ASTAVAKRA SAMHITA

Peace

Ashtavakra said —
1. Salutation to That which is bliss itself by nature, calmness, and effulgence,
with the dawning of the knowledge of which all delusion becomes like a dream.

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

3. How can one whose heart’s core has been scorched by the heat of the sun of
sorrow arising from duty enjoy happiness without the continuous shower of the
ambrosia of tranquillity?

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

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

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

7. Knowing all as mere imagination and the Self as free and eternal, does the
wise one act ignorantly like a child?

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

9. Such thoughts as “this indeed am I” and “this I am not” are annihilated for
the yogin who has become silent by knowing for certain all as the Self.

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

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

12. Where is dharma (performance of ritualistic or meritorious works), where is
artha (worldly prosperity), where is kama (sense-enjoyment), and where is
discrimination for the yogin who has transcended such dual notions as “this is to be
done” and “this is not to be done”?

13. The yogin who is liberated while living, has neither any duty nor any
attachment at heart. His actions pertain to the present life only, being merely the
effects of his past karma.

14. Where is delusion, where is the universe, where is renunciation, moreover
where is liberation for the great-souled one who rests beyond the world of desires?

15. He who sees the universe may try to deny it. What has the desireless to do?
He sees not, even though he sees.

16. He who has seen the Supreme Brahman meditates, “I am Brahman.” What
does he who has transcended all thought think, when he sees no second?

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

18. The man of Knowledge, though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to
him. He sees neither concentration nor distraction nor defilement of his own.

19. He who is beyond existence and non-existence, who is wise, satisfied, and free
from desire, does nothing even if he may be acting in the eyes of the world.

20. The wise one who lives on happily doing what comes to him to be done, does
not feel eagerness either in activity or in inactivity.

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

22. There is no joy or sorrow for one who has transcended worldly existence.
Ever with a serene mind, he lives like one without a body.

23. The wise man who delights in the Self and whose mind is calm and pure, has
no desire to renounce anything whatsoever, nor does he feel any loss anywhere.

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

25. One who acts in conformity with such thoughts as “this is done by the body
and not by me, the pure Self” –- such a one, even though acting, does not act.

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

27. The wise one who, weary of diverse reasonings, has attained repose, neither
thinks nor knows nor hears nor sees.

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

29. He who has egoism in him acts even though he does not act. Surely the wise
one who is free from egoism does not act even though he acts.

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

31. The mind of the liberated one does not exert itself to be either meditative or
active; but it becomes meditative and active without any motive.

32. A dull-witted person becomes bewildered on hearing the real truth, but some
sharp-witted man withdraws within himself like a dull person.

33. The ignorant constantly practice of concentration and control of the mind.
The wise, abiding in the real Self, like persons in deep sleep, do not find anything to
be done.

34. The ignorant person does not attain peace either by inaction or action. The
wise one becomes happy merely by knowing the Truth.

35. In this world those who devote themselves to diverse practices, do not know
the Self, which is pure, intelligent, beloved, perfect, beyond the universe and free
from any taint.

36. An ignorant person does not attain liberation through repeated practice of
control of the mind. The blessed one through mere knowledge becomes free and
unaffected by change.

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

38. Without any support and eager for the attainment of freedom, the ignorant
only keep up the world. The wise cut the very root of this world which is the source
of all misery.

39. The fool desires peace through control of the mind and so does not attain it.
The wise one knows the Truth and is ever of tranquil mind.

40. Where is Self-knowledge for him whose knowledge depends on the object?
The wise do not see this and that but see the immutable Self.

41. Where is control of mind for the deluded one who strives for it? It is indeed
always natural with the wise one who delights in Self.

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

43. Those of dull intellect think that the Atman is pure and One without a second,
but, they do not know It and are unhappy as long as they live.

44. The intellect of one who longs for liberation cannot function without
depending on the object; but the intellect of the liberated one is indeed ever
independent and free from desire.

45. Seeing those tigers of sense-objects, the frightened ones, seeking refuge, at
once enter a cave for the attainment of control and concentration.

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

47. He who is free from doubts and has his mind identified with the Self, does not
resort to practices of control as a means to liberation. Seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling, and eating, he lives happily.

48. Established in Pure Knowledge, and calm by the mere hearing of the Real, the
wise one does not see what is proper or improper action or even inaction.

49. The wise one does freely whatever comes to be done, whether good or evil;
for his actions are like those of a child.

50. Through freedom one attains to happiness, through freedom to the highest,
through freedom to tranquillity, and through freedom to the Supreme State.

51. All the modifications of the mind are destroyed when a man realizes that he
himself is neither the doer nor the enjoyer.

52. The conduct of the wise one, which is unrestricted by motive, shines, being
free from pretence; but not the affected calmness of the deluded person whose mind
is attached.

