End Of Knowledge

Tag: Self-Inquiry

  • A Conversation with Ashtavakra Pt. 24

    Read Part 23 / Ask a Question / Support End of Knowledge
    CHAPTER 16
    Ashtavakra said:
    16:1 – My child, you may speak about various scriptures or listen to them being taught.  But you cannot be established in the self unless you forget all.

    Scripture is an invaluable aid to self-inquiry because it tells you about the self.  But hearing about the self and knowing that you are the self are two different things.  So if you want to “be established in the self” (have self-knowledge) you must “forget all,” meaning at some point you have to stop taking what the scripture says at face value and investigate its claim for yourself until you see that they’re true. 

    16:2 – O wise one, you may enjoy, or work, or practice mental concentration. But your mind will still yearn for your own nature which is beyond all objects and in which all desires are extinguished.

    When you have self-knowledge, your body-mind can continue doing what it’s always done.  But knowing full well that that none of the body-mind’s pursuits lead to lasting satisfaction, the mind will still “yearn for your own nature” meaning it will want to dwell in the knowledge that as the self, it’s always okay no matter what happens.     

    16:3 – All are unhappy because they exert themselves [in an effort to get what they want]. But no one knows this. The blessed one attains emancipation through this instruction alone.

    Exerting effort to get what you want is a hassle.  And it ultimately doesn’t grant any lasting satisfaction because once you get what you want, you usually start wanting something else. Despite what the verse says, knowing this won’t get you enlightened.  But it can help you develop dispassion towards seeking fulfillment in the world, which is a key prerequisite for undertaking the inquiry that will lead to enlightenment.  Because if you’re no longer excessively preoccupied with seeking answers in the world around you, you can properly devote your attention to seeking answers within through the investigation of your true nature.       

    16:4 – Happiness belongs to that master idler to whom even the closing and opening of the eyelids is an affliction, and to none else.

    Personally, I don’t find opening and closing my eyes to be a problem, let alone an affliction.  Does that mean I’m not happy?  Hardly.  So this verse is simply using hyperbole to point out that no action—big or small—leads to lasting satisfaction.  When you see this to be true, you may become averse to doing so-called normal things that you previously didn’t think twice about.  Or not.  Because if you know that you’re the self, regardless of what the body-mind does or doesn’t do, you can continue doing what you’d normally do—without even batting an eye.     

    16:5 – When the mind is free from such pairs of opposites as “this is to be done” and “this is not to be done,” it becomes indifferent to religious merit, worldly prosperity, sensual enjoyment, and liberation.

    You become indifferent to action (“this is to be done”) or inaction (“this is not to be done”) when you understand that as the self you’re 1) Not the doer, the ego and 2) Not affected by the actions of the body-mind.  So while the body-mind may continue to pursue religious merit etc., you know they have absolutely nothing to do with the real you, the self.  That way, when the pursuits of the body-mind don’t pan out, you can rest easy in the knowledge that as the self, you’re still completely fine.         

    16:6 – One who abhors the sense-objects becomes non-attached, and one who covets them becomes attached to them. But he who does not accept or reject, is neither unattached nor attached.

    You can become non-attached to sense objects by avoiding or developing a distaste for them.  And you can become attached to sense objects by pursuing or desiring them.  But to what “you” does this attachment or non-attachment belong?  The body-mind.  So when you realize that “you” actually refers to the self which is unaffected by the body-mind, you see that you neither accept nor reject, that you’re naturally neither attached nor unattached.      

    16:7 – As long as desire continues, which is the root of the state of indiscrimination, there will verily be the sense of attachment and aversion, which is the branch and shoot of the tree of samsara.

    While it’s true that desire can be a painful thing that keeps you caught up in the web of everyday life (samsara), the root state of indiscrimination is simply not knowing you’re the self.  Realize that you’re the self and desires will still naturally arise in the mind.  While you may no longer feel obligated to pursue those desires, their presence doesn’t mean you don’t know who you are.     

