Chapter VIII: Bondage and Liberation

#	Sanskrit Original	Translation by Bart Marshall	Translation by John Richards	Translation by Swami Nityaswarupananda
8.1	अष्टावक्र उवाच​। तथा बन्धो यदा चित्तं किञ्चिद्वाञ्छति शोचति। किञ्चिन्मुञ्चति गृह्णाति किञ्चिद्धृष्यति कुप्यति॥	Ashtavakra said: When the mind desires or grieves things, accepts or rejects things, is pleased or displeased by things - this is bondage.	Ashtavakra: Bondage is when the mind longs for something, grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.	Ashtavakra said: It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves at anything, rejects or accepts anything, feels happy or angry at anything.
8.2	तदा मुक्तिर्यदा चित्तं न वाञ्छति न शोचति। न मुञ्चति न गृह्णाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति॥	When the mind does not desire or grieve, accept or reject, become pleased or displeased, liberation is at hand.	Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.	Liberation is attained when the mind does not desire or grieve or reject or accept or feel happy or angry.
8.3	तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं सक्तं कास्वपि दृष्टिषु। तदा मोक्षो यदा चित्तमसक्तं सर्वदृष्टिषु॥	If the mind is attached to any experience, this is bondage. When the mind is detached from all experience, this is liberation.	Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses.	It is bondage when the mind is attached to any particular sense-organ. It is liberation when the mind is not attached to any of the sense-organs.
8.4	यदा नाहं तदा मोक्षो यदाहं बन्धनं तदा। मत्वेति हेलया किञ्चिन्मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा॥	When there is no "I" there is only liberation. When "I" appears bondage appears with it. Knowing this, it is effortless to refrain from accepting and rejecting.	When there is no "me" that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on nor reject.	When there is no 'I', there is liberation; when there is 'I', there is bondage. Considering thus, easily refrain from accepting or rejecting anything.