Ashtavakra Gita 18.7Chapter 18, Verse 7
Ashtavakra Gita 18.7 is a verse from chapter 18 (Peace in a hundred verses). The sage Ashtavakra speaks it to King Janaka. In plain English it says: "All this is only imagining. The Self is free and eternal. Knowing this, why would the steady one practise like a child?"
समस्तं कल्पनामात्रमात्मा मुक्तः सनातनः ।इति विज्ञाय धीरो हि किमभ्यस्यति बालवत् ॥
samastaṃ kalpanāmātramātmā muktaḥ sanātanaḥ |iti vijñāya dhīro hi kimabhyasyati bālavat ||
All this is only imagining. The Self is free and eternal. Knowing this, why would the steady one practise like a child?
Ashtavakra, to King Janaka
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 18 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 18, Peace in a hundred verses: The longest chapter, a third of the text, contrasting the confused who strive with the steady who are already at rest.
Read all 100 verses in this chapter →Seven mornings of short readings from the Bhagavad Gita, chosen for what you're going through, by email.
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