The Heart of Awareness

The Self

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O Master,

Tell me how to find

Detachment, wisdom, and freedom!

Child,

If you wish to be free,

Shun the poison of the senses.

Earth, fire and water,

The wind and the sky –

You are none of these.

If you wish to be free,

Know you are the Self,

The witness of all these,

The heart of awareness.

Set your body aside.

Sit in your own awareness.

You will at once be happy,

Forever still,

Forever free.

You have no caste.

No duties bind you.

Formless and free,

Beyond the reach of the senses,

The witness of all things.

So be happy!

Right or wrong,

Joy and sorrow,

These are of the mind only,

They are not yours.

It is not really you who acts or enjoys.

You are everywhere,

Forever free.

Forever and truly free,

The single witness of all things.

But if you see yourself as separate,

Then you are bound.

“I do this. I do that.”

The big black snake of selfishness

Has bitten you!

“I do nothing.”

This is the nectar of faith,

So drink and be happy!

Know you are one,

Pure awareness.

With the fire of this conviction,

Burn down the forest of ignorance.

Free yourself from sorrow,

And be happy.

10.

Be happy!

For you are joy, unbounded joy.

You are awareness itself.

Just as a coil of rope

Is mistaken for a snake,

So you are mistaken for the world.

11.

If you think you are free,

You are free.

If you think you are bound,

You are bound.

For the saying is true:

You are what you think.

12.

The Self looks like the world.

But this is just an illusion.

The Self is everywhere.

One.

Still.

Free.

Perfect.

The witness of all things,

Awareness

Without action, clinging or desire.

13.

Meditate on the Self.

One without two,

Exalted awareness.

Give up the illusion

Of the separate self.

Give up the feeling,

Within or without,

That you are this or that.

14.

My Child,

Because you think you are the body,

For a long time you have been bound.

Know you are pure awareness.

With this knowledge as your sword

Cut through your chains.

And be happy!

15.

For you are already free,

Without action or flaw,

Luminous and bright.

You are bound

Only by the habit of meditation.

16.

Your nature is pure awareness.

You are flowing in all things,

And all things are flowing in you.

But beware

The narrowness of the mind!

17.

You are always the same,

Unfathomable awareness,

Limitless and free,

Serene and unperturbed.

Desire only your own awareness.

18.

Whatever takes form is false,

Only the formless endures.

When you understand

The truth of this teaching,

You will not be born again.

19.

For God is infinite,

Within the body and without,

Like a mirror,

And the image in a mirror.

20.

As the air is everywhere,

Flowing around a pot

And filling it,

So God is everywhere,

Filling all things

And flowing through them forever.

Awareness

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Yesterday

I lived bewildered,

In illusion.

But now I am awake,

Flawless and serene,

Beyond the world.

From my light

The body and the world arise.

So all things are mind,

Or nothing is.

Now I have given up

The body and the world.

I have a special gift.

I see the infinite Self.

As a wave,

Seething and foaming,

It is only water.

So all creation,

Streaming out of the Self,

Is only the Self.

Consider a piece of cloth.

It is only threads!

So all creation,

When you look closely,

Is only the Self.

Like the sugar

In the juice of the sugarcane,

I am the sweetness

In everything I have made.

When the Self is unknown,

The world arises.

Not when it is known.

But you mistake

The rope for the snake.

When you see the rope,

The snake vanishes.

My nature is light,

Nothing but light.

When the world arises,

I alone am shining.

When the world arises in me,

It is just an illusion:

Water shimmering in the sun,

A vein of silver in mother-of-pearl,

A serpent in a strand of rope.

10.

From me the world streams out

And in me it dissolves,

As a bracelet melts into gold,

A pot crumbles into clay,

A wave subsides into water.

11.

I adore myself.

How wonderful I am!

I can never die.

The whole world may perish,

From Brahma to a blade of grass,

But I am still here.

12.

Indeed, how wonderful!

I adore myself.

For I have taken form

But I am still one.

Neither coming or going,

Yet I am still everywhere.

13.

How wonderful,

And how great my powers!

For I am without form,

Yet till the end of time

I uphold the universe.

14.

Wonderful!

For nothing is mine,

Yet it is all mine,

Whatever is thought or spoken.

15.

I am not the knower,

Nor the known,

Nor the knowing.

These three are not real.

They only seem to be

When I am not known.

For I am flawless.

16.

Two from one!

This is the root of suffering.

Only perceive

That I am one without two,

Pure awareness, pure joy,

And all the world is false.

There is no other remedy!

17.

Through ignorance

I once imagined I was bound.

But I am pure awareness.

I live beyond all distinctions,

In unbroken meditation.