    16:8 – Activity begets attachment, and abstention from action begets aversion. The man of wisdom is free from the pairs of opposites, like a child, and indeed he lives on like a child.

    Pursuing something (activity) increases your chances of becoming attached to that thing, for instance a relationship.  And avoiding something (abstention), say meat-eating, causes aversion to it.  Both of these mental states can cause agitation in the mind and leave you feeling distressed, which is certainly undesirable.  But if doing something can make you feel bad as well as not doing something, what’s the solution?  It’s to understand that as the self you’re neither attached nor averse, that you’re naturally free from the pairs of opposites.  

    Knowing that, how will you act? Hint, it’s a trick question.  Why?  Because if the conclusion of self-inquiry is that you’re not the body-mind, then what good does it do to describe how someone with this knowledge acts?  None.  If nothing else, it only encourages continued identification with the body-mind.  When your body-mind acts in a certain way you think, “I’m enlightened!” and when it acts another way you think, “I’m not enlightened!”

    But the point is to know that 1) You’re never the body-mind and 2) You’re the self regardless of what the body-mind does.  So take the descriptions of the so-called “man of wisdom” with a grain of salt.  The point is that when the mind is informed by self-knowledge it can become more peaceful.  But if the mind doesn’t get more peaceful, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t the self or that you don’t know you’re the self.     

    Perhaps, being a monk, Ashtavakra didn’t have much experience with children.  Because I’ve never met a single kid who wasn’t extremely aware of the pairs of opposites e.g. what they like vs. what they don’t like.  So if wisdom is crying when my favorite balloon pops or when I don’t get the kind of ice cream I want, I don’t want to be wise.      

    16:9 – One who is attached to the world wants to renounce it in order to avoid sorrow. But one without attachment is free from sorrow and does not feel miserable even in the world.

    The world is full of sorrow.  When you’re attached to the world—meaning when you believe that the world is a real entity affects you—you may attempt to deal with that sorrow by running from it.  Perhaps you’ll eschew ‘worldly’ things in favor of ‘spiritual’ things, retreating into a life of contemplation and spiritual practice at the expense of your normal pursuits and obligations. 

    While contemplation and spiritual practice are good things, they don’t solve the problem of sorrow because once you get up from the meditation seat, finish your yoga session or leave the temple, the world is still there waiting to give you trouble.  The real solution is to see, through self-inquiry, that the world is a harmless illusion and that as the self you’re always completely okay.  That way, you’re not obligated to feel miserable even when the world presents you with miserable circumstances.        

    16:10 – He who has an egoistic feeling even towards liberation and considers even the body as his own, is neither a knower of the self nor a yogi. He only suffers misery.

    If you think, “I’m liberated” then you’re not really liberated.  Why?  Because ‘liberation’ is knowing that you’re the self that was never bound in the first place.  Also, if you think, “I’m the body” you’re obviously not liberated because the body can never be free; it’s always subject to the woes of everyday life.   

    16:11 – Let even Hara, Hari and the lotus-born Brahma be your instructor, but unless you forget all, you cannot be established in the self.

    The meaning here is similar to that in Verse One.  You can be taught about the self.  But that information is useless, even if comes directly from Siva (Hara), Vishnu (Hari) or Brahma, until you see for yourself—through reason and analysis—that you are the self.   

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  • A Conversation with Ashtavakra Pt. 23

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    CHAPTER 15: Part Two
    Ashtavakra said:
    15:11 – In you, the infinite ocean, let the waves of the universe rise or fall according to their own nature. It means no gain or loss to you.

    The waves in the ocean continuously change but the water remains fundamentally unchanged.  In the same way, the circumstances of the body-mind and world are always changing, but as consciousness-existence you’re always the same.  So essentially, you can let the world be as it is.  This doesn’t mean you have to passively accept whatever comes to you, good or bad.  But when you understand you’re always okay as consciousness-existence, you can live your life not feeling obligated to ride the roller coaster of elation and depression that normally accompanies the changes in your personal circumstances.  Granted, this is no easy task; it takes diligence to remember who you really are amidst personal struggle.      

