26)

अत ादी इव – like one who does not say why; कु ते – acts; न –

not; भवेत् – is; अिप – even though; बा लशः – dullard, fool; जीव मु ः
– Liberated in life; सुखी – happy; ीमान् – blessed; संसरन् – in the
world; अिप – even; शोभते – flourishes

26. The Liberated in life even though acts like one, who
does not say why he is acting so, is not, thereby, a fool. He
flourishes in the world and is happy and even blessed.

An intelligent man plans his activities and expects to

achieve his chosen goal or earn his purpose. He is clear of
his motives. He is precise of his intentions. But an
unintelligent fool, if he is questioned, due to his foolishness,
cannot say for what purpose he is doing a piece of work. He
is unconscious of his intentions. He is not intelligent enough
to recognise that his activities are to achieve a definite goal
of his. If such a fool were to be asked why he has
undertaken a certain activity, he is not able to state his
motive (atad-vādī)11.

The liberated in life, under the force of the prārabdha of

his body, spontaneously acts in the world, mainly to
establish goodwill among mankind. But if we were to ask
him why he is undertaking such endeavours, he has no
answer to give, he can only smile. His actions are without
any personal motives; they are all programmes of activities
expressing through him as ordained by the Lord of the
universe.
 Here the fool is not able to answer because he is far
below the average in his mind and intellect. The wise man is
not able to answer the same questions because he is so
much arisen above the mind-intellect equipment.

Even though living in this world, wherein we suffer our

daily tensions, stresses and conflicts, the liberated in life, as
he has no ego in him, ‘is ever happy and blessed’.

नानािवचारसु ा तो धीरो िव ा तमागतः।

न क पते न जाना त न णो त न प य त॥२७॥
nānā-vicāra-suśrānto dhīro viśrāntim-āgataḥ,
na kalpate na jānāti na śṛṇoti na paśyati. (27)

नानािवचारसु ा तः – withdrawing from diverse reasonings; धीरः –

the wise one; िव ा तम् – complete repose; आगतः –attains; न –
not; क पते – thinks; न – not; जाना त – knows; न – not; णो त –
hears; न – not; प य त – sees

27. The wise man who has withdrawn himself from diverse
reasonings and has attained complete repose, neither thinks
nor knows nor hears nor sees.

The divine experience of the infinite Self is beyond all

reason. It is not intellectual appreciation, but it is a spiritual
apprehension, gained when the meditator transcends his
intellect. Once the Man of Perfection has reached this
blissful state of total repose, it being the state of the
immutable Self, never again can he ever be shunted out of
it into the realm of the mind, to be mercilessly tossed about
there, amidst its endless agitations.
 The ego in him has ended and, therefore, there cannot
be in him either the sense of ‘doership’ or the sense of
‘enjoyership’. Therefore, ‘he neither thinks nor knows nor
hears nor sees’. It is the subject ego who identifies with the
intellect, mind and the sense organs and arrogates the
sense of individuality as a ‘thinker’–I, or a ‘feeler’–I, or a
‘knower’–I, or a ‘perceiver’–I. With the end of the ego all
these functions have ended. The enlightened one has
attained the peaceful repose of the infinite Self.

असमाधेरिव ेपा मुमु ुन चेतरः।

िन य क पतं प यन् ै ा ते महाशयः॥२८॥
व
asamādher-avikṣepānna mumukṣurna cetaraḥ,
niścitya kalpitaṁ paśyan brahmaivāste mahāśayaḥ. (28)

असमाधेः – not practising meditation; अिव ेपात् – for having no

agitations; न – not; मुमु ुः – aspirant for Liberation; न – not; च –
and; इतरः – the other (bound); िन य – knowing for certain;
क पतम् – figment of imagination; प यन् – seeing; –
Brahman; एव – as; आ ते – lives; महाशयः – the wise one

28. Since the wise one has no agitations and does not
practise meditation, he is not an aspirant for Liberation nor
is he, in bondage. Having known the universe to be a
figment of his imagination, even though he sees it, he exists
as Brahman itself.

The causes for agitations in man’s bosom are ego and his
egocentric desires. In the wise man, the vāsanās have
ended and his ego has sublimated. He lives in the Brāhmika-
Consciousness and experiences It as his own real nature.
 Since there are no agitations, he will not be any longer
trying to control the mind's outgoing tendencies, through
diligent practice of meditation. The hungry alone needs to
eat food; the thirsty alone needs to drink, the agitated mind
alone need practise meditation. The sage who has already
reached the goal and has thus awakened to the divine
nature, infinite and immutable, need not do any more
meditation. Since he is not meditating, he cannot be
considered any longer as an ‘aspirant for Liberation’
(mumukṣu). The fact is, he has already liberated (mukta)
himself from all his delusory entanglements with his body,
mind and intellect.

On awakening to the blissful Self, he has realised that the

world of names and forms that he has experienced was
nothing but a figment of his own imagination. He has
awakened from the dream of the subject-object world. Even
if he now perceives the world, he recognises it as a magic
show. He has now become Brahman, ‘he exists as Brahman
itself’.

य या तः यादह ारो न करो त करो त सः।

िनरह ारधीरेण न िक दकृतं कृतम्॥२९॥
yasyāntaḥ syād-ahaṅkāro na karoti karoti saḥ,
nirahaṅkāra-dhīreṇa na kiñcid-akṛtaṁ kṛtam. (29)

य य – whose; अ तः – within; यात् – is; अह ारः – sense of ego; न

– not; करो त – acts; (अिप – though); करो त – acts; सः – he;
िनरह ारधीरेण – by the wise one who is free from sense of ego; न
– not; िक त् – anything; अकृतम् – undone; कृतम् – doing (and)

29. He who has the ego sense in him within, acts (mentally),
even though he does not act (physically). Surely, the wise
one, who is free from the sense of ego, does not act
(mentally), even though he acts (physically).

All actions spring from man’s ego and his egocentric

desires. One who is conscious of his separate individuality
cannot avoid his ego sense and truly, even if he is not
physically working in the world outside, says Aṣṭāvakra, ‘he
acts (karoti saḥ)’. One who is extremely conscious of his
body and mind, even when he is sitting down for meditation,
though he is not apparently working in the world outside,
cannot quieten his mind and, therefore, is in a state of
dynamic activity within.

On the other hand, the sage, who has conquered his ego,
is ever revelling in the infinite Self and so is not acting at
any time – be he in a field of sevā, visibly functioning or be
he at rest, sitting quietly, without acting (na kiñcid akṛtaṁ
kṛtam).12

This verse under commentary would be apparently

contradicting a later verse in this very same chapter.13 This
contradiction is only apparent. Sage is beyond both action
and inaction. He has transcended the equipments and,
therefore, he is beyond the influences of the pairs of
opposites.

And this cannot mean that a sage can do anything. By

his very nature he has become perfect in his activities and
thoughts. A sage cannot really do wrong, as he is free from
ego. All activities springing from the sense of ego are selfish
activities, which are what we consider as immoral acts. He
acts from a point above the moral level, his very vision is
universal and, therefore, actions springing from him always
carry the fragrance of his universal love. He has no concern
for good or evil, with morality or immorality. Whatever he
does constitutes the moral code for us to follow! The
qualities of his actions are the standards by which the world
determines its sense of righteousness; its concept of
dharma.

When one performs his duties from his egocentre, it

becomes work and in work there can be good and evil,
morality and immorality. When a man performs in the outer
world with a bosom that has no ego to vitiate, he does not
‘work’ but he merely ‘acts’. In a spontaneous inspired act
there is no ego and as such divine acts cannot create any
vāsanās, positive or negative, in the personality of the sage;
such actions are to be considered as inactions or to
distinguish it clearly, we may call them as ‘actionless
actions’.

नोि ं न च संतु मकतृ प दव जतम्।

िनराशं गतस देहं च ं मु य राजते॥३०॥
nodvignaṁ na ca santuṣṭam-akartṛ-spanda-varjitam,
nirāśaṁ gata-sandehaṁ cittaṁ muktasya rājate. (30)

न – not; उि म् – troubled; न – not; च – and; संतु म् – pleased;

अकतृ – actionless; प दव जतम् – free from fluctuations; िनराशम् –
desireless; गतस देहम् – purged of doubts; च म् – mind; मु य –
of the Liberated one; राजते – shines

30. The mind of the Liberated is neither troubled nor

pleased. It is actionless, free from fluctuations, desireless
and purged of all doubts.

The Liberated in life is one who has directly experienced the

Self and has, therefore, awakened to be pure
Consciousness. As such he has arisen above the mind-
intellect equipment and their oscillations. Naturally, he is
free from passions, attachments, ego thoughts and desires.

This verse marshals a team of arguments justifying the

declaration made in the previous verse. An individual, who
has thus emptied himself in the within, is a sage, who acts
and even when he is acting, is not ‘troubled’ by passions
(na-udvignam), because, he is free from love and hatred. He
has no attachments and, therefore, he is contented and
‘pleased’ (santuṣṭaḥ). Since there is no ego in him he is
‘actionless’ (a-kartṛ). He has risen above his mind-intellect
equipment and, therefore, thought agitations cannot disturb
him at all – ‘he is free from fluctuations (spanda-varjitam)’.
He has gained all that is to be gained and in the fullness of
his supreme satisfaction he has become ‘desireless’
(nirāśam). In the vivid experience of the Infinitude he has no
more doubts regarding the nature of the absolute goal
(gata-sandeham).

िन यातुं चेि तुं वािप य ं न वतते।

िन निम िमदं िक तु िन याय त िवचे ते॥३१॥
nirdhyātuṁ ceṣṭituṁ vāpi yaccittaṁ na pravartate,
nirnimittamidaṁ kintu nirdhyāyati viceṣṭate. (31)

िन यातुम् – to meditate; चेि तुम् – to act; वा – or; अिप – also; यत्-

च म् – whose mind; न – not; वत ते – engages itself; िन न िम म् –
without any motive; इदम् – this; िक तु – but; िन याय त –
meditates; िवचे ते – acts

31. The mind of the Liberated one does not engage itself
either in meditation or in activity. It becomes meditative and
active without any motive spontaneously.
The Liberated in life lives as the Self, in the Self. He dwells
above the mind. From where he is, he cannot even
recognise the clamorous mind or his functioning body.
Therefore, he cannot continue meditation, either for the
purpose of withdrawing his sense organs or to calm down
the pulsations of thoughts in his mind. Meditation is the
function that an ego can undertake for its awakening. The
already awakened can no longer pursue meditation. Having
reached the destination how can we continue walking the
route by which we reach our destination?

At the same time we should not misunderstand that a

Man of Perfection is living a life as we live: a victim of the
lusts of his body, of the passions of his mind and of the
restlessness of his intellect. The enlightened one is
constantly established in the state of his highest meditation,
ever revelling in the Self, be he in meditation or in apparent
activities. Spontaneity is the essence of his entire living.
When he is quiet, in him we see the Divine at rest. When he
acts, in him we watch the Divine in action.

त वं यथाथमाक य म दः ा नो त मूढताम्।
अथवाया त स ोचममूढः कोऽिप मूढवत्॥३२॥
tattvaṁ yathārtham-ākarṇya mandaḥ prāpnoti mūḍhatām,
athavāyāti saṅkocam-amūḍhaḥ ko'pi mūḍhavat. (32)

त वम् – Truth; यथाथम् – real; आक य – hearing; म दः – the

unintelligent person; ा नो त – gets; मूढताम् – confused; अथवा –
or; स ोचं या त – withdraws within; अमूढः – intelligent man; कः
अिप – some; मूढवत् – like a fool

32. An unintelligent person becomes confused on hearing

the real Truth, but some intelligent man withdraws within
(and lives) like a fool.

A subtle intellect trained to meditate and move within,

exploring the depths of one’s own personality, is absolutely
necessary for a spiritual seeker in order to digest what the
scriptures talk about the absolute nature of the supreme
Self. A primary school student, in his immaturity, may
become completely confused and extremely disturbed if he
were taught Einstein’s Relativity Theory, with all its subtle
mathematical and scientific implications. The same student
if he is allowed to cultivate scientific knowledge and having
educated himself upto his graduate standard, thereafter if
he is given a course in Einstein's Theory, it should not be
difficult for the same student to grasp its implications in the
entirety of its real depths.

The ‘unintelligent’ (mandaḥ) means one whose thoughts

are turned towards sense gratifications and, therefore, not
available for serene and deep reflections. Such an individual
if he were to listen to a discourse given out by a sage upon
the highest transcendental Truth in all its absolute glory,
such an unprepared student is sure to get confused.

The same discourse when listened to by a student who

has prepared himself with all the disciplines necessary for
the comprehension of the infinite Self, gets himself rocketed
into his own within, to experience therein the peaceful Self.
At this juncture, that student, may be considered by the
worldly people as a ‘fool’ (mūḍhaḥ), who is not taking any
active part in the competitive world, acquiring wealth,
running after objects, panting in passions, indulging in mad
revelry and generally getting torn apart between likes and
dislikes, through joy and sorrow, amidst pleasure and pain!!

Hence, Aṣṭāvakra uses the simile ‘like a fool’ – he is not a

fool but he is like a fool. A fool is incapable of under-taking
any activity in the outer world and, is ever an idler. Yet, he is
never quiet as he is full of desires and, so, his mind would
be constantly in agitation. A wise man also remains without
activities, but his mind is ever quiet and serene within,
because in him there are no desires.

Emphasising the need for preparation of the student

before he enters the halls of Vedānta, Yogavāsiṣṭha
humorously declares: ‘We don’t know how to explain saving
Truth of Spiritual life to persons who are gross, with
uncontrolled senses, or passions, who are drowned in lusty
enjoyments. Let them learn it all from women who are
dressed in their lack of intelligence!’14

एका ता िनरोधो वा मूढैर य यते भृशम्।

धीराः कृ यं न प य त सु वत् वपदे थताः॥३३॥
ekāgratā nirodho vā mūḍhair-abhyasyate bhṛśam,
dhīrāḥ kṛtyaṁ na paśyanti suptavat svapade sthitāḥ. (33)

एका ता – concentration; िनरोधः – control of the mind; वा – or; मूढैः

– by the fools; अ य यते – is practised; भृशम् – repeatedly; धीराः –
the wise; कृ यम् – anything to be attained (done); न – not;
प य त – sees; सु वत् – like persons in sleep; वपदे – in one’s
own Self; थताः – abiding

33. The fools constantly practise concentration and control

of the mind. The wise, abiding in their own Self, like persons
in deep sleep, do not find anything to be attained.

Here the term ‘fool’ is used to indicate those who are still
conscious of their body and mind and, therefore, in whom
the ego is very aggressive. One who is conscious of his body
and mind, so long as he is in this ego state of
consciousness, will and must practise self-control of the
sense organs and concentration of his mind. But the
Liberated in life, who is already revelling in his own Self, has
his mind flouted, his ego driven out, finds nothing more to
be attained! ‘He is’, Aṣṭāvakra explains, ‘like a person in
deep sleep’. One who is in dreamless sleep is not conscious
of his body or of the world of plurality. There is no
misapprehension in him. The sage who is apprehending the
Self, also does not see or experience any
‘misapprehensions’ of the equipments, or their fields of
experiences.

The Liberated sage lives in a world of his own, away from

our natural fields of experiences, ever awakened to the
infinite presence of the blissful Self everywhere. To such an
individual, who is constantly living as the Self, in the Self,
upon what is he to meditate? With what? What is he to
withdraw from? He has reached his Goal Supreme.

If Aṣṭāvakra is giving us a direct flight to the realm of

Reality in this verse, Yogavāsiṣṭha at one point is kind
enough to indicate to us the various stages enroute to this
benign destination: ‘First through cultivated discrimination
our attachment dies away. Thereafter aversions are
removed from us along with their roots (the ego). Thereafter
slowly the very effort of meditation calms down, when he
reaches that glorious state where True Discrimination (Self)
really is!’15

अ य नात् य ना ा मूढो ना नो त िनवृ तम्।

त विन यमा ेण ा ो भव त िनवृतः॥३४॥
aprayatnāt prayatnādvā mūḍho nāpnoti nirvṛtim,
tattva-niścaya-mātreṇa prājño bhavati nirvṛtaḥ. (34)
अ य नात् – from inaction; य नात् – from action; वा – or; मूढः – the
fool; न – not; आ नो त – attains; िनवृ तम् – tranquillity; त विन यमा ेण
– simply by knowing the Truth; ा ः – the wise one; भव त –
becomes; िनवृतः – tranquil

34. The fool does not attain tranquillity either by action or

by inaction. The wise one becomes tranquil merely by
knowing the Truth.

The egocentric person who is extremely conscious of his

body, mind and intellect and naturally, whose attention is
always turned in catering to the endless gross and subtle
demands of the body and mind, is indicated here by the
term ‘fool’. Such a person can never reach mental
tranquillity, either by ‘doing actions’ (prayatnāt), or by
suppression of them, by ‘not doing’ (aprayatnāt). For a time,
every seeker can, by his sheer willpower, suppress the flood
of his desires and look apparently a disciplined entity
pursuing his path of spiritual seeking. But he cannot awake
to the state of pure Consciousness by these methods.
Activity in the sensuous world or apparent inactivity towards
them, are no criterion for the spiritual Realisation.

One who has eliminated his ego and purified his mind of
his sensuous vāsanās, such a seeker (prājñaḥ) alone has
cultivated in himself a mind which is ready for a flight in
meditation. Such a student is able to move in the direction
indicated in the scriptures and, therefore, as he is listening
to his Teacher or reflecting upon these great truths, comes
to experience the state of Selfhood.

Here the term ‘action’ (prayatna) is used to indicate

activities prompted by desires. The term ‘inaction’
(aprayatnāt) is used here to indicate the apparent state of
quietude that we see in an individual, attained through his
mental suppressions! By either method we cannot reach the
state of tranquillity to be experienced in spiritual
Realisation.

The deep import of this verse reminds us of a similar

statement in the Bhagavad-gītā where the Lord is careful to
explain that the Bliss of the Self-realised is not due to any
forced and artificial suppression of desires: ‘But the man
who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self,
who is content in the Self alone, for him, indeed, there is
nothing (more) to be done.’16

शु ं बु ं ि यं पूण िन प ं िनरामयम्।
आ मानं तं न जान त त ा यासपरा जनाः॥३५॥
śuddhaṁ buddhaṁ priyaṁ pūrṇaṁ niṣprapañcaṁ
nirāmayam,
ātmānaṁ taṁ na jānanti tatrābhyāsaparā janāḥ. (35)

शु म् – pure; बु म् – enlightened; ि यम् – beloved; पूणम् – perfect;

िन प म् – beyond the visible universe (transcendental);
िनरामयम् – stainless; आ मानम् – Self; तम् – that; न – not; जान त –
know; त – in this world; अ यासपराः – devoted to diverse
practices; जनाः – men

35. In this world those who devote themselves to diverse

practices do not know the Self which is pure, enlightened,
beloved, perfect, transcendental and stainless.

These verses are not to be misunderstood to mean that

sādhanā is unnecessary. Those who have not done sādhanā,
Aṣṭāvakra indicates them by the derogatory term 'fool'
(mūḍhaḥ). But a sādhaka must know that the sādhanā is the
means and the direct experience of the Infinite is the goal.
Very often the seeker comes to confuse the means for the
very goal. In ordinary life this often happens. Money is the
means for happy living, but there are fools who mistake the
means for the end and get exhausted in their worry for and
anxiety of collecting money and, in their miserliness, they
live but a miserable life!

In the spiritual life do not be such a miserable fool! The

various practices of devotion to the Lord, service to the
society, study of the scriptures, reflection upon the truths
and even meditation are all means to awaken ourselves
from the dreams of the ego and realise our true nature. To
students of higher meditation this warning is appropriate
and very necessary. Aṣṭāvakra-gītā is a dialogue between
the great sage and an equally great student, Janaka, and
hence, the discussion is at this high level. Early seekers
should not get confused.

ना नो त कमणा मो ं िवमूढोऽ यास िपणा।

ध यो िव ानमा ेण मु त यिवि यः॥३६॥
nāpnoti karmaṇā mokṣaṁ vimūḍho'bhyāsa-rūpiṇā,
dhanyo vijñāna-mātreṇa muktas-tiṣṭhatyavikriyaḥ. (36)

न – not; आ नो त – attains; कमणा – by actions; मो म् – Liberation;

िवमूढः – a highly unintelligent person; अ यास िपणा – in the form
of yoga practice (control of mind); ध यः – the blessed;
िव ानमा ेण – by mere intuitive enlightenment; मु ः – liberated;
त त – remains; अिवि यः – immutable

36. A highly unintelligent person never attains (the Self)

through the repeated practices of controlling his mind. The
blessed one, through mere intuitive enlightenment, remains
liberated and immutable.
The statement made by Aṣṭāvakra in the previous verse
must have confused the student, as he has shaken the very
bottom of the student's faith! Just as in the karma-kāṇḍa
portion of Vedas, students get often attached to their rituals
and they are made to leave them when they step into the
portion of Upaniṣad. The Teacher has to jerk them out, so
that, the mind of the student which has been trained
already in the ritual, may come to play in a higher and
subtler field of the ‘study of the scriptures’. Later on, the
student is advised to ‘meditate’ upon the Self, in order to
make his mind still subtler, for a deeper penetration of his
enquiry into the secret chambers of the pulsating ‘universal
life’.

Now the sage here in this song is giving, as it were, that

last kick to the student, who is attached to his pursuit in the
path of meditation. The very act of meditation nourishes the
ego in the student and compels him to maintain a sense of
meaningless distinction between himself, the meditator, and
the Truth that is meditated upon.

The revered sage has already demonstrated that he can

wield a sharp pen and mercilessly scratch to wound the
student and smear it with ridicule so as to scorch away the
student's stupidity out of his personality once forever.17

Here again the Teacher adopts his usual style. He says, ‘A

highly unintelligent person (vimūḍhaḥ) does not attain
Realisation through his yoga practices by which he is trying
to control his mind while ‘a blessed one’ (dhanyaḥ),
meaning an intelligent and true seeker, by the right
apprehension of the nature of the Self, ends all his sādhanā
and remains continuously revelling in the Self’. Meditation is
the means; experience of the Self is the end. To
mechanically repeat and to unintelligently hold on to the
different practices is to maintain a sense of distinction
between the seeker and the Reality. These last traces of the
ego, the sense of individuality in the meditator, must end.
Then the subject merges with the object and the one Self
alone shines in all its infinite Bliss.

मूढो ना नो त त यतो भिवतुिम छ त।

अिन छ िप धीरो िह पर व पभाक्॥३७॥
mūḍho nāpnoti tad-brahma yato bhavitum-icchati,
anicchannapi dhīro hi parabrahma-svarūpabhāk. (37)

मूढः – the fool; न – not; आ नो त – attains; तत् – that; –

Brahman; यतः – as; भिवतुम् – to become; इ छ त – desires;
अिन छन् – without desiring; अिप – even, धीरः – the wise one; िह –
surely; पर व पभाक् – enjoys the nature of the supreme
Brahman

37. The fool does not attain Brahman, for he desires to

become It! The wise one certainly realises the nature of the
supreme Brahman even without desiring to do so.

The impulse behind all meditation is the desire to realise

and this very desire is the last link that holds the student on
to the seat of his struggles without allowing him to glide
peacefully into the realm of the pure Self. Therefore, this
burning desire to realise (mumukṣutva) is being removed
from the bosom of the mature student by a painless surgery
in this verse. In the beginning the desire to gain the spiritual
vision is encouraged in the student because thereby his
mind, naturally and without effort, rolls away from all other
objective desires in order to fulfil this great desire for the
subjective illumination. When the student has become
completely introvert, he has to again lift himself from the
scalding material world of the mind. The mind is to be
transcended. Thoughtless mind is the arbour for
enlightenment. So long as there is even the ‘desire to
realise’ the student cannot fold up his mind. This is exactly
like the one who complains that he can’t sleep, because of
his very anxiety to sleep!

Thus, in the process of Vedānta, through efforts we give

up our desires for the world outside and for this the mind is
mounted with one sincere and deep desire to liberate. To
give up this very ‘desire’ is the last effortless act, and in this
effortlessness is the awakening. That you want to become
Brahman is a ‘wrong idea’. You can never become Brahman.
This is a ‘false notion’. You are already Brahman. Never
desire to become Brahman, you may desire to be Brahman!!

Such an individual, who has accomplished this last

conscious act of renunciation – of the very desire to realise –
is the blessed one, who attains the total unveiling of the
Truth. Yogavāsiṣṭha roars: ‘I victoriously live in this effulgent
Consciousness as my own sole essence’18.

In short, direct experience is gained through ‘vijñāna’

only. This direct path to enlightenment does not recognise,
at this moment, any need for mental control brought about
by the deep desire to liberate. Even this spiritual desire
feeds the ego and nourishes the sense of separateness
between the meditator and the meditated. At this stage,
when the student has already fulfilled all the previous
trainings, he must strive to remain in the divine state of just
‘Be’.

िनराधारा ह य ाः मूढाः संसारपोषकाः।

एत यानथमूल य मूल छे दः कृतो बुधःै ॥३८॥
nirādhārā graha-vyagrāḥ mūḍhāḥ saṁsārapoṣakāḥ,
etasyānartha-mūlasya mūlacchedaḥ kṛto budhaiḥ. (38)

िनराधाराः – supportless; ह य ाः – eager for attainment of

freedom; मूढाः – fools; संसारपोषकाः – sustainer of the world; एत य
– of this; अनथ मूल य – the root of misery; मूल छे दः – cutting at
the root; कृतः – is done; बुधःै – by the wise

38. Without any support and eager for the attainment of

freedom, the fools only keep up the world! The wise cut at
the very root of this world, which is the source of all misery.

The perception of the pluralistic world of phenomena stems

forth from the ‘ignorance’ and the wise one cuts at the very
root of this tree of saṁsāra. The non-apprehension of the
Reality (ignorance) ends only in the apprehension of the
Reality (Knowledge). Compared to these wise ones, who
thus strive to experience directly that which lies beyond the
hushed mind, Aṣṭāvakra here ridicules those who, in their
eagerness for gaining this revelation, spend their entire time
and energy in mental control and suppressions. Mind itself is
false and it roams about in its illusions of plurality. Instead of
destroying the very source of the mind, to strive to control
the mind is a waste of energy to a matured sādhaka. These
instructions are given not to the beginners; Janaka is a
spiritual student trembling on the verge of Realisation. To
him is addressed the entire song by Sage Aṣṭāvakra.

Without any support (nirādhāra) – The very mind and its

projections are all supported by the pure infinite
Consciousness that illumines all experiences. To try to
control the mind from its fascinations is like trying to control
the dreamer in his behaviour in the dream; it is like beating
with a stick to kill the serpent in the rope. On waking up, the
dreamer is completely controlled; on seeing the rope there
is no serpent to be killed. On realising the Self, there is no
mind to control, nor a world of objects to be denied!

‘The source of all misery’ is the ignorance of the Self; the

very conscious effort in meditation indicates that the
meditator is still in the realm of ignorance perceiving his
world of delusions. That is the reason why Aṣṭāvakra
declares that the foolish in their attachment to meditation
maintain in themselves the illusion of the world of plurality.

Mental control is unavoidable in order to start meditation.

In the intense moments of meditation, the meditator must
end in the meditated. This take-off can occur only when
even the last withering whiffs of the insubstantial ego are
surrendered by the meditator. He must heave to experience
the effulgent Self. This is the goal of the great sage across
the frontiers of the Real and the unreal, of the True and the
false, of the Permanent and impermanent. The student is
now on the verge of ignorance, hesitating to leap into the
infinite Reality. Students with the tempo and purity of Janaka
alone can understand the true import and significance of
what the mystic Master in Aṣṭāvakra is communicating here.

न शा त लभते मूढो यतः शिमतुिम छ त।

धीर त वं िविन य सवदा शा तमानसः॥३९॥
na śāntiṁ labhate mūḍho yataḥ śamitum-icchati,
dhīras-tattvaṁ viniścitya sarvadā śānta-mānasaḥ. (39)

न – not; शा तम् – peace; लभते – gains; मूढः – the fool; यतः – as;
शिमतुम् – to be calm; इ छ त – wants to get; धीरः – the wise one;
त वम् – Truth; िविन य – knowing for certain; सवदा – ever;
शा तमानसः – tranquil in mind
39. Since the fool wants to get peace through control of his
mind, he does not gain it. The wise one knowing for certain
the Truth, is ever tranquil in mind.

The knowledge of the post alone can bring peace to the

mind that is agitated with the illusion of the ghost.
Realisation of the Self alone can fill the personality of a sage
with ‘peace that passeth all understanding’. The fool wants
to ‘get peace’ and, therefore, he struggles to control his
mind. He misses it totally. The very struggle in him brings
conflicts in himself. If peace is something to be attained, it
will then, certainly, be lost also! The fool desires to gain
peace, ‘as though’ it has to be gained as a reward for his
efforts in controlling his mind! The very struggle in
controlling the mind feeds the mind and makes it strong. It
is like trying to put down fire with petrol, misunderstanding
it to be water! Mind can never be controlled by the mind. By
rising above the mind-intellect alone can the equipments be
controlled. The wise one, experiencing for certain the Self, in
his direct vision, ‘is ever tranquil in his mind’ because he
has transcended his mind.

वा मनो दशनं त य य ृ मवल बते।

धीरा तं तं न प य त प य या मानम ययम्॥४०॥
kvātmano darśanaṁ tasya yad-dṛṣṭam-avalambate,
dhīrās-taṁ taṁ na paśyanti paśyantyātmānam-avyayam.
(40)

व – where; आ मनः – of the Self; दशनम् – knowledge; त य –

whose; यत् – who; म् – seeing the manifested world; अवल बते
– resorts to; धीराः – the wise one; तंतम् – this and that; न – not;
प य त – see (but); प य त – see; आ मानम् – Self; अ ययम् –
immutable
40. Where is the vision of the Self to one who resorts to
seeing the manifested world? The wise do not see this and
that, but see only the immutable Self.

Without transcending the mind, the experience of the Self is

impossible, is the idea that is emphasised in this verse. The
perceptions of the body, the emotions of the mind and the
thoughts of the intellect together constitute an individual's
manifested world of experiences. So long as our awareness
is thus turned outward, we can be conscious of the world of
multiplicity alone. Such an individual can never come to be
awake to the infinite glory of the pure Self.

