You are Shiva, and even now, you are free. Only a thin veil of ignorance hides this truth from you.
Most of us spend our lives building an identity—brick by brick, title by title. We define ourselves by our jobs, our struggles, our families, and our fears. But there is a story from the 8th century that challenges the very foundation of who we think we are
There is a story about the moment when the great Adi Shankara met his guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada.
As the tradition goes, Shankara was only about eight years old when he left home in search of a guru. He traveled hundreds of miles until he reached a cave on the banks of the River Narmada, where the great sage Govinda Bhagavatpada lived in deep meditation.
When the boy approached the cave, the sage sensed a powerful presence and asked:
“Who are you?”
The young boy’s response was recorded by Shankara himself, in the Nirvana Shatakam (also known as Atma Shatakam), which is one of the great texts of Advaita Vedanta.
Rather than giving a conventional answer—such as his name, his lineage, or where he was born—the young Shankara replied with six verses of spontaneous Sanskrit poetry–the Nirvana Shatakam. He didn’t just explain who he was; he meticulously stripped away every layer of physical and mental identity to reveal the ultimate, underlying Reality.
Each of the six verses ends with the intonation: Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham, meaning “I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!”
What does this illuminating piece of Advaitic verse tell us?
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- Beyond the Body: You are not the flesh, the breath or the sensory organs. You are not your thoughts or emotions.
- Beyond the Psychological Ego: You are not your hatreds, your cravings, or even your virtues.
- Beyond Social Constructs: You are not bound by family, caste, or creed. The real you is never born, and cannot die.
- Beyond Requirements and Ever-Free: There is nothing that you must do or have. You do not require spiritual practices such as mantra, teachings, pilgrimage or rituals, Sin cannot touch you and there is no need to expiate sin. You are beyond good and evil and ever-free.
- Beyond Limitation: You are beyond time, space and causation.
As radical as this sounds, this is the truth at the absolute level. There is no higher truth. While it may not seem “true” in the relative world of bills, deadlines, and physical pain, the relative world is transient. The eternal Reality overshadows the fleeting shadows of our daily existence.
Knowing and remembering this, live your life as the pure and perfect soul that you are, throwing off everything that is not you, while helping others to realize the same blessed truth.
Here are some practical tools to put this into practice:
1. The “Observer” Technique in Stress
When you feel overwhelmed by a deadline or a difficult conversation, you are likely over-identifying with your emotional and mental states.
- The Practice: Mentally step back and say, “The mind is experiencing anxiety, but I am the witness of the mind.”
- The Result: By acknowledging that you are the “eternal knowing” rather than the “anxious thought,” you create a space of calm. The stress remains, but it no longer defines you.
2. Radical Self-Acceptance
Shankara says, “Na punyam na paapam”—I have neither merit nor demerit. In a world that constantly judges us based on our successes, failures, and “good” or “bad” choices, this is incredibly freeing.
- The Practice: When you feel guilt over a mistake or pride over an achievement, remind yourself that these are ripples on the surface of the ocean.
- The Result: You stop being a slave to the “Personal I.” You begin to act out of a sense of purpose rather than a desperate need for validation.
3. Dissolving the “Other”
The final verse of the Shatakam speaks of being “all-pervasive” (Vibhutvātcha sarvatra). If you are Shiva and the person next to you is also Shiva, the walls of separation—caste, creed, political affiliation, or status—start to crumble.
- The Practice: The next time you feel irritation toward a “difficult” person, remember that they are the divine Shiva as well as you.
- The Result: Love and compassion become your natural state because you realize that others are part of your very Self, and deserving of your love, patience and compassion.
The six verses follow below:
Nirvana Shatakam: The Six Verses of Liberation
Verse 1 Mano budhhi ahankara chithaani naaham, Na cha shrothra jihve na cha graana netre, Na cha vyoma bhoomir na tejo na vayuhu, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I am not the mind, the intellect, the ego, or the subconscious mind (citta). I am not the five senses—I am beyond hearing, tasting, smelling, or seeing. I am not the five elements: ether, earth, fire, water, or air. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Verse 2 Na cha praana sanjno na vai pancha vayuhu, Na vaa sapta dhaathur na va pancha koshah, Na vak pani padau na chopastha paayu, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I am not the vital life energy (prana), nor the five breaths. I am not the seven essential juices of the body, nor the five sheaths of the self. I am not the organs of action—speech, grasping, movement, or excretion. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Verse 3 Na me dvesha raghau na me lobha mohau, Madho naiva me naiva matsarya bhava, Na dharmo na chaartho na kamo na moksha, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I have no hatred or dislike, no affiliation or longing. I am free from greed, delusion, pride, and envy. I have no duty (dharma), no worldly pursuit (artha), no desire (kama), and even no need for liberation (moksha). I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Verse 4 Na punyam na paapam na saukhyam na dukham, Na mantro na thirtham na vedah na yagna, Aham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhoktha, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I have neither merit nor demerit, neither virtue nor vice. I am beyond happiness and sorrow, pain and pleasure. I have no need for mantras, holy sites, scriptures, or rituals. I am neither the observer, the process of observing, nor the object observed. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Verse 5 Na mṛtyur na shankha na me jathi bhedha, Pita naiva me naiva mata na janmah, Na bhandhur na mitram guru naiva shishyah, Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I have no fear of death, for I have no death. I have no doubt of my existence, nor do I have any distinction of caste or creed. I have no father, no mother, and I was never born. I am not a relative, a friend, a guru, or a disciple. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Verse 6 Aham nirvikalpo nirakara rupo, vibhut vātcha sarvatra sarvendriyanam, Na cha sangathan naiva muktir na meyah Chidananada Roopa Shivoham, Shivoham.
I am all-pervasive. I am without attributes and without form. I have no attachment to the world, nor even to liberation. I have no wishes, for I am everything, everywhere, always in equilibrium. I am indeed that eternal knowing and bliss: I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
