Asthavakra Gita Part 13

 Happiness


Janaka said:

The tranquil state of knowing Self alone is rare
—even among those who own but a loincloth.
I therefore neither renounce nor accept and am happy.

The body is strained by practices. The tongue tires of scripture.
The mind numbs with meditation.Detached from all this,
I live as I am.
Realizing that nothing is done, I do what comes and am happy.

Yogis who preach either effort or non-effort are still
attached to the body. I neither dissociate nor associate
with any of that and am happy.

I have nothing to gain or lose by standing, walking or
sitting down. So whether I stand, walk or sit,I am happy.

I do not lose by sleeping nor attain by effort.
Not thinking in terms of loss or gain ,I am happy.

Pleasure and pain fluctuate and are inconsistent.
Without good or bad I live happily.

Asthavakra Gita Part 12

Abiding in the Self


Janaka said:
 Becoming first intolerant of action, then of excessive speech,
 then of thought itself, I come to be here. 

 Neither sounds nor other sense perceptions attract my attention.
 Even the Self is unperceived. The mind is free, undistracted,
 one-pointed. And here I am.

 Effort is required to concentrate a distracted mind superimposed
 with illusion. Knowing this, I remain here. 

 Nothing to reject, nothing to accept. No joy, no sorrow.
 Lord God I am here. 

 The four stages of life, life without stages, meditation, renunciation,
 objects of mind— nothing but distractions. I am forever here.

 Doing and not-doing both arise from ignorance. I know this.
 And I am here.
 
 Thinking of the unthinkable One unavoidably conjures thought.
 I choose no-thought and remain here.

 Blessed is he who attains this by effort. Blessed is he who is such by nature.