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Ashtavakra Gita Chapter 20 aṣṭāvakra gītā closes with a final, uncompromising pointer: reality is non-dual, and the Self cannot be confined to any category the mind can invent. Across the whole dialogue, the teacher has kept repeating the same medicine in different forms: stop identifying with the body-mind and recognize yourself as the awareness in which all experience appears. When that recognition becomes stable, life continues, but inner bondage loses its base. In the previous chapter (19), janaka spoke from the relief of clarity. He described doubt as a thorn removed from the heart by the forceps of truth-knowledge, and then he declared that familiar categories - time, place, duality, even spiritual states - could no longer bind him once he rested in Self-glory. Chapter 20 continues that voice, but takes it to its final edge. This last chapter is almost entirely built from kva ("where is...?") statements. Janaka is not making a philosophical argument; he is reporting a lived inability to locate the old world of distinctions once the Self is recognized as non-dual. He sweeps away categories of body and mind, scripture and practice, doer and enjoyer, creation and destruction, knowledge and ignorance, even guru and disciple. The goal is not to deny the practical world, but to point to the Self as the steady ground that is untouched by all these distinctions. Because this is the closing chapter, it can sound absolute. The best way to hear it is to distinguish two levels: the practical level where life is lived responsibly, and the deepest level where the Self is not changed by life. Janaka speaks from that deepest level. The chapter is meant to free you from psychological imprisonment in categories, so that you can live the practical level with more steadiness and less fear. Seen as a whole, Chapter 20 is a final summary of the entire gItA in one mood: nothing that the mind points to as "me" can stand, and therefore the old questions lose meaning. The chapter ends by declaring the teaching complete. It leaves you with a simple invitation: stop searching in objects and concepts, and rest as the non-dual awareness that is already present. janaka uvācha ॥ Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This verse also subtly corrects spiritual pessimism. If the teaching is misheard, it can produce a kind of despair: "If nothing is real, what's the point?" Janaka includes nairāśya to say: even that mood is not you. The Self is not voidness and not despair; it is the clear awareness in which both concepts and moods appear. That awareness is "stainless" because it is not touched by the content it knows. Practice by working with identity at the moment it forms. When you feel stressed, notice how quickly you collapse into "my body," "my mind," "my problem." Then pause and return to the witness: the awareness that knows the stress. If a mood of emptiness or hopelessness arises, do the same: let it be seen without being believed as identity. Then take one practical step - rest, speak to someone, simplify, act responsibly. This is how the verse becomes lived: experiences can arise, but they do not become the Self. kva śāstraṃ kvātmavijñānaṃ kva vā nirviṣayaṃ manaḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): He then mentions satisfaction and thirstlessness. These are valuable qualities in practice, but from the non-dual standpoint, they too are not owned as identity. The one who is gata-dvandva - beyond opposites - is not trapped in "I am satisfied" versus "I am dissatisfied." Contentment is natural, but not worn as a label. This chapter keeps dissolving the mind's tendency to hold even good states as ego-trophies. Practice by using scripture and practice as tools, not as identity. Study and meditate, but regularly ask: "What is aware right now?" Notice that awareness is present whether the mind is full of objects or quiet. Cultivate satisfaction and reduce craving, but drop the pride of being "thirstless." Let these qualities become natural rather than performative. This aligns you with Janaka's point: freedom is deeper than any state you can claim. kva vidyā kva cha vāvidyā kvāhaṃ kvēdaṃ mama kva vā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): Advaita often says that ignorance is not a substance; it is mis-identification. When mis-identification ends, the framework of ignorance/knowledge is no longer held as a personal drama. The mind can still learn and correct, but the existential knot of "I am ignorant" loses its sting. Similarly, bondage and liberation are meaningful only for the imagined separate self; for the Self, they cannot be located as changes in reality. Practice by watching the "I-this-mine" triad in action. Notice how quickly the mind says "my problem," "my achievement," "my fear." Then ask, "Who is this 'I'?" Return to awareness. Do the practical thing in the world, but soften possessiveness. Also, stop trying to make the Self into an object you can describe perfectly. Use teachings as pointers, but verify in direct experience: awareness is present before any thought of "I." That is the living answer to Janaka's question. kva prārabdhāni karmāṇi jīvanmuktirapi kva vā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): He also dissolves the difference between "jīvanmukti" and "vidēha kaivalya" as personal statuses. These distinctions matter for philosophical mapping, but the Self itself is beyond such mapping. This does not deny ethical living or consequences; it denies that the Self becomes bound by consequences. The teaching is pointing to a deeper security