The Realised saints and sages, (‘the wise do not see this
and that’) see the immutable Reality alone. The true
meditator rises above the awareness of his equipments and,
therefore, he no longer apprehends the world of objects,
emotions and thoughts. At such moments of intense
meditation, when the mind-intellect is completely halted,
the meditator plunges into the ‘meditated’ to be the Self.
Here he experiences the immutable supreme Reality.

The idea of the previous verse is expanded and

emphasised here, in saying that, so long as the seeker is
trying to control the wanderings of his mind with his mind,
he may relatively quieten his mind, but can never totally
succeed. Rising above the mind is the only method.
‘Renounce even the last lingering sense of identification in
the meditator’, this is the call sent out through the pregnant
suggestions of this fabulous verse!

In the worldly perception, there is always the subject-

object relationship. The one immutable Self is experienced
only when the objects merge into the subject.

ि ो ोि ोि ो ै
 व िनरोधो िवमूढ य यो िनब धं करो त वै।
वाराम यैव धीर य सवदाऽसावकृि मः॥४१॥
kva nirodho vimūḍhasya yo nirbandhaṁ karoti vai,
svārāmasyaiva dhīrasya sarvadā'sāvakṛtrimaḥ. (41)

व – where; िनरोधः – control of the mind; िवमूढ य – of the

supreme fool; यः – who; िनब धं करो त – strives; वै – indeed;
वाराम य – who delights in the Self; एव – surely; धीर य – the
wise one; सवदा – always; असौ – that; अकृि मः – spontaneous

41. Where is the control of the mind for the fool, who strives
for it? To the wise one who delights in the Self, it is indeed
spontaneous and perennial.

Aṣṭāvakra has not yet finished explaining why he had made

a criticism of all attempts at mental controls. To control the
mind with the mind is ineffectual; it is as laughable as an
attempt to straighten a dog’s tail! It is the very nature of the
mind that it should gush out to embrace the sense objects.
Divorced from sense objects mind has no existence at all!

Fools alone continue striving in the control of the mind.

So long as the striving exists, the mind continues and,
therefore, such an individual is characterised here as a fool.
As a contrast to the foolish sādhaka, the sage now indicates
the condition of the wise man.

After controlling the mind from its wildest passions and

lusts for the sense objects, with that relatively quietened
mind we must start our sincere meditations. Meditation
quietens the mind and this extremely becalmed mind should
be finally ignored by the meditator, when he heaves into the
field of his spiritual experience. ‘One who thus delights in
the Self’, to such an enlightened one, mental control is
‘spontaneous and perennial’ inasmuch as he has risen
above the mind and in his realisation has understood that
the mind itself was an illusion!

All activities at controlling the mind strengthen the

seeker’s identification with the mind. The mind continues its
existence fed by its own recognition of this delusion. On
awakening to the Self, the mental control fulfils itself
inasmuch as no more control of the mind is possible,
because, the illusion of the mind itself has been lifted from
the awareness of the Man of Realisation.

Early sādhakas should control the mind. It has been all

along repeated by us that this text is addressed to those
who have already risen to the outer frontiers of the unreal
and are hesitating to take the last step for the total merger
of the individual Self with the universal Self.

भाव य भावकः क िक ावकोऽपरः।

उभयाऽभावकः क देवमेव िनराकुलः॥४२॥
bhāvasya bhāvakaḥ kaścinna kiñcid-bhāvako'paraḥ,
ubhayā'bhāvakaḥ kaścid-evam-eva nirākulaḥ. (42)

भाव य – of existence; भावकः – who thinks; क त् – someone; न –

not; िक त् भावकः – who thinks that nothing is; अपरः – someone
else; उभया अभावकः – who thinks neither; क त् एव – rarely one;
एवम् – thus; िनराकुलः – free from distractions

42. Some think that ‘existence’ is and others that ‘nothing’

is. Rare is the one who thinks neither. He is perfectly serene,
free from all distractions.
To the cārvākas19 the world is ‘existence’. It is real. The
manifested world alone is the only ‘reality’. Some other
thinkers, meaning a group of Buddhists called the
mādhyamikas, consider ‘nothing is’. Applied to sādhanā,
some consider that the Self is to be meditated upon as
‘Existence-Knowledge-Bliss’ (Sat-Cit-Ᾱnanda); others
recommend that the Infinite is realised when the mind has
non-existent thoughts. According to them consciousness of
an object is the ‘knowledge of that object’. Therefore,
objectless consciousness is the pure infinite Self.

Hence Aṣṭāvakra exclaims, ‘Rare is the one, who thinks

neither’ and adds ‘He is perfectly serene!’ The calm Self is
the illuminator of both the ‘existence’ of the mind, which is
the source of the world of plurality and the same
Consciousness illumines the absence of mind and, therefore,
the ‘non-existence’ of the world of experiences.

The Self is ever peaceful. Never was a world ever created

in it; nor can we say that the world has been eliminated. The
post remains as the post, the ghost was only an illusion – its
presence or absence is of no concern to the post.

शु म यमा मानं भावय त कुबु यः।

न तु जान त संमोहा ाव ीवमिनवृताः॥४३॥
śuddham-advayam-ātmānaṁ bhāvayanti kubuddhayaḥ,
na tu jānanti saṁmohād-yāvajjīvam-anirvṛtāḥ. (43)

शु म् – pure; अ यम् – without a second; आ मानम् – the Self;

भावय त – meditate; कुबु यः – men of dull intellect; न – not; तु –
but; जान त – realise; संमोहात् – due to delusion; यावत् जीवम् – as
long as they live; अिनवृताः – unhappy
43. Those of dull intellect meditate upon the Ᾱtman as pure
and one without a second, but they do not realise It.
Through delusion they remain unhappy as long as they live.

Our identification with the intellect is so powerful and strong

at this moment that even a student at meditation remains
as a mere intellectual being, toying with the ideas of the
pure Self, the one without a second. With these terms of
meditation they do not really meditate, but they only tie
themselves down with the suggestive ideas with which the
Upaniṣads have, in infinite mercy, indicated the Truth to us.
No doubt the meditation is the means to awaken and to
realise. To ‘Be’ the Self is the goal.

The dull intellects, somehow or other, retain, deep in

themselves, the unconscious idea that the Self is something
to be perceived, to be gained, to be achieved! Ᾱtman is the
‘Subject’, the very being in the meditator and it can never,
never be objectified. It does not mean that we should not
think of the Self. Thinking about the nature of the Self is the
only way by which one can turn one’s mind away from all its
preoccupations. But the final leap is not to become Brahman
but just to ‘Be’ Brahman.

Brahman is not a state to become, it is just to ‘Be’. The

dullards apprehend It not, because of this delusion in them,
that the Self is to be gained through meditation! They
continue their meditation all through their life, yet, they
remain ever unhappy, bound within the mind-intellect
entanglements.

मुमु ोबु राल बम तरेण न िव ते।

िनराल बैव िन कामा बु मु य सवदा॥४४॥
mumukṣor-buddhir-ālambam-antareṇa na vidyate,
nirālambaiva niṣkāmā buddhir-muktasya sarvadā. (44)

मुमु ोः – of one aspiring for Liberation; बु ः – intellect; आल बम् –

support; अ तरेण – without; न – not; िव ते – remains; िनराल बा –
without any support; एव – surely; िन कामा – free from desires;
बु ः – intellect; मु य – of the Liberated one; सवदा – ever

44. The intellect of one who aspires for Liberation cannot

function without a supporting object. But the desireless
intellect of the Liberated one is, indeed, ever without any
support (in meditation).

‘The desire for Liberation’ (mumukṣutvam) is a mighty

power to be used by a student in his early days of spiritual
sādhanā. It maintains the student in the spiritual field and
encourages him to pursue the path of meditation. But here
the Teacher is pointing to a stage in meditation wherein
even this anxiety to realise the Self is a shackle that ties
him down to the relative field of his intellect. ‘One who
aspires for Liberation’ is the one who has not yet gained the
Self and, therefore, is still an ego living in the field of the
subject-object experiences. As such the egocentric intellect
in the seeker consciously holds on to the Self, upon which
he is meditating, as an ‘object’ other than himself!

The Liberated one has cleansed his intellect of even this

‘desire to liberate’ and, therefore, he is in his meditation,
‘without any support’ inasmuch as he is the Self!

We may meditate upon the Self, but the fulfilment of

meditation is in the direct experience of the Self wherein the
experiencer and the experienced are not two factors. To be
awakened to the Self is to be the Self. The dreamer when he
awakes, he becomes the very waker.

ि ीि ो ी ि
िवषया ीिपनो वी य चिकताः शरणा थनः।
िवश त झिट त ोडं िनरोधैका य स ये॥४५॥
viṣayā-dvīpino vīkṣya cakitāḥ śaraṇārthinaḥ,
viśanti jhaṭiti kroḍaṁ nirodhaikāgrya-siddhaye. (45)

िवषयाः – sense objects; ीिपनः – tigers; वी य – encountering;

चिकताः – the frightened one; शरणा थनः – seeking refuge; िवश त –
enter; झिट त – at once; ोडम् – the cave; िनरोधएका ्य स ये – for
attaining control and concentration

45. Encountering the tigers of sense objects, the frightened

ones seeking refuge at once enter the cave of the mind, for
the attainment of control and concentration.

An egocentric personality can never escape perceiving the

sense objects. The very instrument, by which they perceive
the sense objects, is the mind and the mind is fed by the
sense objects, as they bring storms of agitations into the
mind and distract the mind from its poise and concentration.
Seekers in the beginning should try to turn their attention
away from all sense enjoyments, by remembering the Lord
and entering the ‘cave’ within, meaning their mind-intellect
equipments. Withdrawing the sense attention from the
enchanting objects and redirecting the mind to the greater
Reality is one of the antidote for the sensuous excitements.
No doubt, in their early days, seekers have no other
remedy, available for them.

Here Aṣṭāvakra is advising the students who have gained

sufficient equipoise in themselves. He says the Liberated in
life are never frightened of the sense objects nor do they
escape into the ‘cave’ for, they, in fact, perceive no plurality
at all! The Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad thunders: ‘The
perception of the other is, indeed, the source of all fear’20.
 There is an inherent contradiction in this scheme
followed as an early sādhanā. Mind is that which projects
the sense objects and it is the mind, again, that is running
towards the objects. To run into the mind is in fact
equivalent to running into the mouth of the sense objects
themselves! In short, we cannot avoid the world of plurality
and its undivine enchantments by any horizontal
movement. Wherever you run, you are still a captive of your
mind. Only by lifting ourselves in the vertical movement to
the higher plane of Consciousness can we rise above the
shackles of the mind.

िनवासनं ह र ा तू ण िवषयद तनः।

पलाय ते न श ा ते सेव ते कृतचाटवः॥४६॥
nirvāsanaṁ hariṁ dṛṣṭvā tūṣṇīṁ viṣayadantinaḥ,
palāyante na śaktāste sevante kṛtacāṭavaḥ. (46)

िनवासनम् – desireless; ह रम् – lion; ा – encountering; तू णीम् –

quietly; िवषयद तनः – the elephants of sense objects; पलाय ते –
run away; न – not; श ाः – able; ते – they; सेव ते – serve; कृत-
चाटवः – flattering courtiers; (इव – like)

46. Encountering the desireless man-lion, the elephants of

sense objects, quietly run away; or, if unable to run away,
serve him like flattering courtiers!!

The glory of the Man of Perfection is pointed out here,

indicating how he lives amidst the sense objects,
unmolested by them. In fact, Aṣṭāvakra says that the sense
objects run after him to serve him faithfully, as flattering
courtiers rush to serve their royal master.
 Desires are expressions of vāsanās in our intellect. One
who has no vāsanās has no desires. It is the desire to enjoy
in us that entangles us with the sense objects. A desireless
man perceives the objects but he is not affected by them. A
child in a toy shop is excited, certainly not its father! Both of
them are surrounded by toys, but the child has the desire to
possess them; its father has no more those vāsanās in him.

The Liberated man moves about in the world, without

any vāsanā in him and, therefore, the sense objects cannot
enchant him. The consort of Indra may come and dance
around Lord Parameśvara, but the Lord of Kailāśa, gets least
disturbed! In our mythology we find many instances wherein
the grey haired toothless sages, plunged in meditation,
woke up to dance with these enchanting dancers of Indra’s
court and thereby, the sages lost their mental equanimity
and balance, which they cultivated with their long years of
tapas.

In short, the sense objects can entrap only a mind that is

seduced with its own desires. The desireless man is a lion
among the elephants of sense objects, declares Sage
Aṣṭāvakra, though elephants are powerful creatures, they
cannot encounter the king of beasts and they take to their
heels. Bhagavad-gītā declares the same: ‘The objects of the
senses turn away from the abstinent man leaving the
longing (behind); but his longing also turns away on seeing
the Supreme’21.

Here the sage adds one more thought. In case the sense
objects are unable to run away from the master, they
surrender completely to the will of the master and they seek
to serve him as sycophants in an imperial court of a tyrant
king!

ि ेि ो
न मुि का रकां ध े िनःश ो यु मानसः।
प यन् वन् पृशन् ज न् अ न् आ ते यथासुखम्॥४७॥
na mukti-kārikāṁ dhatte niḥśaṅko yukta-mānasaḥ,
paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighranaśnanāste yathāsukham. (47)

न – not; मुि का रकाम् – practices of control as a means to

Liberation; ध े – adopts; िनःश ः – free from doubts; यु मानसः –
one whose mind is identified with the Self; प यन् – seeing;
वन् – hearing; पृशन् – touching; ज न् – smelling; अ न् –
eating; आ ते – lives; यथा सुखम् – happily

47. He who is free from doubts and has his mind identified
completely with the Self never resorts to the practices of
control as a means to Liberation. Seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling and eating, he lives happily.

One who has identified himself completely to the Self is an

awakened soul and in him there is no more any egocentric
individuality. Without ego and desires, actions in the world
outside are no more actions that can bind him with their
vāsanā results. They are no more actions; they are pseudo
acts.

The Liberated in life is untainted, ever untouched by such

natural functions of sense organs as ‘seeing, hearing,
touching, smelling and eating’. They are the functions of the
senses. The inert matter composed sense organs are
themselves acting only by drawing their enlivening energy
from the very Self, which is the nature of the Man of
Perfection. Such activities of the sense organs cannot affect
him. With the heat of the sun, water evaporates, forms into
masses of clouds and the clouds rain down. Can the rain
ever wet the sun? Can we say that the sun has created the
rain? Yet, would there be rain if the sun were not there? The
Liberated sage is unaffected by the normal activities of his
sense organs. He is not in his body; his mind is in him.

व तु वणमा ेण शु बु नराकुलः।
नैवाचारमनाचारमौदा यं वा प य त॥४८॥
vastu-śravaṇa-mātreṇa śuddha-buddhir-nirākulaḥ,
naivācāram-anācāram-audāsyaṁ vā prapaśyati. (48)

व तु वणमा ेण – by mere listening to the Real; शु बु ः – who has

attained pure intellect; िनराकुलः – serene; न – not; एव – indeed;
आचारम् – proper conduct; अनाचारम् – improper conduct; औदा यम्
– indifference; वा – or; प य त – sees

48. Having established in his pure intellect and having

become serene by mere listening to the Real, the wise one,
no more sees what is proper and improper action or even
what is inaction.

By eliminating the desire and the ego, the intellect becomes

calm and serene and such a quietened bosom is considered,
in the spiritual literature of India, as the ‘pure intellect’
(śuddha buddhi).

One who has cultivated such a steady mind of continuous

equipoise, to him a mere listening to a Master’s discourse
about the Reality is sufficient to turn his entire mind in the
direction pointed out by the scriptures. Since the seeker has
no desires in him, no ray of his mind is entangled with the
world of objects. With his entire mind thus turned towards
the higher Reality, he spontaneously awakes to the
Experience Transcendental. He becomes the Liberated in
life.
 Such a wise one thereafter knows not what is proper and
improper actions, not even what is inaction! He is no more
the ‘doer’ or the ‘enjoyer’. His ego is dead. He no more does
any activity. All activities are taking place in him. The proper
and improper actions of his dream, are no more of any
consequence! The Liberated, living in the higher
Consciousness, does not belong any longer to this world; he
is no more a native of our globe; he is just a sojourner here!

यदा य कतुमाया त तदा त कु ते ऋजुः।

शुभं वा यशुभं वािप त य चे ा िह बालवत्॥४९॥
yadā yatkartum-āyāti tadā tat-kurute ṛjuḥ,
śubhaṁ vāpyaśubhaṁ vāpi tasya ceṣṭā hi bālavat. (49)

यदा – when; यत् – which; कतुम् – to do (as his lot); आया त –

comes; तदा – then; तत् – that; कु ते – does; ऋजुः – freely; शुभम् –
good; वा अिप – or; अशुभम् – evil; वा – or; अिप – even; त य – his; चे ा
– action; िह – for; बालवत् – like that of a child

49. The wise one does freely whatever comes to his lot,
whether good or evil; his actions are like those of a child.

The Man of Realisation lives in total freedom at all times,

and under all conditions and circumstances. He knows no
limitations. He puts no curb upon himself. He does not seek
fields of activities. Whatever circumstances reach him, he
accepts it without any anxiety or hesitation. He lives
meeting his prārabdha openly, without any fear or favour.
Nothing affects him. Nothing entangles him. In no activity
does he entertain the idea that he is the ‘doer’.

‘The wise does freely’, meaning without the shackles of

ego and egocentric desires. He has neither the ego sense
within nor has he the ego feelings towards the world of
objects; he has neither ‘I-ness’ nor ‘my-ness’. Whatever
comes to him, good or evil, he meets them heroically,
seeing in and through them all, the same one, infinite Self.
The intellect – the equipment that discriminates the good
and the evil – has been transcended by him.

In this way, living moment-to-moment dynamically,

facing life as it comes, both in its raw beauty and naked
abhorrence, the actions of the wise are compared to the
innocent actions of children. This example has already been
exhaustively analysed.

This verse apparently contradicts the thought expressed

earlier: ‘He who has egoism in him acts even though he
does not act. Surely the wise one is free from egoism does
not act even though he acts.’22

वात यात् सुखमा नो त वात या भते परम्।

वात या वृ त ग छे त् वात यात् परमं पदम्॥५०॥
svātantryāt sukham-āpnoti svātantryāllabhate param,
svātantryānnirvṛtiṁ gacchet svātantryāt paramaṁ padam.
(50)

वात यात् – from freedom; सुखम् – happiness; आ नो त – attains;

वात यात् – from freedom; लभते – attains; परम् – the highest;
वात यात् – from freedom; िनवृ तम् – repose; ग छे त् – attains;
वात यात् – from freedom; परमम् – supreme; पदम् – state
(attains)

50. Through freedom one attains happiness; through

freedom the highest; through freedom to repose and
through freedom to the supreme state.
With a free and unshackled mind alone the spiritual
awakening can be accomplished. Any thought, good or bad,
is ‘a stress in the Infinite’. Without a disturbance the placid
and clear surface of a lake cannot have ripples. Any
discipline, any value of life, even trying to maintain the
mind in meditation is a disturbance in the Consciousness!
Thoughtless state is the ‘no mind’; it is the state of pure
Consciousness, without any stress in It. With this idea in
mind Aṣṭāvakra addresses students, who have moved to the
highest state in meditation.

This does not mean that a fool, who lives a sensuous life
of indiscipline, is in any way reaching near the Truth. There
are unintelligent and unprepared students who vociferously
declare such a licentious life of freedom as a means for
Realisation! They become Mahaṛṣis and sages to spread
such ideas among the innocent masses of the world, they
twist and pervert the already ugly face of the community.
They are a real peril to the society. We have repeatedly
warned, that this textbook is meant only for students, who
have risen above in their spiritual pursuit, after having
undergone all the unavoidable preliminary disciplines, which
alone can bring about inner purifications.

अकतृ वमभो ृ वं वा मनो म यते यदा।

तदा ीणा भव येव सम ता वृ यः॥५१॥
akartṛtvam-abhoktṛtvaṁ svātmano manyate yadā,
tadā kṣīṇā bhavantyeva samastāś-cittavṛttayaḥ. (51)

अकतृ वम् – that one is not the doer; अभो ृ वम् – that one is not
the enjoyer; वा मनः – of one’s own Self; म यते – perceives; यदा
– when; तदा – then; ीणाः – destroyed; भव त – become; एव –
indeed; सम ताः – all; च वृ यः – modifications of the mind
51. All the modifications of the mind are indeed destroyed,
when a man realises that the Self in him, is neither the doer
nor the enjoyer.

In the last stages of the spiritual practices, the attention is

more and more upon the Self, rather than upon the
equipments of experiences and their endless fields. To
continuously contemplate upon the Self as one’s own real
nature and to meditate that as the Self, one is neither the
doer, nor the enjoyer, in any of the activities of one’s body,
mind and intellect – is to quieten the mind most effectively.
This attitude spells death to the ego.

This dwelling upon the Self and Its Nature Divine is also,
no doubt, ‘a thought’. There is newly risen ‘school of
thought’ in India led by a gang of incorrigibles, rather than
by men of any spiritual unfoldment. They have no
knowledge of the Upaniṣads, nor have they lived the
spiritual life. They laugh at all spiritual practices, nay, even
at the attempt of the seeker to quieten his mind and
compose himself for contemplation upon the Self! Their
arguments are quite tantalising to any superficially
intellectual man, indeed! But they are certainly false
prophets when judged from the state of Realisation.

The thought ‘I am the Self’ or the thought that ‘the

infinite Self is neither the doer nor the enjoyer’ is indeed a
‘thought’. But this ‘thought’ has a magic of its own and it
annihilates all other thoughts of the ego. It is the ego which
arrogates to itself the false attitudes of the doership and the
enjoyership. This ‘thought’ when held on for a sufficiently
long time within the meditator, it shall not only destroy all
other thoughts but also disappear itself into the thoughtless
state of direct experience. This is not said by us for gaining
an argument. This is not something that the students of
Vedānta should bitterly swallow down their throats in a
helpless blind faith! It is supremely rational and entirely
satisfying to any enquiring intellect.

‘Thought’ upon the Self, dear children, is not, in fact, a

‘thought’. A thought must have necessarily an object. The
thought of the Self is a ‘thought’ on the subject and,
therefore, it has no object. ‘Objectless thought’ is not a
thought. And yet, for the last withering mind, contemplation
upon the Self is an unavoidable staff, helping him along the
last few steps to the threshold of Reality.

When the sense of ‘doership’ and ‘enjoyership’ is

completely eradicated, the ego disappears into the vision of
the Self. The meditator merges in the meditated, the river
has reached the ocean, to be the ocean, no more can the
river remain separate.

उ छृ ला यकृ तका थ तध र य राजते।

न तु सं पृह च य शा तमूढ य कृि मा॥५२॥
ucchṛṅkhalāpyakṛtikā sthitirdhīrasya rājate,
na tu saṁspṛha-cittasya śāntir-mūḍhasya kṛtrimā. (52)

उ छृ ल – unrestricted; अिप – though; अकृ तका – spontaneous

(natural); थ तः – life; धीर य – of the wise; राजते – shines; न –
not; तु – but; सं पृह- च य – whose mind is attached; शा तः –
calmness; मूढ य – of the foolish, deluded person; कृि मा –
artificial (unnatural)

52. The conduct of the wise one, which is unrestricted (by

motive) shines, being spontaneous, that is free from
pretence; but not the deliberate calmness of the foolish,
whose mind is attached (in other words full of desires).
The Liberated one has in him no more any urge to fulfil his
happiness through sense gratifications. He has no desires.
He lives a spontaneous and natural life, unrestricted and
free, ever rooted in the Experience Divine and, therefore,
shines in the effulgence of his inner peace and
enlightenment.

Such a Man of Realisation is contrasted here with the

ignorant fool, whose mind is full of passions and desires,
and yet, for a show, he suppresses them all and externally
exhibits a false attitude of an artificial calmness! This
deliberate and unnatural pose may deceive the onlookers,
but so far as the individual entity is concerned, he cannot
come to revel in the positive experience of the peaceful Self.
Pretences cannot lead us to the kingdom of the Self within.

Such false pretences become terrible millstones tied to

weigh down the neck of a seeker! No seeker should feel
satisfied with such pretences. True peace can come only in
the direct experience of the Self, reached through right
knowledge, with which we end our stupid ego.

िवलस त महाभोगै वश त िग रग रान्।

िनर तक पना धीरा अब ा मु बु यः॥५३॥
vilasanti mahābhogair-viśanti giri-gahvarān,
nirasta-kalpanā dhīrā abaddhā mukta-buddhayaḥ. (53)

िवलस त – sport (कदा चत् – sometimes); महाभोगैः – with great

enjoyments; िवश त – retire (कदा चत् – sometimes); िग र ग रान् –
caves of mountains; िनर त क पनाः – one who is free from
mental imagining; धीराः – the wise one; अब ाः – unbound;
मु बु यः – of liberated intellect
53. The wise, who are free from mental imagining, unbound
and liberated in intellect, sometimes sport in the midst of
great enjoyments and at other times retire to the mountain
caves.

In the entire chapter Aṣṭāvakra was continuously singing the

joys and perfections experienced by the Liberated in life.
Here he explains how the Man of Realisation would live in
this world and what would be his reactions to the outer
world.

Man of Perfection has eliminated his ego, has

transcended his intellect and mind and, therefore, has
ended all his imaginings. His mind is completely at rest
because he has withdrawn from his mental projections. His
intellect is released from the shackles of the ego. He is no
more limited by desires. Thus his mind has scaled to its own
heights, through contemplation – a mind that is unbound
and unshackled by its usual restlessness.

With such a peaceful and conquered mind and intellect

within, the Man of Perfection lives in the world like an
uncrowned king, a sovereign of sovereigns. He sometimes
sports with all enjoyments and sometimes he is seen retired
to the mountain retreats, on the Ganga banks and there
lives lost in samādhi.

It is immaterial to him where his body happens to be. Its

prārabdha may drag it into the world of sense objects. From
the ordinary viewpoint of the common man, a Man of
Realisation may be seen amidst luxurious environments,
fascinatingly rich, and surrounded by objects of pleasure.
But since his inner equipments are rendered impotent, and
since his ego has been transcended, the outer joys of the
sense objects cannot add even a wee bit to the infinite Bliss
of the sage. The fields of sensuality never disturb him as he
has neither the sense of ‘doership’ nor ‘enjoyership’ in him.

At times he may be found completely retired from the

fields of activities and enjoyments, living in some silent cave
in the Himalayas, maintaining himself on fruits and roots,
apparently lost in total samādhi. This is from our frail
viewpoint! Whether his body is amidst sense objects, or in a
solitary cave, it is immaterial to the Liberated in life. He is
ever the Self experiencing the infinite Bliss of the Self, in the
Self! To the awakened it does not matter if his dreamworld is
still continuing, and how his dream body is still functioning
in the presence of the other members of his past dream!

ोि यं देवतां तीथम नां भूप त ि यम्।

ा स पू य धीर य न कािप िद वासना॥५४॥
śrotriyaṁ devatāṁ tīrtham-aṅganāṁ bhūpatiṁ priyam,
dṛṣṭvā sampūjya dhīrasya na kāpi hṛdi vāsanā. (54)

ोि यम् – one versed in the Vedas; देवताम् – gods; तीथम् – holy

places; अ नाम् – woman; भूप तम् – king; ि यम् – beloved one; ा
– seeing; स पू य – honouring; धीर य – of the wise one; न – not;
का अिप – not a bit; िद – in the heart; वासना – desire

54. Whether he is honouring a Vaidika scholar, the gods or

the holy places or seeing a woman, a king or a beloved one,
not a bit of desire ever springs in the heart of the wise one.

It is natural in India that we honour a learned scholar of the

Vedas or worship gods in the various fabulous temples of
India or visit enchanting and peaceful places of pilgrimage.
None of these activities can engender any desire in the Man
of Perfection. Let him see a beautiful woman, let him visit a
mighty monarch, let him meet a beloved one – none of
these contacts can precipitate any desire in him.

Transcending his own ego, he has come to experience

the one Self everywhere and thus, under all conditions, in all
places, in every contact, his attention is consistently
engaged in experiencing the infinite Bliss of the all-
pervading Self. He becomes a man of ‘equal vision’ (sama
dṛṣṭi).

भृ यैः पु ैः कल ै दौिह ै ािप गो जैः।

िवह य ध ृ तो योगी न या त िवकृ त मनाक्॥५५॥
bhṛtyaiḥ putraiḥ kalatraiśca dauhitraiścāpi gotrajaiḥ,
vihasya dhikkṛto yogī na yāti vikṛtiṁ manāk. (55)

भृ यैः – by servants; पु ैः – by sons; कल ैः – by wives; च – and;

दौिह ैः – by daughter’s sons; च – and; अिप – also; गो जैः – by
relatives; िवह य – ridiculing, scoffing; ध ृ तः – despised,
abused; योगी – the Realised one; न – not; या त – undergoes;
िवकृ तम् – perturbation; मनाक् – in the least

55. The Liberated is not at all perturbed even when scoffed

and abused by his servants, sons, wives, daughter's sons
and other relations.

Insults and abuses wound but the ego. To the wise one both
praises and abuses are sounds in the air expressing two
different conditions of the speaker's mind! A happy mind
makes pleasant sounds, called ‘sweet words’ and an
unhappy mind makes cruel noises, called ‘abuses’. Both are
disturbances created in the atmosphere around the
speaker's mouth! The Liberated man is not at all affected by
them. Ordinarily the ego in us gets wounded by
understanding the significance of what the other says and
then reacts and invariably similar abuses disturb the same
atmosphere, now springing from our mouth!

Once, we are told, Bhagavān Buddha was abused and

insulted in the marketplace. Lord Buddha stopped and
listened to all the abuses but his serene smile never left his
lips. When the market man was tired and stopped making
noises, Buddha majestically continued on His way. Now a
young disciple, who was with the Master at that time, said,
“Lord, give me the permission, I will go and show him. I will
give back to him! How dare he abuse my Master?” Then
ever smiling Buddha pitifully looked at the ignorant disciple
and sweetly replied, “Son, no doubt that man gave us a lot
of abuses, but I did not receive them! Therefore, I have
nothing to give back to him! In case you had received them,
please go and give them back to him!!” This is called the
perfect ‘state of intellectual equanimity’ (sama buddhi).