18.

Indeed,

I am neither bound or free.

An end to illusion!

It is all groundless.

For the whole of creation,

Though it rests in me,

Is without foundation.

19.

The body is nothing.

The world is nothing.

When you understand this fully.

How can they be invented?

For the Self is pure awareness,

Nothing less.

20.

The body is false,

And so are its fears,

Heaven and hell, freedom and bondage.

It is all invention.

What can they matter to me?

I am awareness itself.

21.

I see only one.

Many men,

One wilderness.

Then to what may I cling?

22.

I am not the body.

Nor is the body mine.

I am not separate.

I am awareness itself,

Bound only by my thirst for life.

23.

I am the infinite ocean.

When thoughts spring up,

The wind freshens, and like waves,

A thousand worlds arise.

24.

But when the wind falls,

The trader sinks with his ship.

On the boundless ocean of my being,

He founders,

And all the worlds with him.

25.

But o how wonderful!

I am the unbounded deep

In whom all living things

Naturally arise,

Rush against each other playfully,

And then subside.

Wisdom

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You know the Self,

By nature one

Without end.

You know the Self,

And you are serene.

How can you still desire riches?

When from ignorance

You see silver in mother-of-pearl,

Greed arises.

From ignorance of the Self

Desire arises

For the world where the senses whirl.

Knowing yourself as That

In which worlds rise and fall

Like waves in the ocean,

Why do you run about so wretchedly?

For, have you not heard?

You are pure awareness,

And your beauty is infinite!

So, why let lust mislead you?

The man who is wise

Knows himself in all things

And all things in himself.

Yet, how strange!

He still says, “This is mine.”

Determined to be free,

He abides in the oneness

Beyond all things.

Yet, how strange!

Indulging in passion, he weakens,

And lust overwhelms him.

Feeble with age,

Still he is filled with desire,

When without doubt he knows

That lust is the enemy of awareness.

Indeed, how strange!

He longs to be free …

He has no care for this world

Or the next,

And he knows what is passing

Or forever.

And yet, how strange!

He is still afraid of freedom.

But he who is truly wise

Always sees the absolute Self.

Celebrated, he is not delighted.

Spurned, he is not angry.

10.

Pure of heart,

He watches his own actions

As if they were another’s.

How can praise or blame disturb him?

11.

With clear and steady insight,

He sees the world is a mirage,

And he no longer wonders about it.

How can he fear the approach of death?

12.

Pure of heart,

He desires nothing,

Even in despair.

He is content

In the knowledge of the Self.

With whom may I compare him?

13.

With clear and steady insight,

He knows that whatever he sees

Is by its very nature nothing.

How can he prefer one thing to another?

14.

He is beyond all duality.

Free from desire,

He has driven from his mind

All longing for the world.

Come what may,

Joy or sorrow,

Nothing moves him.

The True Seeker

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The wise man knows the Self,

And he plays the game of life.

But the fool lives in the world

Like a beast of burden.

The true seeker feels no elation,

Even in that exalted state

Which Indra and all the gods

Unhappily long for.

He understands the nature of things.

His heart is not smudged

By right or wrong,

As the sky is not smudged by smoke.

He is pure of heart,

He knows the whole world is only the Self.

So who can stop him

From doing as he wishes?

Of the four kinds of being,

From Brahma to a blade of grass,

Only the wise man is strong enough

To give up desire and aversion.

How rare his is!

Knowing he is the Self,

He acts accordingly,

And is never fearful.

For he knows he is the Self,

One without two,

The Lord of all creation.

Dissolving

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You are pure.

Nothing touches you.

What is there to renounce?

Let it all go,

The body and the mind.

Let yourself dissolve.

Like bubbles in the sea,
All worlds arise in you.

Know you are the Self.

Know you are one.

Let yourself dissolve.

You see the world.

But like the snake in the rope,

It is not really there.

You are pure.

Let yourself dissolve.

You are one and the same

In joy and sorrow,

Hope and despair,

Life and death.

You are already fulfilled.

Let yourself dissolve.

Knowledge

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I am boundless space.

The world is a clay pot.

This is the truth.

There is nothing to accept,

Nothing to reject,

Nothing to dissolve.

I am the ocean.

All the worlds are like waves.

This is the truth.

Nothing to hold on to,

Nothing to let go of,

Nothing to dissolve.

I am the mother-of-pearl.

The world is a vein of silver,

An illusion!

This is the truth.

Nothing to grasp,

Nothing to spurn,

Nothing to dissolve.

I am in all beings.

All beings are in me.

This is the whole truth.

Nothing to embrace,

Nothing to relinquish,

Nothing to dissolve.

