Beyond Qualities

Ashtavakra spoke with crystalline clarity.

"Janaka, you are beyond all qualities. Whatever attribute you can name—whether noble or base, spiritual or worldly—belongs to the body-mind, not to you."

Janaka listened carefully. "But surely the sage has good qualities? Wisdom, compassion, equanimity?"

"These appear through the sage's form, but the sage is not identified with them. He does not say 'I am wise' or 'I am compassionate.' These qualities arise in awareness; he is the awareness, not the qualities."

"Then what is he?"

"What are you? Can you describe yourself without reference to qualities? Without saying 'I am this' or 'I have that'?"

Janaka thought carefully. "I cannot. Every description adds a quality."

"Precisely. The Self is that which cannot be described because it is prior to all description. It is the knower of qualities, never the quality itself. When you say 'I am good,' you are identifying with a quality that comes and goes. When you say 'I am,'

you point to what is always present, before good or bad."

"But practically, we must distinguish between actions. Some are helpful, some harmful."

"Let the body-mind distinguish. Let it choose wisely, act ethically, refine itself. But you remain beyond. You are the sky watching clouds—some dark, some white. You do not become dark or white."

"This sounds like detachment from morality."

"The opposite. True morality arises when you are not defending a self. The separate self acts from self-interest; the sage acts from clarity. He does good not because he is good, but because good action flows naturally when the ego is absent."

"And what of spiritual qualities? What of the purity that seekers strive for?"

"Purity is another quality. The seeker who strives for purity has created a goal—and goals belong to the mind. The Self was never impure. What needs purifying? The body may need cleaning, the mind may need refining, but awareness is spotless. It cannot be stained."

"I have often felt impure—guilty, unworthy."

"Those feelings appeared in awareness. Did awareness feel impure, or did it simply witness the feeling of impurity? Look closely. The witness is never contaminated by what it witnesses. The mirror is not stained by the reflection of dirt."

Janaka closed his eyes, examining his direct experience.

"I see it. There is a quality of guilt arising... and there is the seeing of that guilt. The seeing itself is clear, untouched."

"Now you understand. You can allow all qualities to arise—positive and negative—without identification. Let the body-mind have its characteristics. Let it improve if improvement happens. But know yourself as beyond improvement, beyond qualities, beyond change."

"Does this mean qualities do not matter?"

"They matter for the appearance, for the functioning of the world. The character in the movie may be heroic or villainous—this affects the story. But the screen on which the movie plays is unaffected. You are the screen, not the character."

"And when others judge me by my qualities?"

"Let them judge. Their judgments are thoughts in their minds. These thoughts do not touch what you are. If they call you saint or sinner, wise or foolish—these are all assessments of the appearance. The reality is beyond assessment."

Janaka nodded slowly. "I am not good or bad. I am not wise or ignorant. I am not even a seeker or a finder. I am that which is aware of all these labels."

"Yes. And even 'I am awareness' is a label, useful for pointing but not ultimately true. The truth is before all words—silent, still, complete. Rest there, beyond qualities, and all qualities find their proper place."