The one who has realised the Self, sees nothing but the
Self in action everywhere. He has no ego in him and,
therefore, he neither likes nor hates; to him honour and
dishonour are equal; he is neither attached nor has he any
aversion. Everywhere, at all times and in everything, he
watches and sees nothing but his own Self revelling in Its
peaceful effulgence.
स तु ोऽिप न स तु ः ख ोिप न च ख ते।
त या यदशां तां तां ता शा एव जानते॥५६॥
santuṣṭo'pi na santuṣṭaḥ khinnopi na ca khidyate,
tasyāścarya-daśāṁ tāṁ tāṁ tādṛśā eva jānate. (56)

स तु ः – delighted; अिप – though; न – not; स तु ः – delighted;

ख ः – afflicted; अिप – though; न – not; च – and; ख ते – feels
afflicted; त य – his; आ यदशाम् – stupendous state; तां ताम् – that
and that; ता शाः – those like him; एव – alone; जानते – know

56. Though delighted, he is not delighted. Though afflicted,

he is not afflicted. Only those who are like him, understand
this stupendous state.

The one who lives in the Self, as the Self, has transcended
his mind and, therefore, if the mind is pleased, he is not
pleased. It is the mind that feels ‘afflicted’ and why should
he feel afflicted? The mind, the intellect and the body
belong to us. We are their owners, possessors, proprietors
(svāmīs). If my buffalo gets dysentery, do I run to the
hospital? No doubt, the buffalo belongs to me! Possessor is
not the possessed. The joys and afflictions of my body, of
my intellect and of my mind cannot be joys and afflictions of
me!

Wherever the sage be, under all conditions, he lives the

experience of the effulgent Self. He has become the Self.
This ‘stupendous state’ (āścarya daśā) cannot be described
in words or communicated in any other way to the
egocentric man. There is no language by which it can be
expressed.
 Only on transcending the mind and intellect do we
awaken to the Self and the experience of the Self is not
known at all by those who are still in the web of the mind
and intellect! Whatever the sage does or does not, whatever
we do or do not do to the sage, it is all the same to the
sage; for, to him there is only the infinite Consciousness
everywhere. How can the pleasures and sorrows of the
dream affect any more, the one who has awakened?

कत यतैव संसारो न तां प य त सूरयः।

शू याकारा िनराकारा िन वकारा िनरामयाः॥५७॥
kartavyataiva saṁsāro na tāṁ paśyanti sūrayaḥ,
śūnyākārā nirākārā nirvikārā nirāmayāḥ. (57)

कत यता – sense of duty; एव – indeed; संसारः – mundane world; न

– not; ताम् – that; प य त – sees; सूरयः – the wise; शू याकाराः – of
the form of void (all-pervading); िनराकाराः – formless; िन वकाराः –
immutable; िनरामयाः – untainted

57. The sense of duty, indeed, is the mundane world. This is

not acknowledged by the wise one, who has realised himself
as the all-pervading formless, immutable, untainted Self.

Of course I have a sacred duty to look after, protect, serve

and help my wife and children and also my community that I
see around me in my dream!

The dreamer I while dreaming believes that the dream

world is real. In this sense of reality, are born all my duties
and responsibilities. When I have awakened to the waker I,
what duties are there towards my dream family and dream
community? The wise one, Liberated in life, is the awakened
one. He has ‘awakened’ to the infinite Consciousness. He
cannot be touched by the laws of duties and responsibilities
projected and maintained by the mind in disturbance. No
sense of duty can arise without attachments; attachments
cannot be unless we permit a sense of reality to the world of
plurality. To the awakened, the illusory world of objects and
beings are no more and, therefore, he, living as the ‘all-
pervading, formless, immutable and untainted’ Self, has no
more sense of duty towards anyone.

अकुव िप सं ोभात् य ः सव मूढधीः।

कुव िप तु कृ यािन कुशलो िह िनराकुलः॥५८॥
akurvannapi saṁkṣobhāt vyagraḥ sarvatra mūḍhadhīḥ,
kurvannapi tu kṛtyāni kuśalo hi nirākulaḥ. (58)

अकुवन् – without doing anything, in inaction; अिप – even;

सं ोभात् – owing to commotion within; य ः – agitated; सव –at
all times; मूढधीः – one of dull intellect; कुवन् – performing; अिप –
even; तु – but; कृ यािन – duties; कुशलः – the adept (wise); िह –
indeed; िनराकुलः – unperturbed

58. The fool, even in ‘inaction’, is ever agitated by his

commotion within. But the adept (wise) even when
performing his duties, indeed, is unperturbed.

Although in the previous verse it has been said that the Man
of Perfection has no more duties to perform, it does not
mean that a perfect Master will remain in life as a log of
wood!! He serves the society in his own way, with utter
freedom of his own personality. The difference between the
activities of a Man of Perfection and an imperfect ego, is in
the conditions of their minds. The bosom of a fool, even
while sitting apparently at rest in his meditation seat, is in
storms with the passion prompted commotions! His ego
bleeds with its imaginations!

A sage ever calm and serene within, with his ego

sublimated, his mind revelling in the Self, undertakes
mighty human programmes of moral rehabilitation of the
entire humanity. Mighty programmes are launched and they
guide and lead such programmes as though it is an
entertaining game and engaging sport, a mighty relaxation,
a glorious holiday! In the serenity of their minds they
generate a mightier dynamism and thus, their actions
become almost superhuman, materially beneficial, morally
spectacular, spiritually a blessing!!

Bhagavad-gītā underscores this idea, when Kṛṣṇa laughs

at Arjuna's pseudo religion which makes him declare his
unwillingness to enter the field of activity. In the crisp
statement of māntrika beauty Kṛṣṇa summarises his entire
philosophy when he says: ‘Equanimity within is spiritual
life’23.

The Lord of the Bhagavad-gītā emphasises this idea,

again, almost in the same breath, when He declares:
‘Efficiency and dexterity in action is spiritual life’24.

सुखमा ते सुखं शेते सुखमाया त या त च।

सुखं वि सुखं भु े यवहारेऽिप शा तधीः॥५९॥
sukham-āste sukhaṁ śete sukham-āyāti yāti ca,
sukhaṁ vakti sukhaṁ bhuṅkte vyavahāre'pi śāntadhīḥ. (59)

सुखम् – happily; आ ते – sits; सुखम् – happily; शेते – sleeps; सुखम् –

happily; आया त – comes; या त – goes; च – and; सुखम् – happily;
वि – speaks; सुखम् – happily; भु े – eats (enjoys); यवहारे – in
practical affairs of life; अिप – even; शा तधीः – of peaceful mind
(the wise one)

59. Even in practical affairs of life, the wise one, of peaceful

mind, sits happily, sleeps happily, moves happily, speaks
happily and eats happily.

To the saint the distinction between the inner Experience

Divine and the outer worldly experiences merge in the all
comprehensive infinite of the experienced Self. He is ever
peaceful in his mind and no disturbance ever reaches his
bosom, because everywhere he recognises but the play of
the one Self. Thus he is even minded towards all and things
beings and his equanimity cannot be disturbed whatever be
the circumstances.

The vāsanā inflicted sense of separative ego (jīva) in us

is that which brings about all sense of conflicts in life. One
who has risen above the ego has awakened to the
aloneness of the Self, wherein there is no distinction at all
between subject and object.

The outer world of multiplicity, no doubt, apparently

looks totally different from the subjective entity in the
observer. Ordinarily we consider these two factors as
completely different from each other. In this unholy divorce
between the subject and the object, we create for ourselves
our conflicts within and the world outside becomes for us a
field of incorrigible challenges.

The face of a cow looks, certainly, different from the view

of the same cow from its hind part. Because a cow looks
different from the front and from the back, no sane one
would say that the same cow is two different animals!! We
cannot separate the front part of the cow from its hind part
without destroying the cow! The subject and object are two
aspects of the one Reality, which the Liberated in life, is
continuously experiencing. Hence their minds are ever
peaceful (śānta dhīḥ).

Having experienced this one universal Reality, thereafter,

without ego and egocentric desires, they allow themselves
to come in contact with the world outside at all levels, ever
happy, under all circumstances! ‘The wise one sits happily,
sleeps happily, moves happily, speaks happily and eats
happily’. Says Bhagavad-gītā: ‘He enjoys whatever that
comes to him unasked’25.

वभावा य नैवा तल कव यवहा रणः।

महा द इवा ो यो गत े शः सुशोभते॥६०॥
svabhāvād-yasya naivārtir-lokavad vyavahāriṇaḥ,
mahāhrada ivākṣobhyo gatakleśaḥ suśobhate. (60)

वभावात् एव – by his inner disposition; य य – whose; न – not;

आ तः – distress; लोकवत् – like ordinary people; यवहा रणः –
acting; महा द – vast lake; इव – like; अ ो यः – unagitated; गत े शः
– with sorrows extinguished; सुशोभते – shines

60. One who, due to his inner disposition even when

engaged in practical affairs of life, does not have any
distress, like ordinary people have; he remains unagitated
like a vast lake, with all his sorrows extinguished, he indeed,
shines.

The lakes of our minds are disturbed with thought ripples

mainly from two sources. The outer objects can enter our
bosom through our sense openings and create disturbances
therein. Again, even in the absence of outer objects of
temptations, the inner mind, through its own stored up
memories of past experiences and its fresh imaginations of
future indulgences, can create storms within all by itself! In
the case of one who has conquered himself and reached the
state of Self-realisation, in him the ego and egocentric
desires are completely absent and, therefore, neither the
outer world nor his own subjective mind, can bring about
any disturbances at all into the serene lake of his mind.

Such a Master has already transcended his mind-intellect

equipment. He directly experiences the tranquil Self at all
times, under all circumstances. He has become an
‘Ᾱtmārāma’. His mental disposition, thereafter, is to
recognise and experience the Self everywhere. Hence he is
ever unagitated. Even when he is engaged in the practical
affairs of life, he is not disturbed at all in his constant
experience of the life. Neither desires, nor ego, ever rises in
his mind to disturb his bosom. He shines. with the glory of
the divine Self in him!

िनवृ रिप मूढ य वृ पजायते।

वृ रिप धीर य िनवृ फलभािगनी॥६१॥
nirvṛttir-api mūḍhasya pravṛttir-upajāyate,
pravṛttir-api dhīrasya nivṛtti-phala-bhāginī. (61)

िनवृ ः – withdrawal; अिप – even; मूढ य – of the fool; वृ ः –

action; उपजायते – becomes; वृ ः – action; अिप – even; धीर य –
of the wise one; िनवृ फलभािगनी – shares the fruits of
withdrawal (inaction)

61. With the fool, even withdrawal (inaction) becomes

action. With the wise, even action results in the fruit of
withdrawal (inaction).
Action and inaction – the dynamic life of acquisition of
wealth and the passive life of renunciation of objects – both
depend not merely upon the physical movements of the
limbs or their indolent rest. They both depend upon the
presence or the absence of ego and its desires. It is the
sense of ‘doership’ and ‘enjoyership’ that makes actions full
of agitations and restlessness. Once these false concepts
are removed, the Man of Wisdom, transcending his ego and
egocentric desires, inspiredly works. Such spontaneous
activities can provide for the wiseman the rewards of total
renunciation and complete retirement. Self-withdrawal
(nivṛtti) brings serenity of the mind; it is the outgoing
tendencies of the mind (pravṛtti) that breeds its
restlessness.

A fool, who is egocentric, even when he is withdrawing

himself from all activities, in his quiet hut of meditation on
the Ganga banks, feels mentally restless and unhappy. The
Liberated in life even when he is in the midst of activities,
serving the world and its humanity, is ever serene and
happy, nothing disturbs him, because he acts in the world
from his seat in the Self!

प र हेषु वैरा यं ायो मूढ य यते।

देहे िवग लताश य व रागः व िवरागता॥६२॥
parigraheṣu vairāgyaṁ prāyo mūḍhasya dṛśyate,
dehe vigalitāśasya kva rāgaḥ kva virāgatā. (62)

प र हेषु – in possessions; वैरा यम् – aversion; ायः – often; मूढ य –

of the fool; यते – is seen; देहे – in body; िवग लतआश य – of one
whose attachment has vanished; व – where; रागः –
attachment; व – where; िवरागता – aversion
62. The fool often shows aversion to his possessions. Where
is attachment and where is aversion for him whose love for
the body has vanished?

An ordinary man would like to get away from his field of

activities and conflicts, if not every weekend, at least once a
year on a long vacation. He gets tired of the struggles of
acquisition; he gets exhausted by the continuous
indulgence. Even in his moment-to-moment enjoyments
also, say after eating two or three bars of chocolates, he
shows aversion to eating more. This ‘desirelessness’
(vairāgya) for the chocolate is after all a temporary phase
and by evening he would like to have another bar; certainly
by tomorrow, he will anxiously seek some chocolates for
himself!

As long as we are identified with our physical body, we

cannot really grow ‘desireless’ towards objects that are
conducive for the happiness of our physical body. This body
consciousness cultivates in us tremendous attachments,
endless desires, vulgar passions and incorrigible lusts.
Temporary ‘aversion and desirelessness’ (vairāgya) is of no
avail in the spiritual world.

As a contrast to such a foolish man, Aṣṭāvakra describes

the attitude of the Liberated in life. His entire love for the
body has vanished. To him the body has become a dry leaf
that has fallen away from him! To him, thereafter, there is
neither attachment (rāga) nor lust for the objects of the
world nor has he any ‘aversion nor desirelessness’
(vairāgya). He has neither rāga nor vairāgya. He rises above
both of these attitudes of the mind. He has no identification
with the body and, therefore, he is not aware of the objects
of pleasures at all.

ि
भावनाभावनास ा ि मूढ य सवदा।
भा यभावनया सा तु व थ या ि िपणी॥६३॥
bhāvanābhāvanāsaktā dṛṣṭir-mūḍhasya sarvadā,
bhāvya-bhāvanayā sā tu svasthasyādṛṣṭi-rūpiṇī. (63)

भावना अभावना आस ा – attached to ideation (thinking) and non-

ideation (non-thinking); ि ः – view; मूढ य – of the fool or
deluded one; सवदा – always; भा य भावनया – engaged in ideation
of objects; सा – that; तु – but; व थ य – of the one established
in the Self; अ ि िपणी – of the nature of non-ideation

63. The view of the fool is always attached to ideation and

non-ideation. But the view of one established in the Self,
though engaged in the ideation of objects, is of the nature
of non-ideation.

It is the seeker, who is yet ignorant of the supreme

experience, that must have the discipline of maintaining
noble and divine thoughts in the mind and must learn to
eliminate all negative, agitation producing thoughts of
passions and lusts. It is an early seeker, who must withdraw
his mind from the contemplation of body, mind and intellect
and turn his thoughts into a steady meditation upon the
nature of the Self. The seeker strives to reach a state of non-
ideation by regulating, controlling and ending ultimately all
his voluntary and involuntary ideations.

One who is established in the experience of the Self, to

him even while ‘he is engaged in ideation of objects’ even
while thoughts are running fast and vigorous in his mind, he
is enjoying the ‘state of non-ideation’ the state of
thoughtlessness!
 It is not a question of whether there are thoughts in the
mind or not; the question is, whether we are ourselves
identified with the thoughts in the mind. The sage is one
who has withdrawn his identifications and, therefore, the
existence or non-existence of the thoughts is of no
consequence to him! So long as I am standing on the beach,
how can the waves of the ocean ever affect me?

We play the part of a fool not because the thoughts are

rising in our minds but because we identify with them so
much that we totally come to forget the source from which
the thought ripples have risen up. The Man of Realisation is
one, who even while observing the noisy thought waves
rising in his mind, is never totally unconscious of the
‘source’ from which they arise. From the infinite
Consciousness, due to desire stresses, thoughts ‘wave up’;
these very thoughts are nothing but Consciousness
expressed at the mental level. Hence Aṣṭāvakra points out
that even during ideations, when once he is established in
the Self, he is ever in a ‘state of non-ideation’.

सवार भेषु िन कामो य रे बालव मुिनः।

न लेप त य शु य ि यमाणेऽिप कम ण॥६४॥
sarvārambheṣu niṣkāmo yaścared bālavan-muniḥ,
na lepastasya śuddhasya kriyamāṇe'pi karmaṇi. (64)

सवआर भेषु – in all undertakings or actions; िन कामः – without

desire or motive, unattached; (सन् – being); यः मुिनः – the wise
one who; चरेत् – moves; बालवत् – like a child; न – not; लेपः –
attachment, involvement; त य – of whom; शु य – pure;
ि यमाणे – which is being done; अिप – even; कम ण – actions;
(भव त – is)
64. The wise one, who has no motive in any of (all) his
actions, moves like a child and is pure, has no attachments
even in the action that is being done by him.

One in whom the ego is no more, that individual cannot

have the sense of ‘doership’. A child is not accused when a
disastrous tragedy is ultimately caused by the innocent
activities of a child. There are instances where a child
playing with a loaded gun has killed one of its parents! Here
the child is not accused of murder, because its action is not
motivated. The sage is one in whom there is neither an ego
nor any selfish desire. Therefore his actions are considered
as always innocent. Hence a sage in action is readily
compared here with a child at play.

It is the ego and its selfish motives that entangle us in

the world outside. These unhealthy involvements breed all
the sorrows in every field of activity. A Man of Realisation
acts inspiredly in any field of endeavour, that comes to him
as his lot, without ever getting himself shackled by the
duties attached to it. To him, all activities become an
engaging sport – a joyous relaxation – an entertaining play.

This expressive phrase sarvārambha reminds us of its

affective use in the Bhagavad-gītā: ‘Renouncing all
undertakings (or commencements), he who is (thus)
devoted to Me, is dear to Me’26.

According to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the idea is not that the Man of

Perfection will not undertake any work, but in all
undertakings he has no vanity of ‘doership’. Hence a man of
devotion and knowledge is described by the Lord, ‘As one
who has renounced completely all undertakings’ (sarva-
ārambha parityāgī).

े
स एव ध य आ म ः सवभावेषु यः समः।
प यन् वन् पृशन् ज तषमानसः॥६५॥
sa eva dhanya ātmajñaḥ sarvabhāveṣu yaḥ samaḥ,
paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighran-aśnan-nistarṣa-mānasaḥ. (65)

स – that; एव – indeed; ध यः – blessed; आ म ः – knower of the

Self; सवभावेषु – in all conditions; यः – who; समः – the same; प यन्
– seeing; वन् – hearing; पृशन् – touching; ज न् – smelling;
अ न् – eating; िन तषमानसः – whose mind is free from thirst
(desire)

65. Blessed indeed is that knower of the Self, who, with his
mind free from thirst, even though seeing, hearing,
touching, smelling or eating, remains the same under all
conditions.

In the fields of activities it is inconceivable for us how an

individual can continuously maintain his equanimity without
being troubled by the endless tossings that the world should
necessarily provide even to a Man of Wisdom. Here,
Aṣṭāvakra, explains the secret by which the Man of
Perfection maintains his unbroken serenity under all
conditions, in the outer world.

The secret lies in the special orientation that he has

brought about in his mental field. He has removed from his
mind, all thirst – all its craving – for sense gratifications.
Once the mind is dehypnotised of its hunger to seek
fulfilment in sense objects, that dispassionate mind
becomes completely neutral to the empty charms in the
world of happenings around him. Not that the Man of
Realisation runs away from the world of sense objects. He
lives fully, freely.
 The world around us is a gift of the Lord. Our delicate
sense organs are a grace of the Almighty. A Man of
Realisation would not dare to insult the Lord of the universe
either by destroying the instruments of perception or by
rejecting the sense objects. ‘Seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling, and eating’, he shows his gratitude to the Creator
of the universe, and honours Him by accepting His
invitations to this feast of delusion, in his stupendous fairs of
illusion!

He is a free soul, free to live in the world, absolutely

uninhibited, without tensions and conflicts, apparently
indulging. But the world of sense objects cannot entangle
him. He sees the world as great entertainment by a fabulous
magician! Even while looking at them, he perceives but the
supreme Reality behind. He lives life in a ceaseless mood of
breathless wonderments, but never, ever a victim of its
hallucinations!

व संसारः व चाभासः व सा यं व च साधनम्।

आकाश येव धीर य िन वक प य सवदा॥६६॥
kva saṁsāraḥ kva cābhāsaḥ kva sādhyaṁ kva ca
sādhanam,
ākāśasyeva dhīrasya nirvikalpasya sarvadā. (66)

व – where; संसारः – world; व – where; च – indeed; आभासः –

ego (appearance); व – where; सा यम् – end (goal, meaning
Liberation); व – where; च – and; साधनम् – means (path,
meaning spiritual practices); आकाश य एव – like the universal
space; धीर य – of the wise one; िन वक प य – changeless; सवदा –
always
66. Where is the world and where is the ego, where is the
end and where are the means for the wise one, who is ever
changeless like the universal space?

We must here, again repeat the warning that we have been

giving all through this text. Early seekers should not quote
these verses and on their basis drop their practices! These
are intended for the one who has already achieved his goal,
who has fulfilled his life, who has awakened to the pure
infinite Self. These verses are not addressed to the early
seekers. These are addressed to a Janaka-like student, who
is on the outermost verges of the finitude, yet hesitating to
step into the realm of the Infinite.

To the Man of Perfection, who has already realised the

Self, there is for him nothing but the Self. To him there is no
world of objects, nor is there in him an experiencer of the
world, the ego. He has already achieved the goal and,
therefore, he has no more goal to gain, no more an end to
achieve. What ‘path’ should he follow, or what ‘means’ must
he adopt? And for what? The Man of Realisation is ever in
the Infinite, wherein he has become changeless, all-
pervading like the universal space. He has ended all his
limitations. The pot has broken and the pot space has
become one with the eternal universal space!

The wave has merged in the ocean. The pot has been
crushed and has become the mud. The dreamer has
awakened.

The Liberated in life is the supreme Self in action.

Manhood has ended in sheer Godhood.

ी ि
स जय यथसं यासी पूण वरसिव हः।
अकृि मोऽनव छ े समा धय य वतते॥६७॥
sa jayatyartha-sannyāsī pūrṇa-svarasa-vigrahaḥ,
akṛtrimo'navacchinne samādhiryasya vartate. (67)

सः – he; जय त – cry hallelujah; अथसं यासी – who has renounced

all desires; पूण वरसिव हः – who is the perfect embodiment of
all Bliss, which is his own nature; अकृि मः – spontaneous;
अनव छ े – in the unlimited; समा धः – absorption; य य – whose;
वतते – is

67. Hallelujah to him who has renounced all desires, who is

the embodiment of perfect Bliss, which is his own nature
and who is spontaneously absorbed in the unlimited space.

Even the serene tranquillity of the revered Sage Aṣṭāvakra

seems to heave up into emotions of adoration and love. To
that individual man, who has successfully broken the
shackles of his delusion and has merged to be the infinite
Self, he cries jaya-jaya! hallelujah! to the victorious person
who has freed himself from his ego shackles, to experience
his immutable, divine glory, as the boundless substratum for
the whole universe!

The Liberated in life having renounced all the desires in

him has now come to experience himself as the
‘embodiment of perfect Bliss which is his own nature’ (pūrṇa
svarasa vigrahaḥ). Here this term used by Aṣṭāvakra is one
of the precious gem like phrases that has unconsciously,
crystallised in the sage’s mind during his contemplation
upon the theme of his glorious song. Many such enchanting
phrases of fabulous significance have been minted and sent
out into circulation by the sage in this Saṁhitā. The phrase
evidently screams the advaitika realisation, wherein the
meditator is not separate from the meditated, wherein the
subject has merged in the object of contemplation, wherein
the river has reached the ocean!

This merger of the individuality with the universal Reality

is effortless – is spontaneous. This great awakening into the
spiritual experience is automatic and natural. There is no
strain or struggle in it. All efforts are in ending the ego, in
weaning the mind away from its fascination for sense
objects. Śaṅkara expresses the spontaneity and
effortlessness of the final stage of Self-realisation in his
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi: ‘The clear knowledge ‘I am Devadatta’ is
independent of everything; similar is the case with the
realisation in the knower of Brahman that ‘I am
Brahman’.’27

बहुना िकमु े न ातत वो महाशयः।

भोगमो िनराका ी सदा सव नीरसः॥६८॥
bahunātra kim-uktena jñāta-tattvo mahāśayaḥ,
bhoga-mokṣa-nirākāṅkṣī sadā sarvatra nīrasaḥ. (68)

बहुना – much; अ – here; िकम् – what use; उ े न – by saying;

ातत वः – who has realised the Truth; महाशयः – the great
souled one; भोगमो िनराका ी – free from the desire of enjoyment
and Liberation; सदा – at all times; सव – in all places; नीरसः –
devoid of passions (is)

68. In short, here there is no need to say more. The great

souled one, who has realised the Truth, is free from desire
for sense enjoyments and for spiritual Liberation. He is
devoid of all passions, in all places, and at all times.
On summarising what has been said so far, in this chapter,
the sage is evidently feeling that he has not completely
expressed what he wants. In this verse he is, in a way,
summarising his thoughts. All great Masters have followed
this very same method. Even the Vedas despair in her
inability to communicate the state of perfection and she has
to satisfy herself by merely indicating the goal which is
beyond all expressions.

‘In short, here there is no need to say more’ meaning,

that for those who have purified their inner equipment, what
has been said so far is more than sufficient. And to others,
any amount of such discussions will not bring even a
glimmer of understanding. The great Teacher means that if
Janaka has been restless enough in his mind and thus has
not realised the Self even after listening to what has been
said so far, then it is useless for the Master to keep on
disturbing the student’s mind!

This is not an expression of the Teacher's despair at the

brilliant student Janaka, but an open confession that
language is utterly incompetent to communicate this
Knowledge. The intellect of the listener is no vessel to
receive what the Teacher wants to give. The student has to
transcend his individuality, and come to be awake to the
state of pure Consciousness, all by himself.

In this great flight across the frontiers of the limited, the

meditator is not allowed to smuggle anything through the
barriers of Consciousness. Even the noblest aspirations have
to be renounced. All mantras and prayers, all devotions and
yoga, all meditations and even ‘the anxiety to realise the
Truth’ (mumukṣutva), is not allowed to be smuggled into the
supreme state of Consciousness.
 The Liberated in life is free from desires – both for the
sense enjoyments and for spiritual Liberation. He is indeed
devoid of all passions at all times, under all circumstances.
Passions and desires are the attributes of the ego. One who
has transcended the mind and intellect (mahāśayaḥ), to him
where are these outgoing tendencies, which are essentially
of the nature of the mind? He has already transcended his
mind!

महदािद जग ैतं नाममा िवजृ भतम्।

िवहाय शु बोध य क कृ यमव श यते॥६९॥
mahadādi jagad-dvaitaṁ nāma-mātravijṛmbhitam,
vihāya śuddhabodhasya kiṁ kṛtyam-avaśiṣyate. (69)

महदािद – beginning with mahat (total intellect); जग ैतम् – the

pluralistic world; नाम मा िवजृ भतम् – manifested merely by
name; िवहाय – renouncing; शु बोध य – of one who is pure
Consciousness; िकम् – what; कृ यम् – to be done; अव श यते –
remains

69. What remains to be done by one who is pure

Consciousness? He has renounced the pluralistic world,
which begins with mahat (total intellect) and is manifested
merely by names.

The entire phenomenal world of plurality is the expression of

the ‘macrocosmic intellect’ indicated in the Sāṅkhya
philosophy as mahat. According to them prakṛti is the
material cause from which evolves the mahat. From mahat
in logical steps evolves the sense of ego (ahaṅkāra), mind
(mana), the five organs of perception (jñāna indriyas) and
the five organs of action (karma indriyas), the five ‘subtle’
elements (tanmātrās), the five ‘gross’ elements
(mahābhūtas), by the combinations of which, in different
proportions, the world of plurality manifests. When out of
gold, the goldsmith beats out a bar, pulls wires, cuts it into
bits, hammers them into tiny rings and makes them into a
chain, the ornament so made is to be nothing but gold! The
bar, the wire, the bits, the rings and the chain are all merely
‘names’; they are all, in essence, nothing but gold itself.
Phenomenal world of plurality is nothing but the expressions
of the prakṛti – all the rest is nothing but mere distinctions in
names.

It is the ‘ego’ in us, the subject, that experiences,

through the mind and the sense organs, the perceptions of
the world of multiplicity expressed as objects, emotions and
thoughts. The Liberated in life is one who has transcended
his ego and has awakened to the infinitude of the Self. From
this standpoint therefore, where is the world for him? Then
what duties can bind him to the world? There is nothing to
be done by him, there is nothing for him to achieve!

In this supreme state of fulfilment experienced, as the

Self, when he has already done all that is to be done, the
Man of Perfection has nothing more to achieve in the world
of names and forms. Even though it was the very day that
my daughter was to be given away in marriage, if I wake up,
have I any more duties towards my daughter and the
arrangements already made for her marriage in my last
night's dream? What duty have I towards my dream family?

The verse does not mean that there is no duty for a

sādhaka towards the world around him. This is meant for
those who are no more seeing the phenomenal world, those
who are revelling in the experience of the Self.

In this context, we are reminded of the famous

description of Mahopaniṣad wherein the ṛṣi explains to us
how such a Man of Wisdom views the phenomenal world:
‘Just as the villagers watch a team of tourists passing
through the village street so does the wise man watch the
daily parade of the world in front of him!’28

The villagers, certainly, see the pilgrims (or the tourists)

who are passing through the village, but the residents of the
village are not at all affected by what they see, except that
they are entertained by the crowd that is passing by!! The
Liberated in life with perfect detachment watches the
parade of the world that marches in front of his awareness!!

मभूतिमदं सव िक ा ती त िन यी।
अल य फुरणः शु ः वभावेनव
ै शा य त॥७०॥
bhrama-bhūtam-idaṁ sarvaṁ kiñcin-nāstīti niścayī,
alakṣya-sphuraṇaḥ śuddhaḥ svabhāvenaiva śāmyati. (70)

मभूतम् – produced by illusion; इदम् – this; सवम् – all; िक त् –

anything; न – not; अ त – exists; इ त – thus; िन यी – knowing
with certitude; अल य फुरणः – to whom the imperceptible is
revealed; शु ः – the pure one; वभावेन् – naturally; एव – indeed;
शा य त – becomes tranquil

70. The pure one knows with certitude that this universe is
the product of illusion and that nothing really exists. The
imperceptible Self is revealed to him and he, naturally,
becomes tranquil.

