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The Silent Sage

    Welling in a body like the air-ships of the gods, he tastes boundless joys freely presented to him.  The knower of the Suprene SELF is a child obedient to a higher will; he is of form unmanifest, untouched by allurement.

    Clothed in space, or wearing a vesture, clothed in skin or in pure thought, as a madman or child or a ghost, he walks the earth.

    Withdrawing desire from things of desire, the silent sage wlaks in solitude, ever contented int he Supreme SELF, through the Supreme SELF he stands firm.

    Now as a madman, now a sage, now a glorious , great king, now a humble wanderer, now solitary as a serpent, now honoured, now lightly esteemed, now unknown, thus goes the sage, ever rejoicing in the highest bliss.

    Thou without riches, yet ever content; though without a helper, yet of mighty power; though bereft, yet ever rejoicing; though afflicted, full of joy.

    Acting, though not himself the actor; reaping the reward, though not seeking enjoyment; possessing a body, though beyond the body; though hemmed in,  yet going everywhere.

    Neither good nor evil, neither fair nor foul touch him, dwelling ever beyond the body, full of the vision of the Eternal.

    — Shri Shankaracharya