    15:12 – My child, you are pure consciousness.  This universe is nothing other than your self.  Therefore, how can you have the idea of acceptance or rejection?

    You can’t accept the self because you are the self.  And you can’t reject the universe because it too is you, the self.  The statements in this verse may seem confusing since they contradict the preliminary teachings of Vedanta that instruct you to reject the universe as ‘not-self’ and accept yourself as the self.  I’ll discuss this seeming contradiction further in Verse 15. 

    15:13 – How will there be birth, action or egoism for you who are the one, immutable, peaceful and all-pervasive consciousness?

    Birth—and the inevitable death that follows—along with action and egoism (the notion of being an individual, separate “I”) belong to the body-mind alone.  As non-dual, unchanging, imperturbable and omnipresent consciousness-existence, you’re free from them all.   

    15:14 – You alone shine in whatever you see, the same way that gold alone shines in gold jewelry. 

    Any time you see gold jewelry, regardless of the form it assumes, you’re seeing nothing but gold.  Similarly, whatever you see in the world, regardless of its form, is nothing but yourself. 

    15:15 – Completely give up such distinctions as “I am this” or “I am not this.” Having seen that all is the self, be desireless and happy.

    Initially, self-inquiry instructs you to completely reject all physical and mental phenomenon (the body-mind and world) as ‘not-self’ and accept yourself as consciousness-existence, the self.  But since this practice is based on the fundamental duality of ‘self’ and ‘not-self,’ in the later stages of the teaching it must be given up.  At that point it’s not a matter of “I am this (the self)” or “I am not this (the body-mind and world)” but “The body-mind and world are me but they’re merely appearances that don’t affect me.” 

    As I mentioned at Verse 12, it seems like Vedanta contradicts itself here.  And technically it does.  But Vedanta is a practical teaching that takes into account where the student begins the process of inquiry.  And for most, it’s at the stage where they naturally—albeit falsely—identify with the body-mind.  From there, to simply jump to the vision of non-duality is nearly impossible.  So an intermediate step is set up to gradually lead the student to that conclusion.  If you want to skip the first step, be my guest.  There’s no rule saying you can’t.  But for everyone else, I recommend starting at the beginning. 

    15:16 – It is through your ignorance alone that the universe exists. In reality you are one. There is no individual self or supreme self other than you.

    The universe exists—meaning it’s taken to be real—simply because it’s believed to be real, similar to the way a dream is believed to be real while it’s happening.  This is what’s referred to in this verse as “ignorance.” But just as a dream is seen to be unreal upon waking, the universe is seen to be unreal upon ‘waking’ to the knowledge that everything is yourself, consciousness-existence.  At that point it no longer ‘exists’ as an objective reality but is seen as the transient appearance it really is.

    At the beginning of the teaching, Vedanta divides the self into two parts, the individual self of the inquirer (atman) and the ‘supreme’ universal self (brahman).  Like the categories of ‘self’ and ‘not-self’ discussed in the previous verse, these distinctions are conditional and therefore temporary.  The reason for this is the same as above:  It’s easier to start your inquiry from the point with which you’re most familiar; in this case it’s the point of viewing yourself as an individual.  From there you can inquire into the nature of the ‘individual’ self, eventually seeing it’s none other than the ‘supreme’ universal self.      

    15:17 – One who knows for certain that the world is an insubstantial delusion becomes desireless.  Shining alone, come to peace as if nothing exists.

    I think it would be more accurate to say that the one who knows for certain the world is an insubstantial illusion may have less desire.  Because what living being has no desire, even if it’s just the desire to have no desire?  Besides, the conclusion of Vedanta is that you’re the self, unaffected by the presence or absence of desire in the mind.  Furthermore, if desire is part of the insubstantial delusion of the world then the presence of desire is insignificant seeing as it too is insubstantial. 

