ThePyromania.Com - Shankara's Six Stanzas on Nirvana.

ThePyromania.Com - Shankara's Six Stanzas on Nirvana.
Shankaracharya was asked by his future guru Govinda Bhagavatpada 'who he was', Sri Shankara replied with these six stanzas. He was only eight years old at that time.

Shankara's Six Stanzas on Nirvana:

Om. I am neither mind, intelligence, ego, nor chitta,
Neither ears nor tongue nor the senses of smell and sight;
Nor am I ether, earth, fire, water, or air;
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!

I am neither the prana nor the five vital breaths,
Neither the seven elements of the body nor its five sheaths,
Nor hands nor feet nor tongue, nor the organs of sex and voiding:
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!

Neither loathing nor liking have I, neither greed nor delusion;
No sense have I of ego or pride, neither dharma nor moksha;
Neither desire of the mind nor object for its desiring:
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!

Neither right nor wrongdoing am I, neither pleasure nor pain,
Nor the mantra, the sacred place, the Vedas, the sacrifice;
Neither the act of eating, the eater, nor the food:
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!

Death or fear I have none, nor any distinction of caste;
Neither father nor mother nor even a birth have I;
Neither friend nor comrade, neither disciple nor guru:
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!

I have no form or fancy; the all-pervading am I;
Everywhere I exist, yet I am beyond the senses;
Neither salvation am I, nor anything that may be known:
I am Pure Knowledge and Bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!