Ch 3

3: Test of Self-Realization

Ashtavakra said: 

 

Having realized yourself as One, 

being serene and indestructible, 

why do you desire wealth? 

Just as imagining silver in mother-of-pearl, 

causes greed to arise, 

so does ignorance of Self 

cause desire for illusion. 

Having realized yourself as That 

in which the waves of the world rise and fall, 

why do you run around in turmoil? 

Having realized yourself as pure Awareness, 

as beautiful beyond description, 

how can you remain a slave to lust? 

It is strange 

that in a sage who has realized 

Self in All and All in Self 

this sense of ownership should continue. 

Strange that one abiding in the Absolute, 

intent on freedom, 

should be vulnerable to lust 

and weakened by amorous pastimes. 

Strange that knowing lust 

as an enemy of knowledge, 

one so weak and nearing death 

should still crave sensual pleasure. 

Strange that one who is unattached 

to the things of this world and the next, 

who can discriminate between the transient and the timeless, 

who yearns for freedom, 

should yet fear the dissolution of the body. 

Whether acclaimed or tormented 

the serene sage abides in the Self. 

He is neither gratified nor angered. 

A great soul 

witnesses his bodys actions 

as if they were anothers. 

How can praise or blame disturb him? 

Realizing the universe is illusion, 

having lost all curiosity, 

how can one of steady mind fear death? 

With whom can we compare 

the great soul 

who, content knowing Self, 

remains desireless in disappointment? 

Why should a person of steady mind, 

who sees the nothingness of objects, 

prefer one thing to another? 

He who is unattached, 

untouched by opposites, 

free of desire, 

experiences neither pleasure nor pain 

as events pass through.