After the direct experience of the Self, there cannot be even

a trace of doubt, because he has actually woken up. Such a
wise man continuously experiences the effulgent Self.
 Here, the experience does not mean that the Self is an
‘object’ of the experiences. The infinite Consciousness is the
absolute Subject. It can never be an object. Objects can only
be perceived by the body, mind or the intellect. Aṣṭāvakra in
order to point out that the Self is the final and only Subject,
uses the adjective ‘The imperishable Self’. The knowledge of
the Self is not emerging out of the activities of the sense
organs, mind or the intellect. In Self-realisation, the process
is unique inasmuch as it is gained when ‘the ego disappears
into the vision of the Reality’.

With this realisation the individual becomes pure,

completely free from his ignorance of Reality. It is this
‘ignorance’ that precipitates the inner equipments and the
ego. It is the ego that crystallises the required physical body
and projects the appropriate world of objects through its
imaginations in order to experience among them its chosen
joys and sorrows! The Self-realised sage is one who has
ended the ‘non-apprehension of Reality’ (ignorance) in the
direct experience of the ‘Imperceptible’.

Aṣṭāvakra concludes ‘naturally he becomes tranquil’. In

the Self, revelling as the Self, what disturbance can reach
the Divine? All disturbances arise from either the body or
the mind or the intellect; transcending these equipments
the sage revels in the blissful Self.

शु फुरण प य यभावमप यतः।

व िव धः व च वैरा यं व यागः व शमोऽिप वा॥७१॥
śuddha-sphuraṇa-rūpasya dṛśya-bhāvam-apaśyataḥ,
kva vidhiḥ kva ca vairāgyaṁ kva tyāgaḥ kva śamo'pi vā.
(71)
शु फुरण प य – of the nature of pure effulgence; य भावम् – the
phenomenal world; अप यतः – not seeing; व – where; िव धः –
the rules of life (conduct); व – where; च – and; वैरा यम् –
dispassion; व – where; यागः – renunciation, relinquishment;
व – where; शमः – control of the mind; अिप – also; वा – or

71. Rules of life, dispassion, relinquishment, control of the

mind – what are all these to one who is of the nature of pure
effulgence and who does not perceive the phenomenal
world at all.

Medicines, strict diet, confinement to bed, a nurse to attend,

bedpan in the bed – what are these for one who has come
out of the hospital and is living a normal healthy, social life?
The limited ego, suffering from its ‘ignorance’ entangled by
the fascination of the world around him, chained and
shackled by his emotions and passions, tossed about by his
own mental agitations – to such a suffering egocentric man,
in his delirium, the Upaniṣads prescribe retirement,
quietude, contemplation, self-control and rules of righteous
conduct and the disciplines of moral and ethical living.

But to one who has awakened to the nature of the pure

infinite Consciousness, wherein he, as the Self, cannot
perceive any world of phenomena, to such a Man of
Realisation there cannot be any rules of conduct. His actions
are spontaneous and divine and they are what constitute
the very ‘standard’ which are declared by the scriptures of
the world as dharma or righteousness. His conduct is
dharma; he is not following dharma. Men of Realisation
prescribe dharma with their life, by their conduct; we,
seekers of perfection must implicity abide and follow the
pattern of life and the standard of living that such Masters
have demonstrated in their lives.
 Aṣṭāvakra is dissecting the nature of the Man of
Perfection, for the education of a brilliant spiritual student,
who is on the seat of his meditation – the royal Saint Janaka.
To misunderstand its import and to wrongly apply this verse
in life would be suicidal to the spiritual life of any seeker.
You are warned!!

फुरतोऽन त पेण कृ त च न प यतः।

व ब धः व च वा मो ः व हषः व िवषािदता॥७२॥
sphurato'nanta-rūpeṇa prakṛtiṁ ca na paśyataḥ,
kva bandhaḥ kva ca vā mokṣaḥ kva harṣaḥ kva viṣāditā.
(72)

फुरतः – shining; अन त पेण – in endless forms; कृ तम् – nature

(relative existence ); च – and; न प यतः – one who is not seeing
the pluralistic world; व – where; ब धः – bondage; व – where;
च – and; वा – or; मो ः – Liberation; व – where; हषः – joy; व –
where; िवषािदता – sorrow

72. Where is bondage? Where is Liberation? Where is joy?

Where is sorrow? for one who does not perceive nature –
the relative existence – but sees only the Self shining in
endless forms.

The individualised subjective ego (jīva) looking out, through

its vāsanā layers, sees the delusory world of names and
forms and deliberately divides the world as things that it
likes and things that it dislikes. To this deluded ego, there is
nothing but the world of names and forms, which is real,
substantial, true. To the ego there is nothing greater, nobler,
diviner, more eternal. As a limited self, certainly, the ego
comes to feel its sense of limitation, and therefore, it
complains of its bondages. It is the ego that grows anxious
to liberate itself from the entanglements of its own sorrows!
The ego, in its identification with the body, is happy or
unhappy and it suffers in a self-created life of joy and
sorrow.

The sage who has risen above the ego and has,
therefore, transcended his intellect and awakened to the
Self, from his divine state, sees no plurality at all. He is the
one, who is Liberated in life. Such a sage, even when his
mind interprets to him the phenomenal world of names and
forms, from his deep inner experience, realises that the
apparent illusion of plurality in front of him, are all nothing
but the Consciousness Itself playing in different forms.

To the one who has the knowledge of the nature of the

ocean, can the waves and the bubbles be separate from the
ocean? To the one who has the wisdom of gold, can the gold
ornaments, irrespective of its shape and beauty, be
anything really different from gold? On awakening from the
dream, could the dream that we saw before, be anything
different from our own mind? To the awakened Man of
Perfection even when he views the world of plurality, can he
ever forget the essential Truth, that shimmers in and
through the names and forms?

Joys and sorrows are the ultimate result of ‘ignorance’.

On the ‘non-apprehension of Reality’ we take the ‘mis-
apprehensions’ to be real and in this lies the essence of
bondage. Says Śaṅkara in the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi: ‘To identify
the Self with the not-self is the bondage of man’29 .

बु पय तसंसारे मायामा ं िववतते।

िनममो िनरह ारो िन कामः शोभते बुधः॥७३॥
buddhiparyanta-saṁsāre māyāmātraṁ vivartate,
nirmamo nirahaṅkāro niṣkāmaḥ śobhate budhaḥ. (73)

बु पय तसंसारे – in the phenomenal world, which lasts until Self-

knowledge; मायामा म् – mere illusion; िववतते – prevails; िनममः –
devoid of ‘mine-ness’; िनरह ारः – devoid of ‘I-ness’; िन कामः –
free from passions; शोभते – excels; बुधः – the wise one

73. The illusion of this phenomenal world prevails until Self-

knowledge. The wise one lives devoid of ‘I-ness,’ devoid of
‘mine-ness’ and free from passions.

According to the ‘categories’ of Vedānta (prakriyā), the

apprehension of Reality alone can destroy all mis-
apprehensions. Hence we have translated ‘the phenomenal
world which lasts until Self-knowledge’ (buddhi-paryanta
saṁsāre). But the subtle intellect of Janaka must have
grasped the delicate import when Sage Aṣṭāvakra had
deliberately used the term buddhi (intelligence) in his
phrase. The illusion of saṁsāra can end permanently only
with the direct perception of Reality; an illusion can exist in
our mind only so long as we are not prepared to look at it
intelligently. To review the world of plurality with a sharp,
steady, discriminative intellect is to recognise the illusory
nature of the world of objects that we now, so readily, take
for granted.

Even physically the world of names and forms is almost

conclusively proved by physics and chemistry as having no
basis at all, at least, in the laboratory! Chemistry reduces all
the names and forms into energy. Physics declares to me
that all that I perceive are ordered by, governed by the
relativity of time and space. Thus, in the presence of
intelligent observation, saṁsāra can never stand. It persists
in our stupidity and it is nurtured and nourished only by our
idle imaginations. The acceptance of this illusory world of
plurality and the consequent sorrows and suffering in it, are
all true until the student diligently investigates it.

On enquiry it becomes easily clear that it is the ego

sense in us which perceives the phenomenal world. The ego
sense in us is the ‘perceiver’ of the world illusion and the
ego feeling in us is our sense of possession in the world. In
short, the ego sense, as the perceiver accepts the illusion of
names and forms as true and the ego feeling clings to the
illusion with its possessiveness. He who has transcended
this ego has transcended both, his ego sense and his ego
feeling.

Where the subject is no more, the world of objects

perceived by him, rolls away, curls up and disappears! In
the perfect Master the ego has been removed entirely,
permanently, by its very roots – the ego, which stems up
from passions. Indeed, such a sage, established in his Self-
realisation, excels not only among the humanity, but even
among the gods! He has become the very substratum for
the ‘Creator’, the ‘created world’ and the ‘individual ego’
that have mysteriously sprung up during the state of
delusion from the one immutable Self.

अ यं गतस तापमा मानं प यतो मुनेः।

व िव ा च व वा िव ं व देहोऽहम् ममे त वा॥७४॥
akṣayaṁ gata-santāpam-ātmānaṁ paśyato muneḥ,
kva vidyā ca kva vā viśvaṁ kva deho'ham mameti vā. (74)

अ यम् – imperishable; गतस तापम् – free from grief; आ मानम् –

Self; प यतः – seeing; मुनेः – to the wise one; व – where; िव ा –
knowledge; च – and; व – where; वा – or; िव म् – universe; व –
where; अहं देहः – I am the body; मम (देहः) – mine is the body; इ त
– thus; वा – or

74. To the wise one who perceives the Self as both

imperishable and free from grief, where is knowledge, and
where is the universe? Where is the feeling 'body am I' or
the feeling 'mine is the body?'

Continuing to paint the picture of Man of Perfection for the

edification of the great student, the royal Saint Janaka,
again and again, Sage Aṣṭāvakra, grows more and more
eloquent, as though he is honestly feeling that, inspite of his
brilliant exposition he has not communicated even a vague
picture of the inner experience of the Liberated one!

To misunderstand ‘I am the body’ is the very seed from

which breeds all confusions of the mind, the destinies of the
body thereafter become the destinies of the individual
because of his extreme identification with his body. Such a
sense of ‘possessiveness’ (mine-ness) comes towards all
things related to the comfort and happiness of the body.
Thus the mistaken identity that my body is myself sets me
into a false relationship with the world around me. In this
web of delusory values the individual suffers and this is
called saṁsāra.

The sage who has risen above the ego, and realised that
the Self in him is imperishable and free from grief, how can
there be in him any more anxiety to know anything? He
alone is. All knowledges are ‘objects’ of his awareness. He,
as the Self, illumines all intellectual conclusions, called
‘knowledges’. Having realised the Self, there is nothing
more to know. This question of Aṣṭāvakra here, echoes the
question with which the student approached the Master in
the Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad: ‘Sir, what is that knowledge by
knowing which all other knowledges become known?’30
 The Self is ‘Knowledge of all knowledges’ inasmuch as it
is in the light of Consciousness we become aware of all
conclusions arrived at by the rational intellect.

We must come to know the greater Reality only when we

are perceiving the unreal world of names and forms. To the
one who has awakened to the Real, how can there be for
him the perception of the unreal? To him where is the
universe?

िनरोधादीिन कमा ण जहा त जडधीयिद।

मनोरथान् लापां कतुमा नो यतत् णात्॥७५॥
nirodhādīni karmāṇi jahāti jaḍadhīryadi,
manorathān pralāpāṁśca kartumāpnotyatat kṣaṇāt. (75)

िनरोध-आदीिन – control and so on; कमा ण – practices; जहा त –

leaves; जडधीः – one of dull intellect; यिद – if; मनोरथान् – desires;
लापान् – fancies; च – and; कतुम् – to do; आ नो त – begins, arrives
at; अतत् णात् – from that very moment

75. The moment a man of dull intellect gives up the

practices of mental control, he from that very moment
begins to entertain desires and fancies.

Here is a verse through which Aṣṭāvakra talks to the

unprepared students, encouraging them to continue their
sādhanā, while at the same time the sage has a subtle
message in it for students struggling in their higher
meditations.

So long as there are vāsanās in an individual, he is ‘one

of dull intellect’ and he cannot stop practising mental
control. For, the instant he allows his mind to roam about,
the released mind would immediately jump into desire ruts
and fly into its fancies. The vāsanās, expressing in the
intellect, are called ‘desires’; desires expressed in the mind
are called ‘thoughts’; the mind so agitated soon gets lost in
its own fancies and imaginations. Thus, early seekers,
should never give up their regular practices of control at
their body, mind and intellect levels – regulating the
immoral and unethical living at the body level; control of the
low emotions and baser passions at the mental level and
attempts at settling the thought flow of the intellect through
study, reflections and meditations.

The same verse has a deeper significance to all students

who are already struggling on the higher levels of intense
meditation. To them Aṣṭāvakra is asking a pertinent
question. How can you expect to control your mind with
your own mind? This is illogical. Mind can be controlled and
brought under our command only when we rise above the
mind.

Our equipments will continue their efficient functioning;

they are only serving us in expressing our ‘ignorance’
(vāsanās). When the mind is gushing forth efficiently into
the sense objects, the spiritual seeker, in the beginning
considers this efficiency of his mind, as an obstacle for the
meditation. Therefore, he curbs the mind's royal enthusiasm
in its own functioning. Here the sage is indicating to the
student that mental control is a means; it is the path. The
‘end’ is Self-realisation, the ‘goal’ is awakening to the Self.
So long as we are pursuing the ‘means’, we will not reach
the ‘end’. When we reach the ‘goal’, we must have left the
‘path’.

Thus, the foolish seeker should understand that the

moment he stops his mental control, his desire ridden ego
will drive his mind towards the sense objects. The desires in
him manifest and his power of imagination brings storms of
disturbances into his mind. In short, in the dull seeker the
ego is not ended, his desires are only suppressed and not
sublimated.

From this dissection of the inner bosom of the struggling

sādhaka, the Teacher points out that mere self-control and
yogika practices alone, by themselves, cannot help in lifting
man to Godhood. He must grow to altitudes beyond the
peaks of desires. We have already mentioned very often
that all yogika practices in the early stages are horizontal
flights from sense objects and mental quakes. Here the call
of Aṣṭāvakra to the students is that he had run almost
across the entire ‘runway’ and now he must take off!

Vertical flight through self-upliftment is the only way to

detach ourselves from the realms of delusion and mental
illusions. The various yogas pursued by a student can no
doubt quieten the mind, calm the intellect and thus
generate maximum tranquillity and serenity in the bosom.
To misunderstand these passing moods of inner peace and
joy for the ultimate Realisation is a tragic mistake. Many do.
The sage has warned us.

The tranquil mind rendered temporarily peaceful as a

result of spiritual practices, is the ‘pad’ from which the
meditation must rocket up into the higher infinite
Consciousness. In the realisation of the Self alone complete
transcendence can be achieved. The Supreme is not gained
as a result of yoga; the Infinite is with us, we have only to
realise it. Just ‘Be’.

म दः ु वािप त तु न जहा त िवमूढताम्।

िन वक पो बिहय नाद त वषयलालसः॥७६॥
mandaḥ śrutvāpi tadvastu na jahāti vimūḍhatām,
nirvikalpo bahiryatnād-antarviṣayalālasaḥ. (76)

म दः – the dull one; ु वा – hearing; अिप – even; तत् – that; व तु –

Reality; न – not; जहा त – gives up; िवमूढताम् – delusion; िन वक पः –
with mental fluctuations suppressed; बिहः – outwardly; य नात् –
through effort; अ तः – within; िवषयलालसः – cravings for sense
objects (is)

76. A man of dull intellect even after hearing the Truth does
not give up his delusion. Though outwardly, through
suppression he may appear to be without mental
fluctuations, a craving for sense objects shall linger in him.

The seeker here is significantly described as ‘of dull

intellect’ because he is one, who has yet no direct
experience of the Self and so is continuing his mental
control exercises, in the false hope that the yoga practices
will one day reward him with the gift of Self-realisation! Self
is something that is already with us. No one can give It. No
body can gift It. Our own ego veils It from us. Ending the ego
is to be achieved not through yoga, but by direct
experience. Jñāna cannot help at this juncture; it has served
us up to the threshold of Reality. Now the seeker must
heave into the state of Self in himself, all by himself; vijñāna
is the goal.

One, who is ready for this leap into the unknown, will no
more have the delusion of ego and its passions. The ‘dull-
witted’ sādhaka through suppression, might put up a saintly
appearance of tranquillity and may even experience,
honestly in himself, a certain amount of mental equipoise
and serenity. But when the challenge is too severe, he would
find himself riddled with passions, lusts, greeds – often of
the lowest and basest types. Here the student gets
extremely desperate, supremely disappointed; his entire
faith shatters, both in himself and in the śāstras.

Aṣṭāvakra here shows a clean mirror for the seeker to

recognise the ugliness and crookedness of his inner
personality! Deep in the student lurks the subtle vāsanās for
sense pleasure.

We are reminded of Śri Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful words in

Bhagavad-gītā where he consoles the seekers of the lesser
order, when he says: ‘The objects of the senses turn away
from the abstinent man, leaving the longing (behind); but
his longing also turns away on seeing the Supreme.’31

Historically Aṣṭāvakra-gītā has been attributed to a

period soon after the Bhagavad-gītā. That was perhaps the
main reason that these twenty chapters are together called
as Aṣṭāvakra-saṁhitā, to make a subtle contrast with the
content, theme and style of the Gītā. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s
Bhagavad-gītā addresses to the dynamic men of action of
the order of Arjuna. Aṣṭāvakra-saṁhitā whispers to only
meditators of the Janaka order. Kṛṣṇa’s eighteen chapters
are songs sung to quieten the agitations in the deluded man
of action, the despondent Arjuna on the battlefield, while,
the twenty chapters here are the thunderous roars
whispered in the ears of the intelligent seeker in his seat of
meditation.

In short, both the verses suggest, in unequivocal words,

that control and suppression may help in the early stages, in
relatively quietening the bosom, but they must necessarily
fail in completely eliminating the tossings of the mind.
Direct Self-realisation alone is the only baptism that can
purify the ego and divinise man into the awareness of the
supreme Self.

ो ो ि
 ाना लतकमा यो लोक ािप कमकृत्।
ना नो यवसरं कतु व ु मेव न िक न॥७७॥
jñānā-dgalita-karmā yo lokadṛṣṭyāpi karmakṛt,
nāpnotyavasaraṁ kartuṁ vaktum-eva na kiñcana. (77)

ानात् – owing to wisdom; ग लतकमा – whose work has dropped;

यः – who; लोक ा – in the sight of the ordinary people; अिप –
even; कमकृत् – doing work; न – not; आ नो त – gets; अवसरम् –
occasion; कतुम् – to do; व ु म् – to say; एव – even; न – not; िक न –
anything

77. He, whose work has dropped-off with the dawn of

wisdom, may undertake some work as seen by ordinary
people. But he gets no room or scope to do or to say
anything.

Earlier Aṣṭāvakra had described the Man of Wisdom and his

relationship with his own physical body. He compared it with
a dry leaf that has fallen down from the tree. The dry leaf
under the compulsion of the passing breeze may apparently
look more dynamic than when it was on the tree, going
about, fluttering, curling up, swirling down, dancing along
here and there all under the whims of the passing breeze.
The sage then declared that the body of the Liberated in life
moves about, functions and apparently serves the humanity
all under the compulsion of its prārabdha.

To the Realised sage there is no ego. He has neither the

sense of ‘doership’, nor has he the attitude of ‘enjoyership’.
Since he is, thus, above his ego, he himself has no vanity
that he is doing the work, nor is he conscious of the glory of
the mighty work he may have inaugurated and
accomplished. He works in the society, only from the
viewpoint of the ordinary people. Stop him on his path and
ask him, ‘What more should we do to add an extra
momentum to your mighty work?’ He is surprised and gets
rather confused!

You are awakened from a dream and your entire family

anxiously questions you: What happened? What was the
tragedy? Why did you cry out for help? You, now awakened,
are in a fix and indeed ashamed of your dream!! What can
the awakened Master say? How can he answer?

The Liberated in life ‘gets no room or scope to do or say

anything’ – there is no individual ego in him. The Upaniṣads
explain that through the sage, the total vāsanās of his era
work. Can the telescope of Nelson explain what he saw? Can
the Kodaṇḍa bow of Śrī Rāma give a description of
Rāmāyaṇa, though it was always at the shoulders of
Dāśarathi and must have witnessed everything? The sage is
only an instrument. He is not responsible for what his body
does. He is not conscious of it at all. Is the tree responsible
for its dry leaf reaching your room in the passing breeze? He
has no sense of ‘doership’, and, therefore, he has no
autobiography, after his Self-realisation.

व तमः व काशो वा हानं व च न िक न।

िन वकार य धीर य िनरात य सवदा॥७८॥
kva tamaḥ kva prakāśo vā hānaṁ kva ca na kiñcana,
nirvikārasya dhīrasya nirātaṅkasya sarvadā. (78)

व – where; तमः – darkness; व– where; काशः – light; वा – or;

हानम् – loss; व – where; च – and; न – not; िक न – anything;
िन वकार य – unperturbed; धीर य – of the wise one; िनरात य –
fearless; सवदा – ever
78. To the wise one, who is ever unperturbed and fearless,
where is darkness? Where is light? Where is loss? There is
nothing whatsoever.

Knowledge and ignorance, light and darkness, loss and gain,

are all expressions of duality experienced at the level of the
mind and the intellect. To one, who has transcended the
mind, where are these pairs of opposites? He has no
ignorance, because he has gained Knowledge. But in the
Man of Wisdom where is Knowledge? Knowledge has a
meaning only with reference to ignorance. One, who has
awakened to the pure Self and become the Illuminator of
both Knowledge and ignorance, he, as the supreme Self, can
neither be defined in terms of ignorance nor Knowledge.

In the infinite Bliss of his all-full nature, how can anything

be added so that he may profit by it, how can anything be
taken away from him, so that he may suffer a loss? Nothing
can be added to the Infinite. Nothing can be taken away
from the Infinite. Infinite is ever the Infinite. The profits
gained in the dream or the losses suffered in the dream, are
both of no significance at all to the dreamer who has now
awakened!

व धैय व िववेिक वं व िनरात तािप वा।

अिनवा य वभाव य िनः वभाव य योिगनः॥७९॥
kva dhairyaṁ kva vivekitvaṁ kva nirātaṅkatāpi vā,
anirvācyasvabhāvasya niḥsvabhāvasya yoginaḥ. (79)

व – where; धैयम् – patience; व – where; िववेिक वम् –

discrimination; व – where; िनरात ता – fearlessness; अिप –
even; वा – or; अिनवा य वभाव य – of indescribable nature
(indefinable); िनः वभाव य – impersonal, attributeless; योिगनः –
of the yogin

79. For the fulfilled seeker (yogin), who is attributeless and

of undefinable nature, where is patience? Where is
discrimination? Where is even fearlessness?

These three qualities are essential for any seeker who dares
to walk the spiritual path: (1) patience, (2) discrimination
and (3) fearlessness. Lack of any one of them can cause the
student’s fall on the path. Everywhere all Masters have
emphasised, again and again, the need for cultivating these
essential mental qualities in a seeker undertaking the great
pilgrimage.

A long staff, a water pot and, probably, a couple of

blankets are essential for one who is going on a trek up a
mountain. But when he has returned after his trip and has
reached his home, should he still carry the staff, the water
pot and the blankets? They are all necessary for his
pilgrimage. But when he has reached the destination, these
things are naturally, dropped down. They are, now, of no
use to him at all. So long as we are struggling in the
delusory world of happenings – as miserable toys, being
played about by the whimsical fancies of the mind – at that
time, to keep our balance and swim to the shore we need
the help of a piece of wood floating down the river. When
once we have reached safely the banks of the river, should
we carry that piece of wood on our shoulders, all the way,
when we are dragging ourselves home?

Patience, to continue meditations in spite of repeated

failures among waves of disturbances; ability to discriminate
clearly, between the inert matter vestures around us and
the clear spiritual light of Consciousness in our bosom; the
daring heroism to face fearlessly the total extinction of our
limited ego during our plunge into the infinite state of
blissful Self – all these are the unavoidable and necessary
equipments to help the seeker on his path.

The Liberated in life, having already reached the goal,

has no use for these. Aṣṭāvakra confesses here that this
‘characterless character’ (niḥsvabhāvaḥ) of a Self-realised
Master is indeed indescribable. The sage apologises himself
to his student at his own total inability to communicate the
real nature of one who is truly Liberated in life.

न वग नैव नरको जीव मुि न चैव िह।

बहुना िकमु े न योग ा न िक न॥८०॥
na svargo naiva narako jīvanmuktirna caiva hi,
bahunātra kim-uktena yogadṛṣṭyā na kiñcana. (80)

न – not; वगः – heaven; न – not; एव – also; नरकः – hell; जीव मुि ः –

the state of Liberation in life; न – not; च – and; एव – even; िह –
indeed; बहुना – much; अ – here; िकम् – what need; उ े न – by
saying; योग ा – in the yogika vision; न – not; िक न –
anything

80. There is no heaven nor is there a hell, there is not even

the state of Liberation. In short, in the yogika vision nothing
exists.

This does not mean that Aṣṭāvakra is nodding at the theory

of non-existence (śūnya-vāda) scaffolded up by the
arguments of a group of Buddhists. What he means here is
certainly that in the awareness of a perfect Master ‘nothing
exists’ – nothing that you and I, from our viewpoint,
experience as existing. To a Realised saint ‘nothing exists’
except the one infinite Saccidānanda – the Self.
 Heaven and hell are imaginary realms of experiences,
conceived by the deluded mind for its own pleasures and
pains, under the throes of its own good and bad vāsanās. To
the ego, if the world is real, heaven and hell can also be
equally real! We are reminded of the same Sage Aṣṭāvakra’s
reply to king Janaka, when he wanted to know which is real.
The king dreamt that he was a beggar and on waking up, he
saw himself to be the king. Now is the beggar, the king's
dream; or the king, the beggar's dream? Aṣṭāvakra’s reply
was typical. The sage replied, ‘O king! if you think that the
beggar was real, the throne and the crown of yours is as real
as the beggar of your dream!’ If this world is real, to him
heaven and hell shall be equally real. These are all
experiences at the ego level. The Liberated in life is one who
has risen above the ego. To him even this world and his own
body are never constantly in his awareness. He has realised
their illusory nature. How can he then, ever, conceive of a
heaven and a hell?

In him the God, the world and the ego – all have merged
into the very substratum, the Self – and That he is!

नैव ाथयते लाभं नालाभेनानुशोच त।

धीर य शीतलं च ममृतेनव ै पू रतम्॥८१॥
naiva prārthayate lābhaṁ nālābhenānuśocati,
dhīrasya śītalaṁ cittam-amṛtenaiva pūritam. (81)

न – not; एव – surely; ाथयते – long for; लाभम् – gain; न – not;

अलाभेन – at the loss; अनुशोच त – grieves; धीर य – of the wise
one; शीतलम् – cool (serene); च म् – mind; अमृतेन – with nectar;
एव – indeed; पू रतम् – filled
81. A wise man neither longs for gain nor grieves at the
loss. His serene mind is indeed filled with the nectar – the
supreme Bliss.

The limited alone can seek for a greater fulfilment, because

of the essential sense of imperfection in the limited. One,
who is conditioned by his own identifications with the body,
mind and intellect, alone can seek his temporary sense
gratifications in the fields of objects, emotions and thoughts.
The hungry will seek food. The thirsty will seek water. The
limited must come to seek a greater joy and satisfaction.

The Liberated in life has discovered his identity with the

infinite blissful Self and, therefore, he has no sense of
imperfections in him. The all-full cannot feel any gain from
the delusory world of plurality nor can he ever experience
sorrows at any loss. We have already pointed out earlier
that nothing can be added to the Infinite nor can anything
be substracted from the Infinite. The ‘peace invocation’
(śānti pāṭha) of Upaniṣad declares it clearly: ‘From the
whole, when the whole is negated what remains is again the
whole.’32

The bosom of the Man of Perfection is ever serene and

tranquil – absolutely ‘cool’. Compared with him our bosoms
are always surging and seething, boiling and gurgling with
the lava of desires. Being tranquil, the heart of the Man of
Perfection is filled with nectar (amṛtam). In the Hindu
mythology, amṛtam (nectar) is considered a pleasant and
glorious drink of the heavens! Picturisation of the subtle
philosophical Truth is the style of the Purāṇas. The term
amṛtam means ‘immortality’, ‘deathlessness’. Death is
nothing but change; the death of the previous condition
culminating in the birth of a new condition is called
‘change’. Deathlessness, therefore, means the ‘state of
changelessness’. Change is experienced in and by the
human mind and, therefore, one who has transcended the
mind has also crossed over the seething waters of change.

Aṣṭāvakra in this verse clearly illustrates that his pen can

write the poetic language of the Purāṇas.

न शा तं तौ त िन कामो न द ु मिप िन द त।
समदःु खसुख तृ ः िक त् कृ यं न प य त॥८२॥
na śāntaṁ stauti niṣkāmo na duṣṭam-api nindati,
sama-duḥkha-sukhas-tṛptaḥ kiñcit kṛtyaṁ na paśyati. (82)

न – not; शा तम् – one who is calm; तौ त – praise; िन कामः – one

who is completely free from desire; न – not; द ु म् – one who is
wicked; अिप – even; िन द त – blame; समदःु खसुखः – same in
happiness and sorrow; तृ ः – contented; िक त् – anything;
कृ यम् – to be achieved; न – not; प य त – sees

82. The desireless one has neither praise for the calm nor
even blame for the wicked. Contented and the same in
happiness and misery, he finds nothing to be achieved.

The state of perfection as conceived by the great ṛṣis of

India is a state of desirelessness reached in the direct
experience of infinite, unearthly, inward peace – the Self. It
is not suppression of desires, it is not even sublimation of
desires. It is a state wherein the individual, in his own inner
experience of immeasurable satisfaction and happiness, is
rendered incapable of entertaining any more desires! Light
and darkness cannot remain at one and the same time and
at one and the same place. Light is not absence of
darkness, but light is a state wherein darkness is incapable
of playing about. Thus, the state of desirelessness is not a
condition arrived at by omission. It is a state that is
achieved by the positive experience of the Master, when he
awakens onto the larger dimension of the pure Self.

In the fullness of his conscious Bliss, the Liberated in life

has come to a state of desirelessness. Desires procreate
thoughts and ‘thought flow’ is mind. In the Self-realised
Master, there is no mind and, therefore there must be
absence of thought agitations. Mind gives the delusory
sense of ego; in a state of mindlessness, there cannot be an
ego.

It is the egocentric individuality in me that praises the

beautiful in life and condemns the wickedness of life. Where
ego is not, neither can that man of peace praise anything
nor condemn anything. From his viewpoint there is nothing
other than the Self.