    All the same, the idea is that if you see the world is an insubstantial delusion, why would you desire anything in it?  Or alternately, if the world is nothing but yourself then what’s to desire seeing as you can only want something you don’t already have?  While this is true, it may or not help you be a happier person in your everyday life.  Why?  Because, for instance, even though you may already ‘have’ that new job insofar as it’s nothing but yourself, it doesn’t mean you’re going to feel more fulfilled in the bad job you currently have and feel stuck in.  Change is still needed.  So I would argue that it’s a matter of perspective.  Go about your business, trying to accomplish what you feel needs to be accomplished, all the while keeping in mind that you’re ultimately fine no matter what happens.           

    15:18 – In the ocean of the world, one alone was, is and ever will be.  There is no bondage or liberation for you.  There is nothing to be done or not done. Live happily. 

    You’re the self.  You’ve always been the self and you’ll never not be the self.  This means you were never bound and never will be bound.  And if you’re never bound then you can never be freed from the bondage that never existed in the first place.  The problem is that initially, you don’t know this.  So paradoxically, you have to seek liberation from your non-existent bondage though self-inquiry.  Only then can you truly see that the whole venture is an ironic farce.  At that point there’s nothing to be done or not done and you can relax. 

    15:19 – Do not disturb your mind with affirmations or negations.  Be calm and abide happily in your own self which is bliss itself.

    When you understand that you’re the self and that you alone exist, the practice of affirming yourself as the self or negating the body-mind and world as ‘not-self’ loses its value, at least as far as the question of, “Who am I?” is concerned.  But to “be calm and abide happily” in that knowledge (assuming that’s what you want) is no easy task.  Even though you know who you are, you may need to periodically remind yourself of what it means to be who you are.  In other words, you may need to affirm that you’re always alright even when things aren’t going your way and negate any belief to the contrary.  When thinking of yourself like that becomes more habitual, you can “disturb” your mind less and less with affirmations and negations and “be calm and abide happily in your own self.” 

    In this verse, Ashtavakra describes the self as being of the nature of bliss (ananda in Sanskrit).  Whether or not this description is literal is a hotly debated topic in the Vedanta world.  Considering that 1) Bliss is a transient feeling produced by the mind and 2) Vedanta clearly states the self is the permanent substratum of the mind, not a temporary product of it, I think it seems most reasonable to interpret the word bliss metaphorically.  In that case, to say the self is bliss itself means that the self is the essence of all bliss, seeing as anything sought for the sake of bliss is none other than the self. 

    Could this be viewed as a stretch, a bit of creative interpretation?  Absolutely.  But consider this:  when a feeling of bliss comes into existence, do you come into existence along with it?  No.  You already exist, otherwise a feeling of bliss couldn’t arises to you.  And when that feeling of bliss disappears, do you disappear?  No.  You continue to exist while another thought, feeling or emotion arises.  If you continuously exist before, during and after the feeling of bliss arises, how could you literally be the feeling of bliss which exists temporarily?

    15:20 – Completely give up meditation and hold nothing in your mind. You are verily the ever-free self.  What will you accomplish by thinking?

    Meditation, if you choose to do it, is a good practice for overall health, the same as exercise and healthy eating.  So just as you don’t have to give up jogging or good nutrition in light of self-knowledge you don’t have to give up meditation. 

    What really needs to be given up is the belief, held by some proponents of self-knowledge, that by meditating you can somehow become the self or merge with the self.  Why?  Because you can’t become what you already are or merge with what you already are by focusing the mind and directing its thinking (or by any other means for that matter).  So use meditation as a tool for self-inquiry until you know who you are.  After that, if you want to keep doing it simply for the sake of mental health, go for it.  But do so knowing that you’re the self whether the mind is meditating or not.   

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  • A Conversation with Ashtavakra Pt. 22

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    CHAPTER 15: Part 1
    Ashtavakra said:
    15:1 – One of pure intellect realizes the self even by instruction casually imparted.  One of impure intellect is bewildered in trying to realize the self even after enquiring throughout life.

