Ch 15

15: Knowledge of the Self

Ashtavakra said: 

A man of open intuition 

may realize the Self upon 

hearing a casual instruction, 

while a man of cluttered intellect 

inquires bewildered for a lifetime. 

Aversion to the worlds offerings is liberation. 

Attraction to the worlds offerings 

is the suffering of bondage. 

This is the truth. 

Now do as you please. 

This knowledge of Truth 

turns an eloquent, wise and active man 

mute, empty and inert. 

Lovers of the world therefore shun it. 

You are not the body. 

You do not have a body. 

You neither do nor enjoy. 

You are Awareness only the timeless Witness. 

You are free. 

Go in happiness. 

Attachment and aversion 

are attributes of the mind. 

You are not the mind. 

You are Consciousness itself-changeless, 

undivided, free. 

Go in happiness. 

Realize Self in All and All in Self. 

Be free of personal identity 

and the sense of mine. 

Be happy. 

You are That in which the universe appears 

like waves appearing in the ocean. 

You are Consciousness itself. 

No need to worry. 

Have faith, my son, have faith. 

You are Awareness alone, 

the Self, the One. 

You are the Lord of Nature. 

The body is made of worldly stuff. 

It comes, it lingers, it goes. 

The Self neither comes nor goes, 

yet remains. 

Why mourn the body? 

If the body lasts until the end of time 

or perishes today 

is there gain or loss for you? 

You who are Awareness? 

Let the waves of the universe 

rise and fall as they will. 

You have nothing to gain or lose. 

You are the ocean. 

You are the substance of Consciousness. 

The world is You. 

Who is it that thinks 

he can accept or reject it? 

And where does he stand? 

In you who are One

immaculate, still Awareness

from where can birth, action 

or a separate person arise? 

Whatever you perceive 

is You and You alone. 

How can bracelets, armlets and anklets 

be other than the gold they are made of? 

Leave behind such distinctions 

as I am He, the Self, 

and I am not this. 

Consider everything Self. 

Be desireless. 

Be happy. 

Your ignorance alone 

creates the universe. 

In reality One alone exists. 

There is no person or god 

other than You. 

One who knows for certain 

that the universe is illusion, 

a no-thing, 

becomes desireless, 

pure Awareness, 

and finds peace in the existence of nothing. 

In the ocean of existence 

only One is, was, and ever will be. 

You are neither bound nor free. 

Live content and be happy. 

Do not stir the mind 

with yes or no. 

You are pure Consciousness. 

Be still, 

and abide in the bliss of Self. 

Give up completely 

all contemplation. 

Hold nothing in the mind or heart. 

You are the Self, forever free. 

Of what use is thinking to you?