The Boundless Ocean

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I am the boundless ocean.

This way and that,

The wind, blowing where it will,

Drives the ship of the world.

But I am not shaken.

I am the unbounded deep

In whom the waves of all worlds

Naturally rise and fall.

But I do not rise or fall.

I am the infinite deep

In whom all the worlds

Appear to rise.

Beyond all form,

Forever still.

Even so am I.

I am not in the world.

The world is not in me.

I am pure.

I am unbounded.

Free from attachment,

Free from desire,

Still.

Even so am I.

O how wonderful!

I am awareness itself,

No less.

The world is a magic show!

But in me,

There is nothing to embrace,

And nothing to turn away.

The Mind

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The mind desires this,

And grieves for that.

It embraces one thing,

And spurns another.

Now it feels anger,

Now happiness.

In this way you are bound.

But when the mind desires nothing

And grieves for nothing,

When it is without joy or anger

And, grasping nothing,

Turns nothing away …

Then you are free.

When the mind is attracted

To anything it senses,

You are bound.

When there is no attraction,

You are free.

Where there is no I,

You are free.

Where there is I,

You are bound.

Consider this.

It is easy.

Embrace nothing,

Turn nothing away.

Dispassion

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Seeing to this,

Neglecting that,

Setting one thing against another …

Who is free of such cares?

When will they ever end?

Consider.

Without passion,

With dispassion,

Let go.

My Child,

Rare is he, and blessed,

Who observes the ways of men,

And gives up the desire

For pleasure and knowledge,

For life itself.

Nothing lasts.

Nothing is real.

It is all suffering,

Threefold affliction!

It is all beneath contempt.

Know this.

Give it up.

Be still.

When will men ever stop

Setting one thing against another?

Let go of all contraries.

Whatever comes, be happy,

And so fulfill yourself.

Masters, saints, seekers:

They all say different things.

Whoever knows this,

With dispassion becomes quiet.

The true master considers well.

With dispassion,

He sees all things are the same.

He comes to understand

The nature of things,

The essence of awareness.

He will not be born again.

In the shifting elements,

See only their pure form.

Rest in your own nature.

Set yourself free.

The world is just a set of false impressions.

Give them up.

Give up the illusion.

Give up the world.

And live freely.

Desire

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Striving and craving

For pleasure or prosperity,

These are your enemies,

Springing up to destroy you

From the presumptions of virtue.

Let them all go.

Hold on to nothing.

Every good fortune,

Wives, friends, houses, lands,

All these gifts and riches …

They are a dream,

A juggling act,

A traveling show!

A few days, and they are gone.

Consider.

Wherever there is desire,

There is the world.

With resolute dispassion,

Free yourself from desire,

And find happiness.

Desire binds you,

Nothing else.

Destroy it, and you are free.

Turn from the world.

Fulfill yourself,

And find lasting happiness.

You are one.

You are pure awareness.

The world is not real.

It is cold and lifeless.

Nor is ignorance real.

So what can you wish to know?

Life after life, you indulged

In different forms,

Different pleasures,

Sons and kingdoms and wives.

Only to lose them all …

Enough of the pursuit of pleasure,

Enough of wealth and righteous deeds!

In the dark forest of the world,

What peace of mind can they bring you?

How you have toiled,

Life after life,

Pressing into painful labor

Your body and your mind and your words.

It is time to stop.

Now!

Stillness

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All things arise,

Suffer change,

And pass away.

This is their nature.

When you know this,

Nothing perturbs you,

Nothing hurts you.

You become still.

It is easy.

God made all things.

There is only God.

When you know this,

Desire melts away.

Clinging to nothing,

You become still.

Sooner or later,

Fortune or misfortune

May befall you.

When you know this,

You desire nothing,

You grieve for nothing.

Subduing the senses,

You are happy.

Whatever you do

Brings joy or sorrow,

Life or death.

When you know this,

You may act freely,

Without attachment.

For what is there to accomplish?

All sorrow comes from fear.

From nothing else.

When you know this,

You become free of it,

And desire melts away.

You become happy,

And still.

“I am not the body,

Nor is the body mine.

I am awareness itself.”

When you know this,

You have no thought

For what you have done,

Or left undone.

You become one,

Perfect and indivisible.

“I am in all things,

From Brahma to a blade of grass.”

When you know this,

You have no thought

For success or failure,

Or the mind’s inconstancy.

You are pure.

You are still.

The world with all its wonders

Is nothing.

When you know this,

Desire melts away.

For you are awareness itself.

When you know in your heart

That there is nothing,

You are still.