    A pure intellect—meaning a clear, focused mind—is an essential component in self-inquiry. For some, this comes naturally.  For others a bit of work is required.  In that case, Vedanta recommends meditation and various spiritual practices.  But while meditation etc. are extremely helpful tools for improving the mind’s ability to inquire, they aren’t necessarily mandatory (as some teachers and texts make them out to be). I personally know several self-realized people who didn’t meditate or have a formal spiritual practice while they did self-inquiry (I am not one of them). 

    They key is not to assume you’re such a person right off the bat.  Be open to the idea that your mind may need work and save yourself the grief of inquiring—sometimes for years—to no avail (I know several people like this as well).  Inquire, and if it comes to you easily then it’s a sign that your mind is properly prepared.  If it doesn’t, then work is needed.  The practices for preparing the mind for inquiry don’t fall under the scope of an advanced text like the Ashtavakra Samhita, so I won’t go into them here.      

    15:2 – Non-attachment for sense-objects is liberation; love for sense-objects is bondage. This is knowledge.  Now do as you please.

    Being attached to sense-objects can certainly be unpleasant.  But it isn’t true bondage.  True bondage is to believe that you’re the body-mind.  Therefore liberation is to divest yourself of that notion.  Because anyone can rid themselves of desire for certain sense-objects and increase their peace of mind.  But being unattached to sense-objects doesn’t mean you know you’re really consciousness-existence, the self. That’s true liberation because it shows you that regardless of whether the mind is attached or non-attached to sense objects, you’re always the ever-free self, beyond both attachment and non-attachment. 

    15:3 – Knowledge of truth makes an eloquent, wise and hardworking person mute, inert and idle.  Therefore it is shunned by those who want to enjoy the world.

    Or it doesn’t you make mute, inert and idle.  Why?  Because since self-knowledge shows you that you’re not the body-mind then whether the body-mind is eloquent, wise and hardworking or mute, inert and idle is immaterial.  The action or inaction of the body-mind says absolutely nothing about you.  This is good because self-knowledge is about freedom, not about accepting another set of rules and regulations—from either family, society or scriptures—about how the body-mind should or should not be.  So if you know who you are and you want to do something, then do it.  Or don’t do it.  Just remember that as the self you’re not involved one way or the other.  Identifying with the actions of the body-mind is the problem self-knowledge aims to fix, not specifically what the body-mind does or does not do.  

    However, taken in a less literal sense this verse means that self-knowledge makes the normal aims of life seem less important or altogether unimportant. Because if you realize that you already are what you’re seeking, you don’t have to feel so compelled to accomplish things in life for the sake of feeling fulfilled.  As the self, you’re always full.    

    15:4 – You are not the body, nor is the body yours; you are not the doer nor the enjoyer. You are consciousness, the ever-free witness.  Go about your life happily.
    15:5 – Like and dislike belong to the mind.  But the mind does not belong to you.  You are consciousness, changeless and free of thought.  Go about your life happily.

    I have a dog.  While it’s clear that me and the dog are two different entities, I still feel like the she ‘belongs’ to me.  And because of that I sometimes take credit for her good behavior and feel responsible for her bad behavior.  But really, the actions of the dog—good or bad—have absolutely nothing to do with me. 

    In the same way, while Vedanta makes it clear that you’re not the body-mind you may still be tempted to identify with it thinking it somehow belongs to you.  But Ashtavakra is quick to point out that it doesn’t.  You aren’t the self that owns a body-mind.  You’re the self that appears as a body-mind.  But that appearance doesn’t affect you in the same way that the appearance of waves doesn’t affect water.  So you can relax.  Or not, as long as you remember that the state of the body-mind doesn’t have anything to do with you either way.   

    15:6 – Realizing the self in all and that all is in the self, free from egoism and free from the sense of ‘mine,’ be happy.

    Understanding that everything is you helps you to shift from a very particular, personal perspective of yourself—the perspective of the “I” e.g. the ego—to a universal, impersonal perspective.  At first this can be daunting because of the habitual conditioning to value one’s personal sense of self.  But what does identifying with this personal self, the ego, have to offer?  Nothing, other than the feeling that you’re disconnected from everything around you and that you’re completely defined by the ideas of “I am this” and “I am not that.”  If you can see the value in that, then seeking self-knowledge is for you.        

