Ashtavakra Gita
Song of Ashtavakra
by Ashtavakra | 1994 | 8,560 words
The Ashtavakra Gita (अष्टावक्रगीता; aṣṭāvakragītā) or the 'Song of Ashtavakra' is a classical Advaita Vedanta scripture. Ashtavakra Gita (or 'Ashtavakra Samhita') is a dialogue between Ashtavakra and Janaka (king of Mithila) on the nature of soul, reality and bondage. It offers an extremely radical version of non-dualistic philosophy. The Gita ins...
Chapter VIII
Ashtavakra:
1 Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.
2 Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.
3 Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.
4 When there is no 'me' that is liberation, and when there is 'me' there is bondage. Considering this earnestly, do not hold on and do not reject.