Krishjan

Chapter 12 — Svabhava

Ashtavakra Gita

8 Shloka • Translation Only

King Janaka said: Formerly, I was unable to endure the burden of bodily actions. Then I became unable to endure excessive speech. Thereafter, I became unable to endure the activity of thought itself. Thus have I come to abide in my present state.

Owing to the absence of attraction toward sound and the other sense-objects, and because the Self is not an object that can be perceived, my mind is free from both distraction and deliberate concentration. Thus have I come to abide in my present state.

Practices such as Samādhi are prescribed for a mind that is distracted. Seeing this principle clearly, I have transcended such disciplines. Thus have I come to abide in my present state.

O Brāhmaṇa, because there is nothing to be rejected and nothing to be accepted, and because joy and sorrow no longer arise, thus have I come to abide in my present state.

Seeing that distinctions such as Āśrama and non-Āśrama, meditation, and the acceptance or rejection of mental states are all merely conceptual constructions, thus have I come to abide in my present state.

Just as the performance of actions arises from ignorance, so too does the cessation of actions. Having fully understood this truth, thus have I come to abide in my present state.

Even the Unthinkable becomes an object of thought when one tries to think about it, and thereby assumes the form of a mental concept. Therefore, abandoning even such contemplation, thus have I come to abide in my present state.

One who has attained this state through practice and understanding has fulfilled the purpose of life. Likewise, one for whom this state is natural and spontaneous has also fulfilled the purpose of life.