    15:7 – You are indeed that in which the universe manifests itself like waves on the ocean. You are consciousness; be free from the fever of the mind.

    Like waves in the ocean, the world arises and resolves in you.  And just as the fundamental nature of water is unchanged by the appearance of waves, your fundamental nature as consciousness-existence is unaffected by the appearance of the world. 

    15:8 – Have faith child, have faith. Never confuse yourself in this. You are knowledge itself, you are the lord.  You are the self and you are beyond the material world.

    No faith is actually required in Vedanta because it gives you the tools to investigate its claims for yourself, allowing you to validate them with reason and personal experience. You can see firsthand that you’re knowledge itself—consciousness-existence.  As consciousness-existence you’re the ‘lord’ insofar as the appearance of the world depends on you to exist and not the other way around.  But because you have no location in time or space—and furthermore because there’s nothing other than you that exists—you can’t literally be ‘beyond’ the appearance of the world as if it were something separate from you existing in a different place.  So in this context, ‘beyond’ means that you’re always unaffected by the appearance of the world.         

    15:9 – The body, composed of matter, comes, stays for a while and goes. The self neither comes nor goes. Why, then, do you mourn it?
    15:10 – Let the body last to the end of the universe or let it go even today. Where is there any increase or decrease in you who are pure consciousness?

    The body is a temporary collection of matter. This is plain to see whether or not you know you’re the self.  But when you do know that you’re the self that never comes and goes, you can take the transient nature of the body in stride knowing that its presence, absence or current state neither adds nor takes anything away from you. 

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  • A Conversation with Ashtavakra Pt. 19

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    CHAPTER 12
    Janaka said:
    12:1 – First I became averse to physical action, then to extensive speech, then to thought.  In this way I abide in my own nature.

    Self-inquiry is a contemplative journey, one that requires you to progressively withdraw your attention from external things in order to look inward and investigate your true nature.  This withdrawal is the natural consequence of seeing that physical action, speech and thought, being transient in nature, can’t bring about a permanent solution to existential angst.  Once you come to this understanding, it’s not as if you completely stop acting, speaking or thinking.  That’s impossible, unless the body-mind is dead.  Rather, you’re able to prioritize your actions, words and thoughts, focusing on the ones that work towards your goal of self-knowledge to the exclusion of those that don’t.  In this way you ‘abide’ in your own nature.

    12:2 – Having no attachment for sound and other sense objects, and by virtue of the fact that I am not an object of perception, my mind is freed from distraction and is one pointed. In this way I abide in my own nature.

    Seeing the impermanence of sense objects allows you to reduce your attachment to them.  After all, what’s the point of attachment to sense objects if none of them last?  When this is known, distraction caused by sense objects decreases, freeing up attention to inquire into what is permanent:  consciousness-existence, your true self. But this isn’t an inquiry into yet another object because your self is never an object.  Instead, it’s the essence of all objects without being an object itself, the way water is the essence of all waves without itself being a wave.

    12:3 – An effort has to be made for concentration when there is distraction of mind owing to superimposition (self-ignorance).  Seeing this to be the rule, I abide in my true nature.

    During self-inquiry the mind has to be continually brought back to the contemplation of consciousness-existence when it gets distracted by sense objects and thoughts contrary to the inquiry itself.  But when self-inquiry bears fruit you clearly understand that you’re consciousness-existence regardless of whether your mind is distracted, concentrated or otherwise.  You see that you’re always ‘abiding’ in your true nature—consciousness-existence—because you always are consciousness-existence.

    12:4 – Having nothing to accept and nothing to reject, and having neither joy nor sorrow, I abide in my true nature.