Fulfillment

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First I gave up action,

Then idle words,

And lastly, thought itself.

Now I am here.

Ridding my mind of distraction,

Single-pointed,

I shut out sound and all the senses,

And I am here.

Meditation is needed

Only when the mind is distracted

By false imagining.

Knowing this,

I am here.

Without joy or sorrow,

Grasping nothing, spurning nothing,

O Master, I am here.

What do I care

If I observe or neglect

The four stages of life?

Meditation,

Controlling the mind,

These are mere distractions!

Now I am here.

Doing, or not doing,

Both come from not knowing.

Knowing this fully,

I am here.

Thinking

Of what is beyond thinking

Is still thinking.

I gave up thinking,

And I am here.

Whoever fulfills this

Fulfills his own nature,

And is indeed fulfilled.

Happiness

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Even if you have nothing,

It is hard to find that contentment

Which comes from renunciation.

I accept nothing.

I reject nothing.

And I am happy.

The body trembles,

The tongue falters,

The mind is weary.

Forsaking them all,

I pursue my purpose happily.

Knowing I do nothing,

I do whatever comes my way,

And I am happy.

Bound to his body,

The seeker insists on striving,

Or on sitting still.

But I no longer suppose

The body is mine,

Or is not mine.

And I am happy.

Sleeping, sitting, walking,

Nothing good or bad befalls me.

I sleep, I sit, I walk,

And I am happy.

Struggling or at rest,

Nothing is won or lost.

I have forsaken the joy of winning,

And the sorrow of losing.

And I am happy.

For pleasures come and go.

How often I have watched their inconstancy!

But I have forsaken good and bad,

And now I am happy.

The Fool

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By nature my mind is empty.

Even in sleep, I am awake.

I think of things without thinking.

All my impressions of the world

Have dissolved.

My desires have melted away.

So what do I care for money

Or the thieving senses,

For friends or knowledge or holy books?

Liberation,

Bondage,

What are they to me?

What do I care for freedom?

For I have known God,

The infinite Self,

The witness of all things.

Without, a fool.

Within, free of thought.

I do as I please,

And only those like me

Understand my ways.

The Clear Space of Awareness

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The man who is pure of heart

Is bound to fulfill himself

In whatever way he is taught.

A worldly man seeks all his life,

But is still bewildered.

Detached from the senses,

You are free.

Attached, you are bound.

When this is understood,

You may live as you please.

When this is understood,

The man who is bright and busy,

And full of fine words

Falls silent.

He does nothing.

He is still.

No wonder those who wish to enjoy the world

Shun this understanding!

You are not your body.

Your body is not you.

You are not the doer.

You are not the enjoyer.

You are pure awareness,

The witness to all things.

You are without expectation,

Free.

Wherever you go,

Be happy!

Desire and aversion are of the mind.

The mind is never yours.

You are free of its turmoil.

You are awareness itself,

Never-changing.

Wherever you go,

Be happy!

For see!

The Self is in all beings,

And all beings are in the Self.

Know you are free,

Free of “I,”

Free of “mine.”

Be happy.

In you the worlds arise

Like waves in the sea.

It is true!

You are awareness itself.

So free yourself

From the fever of the world.

Have faith, my Child, have faith.

Do not be bewildered.

For you are beyond all things,

The heart of knowing.

You are the Self.

You are God.

The body is confined

By its natural properties.

It comes,

It lingers awhile,

It goes.

But the Self neither comes nor goes.

So why grieve for the body?

10.

If the body lasted till the end of time,

Or vanished today,

What would you win or lose?

You are pure awareness.

11.

You are the endless sea,

In whom all the worlds, like waves,

Naturally rise and fall.

You have nothing to win,

Nothing to lose.

12.

Child,

You are pure awareness,

Nothing less.

You and the world are one.

So who are you to think

You can hold on to it,

Or let it go?

How could you!

13.

You are the clear space of awareness,

Pure and still,

In whom there is no birth,

No activity,

No “I.”

You are one and the same.

You cannot change or die.

14.

You are in whatever you see.

You alone.

Just as bracelets and bangles,

And dancing anklets,

Are all of the same gold.

15.

“I am not this.”

“I am He.”

Give up such distinctions.

Know that everything is the Self.

Rid yourself of all purpose.

And be happy.

16.

The world only arises from ignorance.

You alone are real.

There is no one,

Not even God,

Separate from yourself.

17.

You are pure awareness.

The world is an illusion,

Nothing more.

When you understand this fully,

Desire falls away.

You find peace.

For, indeed!

There is nothing.

18.

In the ocean of being,

There is only one.

There was, and there will be

Only one.

You are already fulfilled.

