संत साहित्य · Aṣṭāvakra · Verse by verse
Chapter 12 — Abiding in the Self
Verse by verse
जनक उवाच॥
कायकृत्यासहः पूर्वं ततो वाग्विस्तरासहः।
अथ चिन्तासहस्तस्माद् एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- १॥
janaka uvāca||
kāyakṛtyāsahaḥ pūrvam tato vāgvistarāsahaḥ|
atha cintāsahastasmād evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 1||
Janaka said: First I grew unable to bear bodily activity, then unable to bear expansive speech, then unable to bear even thought — because of that, I remain established just as I am.
Janaka describes a progressive settling — first the pull toward bodily activity fell away, then the pull toward elaborate speech, then finally even the pull toward active thought — and in that successive quieting, he simply remains as he already is, without needing to do anything further.
Notice today which layer is still restless — body, speech, or thought — and let just that one layer go quiet for a few minutes.
प्रीत्यभावेन शब्दादेरदृश्यत्वेन चात्मनः।
विक्षेपैकाग्रहृदय एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- २॥
prītyabhāvena śabdāderadṛśyatvena cātmanaḥ|
vikṣepaikāgrahṛdaya evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 2||
Through the absence of delight in sound and other sense objects, and through the imperceptibility of the Self, distraction and one-pointedness no longer differ for my heart — thus I remain established.
Once sense objects stopped generating delight and the Self was recognized as beyond any perceivable object, the old distinction between "distracted" and "focused" collapsed — there's no longer a scattered state to fix, so he simply remains as he is.
Stop grading your meditation or attention today as good or bad — notice that the one noticing the grading was never actually scattered.
समाध्यासादिविक्षिप्तौ व्यवहारः समाधये।
एवं विलोक्य नियमं एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- ३॥
samādhyāsādivikṣiptau vyavahāraḥ samādhaye|
evam vilokya niyamam evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 3||
Formal practice is undertaken for the sake of samādhi only when there is distraction; having seen this rule, thus I remain established.
Formal spiritual practices exist only to correct distraction caused by mistaking oneself for something one is not; once that mistake is gone, the whole apparatus of practice becomes unnecessary, and he simply remains established without technique.
If you've truly settled a worry, stop performing the ritual you used to calm it — check whether the ritual is even needed anymore.
हेयोपादेयविरहाद् एवं हर्षविषादयोः।
अभावादद्य हे ब्रह्मन्न् एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- ४॥
heyopādeyavirahād evam harṣaviṣādayoḥ|
abhāvādadya he brahmann evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 4||
Through the absence of anything to be rejected or accepted, and so through the absence, today, of joy and sorrow — thus I remain established.
With nothing left to accept or reject, joy and sorrow — which depend on that accept/reject movement — no longer arise either, and he simply remains as he is, untouched by either.
Try going one stretch of today without labeling anything as something to chase or something to avoid, and watch the emotional weather calm.
आश्रमानाश्रमं ध्यानं चित्तस्वीकृतवर्जनं।
विकल्पं मम वीक्ष्यैतैरेवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- ५॥
āśramānāśramam dhyānam cittasvīkṛtavarjanam|
vikalpam mama vīkṣyaitairevamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 5||
Seeing that stage of life or its absence, meditation, and the mind's acceptance or rejection are all merely mental constructions, thus I remain established.
Even categories like life-stage, meditation practice, and the mind's habitual approval or disapproval are recognized as mental constructions (vikalpa) rather than fixed realities, so he doesn't need to adopt or discard any of them — he simply remains established.
Notice today how many of your "shoulds" about how you're supposed to practice or live are just inherited mental templates, not facts.
कर्मानुष्ठानमज्ञानाद् यथैवोपरमस्तथा।
बुध्वा सम्यगिदं तत्त्वं एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- ६॥
karmānuṣṭhānamajñānād yathaivoparamastathā|
budhvā samyagidam tattvam evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 6||
Just as the performance of action arises from ignorance, so too does its cessation; having rightly understood this truth, thus I remain established.
Action was originally performed out of ignorance (not knowing one's true nature), and so its cessation also had to be arrived at through the same kind of understanding; having grasped this fully, he simply remains as he is, with nothing more to strive toward.
If a habit started from not knowing better, let understanding — not more willpower — be what finally lets it go.
अचिंत्यं चिंत्यमानोऽपि चिन्तारूपं भजत्यसौ।
त्यक्त्वा तद्भावनं तस्माद् एवमेवाहमास्थितः॥१२- ७॥
acimtyam cimtyamāno'pi cintārūpam bhajatyasau|
tyaktvā tadbhāvanam tasmād evamevāhamāsthitaḥ||12- 7||
Even the inconceivable, when thought about, takes on the form of thought itself; having therefore abandoned that contemplation, thus I remain established.
Even the truly inconceivable (the ultimate reality) becomes just another mental object the moment it's thought about; recognizing this, he stops the very effort of contemplating it, and remains established without needing to keep "thinking about" truth.
Stop trying to mentally pin down the biggest questions in your life tonight — let the thinking about them rest instead.
एवमेव कृतं येन स कृतार्थो भवेदसौ।
एवमेव स्वभावो यः स कृतार्थो भवेदसौ॥१२- ८॥
evameva kṛtam yena sa kṛtārtho bhavedasau|
evameva svabhāvo yaḥ sa kṛtārtho bhavedasau||12- 8||
He by whom even effort is done in just this way becomes fulfilled; he whose very nature is just this, becomes fulfilled.
Whoever acts, and even whoever simply exists, in this same unforced, natural way — without adding effort or self-consciousness — has already reached fulfillment (kṛtārtha); the achievement is nothing more than being exactly as one already is.
Do one ordinary task today with zero extra effort or self-monitoring, and notice that nothing was missing from it.