    You’re consciousness-existence and consciousness-existence is non-dual.  This means there’s only you, so there’s nothing outside of yourself that’s available for acceptance or rejection.  This doesn’t mean you’ll stop preferring one flavor of ice cream over another or that you’ll just sit back and let an unhealthy situation in your personal life slide.  It just means that you gain perspective on life through the knowledge that everything, good or bad, is in reality just yourself.  So when that irritating co-worker comes up to your desk yet again to talk to tell you their asinine views on politics it’s not as if you won’t tell them that you’re not interested.  But you can do it with the empathy, informed by the understanding that both of your body-mind’s are but appearances of the exact same self, consciousness-existence.

    12:5 – A stage of life or no stage of life, meditation, control of mental functions—finding that these cause distractions to me, I abide in my true nature.

    Observing your duty, renouncing your duty, meditating and controlling your mind—when properly applied—can be invaluable practices on the path to self-knowledge.  But once self-inquiry negates the idea that you’re the doer of said practices, they become distractions to simply ‘abiding’ in the knowledge that you’re consciousness-existence regardless of the actions of the body-mind.  But caution must be exercised here.  To dismiss spiritual practice as a distraction before gaining self-knowledge is a mistake that will likely hinder self-knowledge because a mind undisciplined by spiritual practice is usually unable to muster up the concentration necessary for sustained inquiry.

    12:6 – Refraining from action is as much the outcome of ignorance as the performance action. Knowing this truth fully well, I abide in my true nature.

    Thinking both, “I will do this” or “I will not do this” stems from the same erroneous belief:  that you’re the doer of action, the body-mind.  When you know that you’re consciousness-existence, you realize that you’re not involved with the body-mind, regardless of what it does or doesn’t do.

    12:7 – Thinking of the unthinkable (consciousness-existence) is not possible without thought itself.  Therefore giving up that thought, I abide in my true nature.

    Conceptualizing the self as this or that is a necessity in the process of self-inquiry because you can’t inquire into something that you can’t think about.  But in the end inquiry shows you 1) That you, the self, aren’t and object and 2) That you’re not the thinker, the mind.  At that point you can stop trying to think of yourself as one thing or the other and you can simply rest easy in the knowledge that you are the self.

    12:8 – Blessed is the one who has accomplished this. Blessed is he who is such by nature.

    Om. Amen. Word.

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  • A Conversation with Ashtavakra Pt. 18

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    CHAPTER 11
    Ashtavakra said:
    11:1 – One who knows for certain that existence, non-existence and change are the nature of everything in the universe easily comes to peace, unaffected by affliction.

    Anything that changes or that can be classified in dualistic terms such as existence* and non-existence is unreal. So when you see that the entire universe is unreal like a dream, you can rest easy in the knowledge that it can’t harm you. When I say “you,” do I mean the body-mind? No. The body-mind can always be harmed. It can always be affected by affliction. But “you,” meaning consciousness-existence, cannot.

    *“Existence” here means that something is perceptible. It’s not to be confused with the “existence” in consciousness-existence which refers to the imperceptible essence of everything i.e. your true nature.

    11:2 – One who knows for certain that nothing exists but Isvara, the creator of all, has their inner desires swallowed up in peace. To what can they be attached?

    The literal translation of Isvara is “lord” and in this sense it denotes the creator and ruler of the universe. But in the classic Vedanta expounded by Shankara—Vedanta’s most prominent teacher—Isvara is taken in a broader sense to mean consciousness-existence. So the verse is saying that when you know everything in the universe is consciousness-existence—your own self—the desires of your mind are swallowed up.

    Does this literally mean that if you know you’re consciousness-existence that you’ll never want to eat a sandwich, find a new relationship or get a new job? No. It just means that when needed, you can put your desires in check from these two perspectives: 1) If everything is your own self, you already have everything you want. 2) If everything in the universe is only an appearance of your own self, there is nothing to want, at least nothing of real substance.

    At the initial stages of Vedanta it is fine to think of consciousness-existence as a creator god, especially for the purpose of purifying devotional practices. But ultimately, consciousness-existence is no creator or god. Why? Because it’s non-dual. If there’s only consciousness-existence, there can’t be a second thing over and above it, such as a creation*. And if there’s no creation, then consciousness-existence can’t be a creator i.e. god.

