XI
Ashtavakra said:
1. Unmoved and undistressed, realising now that being, non-being and transformation are of the very nature of things, one easily finds peace.
2. At peace, having shed all desires within, and realising that nothing exists here but the Lord, the Creator of all things, one is no longer attached to anything.
3. Realising that misfortune and fortune come in their turn from fate, one is contented, one’s senses under control, and one does not like or dislike.
4. Realising that pleasure and pain, birth and death are from fate, and that one’s desires cannot be achieved, one remains inactive, and even when acting does not get attached.
5. Realising that suffering arises from nothing other than thinking, dropping all desires one rids oneself of it, and is happy and at peace everywhere.
6. Realising ‘I am not the body, nor is the body mine; I am awareness,’ one attains the supreme state and no longer fritters over things done or undone.
7. Realising, ‘It is just me, from Brahma down to the last blade of grass,’ one becomes free from uncertainty, pure, at peace and unconcerned about what has been attained or not.
8. Realising that all this varied and wonderful world is nothing, one becomes pure receptivity, free from inclinations, and as if nothing existed, one finds peace.
XII
Janaka said:
1. First of all I was averse to physical activity, then to lengthy speech, and finally to thinking itself, which is why I am now established.
2. In the absence of delight in sound and the other senses, and by the fact that I myself am not an object of the senses, my mind is focused and free from distraction which is why I am now established.
3. Owing to the distraction of such things as wrong identification, one is driven to strive for mental stillness. Recognising this pattern I am now established.
4. By relinquishing the sense of rejection and acceptance, and with pleasure and disappointment ceasing today, so Brahmin, I am now established.
5. Life in a community, then going beyond such a state, meditation and the elimination of mind-made objects – by means of these I have seen my error, and I am now established.
6. Just as the performance of actions is due to ignorance, so their abandonment is too. By fully recognising this truth, I am now established.
7. Trying to think the unthinkable is unnatural to thought. Abandoning such a practice therefore, I am now established.
8. He who has achieved this has achieved the goal of life. He who is of such a nature has done what has to be done.
XIII
Janaka said:
1. The inner freedom of having nothing is hard to achieve, even with just a loin-cloth, but I live as I please abandoning both renunciation and acquisition.
2. Sometimes one experiences distress because of one’s body, sometimes because of one’s tongue, and sometimes because of one’s mind. Abandoning all of these in the goal of being human I live as I please.
3. Recognising that in reality no action is ever committed, I live as I please, just attending what presents itself to be done.
4. Mystics who identify themselves with bodies are insistent on fulfilling and avoiding certain actions, but I live as I please abandoning attachment and rejection.
5. No benefit or loss comes to me by standing, walking or lying down, so consequently I live as I please whether standing, walking or sleeping.
6. I lose nothing by sleeping and gain nothing by effort, so consequently I live as I please, abandoning loss and success.
7. Frequently observing the drawbacks of such things as pleasant objects, I live as I please, abandoning the pleasant and unpleasant.
