Part 5 - Ashtavakra Gita translated by John Richards

He by whom inner distraction is seen may put an end to it, but the noble one is not distracted. When there is nothing to achieve what is he to do? 18.17

The wise man, unlike the worldly man, does not see inner stillness, distraction, or fault in himself, even when living like a worldly man. 18.18

Nothing is done by him who is free from being and non-being, who is contented, desireless, and wise, even if in the world's eyes he does act. 18.19

The wise man who just goes on doing what presents itself for him to do, encounters no difficulty in either activity or inactivity. 18.20

He who is desireless, self-reliant, independent, and free of bonds functions like a dead leaf blown about by the wind of causality. 18.21

There is neither joy nor sorrow for one who has transcended samsara. With a peaceful mind he lives as if without a body. 18.22

He whose joy is in himself, and who is peaceful and pure within has no desire for renunciation or sense of loss in anything. 18.23

For the man with a naturally empty mind, doing just as he pleases, there is no such thing as pride or false humility, as there is for the naturalman. 18.24

"This action was done by the body but not by me." The pure-natured person thinking like this,is not acting even when acting. 18.25

He who acts without being able to say why, but is not thereby a fool, he is one liberated while still alive, happy and blessed. He is happy even in samsara. 18.26

He who has had enough of endless considerations and has attained peace, does not think, know, hear, or see. 18.27

He who is beyond mental stillness and distraction does not desire either liberation or its opposite. Recognising that things are just constructions of the imagination, that great soul lives as God here and now. 18.28

He who feels responsibility within, acts even when doing nothing, but there is no sense of done or undone for the wise man who is free from the sense of responsibility. 18.29

The mind of the liberated man is not upset or pleased. It shines unmoving, desireless, and free from doubt. 18.30

He whose mind does not set out to meditate or act, still meditates and acts but without an object. 18.31

A stupid man is bewildered when he hears the ultimate truth, while even a clever man is humbled by it just like the fool. 18.32

The ignorant make a great effort to practise one-pointedness and the stopping of thought, while the wise see nothing to be done and remain in themselves like those asleep. 18.33

The stupid man does not attain cessation whether he acts or abandons action, while the wise man finds peace within simply by knowing the truth. 8.34

People cannot come to know themselves by practices -- pure awareness, clear, complete, beyond multiplicity, and faultless though they are. 8.35

The stupid man does not achieve liberation even through regular practice, but the fortunate remains free and actionless simply by understanding. 18.36

The stupid does not attain Godhead because he wants it, while the wise man enjoys the Supreme Godhead without even wanting it. 18.37

Even when living without any support and eager for achievement, the stupid are still nourishing samsara, while the wise have cut at the very root of its unhappiness. 18.38

The stupid man does not find peace because he desires it, while the wise man discriminating the truth is always peaceful minded. 18.39

How can there be self-knowledge for him whose knowledge depends on what he sees? The wise do not see this and that, but see themselves as infinite. 18.40

How can there be cessation of thought for the misguided who is striving for it. Yet it is there always naturally for the wise man delighting in himself. 18.41

Some think that something exists, and others that nothing does. Rare is the man who does not think either, and is thereby free from distraction. 18.42

Those of weak intelligence think of themselves as pure nonduality, but because of their delusion do not really know this, and so remain unfulfilled all their lives. 18.43

The mind of the man seeking liberation can find no resting place within, but the mind of the liberated man is always free from desire by the very fact of being without a resting place. 18.44

Seeing the tigers of the senses, the frightened refuge-seekers at once enter the cave in search of cessation of thought and one-pointedness. 18.45

Seeing the desireless lion, the elephants of the senses silently run away, or, if that is impossible, serve him like courtiers. 18.46

The man who is free from doubts and whose mind is free does not bother about means of liberation. Whether seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, or tasting, he lives at ease. 18.47

He whose mind is pure and undistracted from just hearing of the Truth does not see anything to do or anything to avoid or even a cause for indifference. 18.48

The upright person does whatever presents itself to be done, good or bad, for his actions are like those of a child. 18.49

By inner freedom one attains happiness, by inner freedom one reaches the Supreme, by inner freedom one comes to absence of thought, by inner freedom to the Ultimate State. 18.50

When one sees oneself as neither the doer nor the reaper of the consequences, then all mind waves come to an end. 18.51

The spontaneous unassuming behaviour of the wise is noteworthy, but not the deliberate purposeful stillness of the fool. 18.52

The wise who are rid of imagination, unbound and with unfettered awareness, may enjoy themselves in the midst of many goods, or alternatively go off to mountain caves. 18.53

There is no attachment in the heart of a wise man whether he sees or pays homage to a learned brahmin, a celestial being, a holy place, a woman, a king or a friend. 18.54

A yogi is not in the least put out even when humiliated by the ridicule of servants, sons, wives, grandchildren, or other relatives. 18.55

Even when pleased he is not pleased, not suffering even when in pain. Only those like him can know the wonderful state of such a man. 18.56

It is the feeling that there is something that needs to be achieved which is samsara. The wise who are of the form of emptiness, formless, unchanging, and spotless see nothing of the sort. 18.57

Even when doing nothing the fool is agitated by restlessness, while a skillful man remains undisturbed even when doing what there is to do. 18.58

Happy he stands, happy he sits, happy sleeps, and happy he comes and goes. Happy he speaks and happy he eats. This is the life of a man at peace. 18.59

He who of his very nature feels no unhappiness in his daily life like worldly people, remains undisturbed like a great lake, cleared of defilement. 18.60

Even abstention from action has the effect of action in a fool, while even the action of the wise man brings the fruits of inaction. 18.61

A fool often shows aversion towards his belongings, but for him whose attachment to the body has dropped away, there is neither attachment nor aversion. 18.62

The mind of the fool is always caught in thinking or not thinking, but the wise man's is of the nature of no thought because he thinks what is appropriate. 18.63

For the seer who behaves like a child, without desire in all actions,there is no attachment for such a pure one even in the work he does. 18.64

Blessed is he who knows himself and is the same in all states, with a mind free from craving whether he is seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, or tasting. 18.65

There is no one subject to samsara, no sense of individuality, no goal or means to the goal in the eyes of the wise man who is always free from imagination and unchanging like space. 18.66

Glorious is he who has abandoned all goals and is the incarnation of the satisfaction, which is his very nature, and whose inner focus on the Unconditioned is quite spontaneous. 18.67

In brief, the great-souled man who has come to know the Truth is without desire for either pleasure or liberation, and is always and everywhere free from attachment. 18.68