    *Vedanta doesn’t deny the appearance of a creation, which is a plain fact of our everyday experience. But it says that the appearance of a creation is in reality just consciousness-existence, similar to the way that the appearance of a wave is really just water.

    11:3 – One who knows for certain that fortune and misfortune come in their own time abides in their own self with senses under control, neither desiring nor grieving.

    You can never be certain what the day will bring, good or bad. And while it’s a positive and healthy practice to believe that everything happens for a reason, when things go wrong it’s helpful to abide in your own self, meaning you fall back on the knowledge that as the changeless self you are always okay. Does falling back on that knowledge necessarily fix the situation? No. Constructive action is still required. But you can work toward solutions for your relative problems from the stable platform of self-knowledge rather than being overcome with the desire and grief caused by the false belief that you’re the body-mind.

    11:4 – One who knows for certain that happiness, misery, birth and death are due to fate alone does not see anything to be accomplished. They are free from action and attachment, even while acting.

    Things change. Shit happens. The universe operates according to laws that you have no control over. When you come to this conclusion, it can be taken in the negative sense that fate controls your destiny. But this only applies if you’re the body-mind, the doer of action and the recipient of the results of action. When you know that you’re the self you can relax in the knowledge that you’re not subject to the cycle of action (karma), even if it feels like you are. From that standpoint, there’s nothing to be accomplished in the sense that as the self you’re never actually doing anything, despite the continued appearance that the body-mind is acting. This is how you’re free from action and attachment, even while acting.

    11:5 – One who knows for certain that suffering is caused by thought alone becomes free from it. They are happy, peaceful and everywhere rid of desires.

    The thought, “I am the body-mind” causes identification with the source of suffering, the body-mind. But you can rid yourself of that thought by seeing you’re really consciousness-existence. When this happens, does the body-mind cease suffering? No. But by correctly identifying with consciousness-existence, you know that the suffering doesn’t apply to you.

    11:6 – One who knows for certain, “I am not the body, nor is the body mine. I am consciousness” attains kaivalya and does not remember what they have done or not.

    By dis-identifying with the body-mind and subsequently identifying with consciousness-existence, you attain kaivalya. While this term has various meanings in other schools of Indian philosophy such as yoga, in the context of Vedanta it refers to liberation, the clear understanding that you’re non-dual, changeless consciousness-existence rather than the body-mind. In other words, it’s the realization that you’re always okay, no matter what happens to the body-mind. When you no longer view yourself as the body-mind, you don’t remember what you’ve done or not done. This doesn’t mean you literally forget. You simply see that all action or lack of action never has and never will have anything to do with your true self, consciousness-existence.

    11:7 – One who knows for certain, “I alone am everything, from Brahma (the creator) down to a clump of grass (the lowliest creation)” turns away from what is attained or unattained and becomes pure, peaceful and free from thought.

    To know, “I alone am everything” is to know that you’re the non-dual self. And when you understand that there’s only yourself, then despite appearances to the contrary, you know that nothing is ever attained or unattained because you’re free from action and change. It’s hyperbole to say that this knowledge makes you (meaning the body-mind) completely pure, peaceful and free from thought. In truth, the body-mind will always have impurity. The mind will periodically be subject to anxiety. And being its very nature, the mind will always have thought. Only as the self are you totally pure, peaceful and free of thought. Regardless, knowing “I alone am everything” is a powerful tool for increasing purity and peace of mind and reducing thoughts, at least thoughts of anxiety.

    11:8 – One who knows for certain that the curious appearance of the universe is but a non-existent manifestation becomes peaceful and free of desires as if nothing exists.

    “Non-existent” here means “unreal.” When you take the typical viewpoint that the universe is a real entity, it’s a genuine cause for distress and desire. But when it’s seen as being unreal, anxiety and desire can be reduced. Because what sense is there in worrying about something or desiring something that doesn’t truly exist? As Biggie Smalls famously says, “It was all a dream.”

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