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Ashtavakra Gita Chapter 17 aṣṭāvakra gītā is a 20-chapter dialogue of direct advaita that repeatedly turns attention from changing experiences to the changeless witness. Its verses are short, but they aim at something practical: ending the inner compulsion to grasp, resist, and constantly defend an identity. When that compulsion drops, life is still lived - but lived with far less fear, comparison, and self-made suffering. In the previous chapters, the dialogue has steadily refined what freedom means. Chapters 1-4 establish the witness standpoint (sākṣī) and show that dispassion is not dryness but freedom from addiction to viṣayas. Chapters 5-15 keep dissolving doership and mental fixation: the teacher warns against craving and status, and then points to a growing ease where effort, inner argument, and even spiritual ambition fall away. Chapter 16 gives an especially strong pointer: inner wellbeing (svāsthya) appears not by collecting more concepts but by letting the mind "forget" its compulsions and rest. Chapter 17 now describes the texture of that rest. It sketches the liberated person not as someone frozen in a trance, but as someone whose inner hunger has ended. Such a person can see, hear, touch, eat, work, speak - and yet not be psychologically bound by attraction and aversion. The chapter repeatedly uses negations ("not this, not that") to show that freedom is not a new personality trait; it is the absence of the old inner compulsion. The chapters that follow keep strengthening the same vision. Chapter 18 is the longest section of the whole work and gathers many angles of the same freedom until it becomes unmistakable. Chapters 19-20 then become janaka's closing declarations, where he speaks from the natural wholeness of the Self and cannot find any place for the old categories of bondage and liberation. Seen as a whole, Chapter 17 is a portrait of the "ordinary miracle" of freedom: a mind that is not pushed around by pleasure and fear, praise and blame, gain and loss. It does not say the wise become inactive; it says their actions are no longer fueled by craving, and their reactions no longer build a self-story. The chapter's recurring message is: when vāsanās (latent cravings and conditioning) dissolve, life continues, but the inner burden does not. aṣṭāvakra uvācha ॥ Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Many traditions describe this as ātma-rati - delighting in the Self. It is not self-centeredness; it is the end of the hunger that tries to use people and situations as a substitute for wholeness. The Bhagavad Gita's portrait of the steady person echoes this: the one who is satisfied in the Self is not thrown about by desire, fear, or comparison. Advaita says that when the Self is seen as complete, relationships become cleaner and kinder because they are no longer driven by neediness. Practice by strengthening inner solitude in small ways. Spend a few minutes daily without stimulation - no phone, no planning, no self-improvement - and notice that awareness is enough to be present. In relationships, watch for the impulse to demand reassurance, control, or constant attention; replace it with one simple act of self-soothing and honesty. Also refine the senses: notice how overconsumption (news, drama, scrolling) makes the mind dull or agitated, and reduce it gently. The goal is not withdrawal from life, but the ability to be inwardly complete while life continues. na kadāchijjagatyasmin tattvajñō hanta khidyati । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Upanishads express the same vision with striking simplicity: īśāvāsyamidaṃ sarvam - all this is pervaded by the Lord (by the governing reality). In Advaita, that "Lord" is not separate from your own deepest Self; it is the same awareness shining through all names and forms. This is why the wise can be calm without being indifferent: they see one reality appearing as many, so hatred and panic lose their grip. Compassion becomes easier because the sense of separateness weakens. Practice by widening your sense of self when distress arises. Instead of staying trapped inside a single thought ("this is terrible; I'm doomed"), notice the larger field: sounds, sensations, breathing, the fact of awareness itself. Remind yourself: "This experience is appearing in awareness; I am not a tiny object trapped inside it." Then take one clean, practical step. This is not denial; it is right-sizing. Over time, this habit makes distress less sticky, because you stop feeding the sense of being a separate, threatened fragment. na jātu viṣayāḥ kē'pi svārāmaṃ harṣayantyamī । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita captures this with one famous line: paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartatē - having seen the higher, one naturally turns away from lower cravings. This is crucial because forced restraint often fails; it still leaves the craving alive. Ashtavakra is pointing to a different mechanism: when the Self is known as complete, craving weakens by itself. The world can still be appreciated, but it is not begged for. Practice by observing what you reach for when you feel unsettled. Is it food, scrolling, buying, fantasy, being right? Instead of moralizing, ask: "What am I actually seeking - comfort, love, security, significance?" Then experiment with a higher nourishment: a few minutes of quiet presence, honest prayer, a walk without distraction, or a brief inquiry into the witness. Notice the difference between temporary stimulation and deeper settling. As this "higher taste" grows, outer pleasures can be enjoyed without becoming chains. yastu bhōgēṣu bhuktēṣu na bhavatyadhivāsitaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): yōga and Vedanta both describe this residue as saṃskāra or vāsanā - latent impressions that keep pulling the mind into repeated loops. Even when an object is absent, the loop can run: fantasy, planning, envy, regret. When the Self is known as complete, these loops weaken because the mind no longer believes that an object will fix a lack. In that sense, freedom is not about banning pleasure; it is about removing the false job you give to pleasure. Practice by noticing the "after-scent." After an enjoyable experience (food, praise, entertainment), pause and see what the mind does next. Does it immediately want more? Does it start comparing? Bring awareness to that movement and soften it with contentment: "That was enjoyed; it can end." Similarly, when something is not available, watch the longing and name it without acting: "craving is here." Then redirect attention to a wholesome anchor: breath, a simple task, a gratitude list. Over time, the mind learns that it can enjoy and let go - and that is the rare skill the verse praises. bubhukṣuriha saṃsārē mumukṣurapi dṛśyatē । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This echoes a key Advaita insight: liberation is not a product; it is the end of mis-identification. When that is seen, the very posture of "I am a seeker trying to get something" relaxes. Many Upanishadic passages suggest this when they declare the Self as already whole and self-established. Even the desire for liberation is finally offered into a deeper quiet. This is why some texts speak in paradoxes like "neither bound nor liberated" - not to confuse, but to point out that the Self does not move from one state to another. Practice by watching your deepest motive for spirituality. Is it a clean love of truth, or is it a subtle bargain for security and specialness? If you notice the bargain, do not judge it; understand it. Then bring the mind back to what is immediate: awareness is present now. Instead of chasing "a future liberated me," rest for a moment as the witness and let the mind taste completeness. Over time, this reduces hunger, and practice becomes cleaner: less about achievement and more about clarity. dharmārthakāmamōkṣēṣu jīvitē maraṇē tathā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This is close to the Gita's teaching of equanimity: samatvaṃ yōga uchyatē. The wise can function without giving absolute weight to any one aim. That is why the four aims are mentioned: dharma, artha, kāma, and mōkṣa. The liberated mind does not deny them; it holds them in the right place. Life and death too are included because fear of death is one of the deepest drivers of clinging. When the Self is known as timeless awareness, that fear softens. Practice by reducing one small "inner war." Choose a situation where you keep saying, "This must be" or "This must not be." Notice the tension it creates. Then try replacing compulsion with clarity: "I will do what is appropriate, but I will stop fighting reality in my head." Keep your values, but drop the obsession. This is not passivity; it is clean action without inner violence. Over time, hēya-upādēyatā becomes less of a reflex, and the mind becomes more spacious. vāñChā na viśvavilayē na dvēṣastasya cha sthitau । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Advaita can sound world-denying when it calls appearances impermanent, but its deeper point is more subtle: do not treat appearances as ultimate, and do not fight them as enemies. The Bhagavad Gita praises the person who neither hates what arises nor craves what is absent. That is exactly what this verse describes in a cosmic scale: no craving even for the end of the universe, and no aversion even toward its continuance. When this is understood, even ordinary livelihood can be lived simply, without inner drama. Practice by noticing fantasies of escape. Do you daydream about a life where nothing bothers you, where people behave perfectly, where the world finally "stops"? See that as vāñChā wearing a spiritual costume. Also notice resentment: "I hate how things are." When that arises, return to one grounded step: what is the next right action? Pay the bill, speak the truth, rest, apologize, simplify. Life will still have noise, but your relationship to it becomes cleaner. This is the ease the verse points to: living without being at war with existence. kṛtārthō'nēna jñānēnētyēvaṃ galitadhīḥ kṛtī । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The tradition often contrasts two kinds of "mind": the mind as a tool for practical functioning, and the mind as an ego-machine that constantly claims and resists. Liberation does not destroy the tool; it dissolves the ego-machine. This is why the Bhagavad Gita can describe the wise as acting, speaking, and moving, while also saying they remain inwardly free (naiva kiñchit karōmi). Ashtavakra's portrait is similar: ordinary actions continue, but inwardly they are light. Practice by bringing this spirit to one daily activity. Pick eating, walking, or listening to someone. Instead of using the activity to get a mental payoff, be present with it as a simple happening. Notice the urge to judge, optimize, or escape. When it arises, return to the senses and the witness. This trains the mind to stop turning life into a project. Over time, you'll discover the ease the verse describes: not excitement, but a quiet comfort in being. śūnyā dṛṣṭirvṛthā chēṣṭā vikalānīndriyāṇi cha । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Notice the subtle point: it says there is no craving and also no dispassion. Dispassion is often practiced as an antidote to craving, but once craving has dissolved, the antidote is no longer needed. This is why Ashtavakra repeatedly describes the wise as beyond pairs. The Bhagavad Gita describes a similar maturity when it says the wise one is satisfied in the Self and does not depend on external supports. When the inner dependence ends, both clinging and "anti-clinging" lose relevance. Practice by relaxing the "seeking gaze" in one situation a day. For example, when entering a social space, notice the urge to scan for approval or threat. Then soften the eyes, feel the breath, and allow the room to be as it is. In work, notice when activity is driven by proving; replace it with one clean action done for its own sake. Over time, this turns the mind from agenda-driven to presence-driven, which is the direction the verse is pointing. na jāgarti na nidrāti nōnmīlati na mīlati । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The māṇḍūkya teaching describes this as turīya - the underlying reality present in waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. It is not a fourth experience; it is the awareness in which experiences come and go. This verse is a poetic way of pointing to that continuity. When awareness is recognized as the Self, the mind can still have states, but you are not reduced to those states. The inner light is not switched on and off by circumstances. Practice by noticing the continuity of awareness in small ways. Between activities, pause and recognize that awareness is still here. When you wake in the morning, notice the simple fact of knowing before the day's story begins. When you are tired, notice that awareness remains even as energy drops. In meditation, instead of chasing a special state, rest as the knowing of whatever state is present. This helps you intuit what the verse is pointing to: freedom is not a state you enter; it is the ground present in every state. sarvatra dṛśyatē svasthaḥ sarvatra vimalāśayaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Advaita treats vāsanā as one of the last subtle obstacles. Even after understanding the teaching intellectually, latent impressions can keep pulling the mind back into old patterns. This is why many traditions combine insight with steady assimilation: letting the understanding saturate life until the residues thin out. The Bhagavad Gita calls this "freedom from desire born of contact" and praises the one who remains equal in honor and dishonor. When vāsanās are less, the mind naturally becomes vimalāśaya - clear in its motives. Practice by working with one vāsanā pattern honestly. Identify a repeated pull: needing approval, needing control, needing stimulation. Then observe how it shows up in the body and mind. Instead of feeding it automatically, pause and return to awareness; choose a cleaner action. Also nourish opposing qualities: contentment, simplicity, truthfulness. This slowly drains the fuel of vāsanās. As they weaken, steadiness becomes less of a mood and more of a baseline. paśyan śṛṇvan spṛśan jighrann aśnan Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita states this in a compact way: the wise one, even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, and sleeping, knows "I do nothing at all" (naiva kiñchit karōmi). That does not deny action; it denies the ego's claim of doership. Ashtavakra's verse is the same teaching in a more descriptive form. When the sense of doership loosens, actions become simpler: less drama, less self-justification, less fear of blame. Practice by working with doership in small actions. Choose one daily activity - answering a message, cooking, driving - and do it with full attention but without inner commentary. When you notice the mind claiming ("I am so good" or "I am failing"), label it gently as ahaṅkāra and return to the action. Also notice guilt and pride as two faces of the same doership-knot. Replace both with a cleaner attitude: "I will do what is appropriate; I will learn; I will not build a self-story." This is how īhita-anīhita becomes less of a prison. na nindati na cha stauti na hṛṣyati na kupyati । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Giving and taking are also mentioned because even generosity can become ego: "I am a giver; therefore I am superior." Taking can become ego too: "I deserve; therefore give me." In a liberated mind, actions like giving and receiving still happen, but they do not build identity. This is closely related to the Gita's counsel to act without attachment to reward and without vanity. When the inner story drops, relationships become cleaner because they are not instruments of self-image. Practice by noticing where you are emotionally feeding yourself through praise and blame. In conversation, watch for the impulse to win, to impress, or to punish. Try one week of "clean speech": say what is true and helpful, but drop the extra ego-flavor. Also observe your giving: do one act of kindness anonymously or without expecting gratitude. And observe your taking: receive help without guilt and without entitlement. These are simple exercises that weaken the ego's need for emotional flavor and make nīrasa a lived stability. sānurāgāṃ striyaṃ dṛṣṭvā mṛtyuṃ vā samupasthitam । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita defines steadiness with similar language: the wise are not agitated in sorrow and not elated in joy, free from fear and anger. The reason is the same Advaita insight: if you are the witness, experiences can be intense but they cannot define you. Attraction and fear both rely on a hidden assumption: "I am incomplete and threatened." When that assumption is seen as a thought, these forces lose their absolute power. Practice by training your response to these two triggers. When attraction arises, feel it as energy in the body and let it be present without immediately turning it into action or fantasy. When fear arises, ground yourself: slow the breath, feel the feet, and name the fear clearly. In both cases, return to awareness and ask, "What is being asked of me right now?" Sometimes it is a boundary; sometimes it is courage; sometimes it is simple restraint. The aim is not to remove attraction and fear overnight, but to stop being owned by them. sukhē duḥkhē narē nāryāṃ sampatsu cha vipatsu cha । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita offers a famous parallel: the wise sees the same Self in a learned and humble person, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even an outcaste. The point is not social flattening; it is spiritual equality. When the Self is recognized as common, extreme attraction and aversion toward categories soften. This also has ethical implications: it becomes harder to exploit or demean others when you see them as yourself in another form. Practice by bringing equal vision into one concrete relationship. Choose someone you tend to idealize and someone you tend to dismiss. Notice the stories and the bodily reactions. Then ask, "What is the same in both?" At least this is true: both feel happiness and pain, both want respect, both fear loss. Let that recognition soften your inner partiality. You can still set boundaries and make decisions, but do so with less contempt and less neediness. This is how sama-darśana becomes lived. na hiṃsā naiva kāruṇyaṃ nauddhatyaṃ na cha dīnatā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): In Advaita, when separateness is seen through, the motives behind these opposites weaken. Cruelty cannot survive because the other is not felt as truly "other." At the same time, the need to perform compassion as identity also fades. What remains is a simple, natural responsiveness - a clean action that does not require a story about being virtuous. This aligns with the tradition's emphasis on spontaneous right action arising from clarity rather than from self-righteousness. Practice by watching your emotional pendulum. Notice where you swing between pride and shame, between outrage and sentimentality, between being impressed and being disturbed. When the swing starts, pause and return to awareness. Ask, "What self-image is being protected here?" Then choose a grounded response: speak firmly without contempt, help without superiority, admit a mistake without collapsing. These small shifts reduce ego-based extremes and make the steadiness described by the verse more natural. na muktō viṣayadvēṣṭā na vā viṣayalōlupaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita speaks of this as moving among objects with senses disciplined and mind free of rāga and dvēṣa. The key is not to make the world a battlefield for identity. When the Self is recognized as complete, objects lose their authority to define happiness. Then you can use objects as tools, enjoy them as gifts, and release them as they pass - without needing to either worship or demonize them. Practice by working with one attraction and one aversion. When attraction arises, enjoy mindfully but stop before compulsion; notice the moment the mind demands "more." When aversion arises, set boundaries if needed, but drop the extra hatred; notice how hatred keeps the object in your mind even when you leave it. In both cases, return to the witness and ask, "Can I be whole without this?" Repeating that inquiry quietly loosens saṃsakti and makes equanimity more real. samādhānāsamādhānahitāhitavikalpanāḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): In yōga philosophy, kaivalya is often described as the isolation of pure awareness from mental modifications. In Advaita, the deeper insight is that awareness was never bound in the first place; bondage belonged to identification. Both point to the same lived effect: the mind stops being a courtroom. This verse celebrates that end of inner litigation. It also guards against perfectionism in practice: you do not need to manufacture a flawless mental state to be free. Practice by reducing your inner scorekeeping. When you notice yourself judging your meditation, your emotions, or your day ("I did well/I failed"), pause and name it: "vikalpa." Then return to a simpler truth: awareness is present. If something needs correction, correct it, but without self-condemnation. This trains discernment without bondage. Over time, you will notice a new ease: disturbances come and go, but they do not define you. That is a taste of the freedom the verse is pointing to. nirmamō nirahaṅkārō na kiñchiditi niśchitaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The Bhagavad Gita repeatedly points to this freedom: the wise one knows that actions occur through the qualities of nature, while the Self remains untouched. That is why it can say, "While seeing, hearing, touching... I do nothing." Advaita's aim is similar: dissolve the false center. When ahaṅkāra falls away, actions can still happen as responses to life, but they do not create bondage because they do not create ownership. Practice by reducing "mine" in one area. Notice where you become tense: your work, your reputation, your family, your body. See how possessiveness turns them into sources of fear. Then experiment with a simple offering attitude: "Let this be done well, but let it not become my identity." Also watch expectation: before an action, notice the hidden demand for a certain response or outcome. Relax it, and act anyway. This gradually makes doership thinner, and the freedom described by the verse becomes more tangible. manaḥprakāśasammōhasvapnajāḍyavivarjitaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This is an important correction because many seekers suffer from "state chasing." They treat meditation as a factory for special experiences and then feel despair when ordinary moods return. Advaita points to the witness that is present in every mood. When that witness is recognized as the Self, the mind can have states without becoming a prison. Even the mind's brightness (prakāśa) is not clung to as a spiritual trophy, and even dullness is not treated as a personal failure. Practice by learning to stay present through state changes. When you feel clear, do not become proud; use the clarity for honest inquiry and kindness. When you feel confused, do not panic; slow down, simplify, and return to basic awareness. When you feel dreamy or dull, do not punish yourself; rest, take a walk, do a simple grounding practice. Each time, remind yourself: "Awareness is here in every state." This steadiness across states is the practical sign of the freedom the verse describes.
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