The Liberated One's Way

Ashtavakra: "The one who has conquered the senses by the sword of knowledge - what does he care for enjoyment or renunciation?"

Janaka: "He cares for neither. Enjoyment arises, he enjoys. Renunciation happens, he renounces. Neither state binds him because he is not identified with either."

Ashtavakra: "Most seekers grasp at one or the other."

Janaka: "Yes, the ascetic clings to renunciation as tightly as the hedonist clings to pleasure. Both are bound - one by the chain of gold, one by the chain of iron. But chains are chains regardless of their metal."

Ashtavakra: "What is your way?"

Janaka: "I have no way. 'The way' implies distance from the destination. There is nowhere to go, nothing to achieve, no method to follow. This is it. Right here. Right now. Nothing missing, nothing extra."

Ashtavakra: "And when the world calls you back to duty?"

Janaka: "I answer the call. The body rises, the voice speaks, the arms embrace or command. But these are movements in awareness, like ripples on a still pond. The pond itself - that unmoving presence - remains undisturbed."

Ashtavakra: "You speak of effortlessness."

Janaka: "Because effort implies a separate entity trying to accomplish something. When that entity is seen through, what remains is simply life happening - spontaneous, natural, free. Not my life, not life happening to me - just life."