He is at peace with himself, calm and serene and no

happenings around him can ever gatecrash into his realm to
agitate him there in his Kingdom Divine. Naturally, he will be
observed by us as equal both in facing misery and in
meeting happiness. We have already explained how the Man
of Realisation no more reacts with the world of challenges.
He has no ego to react with. Man of Perfection knows only
how to act spontaneously; he never reacts. This is the secret
of his unshakable ‘balance’ under all conditions.

He has achieved all that is to be achieved. We strive to

achieve something in order to complete ourselves. The
sense of incompleteness has ended in the glorious one who
has exploded the suffocating walls of his ego and has
entered into the limitless bliss of the Self. What more has he
thereafter to achieve in life?

ी ो ेि ि
धीरो न ेि संसारमा मानं न िद त।
हषामषिविनमु ो न मृतो न च जीव त॥८३॥
dhīro na dveṣṭi saṁsāram-ātmānaṁ na didṛkṣati,
harṣāmarṣa-vinirmukto na mṛto na ca jīvati. (83)

धीरः – the wise one; न – not; ेि – hates; संसारम् – the world of

change; आ मानम् – the Self; न – not; िद त – wishes to see;
हषअमषिविनमु ः – free from joy and sorrow; न – not; मृतः – dead;
न – not; च – and; जीव त – lives

83. This wise one neither hates the world of change nor
wishes to ‘see’ the Self. Free from joy and sorrow, he is
neither dead nor alive.

The kindly paternal anxiety of Aṣṭāvakra to explain in words

and communicate to his disciple the condition of the Man of
Perfection makes the sage stammer into these verses. No
doubt, Aṣṭāvakra is the most eloquent Master but alas! Only
to the few. He is not a mass preacher as Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in the
Bhagavad-gītā. In this lies the difference in the ‘altitudes’ at
which Gītā serenades in and Saṁhitā cascades from.

It is the seeker who revolts against the realm of change

(saṁsāram) for all its perturbations and disturbances that
shatter the seeker’s mental peace and his intellectual poise.
Again, it is a seeker who is conscious of his imperfections,
that revolts against his ego and yearns to experience the
unlimited, eternal Self. It is one, who has not yet slept, who
struggles to sleep!

The wise one, who has already realised the Self, to him
there is no more anxiety to experience (see) the Ᾱtman nor
has he any quarrel with the realm of change (saṁsāra),
because, from his standpoint there is nothing but the Self
everywhere. Thus, he has nothing to reject nor has he
anything to accept in life. Physically he appears to be with
us living in the world, but certainly he is no more a native in
this globe!!

We cannot say that he is dead; he moves about, talks,

eats, sleeps as any other living human being. Therefore,
certainly he is not dead. But is he living? Whatever it be, he
is not living like us. He seems quite dead to the
enchantments of the world around, to the joys and sorrows
of the world; he has no desires, no passions; he never reacts
to the external world. If an organism is incapable of reacting
to the external world, we generally consider that organism
as dead. A Man of Perfection is ‘dead’ because he never
reacts. But he is alive, for he acts. Thus, ordinary terms,
with which we categorise and, therefore, determine things,
are all of no avail in the description of the Liberated in life.

िनः नेहः पु दारादौ िन कामो िवषयेषु च।

िन तः वशरीरेऽिप िनराशः शोभते बुधः॥८४॥
niḥsnehaḥ putra-dārādau niṣkāmo viṣayeṣu ca,
niścintaḥ svaśarīre'pi nirāśaḥ śobhate budhaḥ. (84)

िनः नेहः – without attachment; पु दारा आदौ – in the son, wife and
others; िन कामः – without desire; िवषयेषु – in sense objects; च –
and; िन तः – free from care; वशरीरे – for his own body; अिप –
even; िनराशः – free from expectation; शोभते – lives in glory,
shines; बुधः – the wise one

84. Shining (glorious) is the life of the wise man, free from
all expectations, without any attachment for children, wife
and others, free from desire for the sense objects, and
without care even for his own body.
These terms employed here, in describing the physical and
mental reactions of the Man of Perfection to the world
outside, should appear to the uninitiated as the descriptions
of some horrible and terrible satanic power! Without any
attachment, with no desire, no expectations and without
even a care for his own body – here is a congenital idiot,
insentient to everything fine and beautiful in life!

This is the reason why Aṣṭāvakra has more than once

already explained that the inner experience of a Man of
Wisdom can be appreciated and understood only by
another, who has the similar experience. Words can only
belie him. Our imperfect mind cannot comprehend the
majestic glory, the divine harmony, the brilliant perfections
of a Man of Self-realisation.

‘Shining’ (śobhate) with the effulgence of perfection is

the life of the wise man, which is not disturbed by his
mental preoccupations either with the future (expectations)
or with the present, he has neither ‘expectations’ nor
‘desires’. He is not disturbed by the memories of his past; all
attachments spring from the pleasant memories of the past.
You can never get attached to the son who is not yet born,
nor with a wife whom you have not yet married. How can
one have attachment to wealth that one has not yet earned
and saved?

The desire to seek happiness in sense objects,

attachment to the dear and near ones and great
expectations for the larger joys, to be fulfilled in the future –
all these three – have a direct reference to the body
consciousness in the individual. The embodied, who is living
in identification with his own body, can never escape these
three sources of restlessness and sorrow. A Man of
Perfection as described here is above these three natural
human weaknesses, only because ‘he is without care, even
for his own body’.

‘Identification with the body, the not-self’ is bondage; the

Man of Perfection has freed himself from the enmeshment of
matter. He has risen to a new dimension of living, where at
this moment we have no admission. And hence we are not
able to recognise the beauty and glory of the state in which
the spiritual Masters live.

तुि ः सव धीर य यथाप ततव तनः।

व छ दं चरतो देशा य ा तिमतशा यनः॥८५॥
tuṣṭiḥ sarvatra dhīrasya yathā-patita-vartinaḥ,
svacchandaṁ carato deśān-yatrāstamita-śāyinaḥ. (85)

तुि ः – (he is) contented; सव – everywhere; धीर य – of the wise

one; यथाप ततव तनः – who lives on whatever comes to his lot;
व छ दम् – at pleasure; चरतः – roaming about; देशान् – countries;
य अ तिमतशा यनः – resting wherever the sun sets

85. Contentment ever dwells in the heart of the wise man,

who lives upon whatever happens to come unasked as his
lot and who roams about at pleasure, resting wherever he
is, when the sun sets!

Expectation of a greater happiness through acquisition and

rearrangement of things around us is the cause for all dis-
contentment. Seeking comfort from outside, man
unfortunately creates a miserable world for himself and for
others. However much, we may glorify this way of life by
high sounding and noble looking terms – like ‘healthy
competitive living’ or ‘progressive living’ or ‘high standards
of living’ – we all know it is an unavoidable tragedy. We may
not declare so from political platforms and admit it in our
economic textbooks, but we know it is alright in the depth of
our hearts. The Man of Wisdom alone knows what true
contentment is, because he has discovered the source of all
Bliss in himself. He is no more a beggar, begging for his
happiness and satisfaction at the hovels of sense objects.
His palace of Bliss is built within himself, with the marbles of
peace and joy.

Revelling ever in the luxurious bliss of the Self, the

Master has no demands for the world outside; nothing in the
finite world can add to his satisfaction, which he has already
conquered in himself. Yet, his body moving amidst the
manifested world, continues to live and function by its own
momentum, gathered by it in the past. In him there is no
ego to give the equipment a propulsion of its own. The body
exists and moves about until its prārabdha is over.

This unmotivated apparent existence of the physical

body is being described here in this verse by Aṣṭāvakra. The
Self-realised roams about singing within him the glory that
he has himself, with no particular destination to reach, no
itinerary to fulfil, no great grand programme to complete.
Rich in inward peace, fabulous in his wisdom, he scatters his
knowledge all about him, careless of whether his generation
is benefitted by his infinite bounty or not.

As far as he himself is concerned, he has no demand

upon the community for his sustenance. The barest
minimum needs of man have been defined by socialist
economists as food, clothing and shelter. The perfect Master
has no expectation of even these three fundamental needs.
Under the wayside trees he has shelter. Everyday he is
clothed in fresh, new space (digambara)! Whatever unasked
comes to him as his lot, he enjoys them thoroughly!
 Wealth or disease, worship or insults, abuses or praises,
he expects none of them. He faces them all with equanimity.
For whatever he sees is nothing but the Self. Whatever he
hears is but a ripple in the Consciousness. What does he
lose if his generation insults him? What has he to gain if
others glorify him? He needs no vote. He needs no throne.
He is the Lord of all lords. He is the sovereign of all
sovereigns.... self-appointed for all times to come.

पततूदेतु वा देहो ना य च ता महा मनः।

वभावभूिमिव ा तिव मृताशेषसंसृतेः॥८६॥
patatūdetu vā deho nāsya cintā mahātmanaḥ,
svabhāva-bhūmi-viśrānti-vismṛtāśeṣa-saṁsṛteḥ. (86)

पततु – may drop down dead; उदेतु – may rise up to live; वा – or;
देहः – body; न – not; अ य – this; च ता – care; महा मनः – of the
great one; वभावभूिमिव ा तिव मृतअशेषसंसृतेः – who has completely
transcended birth and rebirth due to his repose upon the
floor (foundation) of his own Being

86. Reposing upon the floor (foundation) of his own Being

and completely transcending birth and rebirth, the great
one does not care whether his body drops down dead or
rises up to live.

The entire world of phenomenon constituting the fields of

experiences and all the equipments of experiences in us,
are all superimposed upon the infinite Self, which is the
great grand ground upon which the universes rise up and
play out their history. Having awakened to this immutable
Substratum Infinite, how can he ever worry about the
destinies of his insignificant, illusory body? From his infinite
altitude he can only view and see that universes are all
minute stresses in Consciousness. In one of such a universe
is an insignificant dot which represents our world of seven
continents. Among them one continent is Asia; in it is the
subcontinent Bhārata. In Bhārata is a little town or a village,
where again in one street is a house and in one corner of its
veranda rests a microscopic dust particle called ‘my body’!
Now ‘whether it rises to live or drops down to die’, how can
it affect me who am the substratum for all the universes?

The spiritual Master ever lives in his perfect identity with

the ‘flood’ of Truth and, therefore, he is careless of his own
physical existence in the world of delusion. Having woken
up from the dream, what is your attitude towards the
beautiful young body that you had in the dream? Certainly
you ‘do not care whether your body drops down dead or
rises up to live’ for you are now awake!!

अिक नः कामचारो िन छ संशयः।

अस ः सवभावेषु केवलो रमते बुधः॥८७॥
akiñcanaḥ kāmacāro nirdvandvaśchinnasaṁśayaḥ,
asaktaḥ sarvabhāveṣu kevalo ramate budhaḥ. (87)

अिक नः – without any possession; कामचारः – moving at

pleasure; िन ः – free from the pairs of opposites; छ संशयः –
whose doubts have been cut asunder; अस ः – unattached;
सवभावेषु – in all things; केवलः – alone; रमते – rejoices; बुधः – the
wise one

87. The wise one stands alone, unattached to anything. He

is without any possession and moves at his will and
pleasure. He is free from the pairs of opposites and his
doubts have been cut asunder. He, indeed, is the blessed
one.
The world of objects by themselves can never become a
shackle upon man. It is his sense of possession in them that
reduces him to an ego; the ego then suffers with its desires
and passions for the world of objects. This sense of
possession can be towards objects, towards beings or
towards places. There are some who are attached to their
teachers; there are others who are attached to the Ganga
banks or to some other holy places. These are all certainly
very essential for the early seekers. The right place and the
right environments have a magic of their own, under the
charm of which the unbridled mind may, in the early stages,
become available for the taming and training necessary for
it to take up a serious study of the scriptures. Here in the
case of a Man of Perfection, Aṣṭāvakra explains, how the
Master has no sense of possession at all and the Liberated
in life moves from place to place without any attachment to
the places. Mentally he is no more living at the egocentre
and, therefore, is not buffeted among the common
agitations and torn between joy and sorrow, honour and
dishonour and such other pairs of opposites.

Thus, physically he has no possessions; he is not

attached to any particular place. Mentally he is pacified
enough not to be disturbed by the pairs of opposites. The
Master moves about freely in the world. Even intellectually
he is not disturbed by any doubts regarding the Reality,
since he is living, with every breath of his life, the
experience of the Self and, therefore, he has cut asunder all
his doubts. He is not only detached from ‘places’, but also
detached completely from ‘things and beings’. It is this
attachment to places, things and beings that is a source for
all mental disturbances in the worldly men.

Thus, the Man of Realisation revels alone in the 'Alone' all

alone (kevalaḥ ramate). The aloneness of the Self indicates
the absolute state and its all-pervasiveness. In the post
there cannot be any trace of the ghost! Never can the
illusory snake leave its scales upon the rope! Awakened to
the Self, the infinite Consciousness, there cannot be any
trace of the world of illusions. The Truth ever alone is. This
state of aloneness, is the goal indicated in Vedānta, as the
state of ‘kaivalya’.

The term employed by Aṣṭāvakra, to describe the Man of

Perfection, ‘whose doubts have been cut asunder’
(chinnasaṁśayaḥ) reminds us of the Muṇḍakopaniṣad:
‘When he has seen both the Higher and the lower, the knots
of his heart become untied; all doubts are cut asunder, and
all his karmas are consumed.’33

िनममः शोभते धीरः समलो ा मका नः।

सु भ दय थ विनधूतरज तमः॥८८॥
nirmamaḥ śobhate dhīraḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ,
subhinna-hṛdaya-granthir-vinirdhūta-rajastamaḥ. (88)

िनममः – devoid of ‘my-ness’; शोभते – excels (shines); धीरः – the

wise one; समलो अ मका नः – to whom a clod of earth, a
precious stone and a bar of gold is the same; सु भ दय थः –
in whom the knots of the heart are completely cut off;
िविनधूतरजः तमः – who has cleansed himself of both ‘rajas’ and
‘tamas’

88. The wise one, who is devoid of his ego and to whom a
clod of earth, a precious stone and a bar of gold are all the
same, whose knots of the heart have been cut asunder and
who has cleansed himself of all his ‘rajas’ and ‘tamas’,
shines.
The verse under review serves as a rich museum exhibiting
some of the most precious phrases in our ancient literature.
The verse shines in its beauty, set with the fabulous
thoughts of the Upaniṣads and the eloquent phrases of the
Gītā.

The Self-realised sage shines with an unearthly glow of

godly perfections! He has eliminated his limited mortal ego
– the cancer of the personality – that provides all the
agonies of existence. Intellectually he sees no plurality;
even when he sees the world of objects, they are all to him
but ripplings in the Self, which is his own nature. Therefore,
to him things which are considered as precious and
covetable by the ‘ignorant’ worldly men are of no
consequence.34 To him a clod of earth or a precious stone or
a bar of gold are all nothing but ‘matter’ in different forms
and colours and they are essentially of no value. This phrase
is bodily lifted from the famous ‘song of the Lord’.35

The human personality is considered by the great ṛṣis in

their analysis as being bound by three powerful chords and
these are called as the ‘knots of the heart’ (hṛdaya
granthiḥ). The heart of human personality is conditioned by
three essential but delusory factors – ‘ignorance’ (avidyā),
‘desire’ (kāma) and ‘work’ (karma). The spiritual ‘ignorance’
of our real nature causes us to feel, in ourselves a sense of
imperfection and the suggestions that the intellect gives to
complete this sense of imperfection are called ‘desires’. The
intellectual desires breed agitations in the mind, which
express as vigorous ‘activities’ at the body level (karma). All
these three – ignorance, desire and work – limit us, curtail
our freedom, shackle us to pits of sorrow and pain, all
through our physical existence in this world.

The source of this triple personality entanglement is

certainly the ‘non-apprehension of the Reality’, the spiritual
‘ignorance’ (avidyā). Man of Perfection is one who has
destroyed his ‘ignorance’ by his direct, personal experience
of the Self and, therefore, he has ‘cut asunder’ all the
painful knots upon the heart of his personality. This
expression echoes the ample significance roared in its
original use in Muṇḍakopaniṣad (2.2.8) and Kaṭhopaniṣad:
‘When all the knots of the heart are severed here on earth,
then the mortal becomes immortal. So far is the instruction
(of all Vedānta).’36

The spiritual 'ignorance' in us is expressed in our

psychological personality as three different mental climates
called ‘sattva’, ‘rajas’ and ‘tamas’. All these three, obstruct
our vision of the spiritual Reality. ‘Tamas’ veils the intellect
from its direct perception of the Self (āvaraṇa). Then the
mind gets affected by rajas; consequently the mind starts
projecting the world of plurality through its agitations
(vikṣepa). The veiling of the intellect (tamas) and the
agitations of the mind (rajas) together make us what we are
– an egocentric non-entity, capable of only desire, sorrows,
sighs and tears!!

He, in whom ‘rajas’ and ‘tamas’ have been completely

cleaned off, is one whose mind is serene and the veiling
gets completely lifted. It is to lift the ‘rajas’ thus from our
mind, that we have the ‘outer’ spiritual practices (bāhya
sādhanā). It is to eliminate the ‘tamas’ from the intellect
that the seekers are advised to practise meditation, which is
the ‘inner’ spiritual practice (ābhyantara sādhanā).

Janaka is a disciple who has now only a very vague, thin

misty film of 'ignorance' in him. He stands at the threshold;
hence the advice of Aṣṭāvakra sounds strange to us,
perhaps, unfamiliar and even, foreign, when he criticises the
student for entertaining even ‘an anxiety for Liberation’
(Mumukṣutva) and discourages him from pursuing even the
‘goals of life’ as recommended by the ṛṣis (puruṣārtha).
These advices addressed to such a student, who is already
reaching the summit, need not confuse the resolve,
determination, consistency and sincerity of the early
seekers, who have yet to walk the path – that sharp and
narrow path. Kaṭhopaniṣad calls it: ‘the razor's edge’ in the
following words: ‘Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path
difficult to cross and hard to tread – thus the wise say’37.

सव ानवधान य न िक ासना िद।

मु ा मनो िवतृ य तुलना केन जायते॥८९॥
sarvatrānavadhānasya na kiñcid-vāsanā hṛdi,
muktātmano vitṛptasya tulanā kena jāyate. (89)

सव अनवधान य – indifferent to all objects; न – not; िक त् – any;

वासना – desire; िद – in the heart; मु आ मनः – of the liberated
one; िवतृ य – completely contented; तुलना – comparision; केन –
with whom; जायते – is

89. Who can be compared with a Liberated one, who has no

desires at all lingering in his heart, who is contented and
totally indifferent to everything?

In these few closing verses of the chapter Aṣṭāvakra is

admitting that however much we may explain the inner
nature of the Man of Perfection, in fact, we must necessarily
fail to give a complete and exhaustive report of his divine
nature. He is indescribable. There is none to whom he can
be compared with. The unique beauty of the Man of
Perfection and his incomparable glory will ever be a wonder
to the human intellect. One who has emptied himself of all
desires, which are the impulses in all egocentric actions,
who is so completely contented in his own infinite inner
peace and, therefore, he who has become ‘totally indifferent
to the enchanting world of sense objects’ that individual
though anatomically has still the shape of a man, he has
reached a new evolutionary height wherein he cannot be
considered any longer as a finite, mortal creature. His inner
life of thoughts and emotions is incomparable with anyone
in the universe. His inner experience is of the absolute Self,
which is the substratum for the universe. Aṣṭāvakra despairs
and cries out: ‘Who can be compared with the Liberated
man?’

जान िप न जाना त प य िप न प य त।
ुव िप न च ूते कोऽ यो िनवासना ते॥९०॥
jānannapi na jānāti paśyannapi na paśyati,
bruvannapi na ca brūte ko'nyo nirvāsanādṛte. (90)

जानन् – knowing; अिप – even; न – not; जाना त – knows; प यन् –

seeing; अिप – even; न – not; प य त – sees; ुवन् – speaking; अिप –
even; न – not; च – and; ूते – speaks; कः – who; अ यः – other;
िनवासनात् ऋते – except the desireless one

90. Who, but the desireless one knows not though knowing,
sees not though seeing and speaks not though speaking?

The sage is trying to justify his exclamation in the previous

verse that the unique nature of the Man of Perfection is
incomparable. Not only that he is rid of all desires but in the
Liberated in life there is no ego at all. All our descriptions of
another personality are always the description of his ego.
Here is one who has transcended his sense of individuality
and has merged with the universal substratum. We cannot
describe him as we would describe another man in the
community, in terms of what he thinks or what he perceives
or what he does. This is how we write autobiographies of
great men. The life history of a saint is impossible to write.
He cannot be measured by the activities of his mind and
intellect nor can be be evaluated in terms of what he has
gained through his organs of perception nor by what he has
given to the world through his organs of action.

A Man of Perfection has a highly developed and a

completely disciplined outer and inner equipments as any
other normal man, yet Aṣṭāvakra despairs here that we
cannot describe him in terms of his activities by the
equipments in him. The wise man in his Self-realisation has
ended completely his sense of ‘doership’ and ‘enjoyership’
and, therefore, even though he is knowing, there is no
knower in him; though he is seeing there is no seer in him;
though he is speaking there is no speaker in him. We are
reminded of the famous words of the Kaivalyopaniṣad: ‘I see
without eyes, hear without ears’38.

भ ुवा भूप तवािप यो िन कामः स शोभते।

भावेषु ग लता य य शोभनाऽशोभना म तः॥९१॥
bhikṣurvā bhūpatirvāpi yo niṣkāmaḥ sa śobhate,
bhāveṣu galitā yasya śobhanā'śobhanā matiḥ. (91)

भ ुः – beggar; वा – or; भूप तः – king; वा – or; अिप – indeed; यः –

who; िन कामः – unattached; सः – he; शोभते – excels; भावेषु – at
existent things; ग लता – dropped; य य – whose; शोभना अशोभना –
good and evil; म तः – view

91. May he be a beggar or a king, he indeed excels who is

unattached and whose view of existent things has been
freed from the sense of good and evil.
From the Self and through the Self, the Self-realised man
can only be conscious of the Self, that is everywhere. The
gold-smith sees but gold whatever be the form of the
ornaments. It is only the ego that perceives the pluralistic
world of phenomena and gets entrapped by their false
charms. One who is enslaved at the level of the ego,
prompted by his desires, gushes out to embrace the sense
objects and seeks his enjoyment among the unsatisfactory
sense gratifications. The very same world of objects is
viewed from the Self by the Master, who sees in and
through them all the brilliancy and glow, the beauty and
effulgence of the ever-present Self everywhere. Just as when
we enter a mirrored hall, everywhere and at all points we
see but ourselves reflected, the spiritually awakened one
sees nothing but the Self, inherent in all names and forms
everywhere and at all times.

Mahopaniṣad also declares this fact of the spiritual life:

‘The very same objects that increase desires and passions in
the foolish mind, those very same objects of enjoyments
provide the Man of Wisdom total dispassion.’39

Since the Man of Realisation recognises nothing but the

absolute Reality everywhere, in all things and at all places,
he comes to rise above the sense of good and evil. He is no
more living in our level of consciousness. He has awakened
to be the infinite Self, himself.

व वा छ ं व स ोचः व वा त विविन यः।

िन याजाजवभूत य च रताथ य योिगनः॥९२॥
kva svācchandyaṁ kva saṅkocaḥ kva vā tattva-viniścayaḥ,
nirvyājārjava-bhūtasya caritārthasya yoginaḥ. (92)
 व – where; वा छ म् – licentiousness; व – where; स ोचः –
restraint; व – where; वा – or; त विविन यः – determination of
Truth; िन याजाजवभूत य – who is the embodiment of guileless
sincerity; च रताथ य – who has fulfilled his desired end; योिगनः –
of the yogin

92. For the yogin, who has attained his fulfilment and who is
an embodiment of guileless sincerity, where is
licentiousness? Where is restraint? Where is determination
of the truth of the Self?

The Realised saint is one who is constantly living in the Self,

as the Self. He has risen above his ego and, therefore, he is
always away from the vanity of ‘doership’. Naturally, what
charm is it to him to be licentious? How can he live a wanton
life of sense indulgence? For whose enjoyment? Where is
meaning in his life now for ‘restraint of sense organs’. These
are all the activities of the ego. If there is, for one, any
sense of enjoyment in the pleasure of the objects in the
world around, certainly that ego must learn to live in
restraint, so that his mental energies are not wasted in the
unproductive and exhausting pursuits of sense
gratifications. How can one, who has awakened from a
dream, practise either indulgence or restraint in the
dreamworld?

The Master who has risen above his ego, cannot be

judged with our ethical standards. He transcends every law.
He is a law unto himself! To the awakened man, the
transcendental Reality stands revealed in all Its infinite
splendour and absolute beauty; where is for him ‘the pursuit
in search of Truth?’

He has conquered himself and reached the supreme goal

of life. He has crowned himself with the state of perfection.
There is nothing more for him to gain. He is the Truth. Where
is the determination of truth of the Self for him?

आ मिव ा ततृ ेन िनराशेन गता तना।

अ तयदनुभूयते त कथं क य क यते॥९३॥
ātma-viśrānti-tṛptena nirāśena gatārtinā,
antaryad-anubhūyate tat-kathaṁ kasya kathyate. (93)

आ मिव ा ततृ ेन – one who is contented with the repose in the

Self; िनराशेन – desireless; गत अ तना – who transcends his
sorrows; अ तः – within; यत् – which; अनुभूयते – is experienced;
तत् – that; कथम् – how; क य – to whom; क यते – can be said

93. How and to whom can be described, the inner

experience of one who is desireless, who transcends all his
sorrows and who is contented with his repose in the Self?

The despair of the Sage Aṣṭāvakra rises to a screaming

crescendo as he realises, more and more, his inability to
communicate to his brilliant student the true nature of the
Liberated in life, even though the sage himself is fully
experiencing It. The state of perfection refuses to come
within the embrace of language. This transcendental
Experience Divine can never be forced to crystallise as an
idea in the limited, finite intellect and, therefore, words
cannot describe this Experience Unique wherein the subject
and the object merged into one homogeneous Whole!!

The Upaniṣads themselves despair in their inability to

express this transcendental nature of the supreme Reality.
In utter despair the ṛṣi cries out in Taittirīya-upaniṣad: ‘From
where the mind along with speech returns, disappointed’40.
 The Truth transcends the mind and other equipments
and, therefore, these equipments are of no use in the
‘perceptions’ of the Self. The Self-realised Master, liberated
from the vehicles of matter, on awakening to the pure
Consciousness becomes the Self, says Muṇḍakopaniṣad.
‘Knower of the Brahman becomes the Brahman’41.

Naturally, the Teacher asks how we can describe such a

Master and to whom can we describe him, who will
understand that state of transcendence?

सु ोऽिप न सुषु ौ च व नेऽिप श यतो न च।

जागरेऽिप न जाग त धीर तृ ः पदे पदे॥९४॥
supto'pi na suṣuptau ca svapne'pi śayito na ca,
jāgare'pi na jāgarti dhīrastṛptaḥ pade pade. (94)

सु ः – asleep; अिप – even; न – not; सुषु ौ – in deep sleep; च –

and; व ने – in dream; अिप – even; श यतः – lying; न – not; च –
and; जागरे – in waking state; अिप – even; न – not; जाग त – is
awake; धीरः – the wise one; तृ ः – contented; पदे पदे – under all
conditions

94. The wise one is not asleep, even when in deep sleep. He
is not lying down, even when dreaming. He is not awake,
even in his waking state. He is contented under all
conditions.

For the first time in the Saṁhitā, Aṣṭāvakra is making an

attempt to describe the Man of Perfection with reference to
our common experiences in the three different planes of
Consciousness. Ordinarily a man gathers his total
experiences of life from the planes of the waking, dream
and dreamless sleep. The Liberated in life is one who has
transcended all these usual planes, wherein we function
through our gross, subtle and causal bodies. The Self-
realised, lives awakened to the ‘fourth plane of
Consciousness’ (turīya), in a state of unbroken ‘ecstasy’. He
has identified himself with the pure Consciousness here,
which is the very Consciousness that illumines all the
experiences in the three lesser states of awareness in all
creatures, everywhere.

We, in our ‘ignorance’ identify ourselves totally with our

gross, subtle and causal bodies and thus come to live
intensely and exclusively either the experience of the
‘waking’ or of the ‘dream’ or of the ‘deep sleep’. One who
has transcended these three equipments and has realised
his essence in the Self, he too, though continues to be in the
waking, dream and deep sleep states, cannot be considered
as a waker, dreamer, and deep sleeper inasmuch as his
identifications with the realms of the not-Self have been
completely eliminated and consequently, there is no sense
of ego in him. He has become a ‘witness’42 of all that is
happening, through the three bodies, in the three states of
consciousness.

Therefore, Aṣṭāvakra explains ‘the wise one is not asleep

even when in deep sleep; is not lying down even when
dreaming; is not awake even when in the waking state’. The
ego alone can experience, in its vanity, that ‘I am the waker,
dreamer or the deep sleeper’ and directly lives the joys and
sorrows in all these three planes.

‘Ignorance’ expresses itself in two ways : the ‘non-

apprehension of Reality’ and the ‘misapprehensions of the
same’. The state of ‘non-apprehension of Reality’ is the
state of sleep, wherein the sleeper is not comprehending
anything at all. The state of ‘misapprehension of the Reality’
is the state of dream, when the dreamer has experiences
but his entire world is made up of the fancies of his own
mind.

According to the textbooks of higher Vedānta, in the

above sense of these terms, the Ᾱcāryas consider that the
entire human life is composed of only two states – dream
and deep sleep. The waking also is a kind of ‘dream’
inasmuch as therein also we have not got the knowledge of
the Reality, the perceived world of plurality is also made up
of our ‘misapprehensions’.

This usage of these familiar terms of Upaniṣads – waking,

dream and deep sleep – is employed by Aṣṭāvakra in the
verse under our review. Though apparently the physical
body is resting in deep sleep, the yogin has never ‘the non-
apprehension of Reality’ (Self). Similarly, even while the
yogin is ‘dreaming’ – be it the projected world outside his
body (waking) or inside his bosom (dream) – his ego never
crystallises and, therefore, revelling ever in the experience
of the Self, never perceives ‘any misapprehensions of
Reality’. ‘He is not awake’ even while he is awake to the
phenomenal world, as he has no sense of ‘I-ness’ and ‘my-
ness’ in his waking world. He is not ‘awake’, he is really
Awake that is he is not ‘awake’ to the world of names and
forms, but is really awake to the transcendental Self.

