Ashtavakra & warnings 2

                                                                                                                    Ashtavakra "vivarta"

for a while, the following will preface all these blogs – so please skip over if seen before]

100 Billion

In order to hint at how serious this Blog is, let the author unequivocally state that the Knowledge here imparted, none of it original, none to be credited to the author, that Knowledge is THE MOST VALUABLE treasure that exists. If hypothetically offered 100 Billion dollars to forgo this Knowledge, that offer or any other would be disregarded in the blink of an eye.  Even with all the good that might be accomplished with $100B, this Knowledge is beyond the World & comes from beyond the Mind. This is no hyperbole.

Ashtavakra Gita selections

3.2 – Just as imagining "silver" [nacre], in a shell’s "mother-of-pearl" may cause desire for such "treasure, so does Ignorance of the Self lead to cause desire for objects of mistaken Perception.

3.3 – Having realized yourself as That in which the waves of the World rise & fall,

why do you run around like a suffering creature, anxious about mere things ?

3.7 – Strange that knowing lust as an enemy of knowledge, one who is weak & nearing death should still crave sensual pleasure.

3.8 – Strange is it that one who is unattached to the things of this World & the next, who can discriminate between the transient & the timeless, & who yearns for Liberation, should yet fear the dissolution of the Body & the loss of Individuality that comes with Release.

3.9 – In either praise of blame, the serene Sage abides in the Self.  He is neither pleased nor angered by what others may think or say.

3.10 – A great soul sees even his own Body in action as if it were another’s.  How can praise or blame disturb him ?

3.11 – Seeing this World as pure Illusion, having lost all interest in it, how can the strong-minded one feel fear, even at the approach of Death ?

3.13 – Why should a strong–minded person of, who sees the nothingness of objects, consider attachment to one thing & rejection of another ?

3.14 – He who is unattached, untouched by opposites [hot – cold, etc.], free of desire, experiences neither pleasure nor pain from events that come of themselves.

4.3 – He who knows That is untouched by good deeds or bad, just as the sky is not touched by smoke, even if it seems to be.

4.6 – Rare is he who knows himself as the One-without-a-Second — Lord of the Universe.  He does what seems worthwhile & no fear occurs to him who knows this.

5.1 – You are not bound or touched by anything.  What is there to renounce ?  Letting go of the complex Mind — know the Peace of dissolution into Consciousness.

5.2 – The Universe arises from you like bubbles in the Sea.  Know yourself as the One & enter the Peace of dissolution into Consciousness.

5.3 – Like an imagined Snake in a Rope, the Universe appears to exist in the stainless Self.  But it does not truly exist.  Seeing this you know: “There is nothing to dissolve.”

6.1 – I am like an infinite Space in which the phenomenal Universe is but one small jar. Know that there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.2 – I am like a shoreless Ocean; the World is like a wave.  Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.3 – I am like an oyster shell’s nacre, "mother-of–pearl".  The Universe is like the Illusion of "silver". Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

6.4 – I am in all beings; all beings are in me. Know this & there is no World to be either renounced, accepted. or negated.

7.1 – In the shoreless Ocean of the Self, the Universe is like a ship wandering here & there, driven by the winds of its nature.  This has no effect on me.

7.2 – Let the wave of the World, by of its own nature rise or fall in the shoreless Ocean of the Self.  I am neither enhanced nor diminished.

Given again that the Asthavakra Gita is such a wealth of expedient, practical spiritual advice amidst transcendent proclamations, here’s a 2nd installment of  warnings found in certain Sanskrit terminology encountered in spiritual texts.  These are the "unreal" obstacles which are best addressed so long as they seem to be real.  A sample list [with simple rather than complete scholarly explanations] of some of the "obstacles" includes:

Apurva – unseen effect of a past act

Bhava – supposition, opinion (some have positive meanings too)

Bheda – differentiation

Jiva – individual soul

Kara – change

Karma – Prarabdha past, Agami current / Sanchit all past

Loka – world

Mithya – unreal (not just "myth" Greeks used the cognate)

Papa – sin

Pasu  – individual

Pasa – bondage

Varnam – caste

Vasana – re-incarnated or more recently acquired tendencies

Vikara – change in nature

Vivarta – superimposition

stula sarira – physical body – "food sheath" Anna – maya – kosa

sukshuma sarira – subtle body – Prana – maya – kosa  – "energy sheath" ; Mano – maya – kosa  – "mind sheath" ; Vijnana – maya – kosa  – "intellect sheath"

karana sarira – causal body –  Ananda – maya – kosa  – "bliss sheath"

[The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com ]