संत साहित्य · Aṣṭāvakra · Verse by verse
Chapter 9 — Indifference to Opposites
Verse by verse
अष्टावक्र उवाच॥
कृताकृते च द्वन्द्वानि कदा शान्तानि कस्य वा।
एवं ज्ञात्वेह निर्वेदाद् भव त्यागपरोऽव्रती॥९- १॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca||
kṛtākṛte ca dvandvāni kadā śāntāni kasya vā|
evam jñātveha nirvedād bhava tyāgaparo'vratī||9- 1||
Aṣṭāvakra said: When, or for whom, have the pairs of opposites regarding what is done and undone ever been stilled? Knowing this, through dispassion, become one devoted to renunciation, free of vows.
The old dualities of doing and not-doing, achieving and failing, have never actually settled for anyone at any point — recognizing that no amount of doing will finally resolve them, one becomes disillusioned (nirveda) enough to renounce the whole project, without needing formal vows.
Stop waiting for your to-do list to finally be "done" before you allow yourself peace — it never will be, and peace doesn't depend on it.
कस्यापि तात धन्यस्य लोकचेष्टावलोकनात्।
जीवितेच्छा बुभुक्षा च बुभुत्सोपशमः गताः॥९- २॥
kasyāpi tāta dhanyasya lokaceṣṭāvalokanāt|
jīvitecchā bubhukṣā ca bubhutsopaśamaḥ gatāḥ||9- 2||
For some fortunate one, dear one, by observing the ways of the world, the desire to live, the desire to enjoy, and the desire to know have all subsided.
A rare, fortunate person, simply by watching how the world's ambitions actually play out, loses the compulsive craving to keep living at all costs, to keep consuming experience, and even to keep acquiring more knowledge — all three appetites quiet down together.
Spend five minutes today just observing other people's frantic pursuit of more, without joining in, and notice what in you relaxes.
अनित्यं सर्वमेवेदं तापत्रयदूषितं।
असरं निन्दितं हेयमिति निश्चित्य शाम्यति॥९- ३॥
anityam sarvamevedam tāpatrayadūṣitam|
asaram ninditam heyamiti niścitya śāmyati||9- 3||
All this is impermanent, tainted by the three kinds of suffering, worthless, contemptible, to be abandoned — having ascertained this, one attains peace.
Everything in the world is impermanent and marked by the three kinds of suffering (tāpa-traya — from oneself, from other beings, from forces beyond control); recognizing this plainly, without despair, is itself what brings peace.
Before you invest more of yourself in something that promises lasting satisfaction, ask honestly how long its last high actually lasted.
कोऽसौ कालो वयः किं वा यत्र द्वन्द्वानि नो नृणां।
तान्युपेक्ष्य यथाप्राप्तवर्ती सिद्धिमवाप्नुयात्॥९- ४॥
ko'sau kālo vayaḥ kim vā yatra dvandvāni no nṛṇām|
tānyupekṣya yathāprāptavartī siddhimavāpnuyāt||9- 4||
What age or time is there in which the pairs of opposites do not exist for men? Disregarding them, remaining content with whatever comes, one attains fulfillment.
There has never been an era or stage of life free from opposites like gain and loss, praise and blame; the way through is not to wait for a duality-free future but to meet whatever arrives (yathāprāpta) without resistance, right now.
Quit postponing contentment until circumstances stop being mixed — accept today's mixed bag as the whole deal.
ना मतं महर्षीणां साधूनां योगिनां तथा।
दृष्ट्वा निर्वेदमापन्नः को न शाम्यति मानवः॥९- ५॥
nā matam maharṣīṇām sādhūnām yoginām tathā|
dṛṣṭvā nirvedamāpannaḥ ko na śāmyati mānavaḥ||9- 5||
Having seen the teaching of the great sages, the saints, and the yogis alike, and having arrived at dispassion, what man does not find peace?
The teaching held in common by great sages, saints, and yogis converges on one thing — dispassion (nirveda); anyone who genuinely arrives at that same disillusionment finds peace, regardless of formal credentials.
You don't need a guru's title to test this — try living one ordinary hour today as if you already expected nothing extra from it.
कृत्वा मूर्तिपरिज्ञानं चैतन्यस्य न किं गुरुः।
निर्वेदसमतायुक्त्या यस्तारयति संसृतेः॥९- ६॥
kṛtvā mūrtiparijñānam caitanyasya na kim guruḥ|
nirvedasamatāyuktyā yastārayati samsṛteḥ||9- 6||
Having gained full knowledge of the forms of consciousness, is he not indeed a guru — one who, through the practice of dispassion and equanimity, ferries [others] across saṃsāra?
Someone who has fully understood the various expressions of consciousness (caitanya), and who through dispassion and equanimity actually helps others cross the ocean of saṃsāra (the cycle of worldly struggle), deserves to be called a teacher — the proof of realization is its capacity to liberate, not just to enlighten oneself.
The clearest sign someone's wisdom is real is whether it calms the people around them — check your own influence by that standard today.
पश्य भूतविकारांस्त्वं भूतमात्रान् यथार्थतः।
तत्क्षणाद् बन्धनिर्मुक्तः स्वरूपस्थो भविष्यसि॥९- ७॥
paśya bhūtavikārāmstvam bhūtamātrān yathārthataḥ|
tatkṣaṇād bandhanirmuktaḥ svarūpastho bhaviṣyasi||9- 7||
See the modifications of the elements as, in truth, nothing but the elements themselves; that very instant you will be freed from bondage, established in your own true nature.
Look closely and see that every apparent thing is, in truth, nothing but the same underlying elements/being (bhūta) rearranged — the moment this is truly seen, not just believed, bondage ends instantly and one rests in one's real nature (svarūpa).
Look at some object or person you take for granted right now and see it as one continuous fabric with everything else in the room, just briefly.
वासना एव संसार इति सर्वा विमुंच ताः।
तत्त्यागो वासनात्यागात्स्थितिरद्य यथा तथा॥९- ८॥
vāsanā eva samsāra iti sarvā vimumca tāḥ|
tattyāgo vāsanātyāgātsthitiradya yathā tathā||9- 8||
Desire alone is saṃsāra — abandon them all; giving these up is the [true] renunciation; abiding thus, [live] today as it comes.
Saṃsāra — the whole wheel of craving and struggle — is nothing but accumulated latent tendencies (vāsanā); letting go of those tendencies is the only renunciation that matters, and once let go, one simply lives moment to moment, as it comes.
Notice one recurring craving today — not the object of it, just the pull itself — and let the pull run its course without feeding it.