ः स च तोऽिप िन तः से योऽिप िन र यः।

सबु रिप िनबु ः साह ारोऽनहंकृ तः॥९५॥
jñaḥ sacinto'pi niścintaḥ sendriyo'pi nirindriyaḥ,
sabuddhirapi nirbuddhiḥ sāhaṅkāro'nahaṅkṛtiḥ. (95)

ः – the Man of Wisdom; स च तः – thinks; अिप – though; िन तः

– devoid of thoughts; से यः (स-इ यः) – possessed of sense
organs; अिप – though; िनर-इ यः – devoid of sense organs;
सबु ः – possessed of intelligence; अिप – though; िनबु ः –
devoid of intelligence; साह ारः – possessed of egoism (अिप –
though); अनहंकृ तः – devoid of ego

95. The Man of Wisdom is devoid of thoughts even when he

thinks. He is devoid of sense organs even though he
possesses them. He is devoid of intelligence even though
endowed with an intellect. He is devoid of egoism even
though he possesses an ego.

The Liberated in life has got mind and its thoughts, sense
organs and their sense perceptions, an intellect and its
intelligence. He has certainly a sense of individuality, ego
and, therefore, he must have ‘egoism’. Yet, in this miserable
complex, together called ‘a living mortal personality’, the
wise man has no sense of identification and so, Aṣṭāvakra is
compelled to describe him, in a maddening language of
contradictions, as he has employed in this verse. The
Realised one has all equipments in him, but there is no
sense of ‘doership’ in him. From an ordinary observer’s
standpoint, a sage is apparently making use of all his
equipments and living a normal life just as anyone else. The
only distinction that lifts him to be a unique divine creature
in the community of men is in that, he has no sense of
‘doership’ or ‘enjoyership’ in his pulsating vigorous
equipments.

Without the sense of ego, even the life in the equipments

is nothing but a continuous experience of the Self! The ‘non-
apprehension of Reality’ (tamas) has no sorrows in it (deep
sleep). The ‘misapprehensions that are projected by the
mind’ (dream and waking) have really no sorrows in
themselves. But having projected, when the mind identifies
with its own imaginations, in this unholy wedlock between
the mind and its projections, is born the ego and it is this
ego, as the subject, that experiences the joys and sorrows of
its delusory world.

Right at the moment of perception, there is, in fact, no

experience at all. The experience is registered by the ego,
only as a memory. ‘I saw’ is an experience; ‘I see’ is a
spontaneous flare of Consciousness! Every experience is a
thought. Every thought entertained is a subtle memory of
the past. Thought bundle is the ego – therefore, the ego is
nothing but a heap of dead experiences, a mass of
memories!!

The Man of Perfection lives in the immediate

experiences. He refuses to drag the past to muddy the
present. He lives eternally in Consciousness, which illumines
all experiences, in all bosoms, at all times, in all places.

न सुखी न च वा दःु खी न िवर ो न स वान्।

न मुमु ुन वा मु ो न िक च िक न॥९६॥
na sukhī na ca vā duḥkhī na virakto na saṅgavān,
na mumukṣurna vā mukto na kiñcinna ca kiñcana. (96)

न – not; सुखी – happy; न – not; च – and; वा – or; दःु खी –

miserable; न – not; िवर ः – unattached; न – not; स वान् –
attached; न – not; मुमु ुः – aspirant for Liberation; न – not; वा –
or; मु ः – Liberated; न – not; िक त् – something; न – not; च –
and; िक न – anything

96. The wise one is neither happy nor miserable, neither

attached nor unattached, neither Liberated nor an aspirant
for Liberation, he is neither this nor that.
In so many words, through repeated verses, the sage is
confessing that it is impossible to explain, to another, the
nature of the Man of Perfection and his attitude towards life.
He lives beyond the equipments and views the world from
his giddy heights; we, who are still in the entanglements of
our own intellect, can never even vaguely comprehend the
state of the Experience Transcendental.

Joy and sorrow are experiences at the realm of the mind.

The Man of Realisation is neither happy nor miserable –
meaning he is never identified with his mind.

The sense of attachment and non-attachment are

experiences judged and maintained at the intellectual level.
A true saint is not identified with his intellect and, therefore,
we cannot describe him in terms of either his attachments
or his non-attachments.

From the spiritual level we can define one person as

Liberated and another one, who is a serious student, as one
aspiring to get himself liberated. A Man of Perfection is
neither Liberated nor is he an aspirant for Liberation,
because he has ‘awakened’ to the Supreme and from his
new heights of wisdom, he looks back to realise, that never
was he ever in bondage and, so has never been liberated!!
Having awakened from the dream, will you strive to escape
the prison in which you were, during the dream?

In short, nothing can be predicated of the Master, who

has become one with the Self: ‘He is neither this nor that’
(na kiñcit na ca kiñcana).

Even the most voluminous classic in Vedānta,

Yogavāsiṣṭha, when it comes to the point of explaining the
mental attitude and inner experience of the Liberated in life,
loudly despairs: ‘When the mind leaves perceptions and
delusions, ignorance and illusions, it comes immediately to
rest in some inexplicable and unique state’43.

िव ेपेऽिप न िव ः समाधौ न समा धमान्।

जा ऽे िप न जडो ध यः पा ड येऽिप न प डतः॥९७॥
vikṣepe'pi na vikṣiptaḥ samādhau na samādhimān,
jāḍye'pi na jaḍo dhanyaḥ pāṇḍitye'pi na paṇḍitaḥ. (97)

िव ेपे – in distraction; अिप – even; न – not; िव ः – distracted;

समाधौ – in samādhi; न – not; समा धमान् – in meditation; जा े – in
dullness; अिप – even; न – not; जडः – dull; ध यः – the blessed
one; पा ड ये – in learning; अिप – even; न – not; प डतः – learned

97. The blessed one is not distracted even in distraction. He

is not in meditation even in samādhi. He is not dull even in a
state of dullness. And he is not learned, even though
possessed of learning.

This is not an exceptional style characteristic of only

Aṣṭāvakra. All Masters have to employ ‘the language of
contradictions’ when they come to explain the inexplicable!
This is the only way in which an attempt can be made to
‘describe the indescribable’. This can read as confusions,
only to those who are trying to understand it with their
intellect. This is not a thing that is to be understood by the
intellect. All confusions will end when the seeker transcends
his body consciousness. Experience alone can reveal the
Truth. The śāstras can only point out the path, the way. The
seeker must earn his own direct experience.

Man of Wisdom is in essence other than what he appears

to be. In his realisation he stands distinctly separate from
and as something other than ‘the ever-changing complex’
constituted of his matter vestures. He is extremely
unconcerned with his mental conditions, nay, even with his
physical destinies. Distractions, the poise of meditation, the
slumberous dullness, the erudition and scholarship of
learning – all these – are only attributes of the mind and
intellect. One who has transcended these equipments, how
can he be affected by these attributes?

From verse ninety-four onwards it is a brilliant lyrical cry

expressing the inability of man’s intellectual judgement and
of his poetic sentiment to comprehend and understand the
glory and grandeur that is the Man of Realisation. Indeed, it
is but most appropriate to call this eloquent chapter as ‘The
Goal’, wherein we have hundred beautiful and precise
indications each pointing to the unique beauty and
inexpressible glory of the Liberated in life.

मु ो यथा थ त व थः कृतकत यिनवृतः।

समः सव वैतृ या मर यकृतं कृतम्॥९८॥
mukto yathā-sthiti-svasthaḥ kṛta-kartavya-nirvṛtaḥ,
samaḥ sarvatra vaitṛṣṇyānna smaratyakṛtaṁ kṛtam. (98)

मु ः – Liberated one; यथा थ त व थः – abiding in the Self in all

conditions; कृतकत यिनवृतः – free from the idea of action and
duty; समः – same; सव – everywhere; वैतृ यात् – due to the
absence of desires; न – not; मर त – broods over; अकृतम् – what
has not been done; कृतम् – what has been done

98. The Liberated one, who abides in the Self under all
conditions, is released from the idea of actions and of duty.
He is the same everywhere and due to the absence of
desires in him, does not brood over what he has done and
what he has not done.
The main idea that has been hammered all through the
chapter is again being hinted at, lest the student should
overlook its significance. The Man of Perfection has neither
the ego sense (I-ness) nor the ego feeling (my-ness). Since
he has no ego, he has no sense of action or duty. ‘Due to the
absence of desires in him’ he has no regrets in life. He
refuses to look back to remember what he has
accomplished in life or not accomplished in life. Neither by
commission nor by omission can the mind of the Master
ever get disturbed. He never broods over the past or upon
the future. He lives in the ‘eternal present’. He is a law unto
himself, he is unique.44

न ीयते व मानो िन मानो न कु य त।

नैवोि ज त मरणे जीवने ना भन द त॥९९॥
na prīyate vandyamāno nindyamāno na kupyati,
naivodvijati maraṇe jīvane nābhinandati. (99)

न – not; ीयते – is pleased; व मानः – praised; िन मानः – blamed;

न – not; कु य त – annoyed; न – not; उि ज त – fears; मरणे – at
death; जीवने – in life; न – not; अ भन द त – rejoices

99. The Liberated in life does not feel pleased when praised
nor does he feel annoyed when blamed. He neither rejoices
in life nor fears death.

Having awakened to the absolute Consciousness Divine, he

no more dwells in the physical body and, therefore, relative
experiences are no more his. The world cannot touch him.
The storms and clouds, the thunders and lightnings of the
passionate world of matter can play only at the feet of his
gigantic Divine Colossus. He dwells on the peaks, which is
lost to our vision among the heavens.
 The praise and insults, honour and dishonour of the
pygmies of the world are all of no concern to him. He
neither feels elevated by our appreciations nor is he
dejected and despaired at our insults. He needs no
compliments of his age. He is self-sufficient unto himself. He
lives in this world to give and not to take. He accepts
nothing, desires nothing.

He neither rejoices in life nor is he, when threatened with

destruction, afraid of death! Calm and serene he faces life.
To him the existence in the body is but a play. He has
become the true existence which is the substratum for the
whole universe.

The diction used in this verse is reminiscent of the

lingering phrases of the brilliant Bhagavad-gita: ‘Who
neither rejoices nor hates, his wisdom is firm’45.

‘And who cannot be agitated by the world’.46

न धाव त जनाक ण नार यमुपशा तधीः।

यथा तथा य त सम एवाव त ते॥१००॥
na dhāvati janākīrṇaṁ nāraṇyam-upaśāntadhīḥ,
yathā tathā yatra tatra sama evāvatiṣṭhate. (100)

न – not; धाव त – runs after; जन अक णम् – crowded places; न –

not; अर यम् – solitude of the forest; उपशा तधीः – one whose
mind is serene; यथा तथा – in any way; य त – anywhere; सम –
the same; एव – indeed; अव त ते – lives

100. The serene minded Master seeks neither the crowded

place nor the solitude of the forest. He remains the same
under any condition, in any place.
Established as he is in the Experience Transcendental,
nothing affects him at all, wherever he be. He is not affected
by the environments. He is the one who influences the
entire atmosphere by his presence and glory. To him it is
immaterial whether he is in a crowded town or in a solitary
cave of the Himalayan forests!

Whether he be amidst the majestic objects of the market

places, amidst the din and roar of human frailties, he is ever
established in the Self. Even in the lonely forest of the
mighty Himalayas he is the same. To him there is no
distinction. His inner experience of perfection cannot be
obstructed under any conditions. He is ever in the infinite
Bliss, which is the nature of the Self.

Bhagavad-gītā thunders: ‘The Supreme is the flawless

state, the same everywhere’47.

Wherever he is, under whatever conditions, he remains

the same, unaffected by his physical experiences which are
ordered by his prārabdha.48

This concluding verse of this chapter, now under review,

echoes an idea which Janaka gave earlier. ‘Oh! I do not find
any duality; even in the midst of multitude of human beings.
I feel like I am in a forest. Towards what should I then feel
attachment?’49

A statement in Annapūrṇopaniṣad throws a flood of light,

explaining why the Master feels so readily indifferent under
all conditions. Declares the Upaniṣad: ‘Let him revel in the
midst of the populace, or let him spend his time in the
glorification and the worship of the Lord. He knows neither
his sorrows nor his joys, just as a sun that is reflected.’50
 The reflection of the sun in the waters may dance, may
break up but the sun in the heaven is not affected by the
conditions of the reflected sun. Similarly, the pure infinite
Consciousness, which is now the nature of the Man of
Perfection, is not affected by the experiences of the ‘ego’ in
him – the light of Consciousness playing in his mind! Master
is egoless, hence he is unaffected by the outer
environments.

1 satyānṛtavastvabhedapratītiradhyāsaḥ.

2 ayamahamidamātataṁ mameti sphuritamapāsya balādasatyamantaḥ,

ripumatibalinaṁ mano nihatya praśamamupaimi namo'stu te viveka.
– Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.9.65

3 dūrāt sudūre tadihāntike ca,

paśyatsvihaiva nihitaṁ guhāyām. – Muṇḍakopaniṣad-3.1.7

4 śuddho muktaḥ sadaivātmā na vai badhyet karhicit,

bandhamokṣau manaḥsaṁsthau tasmiñcchānte praśāmyati.

5 lakṣyalakṣyagatiṁ tyaktvā yastiṣṭhetkevalātmanā,

śiva eva svayaṁ sākṣādayaṁ brahmaviduttamaḥ. – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-554

6 karmaṇyakarma yaḥ paśyedakarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ,

sabuddhimān-manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsnakarmakṛt. – Bhagavad-gītā-4.18

7 nānavāptamavāptavyaṁ varta eva ca karmaṇi. – Bhagavad-gītā-3.22

8 paścāt pāvanapāvanaṁ padamajaṁ tatprāpya tacchītalaṁ,

tatsaṁsthena na śocyate punaralaṁ puṁsā mahāpatsvapi. – Yogavāsiṣṭha

9 śītalācchatarātmanaḥ – acchatara - svacchatara

10 Bhagavad-gītā – 3.26 to 28, 4.20 & 21. 5.8.9 & 13, 13.9 and 18.58

11 atad-vādī – not a tat-vādī – one who can explain clearly what he is. He who
can explain the goal, to gain which he is pursuing all his efforts, he is described
as a tat-vādī – a sage has no motive to explain and so is an atad-vādī – like a
fool!!

12 There is another reading of this verse which we find in some editions wherein
it is spelt as na kiñcid–dhī-kṛtaṁ kṛtam meaning ‘one who has no ego, indeed
even what he does is not an act’. The reading that we have selected has a
deeper transcendental significance and hence our choice.

13 The wise one does freely whatever comes to be done, whether good or evil;
for his actions are like those of a child.

14 vayaṁ tu vaktuṁ mūrkhāṇāmajitātmīyacetasām,

bhogakardamamagnānām na vidmo'bhimataṁ matam. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.18.13
……………………
teṣāmabhimatā nāryaḥ bhāvābhāvavibhūṣitāḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha -5.18.14

15 pūrvaṁ vivekena tanutvameti rāgo'tha vairaṁ ca samūlameva,

paścātparikṣīyata eva yatnaḥ saḥ pāvano yatra vivekitāsti.
– Yogavāsiṣṭha-4.18.70

16 yastvātmaratireva syādātmatṛptaśca mānavaḥ,

ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭastasya kāryaṁ na vidyate. – Bhagavad-gītā-3.17

17 This particular style in thought of Aṣṭāvakra is seen in the entire chapter-3

entitled ‘Self in All – All in Self’.

18 ……………………..
bhārūpaikasvarūpe'smin svarūpeṇa jayāmyaham. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.27.22

19 Pure materialists in Indian philosophy – the supreme atheists.

20 dvitīyāt vai bhayaṁ bhavati. – Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad-1.4.2

21 viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ,

rasavarja raso'pyasya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.59

22 Aṣṭāvakra-gītā-18.29

23 samatvaṁ yoga ucyate. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.48

24 yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.50

25 yadṛcchā lābha santuṣṭaḥ ……. . – Bhagavad-gītā-4.22

26 sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-12.16

sarvārambhaparityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate. – Bhagavad-gītā-14.25
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnirivāvṛtāḥ. – Bhagavad-Gītā-18.48

27 devadatto'hamityetad vijñānaṁ nirapekṣakam,

tadvad brahmavido'pyasya brahmāhamiti vedanam. – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi – 533

28 aśaṅkitā'pi samprāptā grāmayātrā yathā'dhvagaiḥ,

prekṣyate tadvadeva jñairbhogaśrīravalokyate. – Mahopaniṣad-5.72

29 atrānātmanyahamiti matirbandhaḥ ………… . – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-137

30 kasminnu bhagavo vijñāte sarvamidaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavatīti.

– Muṇḍaka-upaniṣad-1.1.3

31 viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ,

rasavarjaṁ raso'pyasya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.59

32 pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate.

33 bhidyate hṛdayagranthiḥ chidyante sarvasaṁśayāḥ,

kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi tasmin dṛṣṭe parāvare. – Muṇḍakopaniṣad-2-2-8

34 In this connection, it is very interesting to observe that among some tribes in

deep Africa, we are told that the canine teeth of the wild dogs are very precious
inasmuch as the ladies there string them together to wear as a necklace. To
them, perhaps diamond is not of such a great value; pearls are of no significance
but the dog's teeth are precious. Some of the hippies in the modern cities move
about hanging a bell from their necks, they consider it very precious and
covetable; while in India only grazing cows wear such bells in their necks!! The
things by themselves are not precious, it is the possessor that gives them their
values.

35 Bhagavad-gītā – 6.8
36 yadā sarve prabhidyante hṛdayasyeha granthayaḥ,
atha martyo'mṛto bhavatyetāvadanuśāsanam. – Kaṭhopaniṣad-2.3.15

37 …………………………
kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathastatkavayo vadanti.
– Kaṭhopaniṣad-1.3.14

38 ……paśyāmyacakṣuḥ sa śṛṇomyakarṇaḥ – Kaivalyopaniṣad-21

39 yaireva jāyate rāgo mūrkhasyādhikatāṁ gataiḥ,

taireva bhogaiḥ prājñasya virāga upajāyate. – Mahopaniṣad-5.169

40 yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha. ………. – Taittirīya-upaniṣad-2.9

41 brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati – Muṇḍakopaniṣad-3.2.9

42 avasthā-traya-sākṣī – Witness of all happenings in all the three states of

consciousness – Waking, dream and deep sleep – is the Self.

43 tatastejastamonidrāmohādi parivarjitam,
kāmapyavasthāmāsthāya viśaśrāma manaḥ kṣaṇam. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.54.53

44 vilakṣaṇaḥ – unique

45 ………………
nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā. – Bhagavad-gītā-2.57

46 …………… lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ. – Bhagavad-gītā-12.15

47 …………………………….
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma ……….... – Bhagavad-gītā-5.19

48 Aṣṭāvakra-gītā-18.21

49 Aṣṭāvakra-gītā-2.21

50 viharan janatāvṛnde devakīrtanapūjanaiḥ,

khedāhlādau na jānāti pratibimbagatairiva. – Annapūrṇopaniṣad-5.99
 Chapter 19
The Grandeur of the Self
Introduction

The thunderous eloquence of Aṣṭāvakra in the previous

chapter expounded the ‘spiritual goal’ of human life and
painted, as vividly as words could, the nature of the
Liberated in life (Jīvanmukta). When perfect Masters, like
Aṣṭāvakra, inspiredly talk on spiritual themes, they do not
aim at public applauses. Theirs is the mission of not only
communicating the spiritual knowledge to their listeners,
but also strive to help the seekers to gain a direct
experience of the goal indicated.

All seekers are not able to immediately gain a vision of

the Reality, because of their inherent mental
unpreparedness for the revelation. But perfect students like
Janaka understand the words of the Masters to be ‘pointers
on the road’ and as seekers, they have the mental subtlety
to lift themselves in the directions so clearly pointed out.
This process of ‘hearing’ the Teacher and at the same time
lifting our mind into those marvellous heights of perfection,
is called the process of ‘listening’ (śravaṇa). The Upaniṣads
are never tired of indicating the infallibility of the process of
‘listening’.

To a true student revelation of the Self comes

instantaneously, during his intense listening in rapt
attention. Here, Janaka has accomplished the true listening
and, hence, when his Master has concluded his previous
discourse, in this chapter the student rises to mould in
words his Self-experience. Communication of joy is a way of
intensifying and enlarging the bliss experienced. Janaka
exclaims over the grandeur of his repose in the Self, for his
Teacher's satisfaction. The fulfilment of Knowledge in direct
vision and wisdom is the unique goal of true ‘listening of
Vedānta’ (śravaṇa).

If the previous chapter is listened to or ardently studied,

with Janaka’s attention, the result would be the same in any
spiritual student. In eight verses, Janaka here explains the
majestic peace which is the state of the Self, the majestic
grandeur of the pure Consciousness.

Beyond the ordinary goals of life (puruṣārtha), beyond all

metaphysical speculations, transcending all the concepts of
time and space, far removed from the tumults of life and
death, dwells the majestic glory of the infinite Self in its own
unique majesty. This, in short, is Janaka's narration in the
chapter.

The Tejobindu-upaniṣad endorses: ‘Those who have purified

their minds and cultivated the alertness necessary to
comprehend the Self, they alone apprehend the pure
Brahman, not others who merely prattle the dialects and
quote the letter, of the śāstras.’1

जनक उवाच
त विव ानस दंशमादाय दयोदरात्।
नानािवधपरामशश यो ारः कृतो मया॥१॥
janaka uvāca

tattva-vijñāna-sandaṁśam-ādāya hṛdayodarāt,
nānāvidha-parāmarśa-śalyoddhāraḥ kṛto mayā. (1)

त विव ानस दंशम् – the pincers of the knowledge of Truth; आदाय –

taking; दय उदरात् – from the innermost recesses of the heart;
नानािवध परामशश य उ ारः – the extraction of the thorn of diverse
judgements; कृतो – is done; मया – by me

Janaka said:

1. Using the pincers of knowledge of Truth, from the

innermost recesses of my heart, I have extracted the thorn
of adverse opinions.

‘Though Truth is one, sages call it differently’2 and this is

because in the past, every Master in India talked only to
teach unlike philosophers in the west who strive now to
propound their ‘new’ philosophy or declare their ‘fresh’
definitions of Truth. The ṛṣis always taught to a student or a
team of students, who had approached them requesting for
guidance in their spiritual pilgrimage. Each Master thus
analysed the student and guided from where he was, to the
same grand peak. The different philosophies thus expound
but different approaches, all of them in the end, arrive at
the same subjective experience at the same temple of
Reality.

Each Master, in advocating his thoughts, was

excruciatingly logical and each carried an irresistible
intellectual charm. To enter into these diverse arguments for
a mere intellectual entertainment, would unavoidably
produce, in the student, a lot of unnecessary mental
agitations breeding unnatural doubts and their unhealthy
restlessness. Ᾱcārya Śaṅkara has warned the students
against this hazard on the path of study, in his
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi: ‘Commentaries on philosophies constitute
a thick jungle in which a roaming mind may easily get lost in
its own delusion. Therefore, true seekers of Brahman should
through right efforts come to experience the real nature of
the Self.’3

All these confusions in the mind can really end with the
direct perception of the Self. With a sense of utter gratitude
the student here, the royal Sage Janaka, confesses that he
has cleared his mind of all its doubts. Only with the ‘forceps’
of direct knowledge can we remove the ‘thorns’ of doubts
that ulcerate in the deepest depths of our personality.

Study can guide us but the knowledge of the text cannot

gift us with the Reality. The Upaniṣads repeatedly warn us
that mere study of the text and repeated listening to various
Masters cannot, by themselves, take us near the Truth until
we decide to move towards it: ‘This Ᾱtman cannot be
attained by study of Veda, nor by intelligence, nor by much
hearing’4.

The entire verse echoes with the natural sentiments of

gratitude that every student feels towards the Master who
guided him to his own Self and thereby helped him to
escape the Self-created tortures of endless sorrows. We read
such sentiments expressed by the students of the
Upaniṣads both in the Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad and in the
Praśnopaniṣad. ‘Thou art our father who helps to go across
the ocean of our thick ignorance’5.

व धमः व च वा कामः व चाथः व िववेिकता।

व ैतं व च वाऽ ैतं वमिह न थत य मे॥२॥
kva dharmaḥ kva ca vā kāmaḥ kva cārthaḥ kva vivekitā,
kva dvaitaṁ kva ca vā'dvaitaṁ svamahimni sthitasya me.
(2)

व – where; धमः – piety, meritorious deeds; व – where; च –

and; वा – or; कामः – desire; व – where; च – and; अथः –
prosperity; व – where; िववेिकता – conscience, discrimination;
व – where; ैतम् – duality; व – where; च – and; वा – or; अ ैतम् –
non-duality; व-मिह न – in my own grandeur; थत य – abiding;
मे – my

2. Where is piety? Where is desire? Where is wealth? Where

indeed is conscience? Where is duality and where, again, is
non-duality? for me who abides in my own grandeur.

From his unique state of infinite Self, Janaka exclaims that

he cannot recognise, from where he is, the significance, or
even the glory, of the various lesser ‘goals of life’ that is
‘piety’ (dharma), ‘wealth’ (artha) and ‘desire’ (kāma). As
there is no conflict between his own knowledge and his
egocentric activities, there is no question of any ‘pangs of
conscience’ (vivekitā) in him.

As a means of directing the mind of the student from the

disturbing realm of plurality, the Masters of Upaniṣads had
directed their students towards the non-dual Self, one
without a second. This non-duality is an illusory attribute of
the Self, no doubt, endorsed and accepted by the ṛṣis, as it
would help the students to walk out of their greater illusions
of the world of multiplicity. Once the seeker transcends his
mind, even the concept of non-duality will become
meaningless. The Self alone is. In this universal state of pure
Existence nothing can be predicated. Every attempt at
verbalisation of the absolute Self is an unforgivable
blasphemy against Truth. Declares Avadhūta-gītā: ‘Some
want duality, others want non-duality. They do not
apprehend the Truth. It is neither duality nor non-duality’6.

Chāndogyopaniṣad calls this state, which is transcending

both duality and non-duality, as Bhūmā. In this discussion
the question came up as to where does the Bhūmā abide?
The answer was: ‘There where nothing is perceived as other,
nothing is heard as other, nothing is known as other, that is
infinite Bhūmā; where something is perceived as other,
something is heard as other, something is known as other
that is finite (alpam); that which is infinite (bhūmā), that is
immortal; what is finite, that is mortal. Where is, Sir, this
Bhūmā abiding? It abides in its own grandeur, which is non-
grandeur.’7

व भूतं व भिव य ा वतमानमिप व वा।

व देशः व च वा िन यं वमिह न थत य मे॥३॥
kva bhūtaṁ kva bhaviṣyadvā vartamānamapi kva vā,
kva deśaḥ kva ca vā nityaṁ svamahimni sthitasya me. (3)

व – where; भूतम् – past; व – where; भिव यत् – future; वा – or;

वतमानम् – present; अिप – even; व – where; वा – or; व – where;
देशः – space; व – where; च – and; वा – or; िन यम् – eternity; व-
मिह न थत य मे – for me abiding in my own grandeur

3. Where is the past? Where is the future? Where, even, is

the present? Where is space? Where, even, is eternity for
me who abide in my own grandeur.

Time and space are really the concepts of the mind and
intellect. Where the mind-intellect is not functioning, as in
deep sleep or under chloroform, the individual has no such
measurements in his experience. Time and its duration are
as much the creation of the human mind as the concept of
space and its distances.

Distances are measured in space between two relative

points, let us say between two points A and B. From A to B
the distance may be any linear measurement; but in all
these cases we know, that at point A the distance is always
zero, whatever be the distance measured at point B.

In the same way the duration of time is measured as ‘the

interval between any two successive experiences’. You,
perhaps, started reading this book at 10-00 a.m. and you
stopped reading at 11-00 a.m. Then the interval between
these two different experiences is called the measurement
of time. Every experience is entertained by the mind in
terms of its thoughts. Thus the interval between thoughts is
the unit measurement of time. If there is no other
experience-B, then the time ceases; at experience-A time is
zero!

In the seeker, who has transcended his mind, there can

be no thoughts and, therefore, the concepts of both 'time
and space' cannot be in him, when he is abiding beyond his
mind, in the Self.

In ‘time’ the mind again entertains the illusory ideas of

the past, present and future. In the Self these illusions can
have no valid existence. For one, who has thus transcended
the concepts of both ‘time and space’ the very idea of
‘eternity’ has no meaning, because the very concepts of
eternity is ‘non-stop time’.

On transcending the mind, Janaka confesses, he has

arrived at a realm of experience, where the world of
plurality cannot come to play, as it has not got the ‘time
space’ frame-work for the names and forms to exist.
 व चा मा व च वाऽना मा व शुभं वाशुभं तथा।
व च ता व च वाऽ च ता वमिह न थत य मे॥४॥
kva cātmā kva ca vā'nātmā kva śubhaṁ kvāśubhaṁ tathā,
kva cintā kva ca vā'cintā svamahimni sthitasya me. (4)

व – where; च – and; आ मा – Self; व – where; च – and; वा – or;

अना मा – not-Self; व – where; शुभम् – good; व – where; अशुभम् –
evil; तथा – similarly; व – where; च ता – anxiety; व – where; च
– and; वा – or; अ च ता – non-anxiety; व-मिह न थत य मे – for me
abiding in my own grandeur

4. Where is the Self? Where is the not-Self? Where, similarly,

are good and evil? Where is anxiety or non-anxiety for me,
who abide in my own grandeur.

On awakening from the dream the entire subject-object

world of the dream disappears to merge with the very
essence and substance of the waker’s mind. In the same
way on awakening, from the present state of our existence,
into the infinite state of the Self, Janaka exclaims that he, in
his new state, cannot conceive the distinction between the
Self and the not-Self or between the good and evil or
between the condition of anxiety and non-anxiety. All these
are sustained and interpreted by the human mind. On
transcending the mind one rediscovers the Self and in the
Self, where are these illusions of the mind?

The Sanskrit terms ‘cintā’ and ‘acintā’ are translated here

as ‘anxiety’ and ‘non-anxiety’. Some commentators,
however, have interpreted these two terms as ‘meditation’
and ‘non meditation’. This rendering is equally acceptable.
In one’s delusory state, when the ego is trying to transcend
the mind, there is a ‘state of meditation’. When the ego, is
turned outward, fattening the mind and preoccupied with its
joys of sense gratifications, there is the ‘state of non
meditation’. Both these have a reference to the
introvertedness and the extrovertedness of the mind. On
transcending the mind and reaching the Self, there can be
neither meditation state nor the non meditation state.

