Containing 20 sacred Sanskrit shlokas with multi-author commentaries and translations.
जनक उवाच
कथं ज्ञानमवाप्नोति,
कथं मुक्तिर्भविष्यति ।
वैराग्य च कथं प्राप्तं एतद्
ब्रूहि मम प्रभो ॥
"Janaka said: How is one to acquire knowledge? How is one to attain liberation? And how is one to reach dispassion? Tell me this, sir."
अष्टावक्र उवाच
मुक्तिं इच्छसि चेत्तात,
विषयान विषवत्त्यज ।
क्षमार्जवदयातोष, सत्यं
पीयूषवद् भज ॥
"Ashtavakra said: If you are seeking liberation, my son, avoid the objects of the senses like poison and cultivate tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment, and truthfulness as the antidote."
न पृथ्वी न जलं नाग्निर्न
वायुर्द्यौर्न वा भवान् ।
एषां साक्षिणमात्मानं
चिद्रूपं विद्धि मुक्तये ॥
"You do not consist of any of the elements — earth, water, fire, air, or even ether. To be liberated, know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the witness of these."
यदि देहं पृथक् कृत्य
चिति विश्राम्य तिष्ठसि ।
अधुनैव सुखी शान्तो
बन्धमुक्तो भविष्यसि ॥
"If only you will remain resting in consciousness, seeing yourself as distinct from the body, then even now you will become happy, peaceful and free from bonds."
न त्वं विप्रादिको वर्ण:
नाश्रमी नाक्षगोचर: ।
असङगोऽसि निराकारो
विश्वसाक्षी सुखी भव ॥
"You do not belong to the brahmin or any other caste, you are not at any stage, nor are you anything that the eye can see. You are unattached and formless, the witness of everything — so be happy."
धर्माधर्मौ सुखं दुखं
मानसानि न ते विभो ।
न कर्तासि न भोक्तासि
मुक्त एवासि सर्वदा ॥
"Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain are purely of the mind and are no concern of yours. You are neither the doer nor the reaper of the consequences, so you are always free."
एको द्रष्टासि सर्वस्य
मुक्तप्रायोऽसि सर्वदा ।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धो
द्रष्टारं पश्यसीतरम् ॥
"You are the one witness of everything and are always completely free. The cause of your bondage is that you see the witness as something other than this."
अहं कर्तेत्यहंमान
महाकृष्णाहिदंशितः ।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं
पीत्वा सुखं भव ॥
"Since you have been bitten by the black snake, the opinion about yourself that “I am the doer,” drink the antidote of faith in the fact that “I am not the doer,” and be happy."
एको विशुद्धबोधोऽहं
इति निश्चयवह्निना ।
प्रज्वाल्याज्ञानगहनं
वीतशोकः सुखी भव ॥
"Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the understanding that “I am the one pure awareness,” and be happy and free from distress."
यत्र विश्वमिदं भाति
कल्पितं रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
आनंदपरमानन्दः स
बोधस्त्वं सुखं चर ॥
"That in which all this — imagined like the snake in a rope — appears: that joy, supreme joy, and awareness is what you are, so be happy."
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तो हि
बद्धो बद्धाभिमान्यपि ।
किवदन्तीह सत्येयं
या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत् ॥
"If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, “Thinking makes it so.”"
आत्मा साक्षी विभुः
पूर्ण एको मुक्तश्चिदक्रियः ।
असंगो निःस्पृहः शान्तो
भ्रमात्संसारवानिव ॥
"Your real nature is as the one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness — unattached to anything, desireless and at peace. It is from illusion that you seem to be involved in samsara."
कूटस्थं बोधमद्वैत-
मात्मानं परिभावय ।
आभासोऽहं भ्रमं मुक्त्वा
भावं बाह्यमथान्तरम् ॥
"Meditate on yourself as motionless awareness, free from any dualism, giving up the mistaken idea that you are just a derivative consciousness or anything external or internal."
देहाभिमानपाशेन चिरं
बद्धोऽसि पुत्रक ।
बोधोऽहं ज्ञानखंगेन
तन्निष्कृत्य सुखी भव ॥
"You have long been trapped in the snare of identification with the body. Sever it with the knife of knowledge that “I am awareness,” and be happy, my son."
निःसंगो निष्क्रियोऽसि
त्वं स्वप्रकाशो निरंजनः ।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धः
समाधिमनुतिष्ठति ॥
"You are really unbound and actionless, self-illuminating and spotless already. The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling the mind."
त्वया व्याप्तमिदं विश्वं
त्वयि प्रोतं यथार्थतः ।
शुद्धबुद्धस्वरुपस्त्वं मा
गमः क्षुद्रचित्तताम् ॥
"All of this is really filled by you and strung out in you, for what you consist of is pure awareness — so don’t be small-minded."
निरपेक्षो निर्विकारो
निर्भरः शीतलाशयः ।
अगाधबुद्धिरक्षुब्धो भव
चिन्मात्रवासन: ॥
"You are unconditioned and changeless, formless and immovable, unfathomable awareness, unperturbable: so hold to nothing but consciousness."
साकारमनृतं विद्धि
निराकारं तु निश्चलं ।
एतत्तत्त्वोपदेशेन
न पुनर्भवसंभव: ॥
"Recognise that the apparent is unreal, while the unmanifest is abiding. Through this initiation into truth you will escape falling into unreality again."
यथैवादर्शमध्यस्थे
रूपेऽन्तः परितस्तु सः ।
तथैवाऽस्मिन् शरीरेऽन्तः
परितः परमेश्वरः ॥
"Just as a mirror exists everywhere both within and apart from its reflected images, so the Supreme Lord exists everywhere within and apart from this body."
एकं सर्वगतं व्योम
बहिरन्तर्यथा घटे ।
नित्यं निरन्तरं ब्रह्म
सर्वभूतगणे तथा ॥
"Just as one and the same all-pervading space exists within and without a jar, so the eternal, everlasting God exists in the totality of things."