Chapter-14, Verse 2

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 14.2

क्व धनानि क्व मित्राणि क्व मे विषयदस्यवः। क्व शास्त्रं क्व च विज्ञानं यदा मे गलिता स्पृहा॥२॥

2. When once the desires have melted away, where are my riches, where are my friends, where are the thieves in the form of sense objects, nay, where are the scriptures and knowledge itself? 

Riches (dhanāni), friends (mitrāṇi), scriptures (śāstram), knowledge (vijñānam) are all of great value for one's security, comfort and satisfaction while living as an ego amidst the sense objects. As an ego, when we are living in the world, no doubt, sense objects with their powerful enchantments can steal into our bosom and plunder away our peace and tranquillity, our discrimination and understanding, even our education and culture. True, very very true. 

But, when desires have melted away, to one who has thus come to experience the Infinite blissful Self, of what value are these external scaffoldings – riches, friends, scriptures or knowledge – which hold together for us our illusory world of pleasure and pains? To one who has Realised the Self, of what value are the scriptures – of what use is knowledge, spiritual as well as secular? 

This same idea is much more poetically put in the Bhagavad-Gītā: ‘To the Brāhmaṇa, who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of so much use as is a reservoir of water in a place where there is flood everywhere.’ (yāvānartha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake, tāvānsarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ. ~Bhagavad-Gītā-2.46)