व व नः व सुषुि वा व च जागरणं तथा।

व तुरीयं भयं वािप वमिह न थत य मे॥५॥
kva svapnaḥ kva suṣuptirvā kva ca jāgaraṇaṁ tathā,
kva turīyaṁ bhayaṁ vāpi svamahimni sthitasya me. (5)

व – where; व नः – dream; व – where; सुषुि ः – deep sleep; वा –

or; व – where; च – and; जागरणम् – wakefulness; तथा – and also;
व – where; तुरीयम् – fourth state of consciousness; भयम् – fear;
वा ( व) – or (where); अिप – even; वमिह न थत य मे – for me
abiding in my own grandeur

5. Where is dream? Where is deep sleep? Where is

wakefulness? And also where is the fourth state of
Consciousness? Where is even fear for me, who abide in my
own grandeur?

Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad, for the first time, has scientifically

observed and philosophically analysed an individual's
experience in the three fields of consciousness – the waking,
the dream and the deep sleep. With reference to these three
fields – of the waker, of the dreamer and of the deep sleeper
– on transcending the gross, subtle and the causal bodies,
the ego disappears into the vision of the fourth plane of
Consciousness (turīya). In terms of the known alone the
unknown can be defined and indicated. In Māṇḍūkya-
upaniṣad, the ṛṣi has kindly indicated this pure state of
Consciousness, from our world of experiences, in the
relative field.

Just as on awakening from the dream, the dreamer and

his dreamworld merge into the waker, so too, on reaching
this fourth plane, we transcend the earlier three states of
delusion and, therefore, the experience of the pure Self
cannot be called as the fourth plane. This is the
transcendental experience of the absolute Self.

Janaka here denies for himself all these four delusions of

Consciousness, as he has got fully established in the Self, as
the Self.

All ‘fears’ belong to the ego, due to its desires, so

declares the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad: ‘From the perception
of the other, fear comes’8. The Liberated in life, awakened
to the infinite Self, experiences nothing other than Self
within and without and as such, asks Janaka, ‘Where is even
fear for me?’

In sheer spiritual audacity there is no text that can stand

a parallel to the firm and daring assertions of Avadhūta-gītā:
‘When the three are not there, how can there be the fourth
state of consciousness? When the threefold division of time
is not there, how can there be ‘direction’ (space)? The
supreme Truth is a state of peace. I am Immortal,
Knowledge ever the same like the sky’9.

व दरू ं व समीपम् वा बा ं वा य तरं व वा।

व थूलं व च वा सू मं वमिह न थत य मे॥६॥
kva dūraṁ kva samīpam vā bāhyaṁ kvābhyantaraṁ kva vā,
kva sthūlaṁ kva ca vā sūkṣmaṁ svamahimni sthitasya me.
(6)

व – where; दरू म् – distance; व – where; समीपम् – near; वा – or;

बा म् – outside; व – where; अ य तरम् – inside; व – where; वा –
or; व – where; थूलम् – the gross; व – where; च – and; वा – or;
सू मम् – the subtle; वमिह न थत य मे – for me who abide in my
own grandeur

6. Where is distance? Where is nearness? Where is outside?

Where is inside? Where is the gross and where is the subtle
for me, who abide in my own grandeur?

All these distinctions are recognised by the ego as it looks

out upon the illusory world of plurality, when the Truth is
mis-interpreted by the mind in agitation. The tamoguṇa
dims the powers of discrimination in the human intellect and
it comes to ‘ignore’ the Truth. To ignore ‘the Reality’ is the
condition of ‘ignorance’. When the intellect is thus veiled,
the mind projects, in fanciful imaginations, a world of
multiplicity and it gets itself restless in the play of ‘rajas’.
Thereafter, it distinguishes ‘far and near’, ‘outside and
inside’, ‘gross and subtle’ and such other endless varieties
of delusions.

When the mind was hushed, in the alert moments of

intense listening, in Janaka, the veiling of his intellect
dropped and the Truth revealed Itself. ‘One who is thus
firmly abiding in the experience of the infinite Self’ wonders
Janaka, ‘How can he now have the illusions which the mind
then created for his temporary entertainment?’

व मृ यज
ु िवतं वा व लोकाः वा य व लौिककम्।
व लयः व समा धवा वमिह न थत य मे॥७॥
kva mṛtyurjīvitaṁ vā kva lokāḥ kvāsya kva laukikam,
kva layaḥ kva samādhirvā svamahimni sthitasya me. (7)

व – where; मृ यःु – death; जीिवतम् – life; वा – or; व – where;

लोकाः – worlds; व – where; अ य (मम) – my; व – where; लौिककम्
- worldly relation; व – where; लयः – dissolution of
consciousness; व – where; समा धः – samādhi (concentration);
वा – or; वमिह न थत य मे – for me who abide in my own
grandeur

7. Where is life or where is death? Where are the worlds or

where are the worldly relations? Where is dissolution of
consciousness? Where is samādhi for me, who in my own
grandeur abide?

Life and death, the world as fields of experiences, the

worldly relations – all these – are interpretations and
concepts of the mind and intellect. As ego, which is living in
the awareness of plurality, strives in its spiritual pursuit, to
liquidate its 'consciousness of objects' by withdrawing its
mind entirely from the objects and by turning it into the
contemplation of the immutable Self – the witness of all. In
this way, the ego tries to reach a state of ‘laya’ wherein it
achieves to a larger extent the ‘dissolution of
consciousness’ of the multiple world. This process of ‘laya’ is
often advised as a precondition before diving into samādhi,
wherein the ego ends in the infinite flare of Enlightenment.
Janaka, who has already gained the goal and has
established himself in the Self, must necessarily wonder
what has he to do any more with ‘laya’ or samādhi.

अलं ि वगकथया योग य कथयाऽ यलम्।

अलं िव ानकथया िव ा त य ममा मिन॥८॥
alaṁ trivargakathayā yogasya kathayā'pyalam,
alaṁ vijñānakathayā viśrāntasya mamātmani. (8)

अलम् – needless; ि वगकथया – of talking about the three ends of

life; योग य – of yoga; कथया – of talking; अिप – even; अलम् –
needless; अलम् – needless; िव ानकथया – talks of direct
knowledge; िव ा त य – reposing; मम – my; आ मिन – in the Self

8. For me, who repose in the Self, talks about the three
‘goals of life’ are useless; talks about yoga are purposeless
and even talks about direct knowledge are needless!

The shoreless peace and the boundless contentment

experienced by the Man of Realisation in his divine sense of
fulfilment is vividly echoed in this brilliant verse, with which,
Janaka concludes his autobiographical spiritual confession.
The three ‘goals of life’ (dharma, artha, kāma), yoga and
direct experience in samādhi, are all means for the
realisation of the Self. To one who has already realised, the
means are no more of any significance. Should one who has
crossed river, carry the boat on his head?

The experience of the Self is self-sufficient unto Itself. It

needs nothing else to complete it. It is absolute in its
perfection. All the means of realisation are to smuggle the
ego out of its illusions into the effulgent light of the supreme
Reality.

1 yeṣāṁ vṛttiḥ samā vṛddhā paripakvā ca sā punaḥ,

te vai sadbrahmatāṁ prāptā netare śabdavādinaḥ. – Tejobindu-upaniṣad-1.45

2 ekaṁ sat viprāḥ bahudhā vadanti

3 śabdajālaṁ mahāraṇyaṁ citta-bhramaṇa-kāraṇam,

ataḥ prayatnājjñātavyaṁ tattvajñaistattvamātmanaḥ. – Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-60
4 nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena.
– Kaṭhopaniṣad-1.2.23

5 ….. tvaṁ hi naḥ pitā yo'smākam

avidyāyāḥ paraṁ pāraṁ tārayasīti …. – Praśnopaniṣad-6.8

6 advaitaṁ kecidicchanti dvaitamicchanti cāpare,

samaṁ tattvaṁ na vindanti dvaitādvaitavivarjitam. – Avadhūta-gītā-I.36

7 yatra nānyat-paśyati nānyat-śṛṇoti

nānyat-vijānāti sa bhūmātha
yatra-anyat-paśyati-anyat-śṛṇoti
anyat-vijānāti tadalpaṁ
yo vai bhūmā tadamṛtam-
atha yadalpaṁ tanmartyam.
sa bhagavaḥ kasmin-pratiṣṭhita iti.
sve mahimni yadi vā na mahimnīti. – Chāndogyopaniṣad-7.24.1

8 dvitīyāt vai bhayaṁ bhavati – Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad-1.4.2

9 sthānatrayaṁ yadi ca neti kathaṁ turīyaṁ

kālatrayaṁ yadi ca neti kathaṁ diśaśca,
śāntaṁ padaṁ hi paramaṁ paramārthatattvaṁ
jñānāmṛtaṁ samarasaṁ gaganopamo'ham. – Avadhūta-gītā-3.20
 Chapter 20
The Absolute State
Introduction

In communicating to the seekers the unsurpassing beauty

and indefinable perfections of the Absolute, the Upaniṣads
stammer, the Brahmasūtras exhaust themselves and the
Bhagavad-gītā hesitates with an excusable shyness. A
theme, in dealing with which, even these mighty books of
Hinduism are thus, at best, unsatisfactory; we must, in
sheer gratitude, admire Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā for the brilliant
success it has achieved in communicating, through words,
perhaps, more clearly the nature and glory of the supreme
Reality, than by the Prasthāna Traya. In this concluding
chapter, the absolute state of transcendence is brought
home to us, not so much because of the frenzied eloquence
of the Teacher, nor by the extra fluidity of the diction
chosen, but essentially because of the human touch that
has been imparted to it by putting this chapter into the
mouth of King Janaka. The student of this Saṁhitā is himself
giving the autobio-data of the Liberated in life. We have
here in this chapter a revealing autobiography of the saint,
the Liberated in life in King Janaka.

The absolute Self with no relationship with anything is

the subtle theme of this sacred chapter. The aloneness of
the Self surpasses all empirical terms that generally
determine and often clearly define any other phenomenon
in the relative field of experiences. Beyond all assertions
and denial, beyond the concepts of bondage and Liberation,
lies this realm of the Self, wherein there is neither the
individual ego (jīva) nor is there even the supreme Reality
(Brahman)!

Aṣṭāvakra here dexterously uses contradictions and

paradoxes as a painter would artistically use his colours or a
surgeon would clinically wield his instruments. Repeatedly
the reader is shocked and often jerked out of his
intellectualism to a point certainly nearer the direct
experience of the pure Self!

There is a geometry in the very construction of this

chapter. In every verse, Janaka, indicates the Liberated in
life in him, with a significant and revealing term, which can
rocket the mind of a meditative student onto Realms
Transcendental. Each of these chosen phrases serve as an
ego to Self-rocket! The ‘stainless’ (nirañjana), ‘beyond the
sense of duality’ (gata dvandva), ‘state of no attributes’
(arūpa) and so on, are examples. Each of these terms must
be considered as highly inflammable, when it comes to the
bosom of a true meditator! Each one of them can get
ignited to burn with the clear light of wisdom and as a torch
it can illumine the dark and lonely path, through which must
march every seeker, the alone to the Alone, all alone.

It has already been said earlier by Aṣṭāvakra that the Self

is beyond speech, understanding and even contemplation. It
was clearly suggested that to end meditation, in meditation,
with meditation is the highest fulfilment of meditation.

Throughout the Saṁhitā and particularly in this finale,

the sage with artistic precision and with a surgeon's efficient
carefulness has used deliberate contradictions and chosen
paradoxes to blast up and remove from the intellectual
student his inherent fascination for objective logic and
reason.

No doubt, sense of logic and alertness of reason

distinguish man from the animal kingdom. They are his
glory and his beauty. Yet, on the path of the spiritual
rediscovery, having made use of these faculties of logic and
reason to their maximum, the student must learn the art of
discarding them – even the intellect is to be transcended –
after they had fulfilled their functions.

The beauty and fragrance of the petals must fade, dry

and curl up to fall down, when the delicate blossom perishes
into the emergence of the fruit!

Transcending the intellect, stretches the dimensionless

infinitude of peace and beatitude; Aṣṭāvakra’s technique
stands justified and entirely fulfilled in Janaka, the Liberated
in life.

जनक उवाच
व भूतािन व देहो वा वे या ण व वा मनः।
व शू यं व च नैरा यं म व पे िनर ने॥१॥
janaka uvāca

kva bhūtāni kva deho vā kvendriyāṇi kva vā manaḥ,

kva śūnyaṁ kva ca nairāśyaṁ matsvarūpe nirañjane. (1)

व – where; भूतािन – the five great elements; व – where; देहः –

body; वा – or; व – where; इ या ण – organs; व – where; वा –
or; मनः – mind; व – where; शू यम् – void; व – where; च – and;
नैरा यम् – despair; मत् व पे – in my essential nature; िनर ने –
stainless
Janaka said:

1. Where are the five great elements and where is the

body? Where are the organs and where is the mind? Where
is the void and where is despair for me, who am by nature
stainless?

All through these fourteen verses of this chapter, Janaka is

giving us the autobiography of the Liberated in life in him.
Nobody else can write the story of a saint, biography of a
sage. At best, it is the description of the physical beauty of a
singer and the grace of her enchanting performance to an
inspired audience, described by an enthusiastic writer, who
is both dumb and deaf from birth!

From the awakened state of the Self, which transcends all

relative planes, there are neither the five elements nor the
physical body formed out of them. Neither are there the
organs of perception, nor the instruments of action nor the
mind, that is built up by our perceptions and our responses.
If the elements are the cause, the body is their effect. If the
sense organs are the cause, the mind is their effect. By
denying them, Janaka is denying the ‘cause-effect
relationship’ which is so true when we are in the egocentric
state of perceiving our world of plurality through our mind.

Transcending ‘cause and effect’ which have an existence

only in the world that we perceive through our body, mind
and intellect equipments is the Self, which, as
Consciousness, is the illuminator of these two assertions of
the intellect. The illuminator is always different from the
illumined. Identified with the Self, Janaka could recognise
neither the cause nor accept the world of effects, in his
intense Experience Immutable.
 When all the ‘effects’ are thus eliminated, the intellect
can conceive only a ‘void’, a state of complete absence of
things, just as the condition we experience in deep sleep.
This ‘void’ (śūnya) has been conceived by a certain school
of Buddhists as the highest state. Janaka, contradicts this
fallacious conclusions, when he asks, ‘Where is despair?’ To
be in the ‘void’ is to feel utter despair. It is a state of total
negation of both the worlds of ‘objects’ and the ‘subject’,
the meditator himself. It is boundless loneliness. It is a sheer
tragedy and weary despair. Vedānta asserts that a Man of
Realisation rises above both the sense of void and its
consequent despairs, into the serene repose of the stainless
Self. Janaka endorses this with his own direct experience.

The Self is the ultimate ‘Subject’, where there are no

objects at all. In the realm of the objects alone can the
cause-effect phenomenon function. Here three sets of
examples are given to represent all ‘cause-effect
relationships’ comprehended at all levels of our personality.
The five elements and body includes all ‘cause-effect
relationships’ experienced at the body level; the sense
organs and mind embraces all such relationships that are at
mental level; and the ‘consequent despair’ can be
considered to represent, in itself, all ‘cause-effect’
perceptions at the intellectual level.

व शा ं वा मिव ानं व वा िन वषयं मनः।

व तृि ः व िवतृ ण वं गत य मे सदा॥२॥
kva śāstraṁ kvātmavijñānaṁ kva vā nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ,
kva tṛptiḥ kva vitṛṣṇatvaṁ gata-dvandvasya me sadā. (2)

व – where; शा म् – scriptures; व – where; आ मिव ानम् –

knowledge of the Self; व – where; वा – or; िन वषयम् -
detachment from sense objects; मनः – mind; व – where; तृि ः
– contentment; व – where; िवतृ ण वम् – desirelessness; गत य
– who has transcended the duality of the pairs of opposites;
मे – for me; सदा – ever

2. Where are the scriptures? Where is the knowledge of the

Self? Where is the mind detached from the sense objects
and where is contentment? Where is desirelessness for me,
who has transcended the duality of the pairs of opposites?

So long as we are functioning at the mental level as an ego,

we cannot avoid perceiving the world of plurality and
experiencing the pairs of opposites. One who has
transcended the mind, has eliminated his ego and,
therefore, in him there is no sense of 'enjoyership' to
experience the pairs of opposites.

All the scriptural textbooks are addressed to the ego,

which is suffering from its sense of ‘doership’ and
‘enjoyership’. The scriptures try to give the student a clear
knowledge of the blissful and perfect nature of the Self. In
order to realise this seat of Consciousness, the scriptures
advise the students to detach their minds from sense
objects, since without arresting the outgoing tendencies of
the mind, it cannot be persuaded to have a steady inward
gaze.

Even the sense of contentment of the mind and the state

of desirelessness of the intellect can have no meaning for
the Liberated in life as he has transcended both his mind
and intellect!

This state, indicated here, is not for our intellectual

appreciation; it is to be realised. And it can be realised only
when the seeker accomplishes what these verses are
screaming. The knowledge of the Self lies not in the texts of
even the Vedas. It awaits for your direct experience in your
own Self.

व िव ा व च वाऽिव ा वाहं वेदं मम व वा।

व ब धः व च वा मो ः व प य व िपता॥३॥
kva vidyā kva ca vā'vidyā kvāhaṁ kvedaṁ mama kva vā,
kva bandhaḥ kva ca vā mokṣaḥ svarūpasya kva rūpitā. (3)

व – where; िव ा – knowledge; व – where; च – and; वा – or;

अिव ा – ignorance; व – where; अहम् – ‘I’; व – where; इदम् –
this; मम – my; व – where; वा – or; व – where; ब धः – bondage;
व – where; च – and; वा – or; मो ः – Liberation; व प य – of my
essential nature; व – where; िपता – attribute

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 essential
nature of my infinite Self?

These terms are all valid only in the relative field. Where the
mind is not, how can the ego perceive an object as ‘this’?
‘Ignorance’ cannot be in the infinite Knowledge and
Knowledge itself cannot be an attribute of the Self, when all
delusions of ‘ignorance’ have ended!!

The ego, as the subject that experiences the world of

objects, is universally known in our bosom, expressing as
the I-sense. Where the subject is, that subject ego, through
its equipments of body, mind and intellect must perceive,
feel, and think its world of perceptions, emotions, and
thoughts respectively. The ego experiences together
constitute our concept of the world. Thus, so long as the
subject exists, there cannot but be the ‘field of objects’ – the
world. On transcending the ego and experiencing the Self,
how can there be the sense of ‘I-ness’, and its
misinterpretations which together form the world!

This ego sense, ‘I-ness’, when it expresses out in the

world of objects, and relates itself with the world, becomes
the ego feeling, expressed as ‘my-ness’. Since the ego is
itself transcended, the idea of 'my-ness' has also retired.
When the husband of my wife is no more, my wife is also
gone.

The Upaniṣad ṛṣis were not only adept in reaching the

subtlest states of unique spiritual experiences, but they
were dexterous technicians in communicating their wisdom
to us and improvising a variety of means by which we too
can be safely transported onto those divine realms of
perfection. For this purpose, very often, they had to
fabricate terms and phrases, as tools in their sacred
profession.

The world of the ego and its behaviour in turn – all are
comprehended together by the term ‘ahantā’. Similarly, all
possible fields of experiences of the ego are together
termed as the idam. Idam means ‘this’ and the whole world
of objects is the field defined by the term ‘this-ness’ (idantā)
if we may use such a term! That is the reason why in the
commentary we took the term ‘this’ (idam) as the ‘world of
experiences’.

The sense of bondage and the sense of Liberation are

both conceived by the mind. Mind turned towards the sense
objects is the mind in ‘bondage’ and it is such a sad and
miserable mind existing ever in the sense pursuits that
conceives and comprehends a state of its own ‘Liberation’
from its own present thraldom. ‘To one who has transcended
the equipments and has thus blasted the ego, which has
now rediscovered its identity with the essential Self, how
can there be all these delusory misconceptions?’ asks the
fully Liberated Janaka.

Avadhūta-gītā unhesitatingly thunders: ‘I am never born

neither do I die. In me there is no activity, either good or
bad. I am all pure Brahman without any attributes. How then
should there be in me anything like bondage and Liberation?
1

व ार धािन कमा ण जीव मुि रिप व वा।

व ति देहकैव यं िन वशेष य सवदा॥४॥
kva prārabdhāni karmāṇi jīvanmuktirapi kva vā,
kva tad-videha-kaivalyaṁ nirviśeṣasya sarvadā. (4)

व – where; ार धािन – commenced; कमा ण – actions; जीवन् मुि ः –

Liberation in life; अिप – even; व – where; वा – or; व – where;
तत् – that; िवदेहकैव यम् – Liberation at death; िन वशेष य –
undifferentiated; सवदा – ever

4. Where are prārabdha karmas? Where is Liberation in life,

and where is even Liberation at death for me, the ever
undifferentiated?

The actions always have their reactions. Good actions leave

good vāsanās in the personality, which in their turn create
good thoughts and, therefore, they will provide mental
peace and inner joy. Evil actions create evil vāsanās, which
would generate mental restlessness and the consequent
inner sorrows. Already in the Saṁhitā, to satisfy the
common man who sees the Man of Perfection functioning in
the society, it was explained by Aṣṭāvakra that the
Liberated in life functions in the world outside under the
impulsion of the prārabdha of his body.

In these activities of his body, he is not at all involved

and to drive home this idea, the functions of the perfect
man were compared with the apparent movements of the
dry leaf fallen from the tree and moving about in the
breeze! Now Janaka, the Liberated, from his state of
Selfhood, is denying even any prārabdha for himself. The
‘doer’ of the activities is the ego and reactions must come
to the ego. The murderer alone can be punished for his
murder. The police may apprehend a murderer but the law
officer cannot serve the warrant of arrest on the criminal, if,
on the previous night, he had died!

No doubt, we cannot escape karma; actions will have

their reactions. But actions are undertaken by the ego; the
reactions are experienced by the same ego. One in whom
the ego has been transcended, the law of action and
reaction must cease for him. The criminal has deceased; the
warrant of arrest is returned! The file is closed! Janaka is
confident that he has no prārabdha. He is now the universal,
the undifferentiated; the one who is ‘free from all
particularisation’ (nirviśeṣa).

As the pure infinite Self, immutable and all-pervading, as

the very substratum for the delusory universe of names and
forms, Janaka cannot understand either the state of the
Liberated in life, nor the state of the Liberated at death. He
recognises no Liberation. He is the Self, the ever perfect,
never contaminated.

व कता व च वा भो ा िन यं फुरणं व वा।

वापरो ं फलं वा व िनः वभाव य मे सदा॥५॥
kva kartā kva ca vā bhoktā niṣkriyaṁ sphuraṇaṁ kva vā,
kvāparokṣaṁ phalaṁ vā kva niḥsvabhāvasya me sadā. (5)

व – where; कता – doer; व – where; च – and; वा – or; भो ा –

enjoyer; िन यम् – cessation of activities (thinking); फुरणम् –
rising up of thoughts; व – where; वा – or; व – where; अपरो म्
– direct knowledge; फलम् – reflected knowledge; वा – or; व –
where; िनः वभाव य – devoid of natural attributes (impersonal);
मे – for me; सदा – ever

5. Where is the ‘doer’ or the ‘enjoyer’? Where is the

cessation of thoughts or the rising of thoughts? Where is
direct knowledge or reflected knowledge for me, who am
ever devoid of natural attributes?

‘The natural attributes’ of a human being is that he is

prompted always by his ego and egocentric desires. He has
an irresistible fascination for the sense gratifications. He
always lives a life of duality constantly tossed between his
likes and dislikes. The Liberated in life is one who has freed
himself from his ego and egocentric desires. Therefore, in
his behaviour, in the world outside, we can define him only
as one who is ‘devoid of his natural attributes’ (niḥ
svabhāva – svabhāva rahita).2

When the ego is no more functioning in the bosom, there

cannot be, in that individual, the sense of doership or
‘enjoyership’. Within the mind-intellect the ego exists and
functions. Where there is no ego, the equipments are also
transcended. Mind is the thought flow and, therefore, to one
who has transcended the mind and is living in the Self,
where is the cessation of thought or the rising of thought?

In every school of philosophy, it will have an elaborate

theory of how man comes to gain knowledge. Of them all,
the theory of Vedānta relating to perception and knowledge
is most rational. Mind, through sense organs, flows out to
the place where the object is and there the mind gets itself
moulded into the shape of the object. The ripple of
disturbance so created in the mind, gets illuminated in the
light of Consciousness and then the individual considers that
he has seen and understood the object.

The knowledge of the object reaches our bosom as a

disturbance (vṛtti) which glows in the light of Consciousness
(Caitanya). Hence the knowledge of objects is called as ‘the
final result’ (phala).3 The very first impact of the sense
stimuli upon our mind is to create a disturbance therein
(vṛtti). This then shines in the light of Consciousness, ‘The
final result’ (phala) is the ‘reflected knowledge’.

As a contrast to this reflected knowledge, which changes

from object to object, there is the ‘direct knowledge’
(aparokṣa jñāna) which is the experience of the objectless
Consciousness. One who has realised the Self and lives in
the Self, as the Self, since in its non-dual infinitude, there
are no objects other than Itself; the Man of Realisation will
not have any ‘reflected knowledge’. Those who are
struggling in the confusions of the ‘reflected knowledge’
must strive hard to gain ‘direct knowledge’ in their personal
experience of the objectless pure Consciousness. The
Liberated in life has become the Consciousness Infinite, the
Self and, therefore, where is ‘direct knowledge’ for him?

In short, the Self-realised Master is no more human; he is

not a native of this relative world of ours; he is, in himself,
the universal Self, the Brahman. There is no other way of
defining him.

ो ो ी
 व लोकः व मुमु ुवा व योगी ानवान् व वा।
व ब ः व च वा मु ः व व पेऽहम ये॥६॥
kva lokaḥ kva mumukṣurvā kva yogī jñānavān kva vā,
kva baddhaḥ kva ca vā muktaḥ sva-svarūpe'ham-advaye.
(6)

व – where; लोकः – world; व – where; मुमु ुः – aspirant for

Liberation; वा – or; व – where; योगी – man of contemplation;
ानवान् – Man of Realisation; व – where; वा – or; व – where;
ब ः – the bound man; व – where; च – and; वा – or; मु ः – the
man Liberated; अहम ये व व पे – for me who am non-dual in
nature

6. Where is the world and where is the seeker after

Liberation? Where is the man of contemplation and where is
the Man of Realisation? Where is the bound man and where
is the Liberated man for me, who am non-dual by nature?

In the unitive experience of the universal Self, wherein the

subject-object perceptions have all merged, the world, the
seeker, man in meditation, Man of Realisation, the bound
man and the Liberated man and so on, all have no
significance and all efforts and aspirations are totally
nullified in the grand experience of the universal Self, the
one without a second. The awakened one realises, ‘I am
non-dual by nature’ and in this non-duality no other concept
of seeker, seeking and sought can ever exist.

व सृि ः व च संहारः व सा यं व च साधनम्।

व साधकः व स वा व व पेऽहम ये॥७॥
kva sṛṣṭiḥ kva ca saṁhāraḥ kva sādhyaṁ kva ca sādhanam,
kva sādhakaḥ kva siddhirvā sva-svarupe'ham-advaye. (7)

व – where; सृि ः – creation; व – where; च – and; संहारः –

destruction (withdrawing); व – where; सा यम् – end; व –
where; च – and; साधनम् – means; व – where; साधकः – the
seeker; व – where; स ः – accomplishments; वा – or; अहम् अ ये
व व पे – for me who am non-dual by nature

7. Where is creation and where is destruction? Where is the

end and where is the means? Where is the seeker and
where is the accomplishment for me, abiding in my own
non-dual nature?

Creation and destruction are concepts of the mind which

projects in its imagination the world of objects and
withdraws those projections when the perceived world is
absorbed. This is what is happening during the sleep of
every individual. Macrocosmically conceived, Lord Creator
creates a universe and Lord of destruction withdraws or
absorbs the world into total dissolution called pralaya. The
ego, under the throes of its desires, gets agitated and the
agitated mind projects the world of experiences. When the
mind is withdrawn from its activities – may it be in sleep or
samādhi – the contentious world of conflicts and sorrows
gets dissolved.

One, who has already realised the Self, which is one

without a second, has transcended his mind and, therefore,
to him ‘Where is creation and where is withdrawal?’ In this
state it becomes amply clear that there are no ‘means’ of
Realisation (sādhanā) and there is no ‘end’ for one who has
already realised. The Man of Perfection is no more a seeker
(sādhaka) nor has he any accomplishment (siddhi); He has
become the very Self which is the substratum for all
accomplishments.
 These two verses (6 & 7) together negate all pluralistic
concepts, which are natural for the human mind – creation-
dissolution, means-end, seeking-accomplishment, bound
man and Liberated man – all these are denied in the one
non-dual Self. This reminds us how Gauḍapāda has taken up
this idea and elaborated it in his Kārikā while discussing ‘the
unreality of the objective world’. Says Gauḍapāda: ‘There is
neither dissolution, nor birth; neither anyone in bondage nor
any aspirant for wisdom; neither can there be any seeker for
Liberation, nor any Liberated as such. This alone is the
supreme Truth.’4

व माता माणं वा व मेयं व च मा।

व िक त् व न िक ा सवदा िवमल य मे॥८॥
kva pramātā pramāṇaṁ vā kva prameyaṁ kva ca pramā,
kva kiñcit kva na kiñcidvā sarvadā vimalasya me. (8)

व – where; माता – knower; माणम् – the means to knowledge;

वा – or; व – where; मेयम् – the object of knowledge; व –
where; च – and; मा – objective knowledge; व – where; िक त्
– something; व – where; न िक त् – nothing; वा – or; सवदा –
ever; िवमल य – pure; मे – for me

8. Where is the ‘knower’ and where is the ‘means to

knowledge‘? Where is the ‘object of knowledge’ and where
is the objective knowledge? Where is ‘anything’ and where
is ‘nothing’ for me, who am ‘ever pure’?

