Ashtavakra Gita 2.5Chapter 2, Verse 5
Ashtavakra Gita 2.5 is a verse from chapter 2 (Janaka's wonder). King Janaka speaks it to his teacher, the sage Ashtavakra. In plain English it says: "Looked at closely, a cloth is only thread. Looked at closely in the same way, this world is only the Self."
तन्तुमात्रो भवेद् एव पटो यद्वद् विचारितः ।आत्मतन्मात्रमेवेदं तद्वद् विश्वं विचारितम् ॥
tantumātro bhaved eva paṭo yadvad vicāritaḥ |ātmatanmātramevedaṃ tadvad viśvaṃ vicāritam ||
Looked at closely, a cloth is only thread. Looked at closely in the same way, this world is only the Self.
King Janaka, to Ashtavakra
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 2 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 2, Janaka's wonder: Janaka finds himself as awareness and bows to it in astonishment, testing the new view against the world, the body and the crowd.
Read all 25 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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