How can you be bound or free?

Wherever you go,

Be happy.

19.

Never upset your mind

With yes and no.

Be quiet.

You are awareness itself.

Live in the happiness

Of your own nature,

Which is happiness itself.

20.

What is the use of thinking?

Once and for all,

Give up meditation.

Hold nothing in your mind.

You are the Self,

And you are free.

Forget Everything

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My Child,

You may read or discuss scripture

As much as you like.

But until you forget everything,

You will never live in your heart.

You are wise.

You play and work and meditate.

But still your mind desires

That which is beyond everything,

Where all desires vanish.

Striving is the root of sorrow.

But who understands this?

Only when you are blessed

With the understanding of this teaching

Will you find freedom.

Who is lazier than the master?

He has trouble even blinking!

But only he is happy.

No one else!

Seeing to this,

Neglecting that …

But when the mind stops setting

One thing against another,

It no longer craves pleasure.

It no longer cares for wealth,

Or religious duties, or salvation.

Craving the pleasure of the senses,

You suffer attachment.

Disdaining them,

You learn detachment.

But if you desire nothing,

And disdain nothing,

Neither attachment nor detachment bind you.

When you live without discrimination,

Desire arises.

When desire persists,

Feelings of preferences arise,

Of liking and disliking.

They are the root and branches of the world.

From activity, desire.

From renunciation, aversion.

But the man of wisdom is a child.

He never sets one thing against another.

It is true!

He is a child.

If you desire the world,

You may try to renounce it

In order to escape sorrow.

Instead, renounce desire!

Then you will be free of sorrow,

And the world will not trouble you.

10.

If you desire liberation,

But you still say “mine,”

If you feel you are the body,

You are not a wise man or a seeker.

You are simply a man who suffers.

11.

Let Hari teach you,

Or Brahma, born of the lotus,

Or Shiva Himself!

Unless you forget everything,

You will never live in your heart.

Beyond All

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The man who is happy and pure,

And likes his own company,

Gathers the fruit of his practice,

And the fruit of wisdom.

The man who knows the truth

Is never unhappy in the world.

For he alone fills the universe.

Just as the elephant loves

The leaves of the sallaki tree,

But not the neem tree,

So the man who loves himself

Always spurns the senses.

It is hard to find

A man who has no desire

For what he has not tasted,

Or who tastes the world,

And is untouched.

Here in the world,

Some crave pleasure,

Some seek freedom.

But it is hard to find

A man who wants neither.

He is a great soul.

It is hard to find

A man who has an open mind,

Who neither seeks nor shuns

Wealth or pleasure,

Duty or liberation,

Life or death …

He does not want the world to end.

He does not mind if it lasts.

Whatever befalls him,

He lives in happiness.

For he is truly blessed.

Now that he understands,

He is fulfilled.

His mind is drawn within,

And he is fulfilled.

He sees and he hears,

He touches and smells and tastes,

And he is happy.

Whatever he does is without purpose.

His senses have been stilled.

His eyes are empty.

He is without desire or aversion.

For him the waters of the world

Have all dried up!

10.

He is not asleep.

He is not awake.

He never closes his eyes,

Or opens them.

Wherever he is,

He is beyond everything.

He is free.

11.

And the man who is free

Always lives in his heart.

His heart is always pure.

Whatever happens,

He is free of all desires.

12.

Whatever he see or hears or touches,

Whatever he smells or tastes,

Whatever he acquires,

He is free.

Free from striving,

And from stillness.

For indeed he is a great soul.

13.

Without blame or praise,

Anger or rejoicing.

He gives nothing.

He takes nothing.

He wants nothing,

Nothing at all.

14.

And whoever draws near him,

A woman full of passion,

Or Death Himself,

He is not shaken.

He stays in his heart.

He is free, indeed!

15.

It is all the same to him.

Man or woman,

Good fortune or bad,

Happiness or sorrow.

It makes no difference.

He is serene.

16.

The world no longer holds him.

He has gone beyond

The bounds of human nature.

Without compassion,

Or the wish to harm.

Without pride or humility.

Nothing disturbs him.

Nothing surprises him.

17.

Because he is free,

He neither craves nor disdains

The things of the world.

He takes them as they come.

His mind is always detached.

18.

His mind is empty.

He is not concerned with meditation,

Or the absence of it,

Or the struggle between good and evil.

He is beyond all,

Alone.

19.

No “I,”

No “mind.”

He knows there is nothing.

All his inner desires have melted away.

Whatever he does,

He does nothing.

20.

His mind has stopped working!

It has simply melted away …

And with it,

Dreams and delusions and dullness.

And for what he has become,

There is no name.