The Self is declared as ‘ever pure’, because it is not

contaminated by the illusory ‘misapprehensions’ of the
equipments of experiences or by their delusory world of
experiences. As the Self is realised on transcending the
mind, the diseases and tragedies of the mind cannot be
there in the Self. Thus the ‘misapprehensions of the Reality’
caused by the play of thoughts in the intellect and the
agitations of the mind created by the ‘rajas’, are both not in
the Self and, therefore, it is considered as ‘ever pure’
(guṇātīta). As there is neither ‘rajas’ nor ‘tamas’, there is no
ignorance of Reality and naturally, the pure Consciousness
is ever unconditioned by the equipments of experiences
(upādhi-rahita).

We have already pointed out the ‘theory of perception’ in

Vedānta.5 The technical terms used here are borrowed from
our scriptural texts. The knower ego (pramātā), its means of
knowledge (pramāṇam), the objects of knowledge
(prameyam) and the final result, objective knowledge
(pramā) – all these are negated in the objectless
Consciousness, ever non-dual and immutable.

व िव ेपः व चैका ्यं व िनब धः व मूढता।

व हषः व िवषादो वा सवदा िन य य मे॥९॥
kva vikṣepaḥ kva caikāgryaṁ kva nirbodhaḥ kva mūḍhatā,
kva harṣaḥ kva viṣādo vā sarvadā niṣkriyasya me. (9)

व – where; िव ेपः – distraction; व – where; च – and; एका ्यम् –

concentration; व – where; िनब धः – sure knowledge; व –
where; मूढता – delusion; व – where; हषः – joy; व – where;
िवषादः – sorrow; वा – or; सवदा – ever; िन य य – actionless; मे –
for me

9. Where is distraction and where is concentration? Where is

sure knowledge and where is delusion? Where is joy and
where is sorrow for me, who am ever the actionless?
Where the mind is tossed about and is constantly gushing
out into the world of sense objects, seeking a fulfilment of
its impetuous desires of sense gratifications, there certainly,
spiritual practice of mental withdrawal is necessary. To call
back the mind from its association and indulgence with the
world of objects is accomplished by deliberate and wilful
concentration of all its thoughts at the altar of an inspiring
Lord. Since there is no distraction in his state of
transcendence, to one who has realised the Self and since
he is living ever established in the Self, where is for him the
need for concentration?

When the intellect is veiled by ‘tamas’, the mind in its

restlessness imagines a world of plurality and, thereafter,
the illusory ego comes to yearn for the fancied possibilities
of pleasure, joy and satisfaction in the sense world. To live
thus as a limited, crushed entity, a slave to one’s own
desires and thoughts, persecuted constantly by the world of
happenings around is the self-created tragedy of one who is
rotting in his own delusion. A Man of Realisation is one who
has awakened from the fancies of his mind, conjured up by
the delusions of his intellect. Therefore, he has no more
delusions. Since he has no false knowledge, nor wrong
values, he needs no true knowledge, firm and certain (nir-
bodha). Here the word employed by Aṣṭāvakra is an
example of poetic licence.6

When the mind and the intellect are transcended, the

sense of ego gets automatically annihilated and, therefore,
the vanity of ‘enjoyership’ cannot be in the Man of
Perfection. ‘Where is joy or sorrow?’ In the experience of the
transcendental Reality of the Self, which is one without a
second, all-pervading and immutable, there cannot be any
action and as the Self Janaka here exclaims, ‘I am the
actionless and infinite Self!’

ै ो
 व चैष यवहारो वा व च सा परमाथता।
व सुखं व च वा दःु खं िन वमश य मे सदा॥१०॥
kva caiṣa vyavahāro vā kva ca sā paramārthatā,
kva sukhaṁ kva ca vā duḥkhaṁ nirvimarśasya me sadā.
(10)

व – where; च – and; एषः – this; यवहारः – activities in the state

of relativity; वा – or; व – where; च – and; सा – that; परमाथता –
the state of the Absolute; व – where; सुखम् – happiness; व –
where; च – and; वा – or; दःु खम् – misery; िन वमश य – devoid of all
discursive thoughts; मे – for me; सदा – ever

10. Where is activity in the state of relativity and where is

the state of the Absolute? Where is happiness and where is
misery for me, who am ever beyond any discursive thought?

The Self, the Brahman is beyond all cogent intellectual

assessments. All analytical discursive reasonings are
possible only within the fields of the world of plurality,
conceived as objects of experiences of the mind and
intellect. Transcending the mind and intellect, none of these
activities of emotion and feeling, of analysis and reasoning
can reach the true state of the Self.

Established in the Self, the Liberated in life, has divorced

himself from all the equipments and, therefore, the Man of
Realisation in Janaka exclaims that He has neither any
activity in the relative world of plurality nor has he any
sense any longer, in claiming his identification with the
absolute Self! The concept of the ‘Absolute’ is but the other
pole of the ‘relative’.

Beyond ‘happiness and misery’, unaffected by any of

delusory storms of the mind, created by its illusions of the
world of objects, shines the effulgent Self, which is the very
essence and substance of the Man of Realisation.

व माया व च संसारः व ी त वर तः व वा।

व जीवः व च त - सवदा िवमल य मे॥११॥
kva māyā kva ca saṁsāraḥ kva prītirviratiḥ kva vā,
kva jīvaḥ kva ca tad-brahma sarvadā vimalasya me. (11)

व – where; माया – illusion; व – where; च – and; संसारः – the

world of change; व – where; ी तः – attachments; िवर तः –
detachment; व – where; वा – or; व – where; जीवः – jīva; व –
where; च – and; तत् – that; – Brahman; सवदा – ever; िवमल य
– pure (dirtless); मे – for me

11. Where is illusion and where is the world of change?

Where is attachment and where is detachment? Where is
jīva and what is Brahman for me, who am ever pure?

In ‘Vivekacūḍāmaṇi’ Śaṅkarācārya elaborately proves and

asserts, there is no māyā nor ‘ignorance’ other than our own
mind; the mind is nothing but a grosser and, therefore, a
more perceptible expression of avidyā: ‘Apart from the mind
there is no ignorance (avidyā). The mind itself is the
‘ignorance’ which is the cause for the bondage of rebirth.
When the mind is destroyed, everything else is destroyed.
When mind manifests, everything else manifests’7.

The macrocosmic expression of ‘ignorance’ (avidyā) is

the concept of māyā, which maintains the illusion of the
entire universe. On transcending the mind, the vision and
the experience change and then viewed from the Self where
is illusion, where is the world of change?
 Identified with the mind-intellect equipment, the light of
Consciousness assumes an apparent attitude of limitation
and this limited personality sense is ‘ego’ (jīva). The
reflected sun in the bucket disappears when the water is
thrown out and the pool of light, that was dancing in the
bucket, merges back with the universal sunlight. Similarly,
when the waters of thoughts are dried up, the mind is ended
and the light of Consciousness that was ‘reflected’ in it
(cidābhāsa), the ‘ego’, disappears into the light of the
universal Self.

This fact of spiritual life is fully endorsed by

‘Yogavāsiṣṭha’ when it claims: ‘When all thought
disturbances have ended, the purified mind enters the state
of one’s own pure Nature Divine and there, like a drop that
has entered the ocean, with all its desires gone, becomes
one with the Self’8.

To one who has thus realised the pure Self, thereafter,

from his standpoint where is jīva? And since there is no
illusory egocentric personality, to him what is the concept of
Brahman? In short, the verse here confirms the unequivocal
assertion in the Muṇḍakopaniṣad: ‘The knower of the Self
becomes the Self. He who knows that supreme Brahman
becomes Brahman.’9

व वृ नवृ वा व मुि ः व च ब धनम्।

कूट थिन वभाग य व थ य मम सवदा॥१२॥
kva pravṛttirnivṛttirvā kva muktiḥ kva ca bandhanam,
kūṭasthanirvibhāgasya svasthasya mama sarvadā. (12)

व – where; वृ ः – activity; िनवृ ः – inactivity; वा – or; व –

where; मुि ः – Liberation; व – where; च – and; ब धनम् –
bondage; कूट थिन वभाग य – immutable and indivisible; व थ य –
established in the Self; मम – for me; सवदा – ever

12. Where is activity? Where is inactivity? Where is

Liberation? and where is bondage for me, who am
immutable and indivisible, and ever established in the Self?

The seat of the essential Consciousness in an individual set

of equipments is indicated in the metaphorical term
‘kūṭasthaḥ’ by the ṛṣis of Upaniṣad and the term indicates
‘That which remains (stha) as an anvil (kuṭam)’. Very often
the ṛṣis use such pictorial terms to communicate to the
students the nature and the function of the Self. An anvil
remains unchanged, although in contact with it, other
pieces of metal are hammered into different shapes. The
body, mind and intellect get hammered by the world of
happenings around and total personality of the individual
gets constantly shaped and reshaped. In this process, the
steady Consciousness in the depth of our bosom remains
like an anvil ‘without itself changing, but at the same time
presiding over all changes’.

In short, the term ‘kūṭasthaḥ’ means that which remains

immutable in the midst of all mutations. The Man of
Realisation is one who has discovered and identified
completely with this immutable (kūṭasthaḥ) and indivisible
(nirvibhāga) Self. As the illuminating principle behind all
activities of the body, mind and intellect, It, in itself, is not
involved in any activity nor can we declare It as inactive.
Activity and inactivity are the two states of the mind and
body. The Consciousness is neither active, nor inactive. It
being merely the Knowing Principle that illumines these two
conditions into our awareness.

The concepts of bondage and Liberation are different

experiences of the ego, depending upon how far it is
involved and, therefore, conditioned by the illusory vehicles
and the delusory world of plurality. The Self is merely the
witness of both these conditions of the ego and, therefore,
Janaka readily declares, ‘Where is Liberation or bondage for
me, who am ever immutable and indivisible?’

Established in the Self, the royal sage has no identity

other than the Self. He has no impulsion to act as there is no
ego or desire in him. In the absence of the egocentric
individuality in him he has no duties from which he must,
with exertion and suffering, learn to withdraw!

वोपदेशः व वा शा ं व श यः व च वा गु ः।
व चा त पु षाथ वा िन पाधेः शव य मे॥१३॥
kvopadeśaḥ kva vā śāstraṁ kva śiṣyaḥ kva ca vā guruḥ,
kva cāsti puruṣārtho vā nirupādheḥ śivasya me. (13)

व – where; उपदेशः – instruction; व – where; वा – or; शा म् –

scripture; व – where; श यः – disciple; व – where; च – and; वा
– or; गु ः – preceptor; व – where; च – and; अ त – is; पु षाथः –
goal of life; वा – or; िन पाधेः – free from limitations; शव य –
absolute good; मे – for me

13. Where are instructions or where are scriptural

injunctions? Where is the disciple and where is the
preceptor? Where, indeed, is the 'goal of life' for me, who is
the absolute Good (Śiva), free from all limitations ?

The term ‘Śiva’ means the ‘supremely Blissful’ – the

‘Tranquil’ – the ‘Good’ – the ‘most Auspicious’. Lord Śiva is,
considered in the Paurāṇika literature as one of the trinities
who is the Lord of destruction. A spiritual seeker’s sole
purpose is to destroy the ego and the ‘non-apprehension of
the Reality’ (avidyā) which is the cause for it. Where this
destruction is complete, the very Lord of destruction, Śiva,
alone remains. Hence, Lord Śiva is represented, often, as
the Lord of meditation. Though the term Śiva is not found in
the early Vaidika texts, later on it has been incorporated and
accepted as a term to indicate the pure infinite Self, which is
the substratum for the entire universe.

Here identifying with the Self within, Janaka declares in

his Self-realisation: ‘I am the absolute good – the supremely
blissful – the ever auspicious – Śiva, free from all
limitations’.

To such an individual who has rediscovered his perfect

identity with the effulgent Self, which is pure Knowledge, of
what use are ‘Teacher’s instructions or scriptures’
injunctions’? In the one immutable Self where are the
distinctions of the Teacher and the taught? Very often we
have noticed all along the Saṁhitā how, describing and
singing the joys of the Absolute, Sage Aṣṭāvakra assumes
an apparently blasphemic, shattering, iconoclastic mood
and temper, in his uncompromising experience of the non-
dual Reality. That is the sole reason why this textbook has
been carefully kept even in India, as a secret. In the hands
of the unprepared society it can blast the very basis of
theology and religion, the very dharma, that holds the
community together and provides easy stages therein for
the individuals to grow in their evolution. The child in the
womb must patiently remain there for a full ten months,
until it has grown sufficiently to live under the atmospheric
pressure and profitably meet the challenges and
experiences of the wider world from the lap of its mother!

ै
 व चा त व च वा ना त वा त चैकं व च यम्।
बहुनाऽ िकमु े न िक ो ते मम॥१४॥
kva cāsti kva ca vā nāsti kvāsti caikaṁ kva ca dvayam,
bahunā'tra kimuktena kiñcinnottiṣṭhate mama. (14)

व – where; च – and; अ त – is; व – where; च – and; वा – or; न

अ त – non-existing; व – where; अ त – is; च – and; एकम् – the
one, unity; व – where; च – and; यम् – duality; बहुना – much;
अ – here; िकम् – what need; उ े न – by saying; िक त् –
anything; न – not; उ ते – emanates; मम – from me

14. Where is existence or where is ‘non-existence’? Where is

the one (unity) and where is duality? What need is there to
say more? Nothing indeed emanates from me.

In this concluding verse of the Saṁhitā, Aṣṭāvakra10 talks to

the world from the Self, as the Self. There is neither
existence nor non-existence. These two are the
interpretations of the intellect. The Self is the Consciousness
that illumines our experiences. This Consciousness can
neither be called as ‘dual’ or ‘non-dual’ as these concepts
are true only in the relative world. These two are again
judgements of the intellect.

Having thus indicated, through a double process of denial

and assertion, the state of Selfhood all through the fourteen
verses of this chapter, Janaka feels exhausted and declares:
‘What need is there to say anything more?’ He is concluding
all his frail and ineffectual explanations, so far given in
reporting to his Teacher his inner experience of the supreme
state. In a crescendo of despair, in an apparent hysterical
screaming, Janaka roars with a spontaneity of an ṛṣi of
Upaniṣad: ‘Nothing indeed emanates from me’.
 This statement is, no doubt repeatedly endorsed by
many many solid passsages in the entire literature relating
to Upaniṣads but nowhere is this brutal truth so vividly
expressed and so courageously declared, ever before, as we
read it in the Aṣṭāvakra Saṁhitā. Hence the special
historical value for this little known, but very important,
Hindu mystic textbook.

As a mystic philosopher, Aṣṭāvakra is to be recognised, if

not as the father, certainly as the archangel and the
guardian spirit of the supreme advaitika theory of ‘Non-
origination’ (ajāta-vāda). Later on it was left for Śrī
Gauḍapāda to elaborate this theory in his Kārikā to
Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad.

Yogavāsiṣṭha also has elaborated upon this absolute

standpoint from wherein nothing has ever emerged in all
the three periods of time. The world of names and forms is
an illusion created by the restless mind. Says Yogavāsiṣṭha:
‘Though dwelling in the body, since Self has no body, you
are the bodiless pure Seer. Even though wind moves in
space, because of its perfect detachment, it is without
space?’11

This ultimate Truth is the transcendental Reality and,

certainly, it should be ever beyond all empirical speculations
such as existence and non-existence or as non-duality and
duality. It is not to be reached through the intellect by its
reasoning, but it is a state to be arrived at only through
man's intuitive insight. To cultivate this intuitive insight, all
other sādhanās are necessary. Hence in Kaivalyopaniṣad it is
said: ‘Through Faith, devotion and meditation you come to
know It yourself’12.

Om Śāntiḥ ! Śāntiḥ! Śāntiḥ!

1 na jāto'haṁ mṛto va'pi na me karma śubhāśubhaṁ,
viśuddhaṁ nirguṇaṁ brahma bandho muktiḥ kathaṁ mama.
– Avadhūta-gītā-1.59

2 In the Jīvanmukti-gītā, Sage Dattātreya also, in same context, uses a very

expressive phrase (svabhāva guṇa varjitam).

3 viṣayākāra-vṛttyavacchinna-caitanyam ………. phalam.

4 na nirodho na cotpattirna baddho na ca sādhakaḥ,

na mumukṣurna vai mukta ityeṣā paramārthatā. – Māṇḍūkya-upaniṣad-2.32

5 Ibid – 20.5

6 ‘Nirbodha’ grammatically by its construction should mean ‘dullness of

understanding’. It is a poetic licence of a great philosopher, exploding in inspired
eloquence, that we should understand the word to mean ‘niścaya-bodha – nir-
bodha’, The meaning, ‘sure knowledge’ alone can here keep the polarisation
with ‘delusion’.

7 na hyastyavidyā manaso'tiriktā mano hyavidyā bhavabandhahetuḥ,

tasminvinaṣṭe sakalaṁ vinaṣṭaṁ vijṛmbhite'sminsakalaṁ vijṛmbhate.
– Vivekacūḍāmaṇi-169
8 vyapagatakalanākalaṅkaśuddhaḥ svayamamalātmani pāvane pade'sau,
salilakaṇa ivāmbudhau mahātmā vigalitavāsana ekatāṁ jagāma.
– Yogavāsiṣṭha
9 sa yo ha vai tat paramaṁ brahma veda bramaiva bhavati ………….
– Muṇḍakopaniṣad-3.2.9

10 Though this verse is in the mouth of Janaka, let us not forget that the
Saṁhitā declares Aṣṭāvakra’s philosophy and mysticism.

11 dehasaṁstho'pyadehatvādadeho'si videhadṛk,
vyomasaṁstho'pyasaktatvādavyomeva hi mārutaḥ. – Yogavāsiṣṭha-5.40.4

12 ..................
śraddhā-bhakti-dhyāna-yogādavaihi. – Kaivalyopaniṣad-2
 Alphabetical Index to Slokas
Ch. Śl.
अकतृ वमभो ृ वं 18 51
अिक नः कामचारो 18 87
अिक नभवं वा यं 13 1
अकुव िप सं ोभात् 18 58
अ यं गतस तापम् 18 74
अ च यं च यमानोऽिप 12 7
अत ादीव कु ते 18 26
अिन यं सवमेवेदं 9 3
अ त वक पशू य य 14 4
अ त य कषाय य 3 14
अ य नात् य ना ा 18 34
अयं सोऽहमयं नाहिम त 18 9
अयं सोऽहमयं नाहं 15 15
अज य वाऽ खलानथान् 18 2
अथानथ न मे थ या 13 5
अलं ि वगकथया 19 8
अलमथन कामेन 10 7
अिवना शनमा मानमेकं 3 1
असमाधेरिव ेपा 18 28
असंसार य तु वािप 18 22
अहो अहं नमो म मेकोऽहं 2 12
अहो अहं नमो म ं द ो 2 13
अहो अहं नमो म ं य य 2 14
 Ch. Śl.
अहो अहं नमो म ं िवनाशो 2 11
अहो च मा मेवाह 7 5
अहो जनसमूहेऽिप 2 21
अहो िनर नः शा तो 2 1
अहो भुवनक ोलैः 2 23
अहो िवक पतं िव म् 2 9
अहं कत यहंमान 1 8
अहं वा सवभूतेषु 6 4
अहं स शुि स ाशो 6 3
आकाशवदन तोऽहं 6 1
आच व णु वा तात 16 1
आ मिव ा ततृ ेन 18 93
आ मा ाना ग ा त 2 7
आ मा ानादहो ी त वषय 3 2
आ मानम यं क ाना त 4 6
आ मा े त िन य 18 8
आ मा सा ी िवभुः पूण 1 12
आ मैवेदं जग सव 4 4
आपदः स पदः काले 11 3
आ त बपय तम् 11 7
आ त बपय ते भूत ामे 4 5
आयासात् सकलो दःु खी 16 3
आ माना मं यानं 12 5
आ थतः परमा ैतं 3 6
इदं कृतिमदं ने त 16 5
इहामु िवर य 3 8
 Ch. Śl.
ई रः सविनमाता 11 2
उ छृ ला यकृ तका 18 52
उदे त भवतो िव ं 5 2
उ त
ू ं ानद ु म म 3 7
एक एव भवा भोधौ 15 18
एक म यये शा ते 15 13
एका ता िनरोधो वा 18 33
एको ाऽ स सव य 1 7
एको िवशु बोधोऽहिम त 1 9
एकं सवगतं योम 1 20
एवमेव कृतं येन 12 8
कथं ानमवा नो त 1 1
कत यतैव संसारो 18 57
कत यदःु खमात ड 18 3
कमनै क यिनब धभावा 13 4
कमानु ानम ानात् 12 6
क यािप तात ध य य 9 2
कायकृ यासहः पूव 12 1
कु ािप खेदः काय य 13 2
कु ािप न जहासाऽ त 18 23
कूट थं बोधम ैतमा मानं 1 13
कोऽसौ कालो वयः क वा 9 4
कृतं िकमिप नैव यािद त 13 3
कृतं देहेन कमदं 18 25
कृतं न क त ज मािन 10 8
कृताकृते च ािन 9 1
 Ch. Śl.
कृताथ ऽनेन ानेने येवं 17 8
कृ यं िकमिप नैवा त 18 13
कृ वा मू तप र ानं 9 6
व कता व च वा भो ा 20 5
व चा मा व च वाऽना मा 19 4
व चा त व च वा ना त 20 14
व चैष यवहारो वा 20 10
व तमः व काशो वा 18 78
व दरू ं व समीपं वा 19 6
व धनािन व िम ा ण 14 2
व धमः व च वा कामः 19 2
व धमः व च वा कामः 18 12
व धैय व िववेिक वं 18 79
व िनरोधो िवमूढ य 18 41
व माता माणं वा 20 8
व वृ नवृ वा 20 12
व ार धािन कमा ण 20 4
व भूतं व भिव य ा 19 3
व भूतािन व देहो वा 20 1
व माया व च संसारः 20 11
व मोहः व च वा िव ं 18 14
व मृ यज
ु िवतं वा व 19 7
व लोकः व मुमु ुवा 20 6
व िव ेपः व चैका ्यं 20 9
व िव ा व च वाऽिव ा 20 3
व शा ं वा मिव ानं 20 2
 Ch. Śl.
व संसारः व चाभासः 18 66
व सृि ः व च संहारः 20 7
व व नः व सुषुि वा 19 5
व वा छ ं व स ोचः 18 92
वा मनो दशनं त य 18 40
वोपदेशः व वा शा ं 20 13
गुणःै संवेि तो देहः 15 9
च तया जायते दःु खं 11 5
चे मानं शरीरं वं 3 10
जान िप न जाना त 18 90
ः स च तोऽिप िन तः 18 95
ानं ेयं तथा ाता 2 15
ाना लतकमा यो 18 77
त य पु यपापा यां 4 3
तदा ब धो यदा च ं िक त् 8 1
तदा ब धो यदा च ं स ं 8 3
तदा मुि यदा च ं 8 2
त तुमा ो भवेदेव 2 5
त वं यथाथमाक य 18 32
त विव ानस दंशम् 19 1
तवैवा ानतो िव ं 15 16
तात च मा पोऽ स 15 12
तुि ः सव धीर य 18 85
तृ णामा ा मको ब धः 10 4
तेन ानफलं ा ं 17 1
यजैव यानं सव 15 20
 Ch. Śl.
वमेक ेतनः शु ो 10 5
वया या िमदं िव ं 1 16
व यन तमहा भोधौ 15 11
ो येना मिव ेपो 18 17
देह त तु क पा तं 15 10
देहा भमानपाशेन 1 14
ैतमूलमहो दःु खं 2 16
धमाधम सुखं दःु खं 1 6
धमाथकाममो ेषु 17 6
धीर तु भो यमानोऽिप 3 9
धीरो न ेि संसारम् 18 83
धीरो लोकिवपय तो 18 18
न कदा च ग य मन् 17 2
न जाग त न िन ा त 17 10
न जातु िवषयाः केऽिप 17 3
न ते स ोऽ त केनािप 5 1
न वं देहो न ते देहो 15 4
न वं िव ािदको वण 1 5
न दरू ं न च स ोचात् 18 5
न धाव त जनाक ण 18 100
न िन द त न च तौ त 17 13
न पृ वी न जलं नाि न 1 3
न ीयते व मानो 18 99
न मुि का रकां ध े 18 47
न मु ो िवषय े ा 17 17
न मे ब धोऽ त मो ो 2 18
 Ch. Śl.
न िव ेपो न चैका ्यं 18 10
न शा तं तौ त िन कामो 18 82
न शा त लभते मूढो 18 39
न सुखी न च वा दःु खी 18 96
न वग नैव नरको 18 80
न हसा नैव का यं 17 16
ना मा भावेषु नो भावः 7 4
नाना मतं महष णां 9 5
नानािवचारसु ा तो 18 27
नाना यिमदं िव ं 11 8
ना नो त कमणा मो ं 18 36
नाहं देहो न मे देहो जीवो 2 22
नाहं देहो न मे देहो बोधः 11 6
िनरपे ो िन वकारो 1 17
िनराधारा ह य ाः 18 38
िनरोधादीिन कमा ण 18 75
िन यातुं चेि तुं वािप 18 31
िनममो िनरह ारो 17 19
िनममः शोभते धीरः 18 88
िनवृ रिप मूढ य 18 61
िनवासनं ह र ा 18 46
िनवासनो िनराल बः 18 21
िनःस ो िन योऽ स 1 15
िनः नेहः पु दारादौ 18 84
िनः पृहं मानसं य य 3 12
नैव ाथयते लाभं 18 81
 Ch. Śl.
नोि ं न च संतु म् 18 30
पततूदेतु वा देहो 18 86
प र हेषु वैरा यं 18 62
प य भूतिवकारां वं 9 7
प यन् वन् पृशन् 17 12
काशो मे िनजं पं 2 8
कृ या शू य च य 18 24
कृ या शू य च ो यः 14 1
य म यव तु वा 5 3
वृ ौ जायते रागो 16 8
वृ ौ वा िनवृ ौ वा 18 20
ी यभावेन श दादेः 12 2
बहुना िकमु े न 18 68
बु पय तसंसारे 18 73
बुभु ु रह संसारे 17 5
बोधमा ोऽहम़ ानात् 2 17
भवोऽयं भावनामा ो 18 4
भावनाभावनास ा 18 63
भाव य भावकः क 18 42
भावाभाविवकार 11 1
भावाभाविवहीनो य तृ ो 18 19
भ ुवा भूप तवािप 18 91
भृ यैः पु ैः कल ै 18 55
भोगं कमसमा ध वा 16 2
मभूतिमदं सव 18 70
ा तमा िमदं िव ं 15 17
 Ch. Śl.
म ो िविनगतं िव ं 2 10
मनः काशसंमोह 17 20
महदािद जग ैतं 18 69
महोद ध रवाहं स 6 2
म दः ु वािप त तु 18 76
म यन तमहा भोधावा य 2 25
म यन तमहा भोधौ च वाते 2 24
म यन तमहा भोधौ िव पोत 7 1
म यन तमहा भोधौ जग ी चः 7 2
म यन तमहा भोधौ िव ं 7 3
मा स पिवक पा यां 15 19
मायामा िमदं िव ं 3 11
मु ा भमानी मु ो िह 1 11
मुि िम छ स चे ात 1 2
मु ो यथा थ त व थः 18 98
मूढो ना नो त त 18 37
मुमु ोबु राल बम् 18 44
मो ो िवषयवैर यं 15 2
य य भवे ृ णा 10 3
य िव िमदं भा त 1 10
य पदं े सवो दीनाः 4 2
यथातथोपदेशेन 15 1
यथा न तोयतो भ ाः 2 4
यथा काशया येको 2 2
यथैवादशम य थे 1 19
यथैवे ुरसे ृ ा 2 6
 Ch. Śl.
यदा नाहं तदा मो ो 8 4
यदा य कतुमाया त 18 49
यिद देहं पृथ ृ य 1 4
य वं प य स त ैकः 15 14
य तु भोगेषु भु े षु 17 4
य य बोधोदये तावत् 18 1
य या तः यादह ारो 18 29
य या भमानो मो ेऽिप 16 10
येन ं परं 18 16
येन िव िमदं ं 18 15
राग ेषौ मनोधम 15 5
रा यं सुताः कल ा ण 10 6
व तु वणमा ेण 18 48
वा म ा महो ोगं 15 3
वा छा न िव िवलये 17 7
वासना एव संसार 9 8
िव ेपेऽिप न िव ः 18 97
िव ाते सा पु षे 14 3
िवर ो िवषय े ा 16 6
िवलस त महाभोगैः 18 53
िव ं फुर त य ेदं 3 3
िव ं फुर त य ेदं 15 7
िवषया ीिपनो वी य 18 45
िवहाय वै रणं काममथ 10 1
यापारे ख ते य तु 16 4
यामोहमा िवरतौ 18 6
 Ch. Śl.
शरीरं वगनरकौ 2 20
शु ं बु ं ि यं पूण 18 35
शु म यमा मानं 18 43
शु फुरण प य 18 71
शू या ि वृथा चे ा 17 9
व तात व 15 8
ु वाऽिप शु चैत यम् 3 4
ोि यं देवतां तीथम् 18 54
स एव ध य आ म ः 18 65
स जय यथसं यासी 18 67
स तु ोऽिप न स तु ः 18 56
समदःु खसुखः पूण 5 4
सम तं क पनामा म् 18 7
समाधानासमाधान- 17 18
समा यासािदिव ौ 12 3
सव यते व थः 17 11
सव ानवधान य न 18 89
सवभूतेषु चा मानं 3 5
सवभूतेषु चा मानं 15 6
सवार भेषु िन कामो 18 64
सशरीरमहो िव ं प र य य 2 3
सशरीरिमदं िव ं न िक त् 2 19
सानुरागां यं ा 17 14
सुखदःु खे ज ममृ यू 11 4
सुखमा ते सुखं शेते 18 59
सुखािद पािनयमं 13 7
 Ch. Śl.
सुखे दःु खे नरे नाया 17 15
सु ोऽिप न सुषु ौ च 18 94
फुरतोऽन त पेण 18 72
वपतो ना त मे हािनः 13 6
व ने जालवत् प य 10 2
साकारमनृतं िव 1 18
वभावादेव जानानो 3 13
वभावा य नैवा तः 18 60
वात यात् सुखमा नो त 18 50
वारा ये भै यवृ ौ च 18 11
ह ता म य धीर य 4 1
हरो य ुपदे ा ते 16 11
हातुिम छ त संसारं 16 9
हेयोपादेयता तावत् 16 7
हेयोपादेयिवरहादेवं 12 4

Note : Where first line is identical in more than one śloka, to enable readers to
distinguish and locate the right śloka, first word of the second line is given within
brackets.