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Ashtavakra Gita · 13 of 20
Chapter 13: Happiness
Janaka said:
13.1. The inner freedom of having nothing is hard to achieve, even with just a loin-cloth, but I live as I please, abandoning both renunciation and acquisition.
13.2. Sometimes one experiences distress because of one’s body, sometimes because of one’s speech, and sometimes because of one’s mind. Abandoning all of these, I live as I please in the goal of human life.
13.3. Recognising that in reality no action is ever committed, I live as I please, just doing what presents itself to be done.
13.4. Yogis who identify themselves with their bodies are insistent on fulfilling and avoiding certain actions, but I live as I please abandoning attachment and rejection.
13.5. No benefit or loss comes to me by standing, walking or lying down, so consequently I live as I please whether standing, walking or sleeping.
13.6. I lose nothing by sleeping and gain nothing by effort, so consequently I live as I please, abandoning success and failure.
13.7. Continually observing the drawbacks of such things as pleasant objects, I live as I please, abandoning the pleasant and unpleasant.
Asked of Guide
Why does Janaka keep repeating "I live as I please" throughout this chapter?
Janaka repeats “I live as I please” to show what freedom looks like once desire, aversion and self-identification are relinquished; each verse names a common bond—body, speech, mind, action, success, pleasure—and he reports living unchanged by them. The refrain isn’t boastful; it maps practice into presence: recognising “in reality no action is ever committed” and “abandoning attachment and rejection,” he acts but remains unmoved by outcomes.
This chapter echoes the Yoga-Vasistha and the Sutta Nipata in insisting that liberty comes from leaving both what is agreeable and disagreeable behind. Janaka’s constant formula gives a practical cue: test freedom by noting whether standing, sleeping, speaking or striving bring gain or loss, and then let the steadiness register as living as you please.
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