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

54. No desire whatsoever springs in the heart of the wise one on honouring a
person versed in sacred learning, a god, a holy place, or on seeing a woman, a king
or a beloved one.

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

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

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

58. One of dull intellect, even without doing anything, is ever agitated by
distraction; but the skilful one, even doing his duties, is verily unperturbed.

59. With perfect equanimity, even in practical life, the wise one sits happily,
sleeps happily, moves happily, speaks happily, and eats happily.

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

61. With the deluded, even inaction becomes action, and with the wise, even
action results in the fruit of inaction.

62. The deluded one often shows aversion for his possessions. Where is
attachment, where is aversion for him whose love for the body has vanished?

63. The consciousness of the deluded one is always attached to thinking and notthinking. But the consciousness of the wise one, though attended with thinking the
thinkable, is of the nature of unconsciousness.

64. The wise one who has no motive in all his actions, who moves like a child and
is pure, has no attachment even to the work that is being done by him.

65. Blessed indeed is that knower of Self, who has transcended the mind, and
who, even though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or eating, is the same under
all conditions.

66. Where is the world and where its appearance, where is the end, and where
the means for the wise one who is ever changeless like the firmament?

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

68. In short, the great-souled one who has realized the Truth is free from the
desire of enjoyment and liberation and is devoid of all attachment at all times and in
all places.

69. What remains to be done by one who is Pure Consciousness? He has
renounced phenomenal existence which begins with mahat and is manifested
through mere name?

70. The pure one knows for certain that this universe is the product of illusion
and that nothing exists. The Imperceptible Self is revealed to him, and he naturally
enjoys peace.

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

72. Where is the bondage or liberation, joy or sorrow for one who shines as the
Infinite and does not perceive relative existence?

73. Only the illusion of the world prevails. The reality of the world vanishes with
the knowledge of the Self. The wise one lives without the feeling of “I-ness”, and
“mine-ness”, and attachment.

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

75. No sooner does the man of dull intellect give up such practices as mindcontrol, than he becomes a prey to desires and fancies.

76. Even hearing the Truth, the man of dull intellect does not give up his
delusion. Though, through suppression, he appears devoid of mental activity, a
craving for sense-objects lurks within him.

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

78. For the wise one who is ever immutable and fearless, where is there darkness,
where light? Where, moreover, is there any loss? There is nothing whatsoever.

79. Where is patience, where is discrimination, and where, even, is fearlessness for
the yogin who is impersonal and of indescribable nature?

80. There is no heaven, and there is no hell; there is not even liberation-in-life. In
short, nothing exists in yogic consciousness.

81. The wise one neither longs for gain nor grieves at non-attachment. His cool
mind is verily filled with nectar.

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

83. This wise one neither abhors birth and death nor wishes to perceive the Self.
Free from joy and sorrow, he is neither dead nor alive.
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84. Glorious is the life of the wise one, free from expectation, free from
attachment for children, wife, and others, free from desire for the object of senses,
and free from the care of even his own body.

85. Contentment ever dwells in the heart of the wise one who lives on whatever
happens to come to him, and who wanders about at pleasure, resting wherever he is
when the sun sets.

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

87. Blessed is the wise one who stands alone, who is attached to nothing, who is
without any possession, who moves freely and at pleasure, who is free from the
pairs of opposites, and whose doubts have been rent asunder.

88. Glorious is the wise one who is devoid of the feelings of “mine”, to whom
earth, a stone and gold are all the same, the knots of whose heart have been rent
asunder, and who has been purged of rajas and tamas.

89. Who is there to stand comparison with the liberated soul who has no desire
whatsoever at heart, who is contented and indifferent to everything?

90. Who but the desireless one knows not though knowing, sees not though
seeing, and speaks not though speaking?

91. Be he a mendicant or a king, he excels who is unattached and whose view of
things has been freed from the sense of good and evil.

92. Where is wantonness, where is restraint, and where is determination of Truth
for the yogin whose life’s object has been fulfilled and who is the embodiment of
guileless sincerity?

93. How and to whom can be described what is experienced within by one who is
desireless, whose sorrow is destroyed, and who is contented with repose in the Self?

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

95. The man of Knowledge is devoid of thought, even when he is engaged in
thought; he is devoid of the sense-organs, even though he has them; he is devoid of
intelligence, even though endowed with it; and he is devoid of the sense of ego, even
though possessed of it.

96. The man of Knowledge is neither happy nor miserable, neither attached nor
unattached, neither liberated nor an aspirant for liberation, he is neither this nor that.

97. The blessed one is not distracted even in distraction; he is not meditative even
in meditation; he is not dull even in a state of dullness; and he is not learned even
though possessed of learning.

98. The liberated one who abides in the Self under all conditions, who is free from
the idea of action and of duty, and who is the same everywhere, does not, owing to
desirelessness, reflect upon what he has or has not done.

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

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