than the timeline of karma. Practice by keeping the two levels clear. At the practical level, act responsibly and accept consequences. At the deepest level, rest as awareness and notice that awareness is not affected by circumstances. If you worry about karma as fate, use that worry as a pointer to return to the Self. Do what you can; release what you can't. This is how the verse becomes calming rather than abstract. kva kartā kva cha vā bhōktā niṣkriyaṃ sphuraṇaṃ kva vā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The phrase aparōkṣa phala is subtle. Seekers often want a direct result they can point to: an experience that proves realization. Janaka says even that desire can be a trap. The Self is not a result; it is the ground. When you rest as awareness, there is no need to hold a result as trophy. This is why the wise is described as beyond fixed ego-nature (niḥsvabhāva): the personal center is not the center anymore. Practice by reducing doership and result-hunger together. When you act, do it with care but drop the inner claim. When you practice, do it to see clearly, not to accumulate experiences. Notice the craving for proof and relax it. Then return to awareness: the shining presence that is already here. Over time, the need for categories like doer and result reduces because the ground becomes obvious. kva lōkaṃ kva mumukṣurvā kva yōgī jñānavān kva vā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This is why Advaita can sound radical: it removes the foundation of spiritual identity. If you are non-dual awareness, then "I am a yogi" is at best a practical label, and at worst an ego costume. The verse is inviting you to drop the costume and rest as what you already are. That rest is not an achievement; it is recognition. Practice by noticing where you cling to spiritual labels: seeker, yogi, knower, bound, liberated. Use them for orientation if needed, but do not build your identity on them. Return repeatedly to a simpler question: "What is aware right now?" Let that awareness be your center. Over time, the need to label yourself reduces, and the non-dual truth becomes more lived and less theoretical. kva sṛṣṭiḥ kva cha saṃhāraḥ kva sādhyaṃ kva cha sādhanam । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This does not mean you should abandon all practice prematurely. It means practice has a purpose: to remove confusion. Once confusion is removed, practice is no longer held as a burden. The verse is pointing to the final freedom where the practitioner identity drops. The mind rests, and therefore the obsession with "siddhi" (attainment) also drops. Practice by doing your practice without self-making. If you meditate, meditate to see clearly, not to become someone. If you act ethically, act because it is right, not to build a spiritual image. Regularly return to the witness and notice that awareness is already present before any practice begins. This slowly dissolves the ladder-identity while keeping your life disciplined and sincere. kva pramātā pramāṇaṃ vā kva pramēyaṃ kva cha pramā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The verse also returns to the "something/nothing" trap. The mind tries to frame the absolute as either an object (something) or a void (nothing). Janaka says these are conceptual extremes. The Self is vimala, pure awareness, present and real, yet not an object. This verse is therefore a strong pointer toward the non-objective nature of the Self. Practice by noticing the subject-object split in daily life and then loosening it gently. When you see a thought, notice that both "observer" and "thought" appear in awareness. Rest as that awareness. Also, when you swing into nihilistic moods ("nothing matters") or obsessive grasping ("I need this thing"), remember: the Self is neither a thing nor a void. It is the knowing presence. Repeatedly returning to that shifts experience from conceptual to direct. kva vikṣēpaḥ kva chaikāgryaṃ kva nirbōdhaḥ kva mūḍhatā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This is also a corrective to spiritual perfectionism. Many people treat concentration as virtue and distraction as failure, joy as success and sorrow as defeat. Janaka says: from the standpoint of the Self, these are waves. The Self is the ocean. The ocean does not become good or bad because of waves. This recognition makes emotional life more workable because it removes absolute identification. Practice by shifting from wave-identity to ocean-identity. When you notice distraction, return gently without self-condemnation. When you notice joy or sorrow, let it be felt, but do not treat it as a verdict about you. Ask, "What is aware of this state?" Rest there. This is how niṣkriyatā becomes a lived reference point: not passivity, but freedom from being owned by states. kva chaiṣa vyavahārō vā kva cha sā paramārthatā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The key word is nirvimarśa: free of anxious conceptualizing. When the mind stops compulsively interpreting everything as personal drama, the difference between "worldly" and "spiritual" softens. You still live responsibly, but you are less psychologically trapped. Happiness and sorrow are also included because they often drive this split: we use spirituality to escape sorrow and use the world to chase happiness. Janaka is saying: the Self is free of both. Practice by reducing the split in your own life. Bring awareness into ordinary tasks: work, family, money. Do them cleanly, without treating them as spiritually inferior. Also bring honesty into your spiritual life: do not use it as escape from emotions. When happiness and sorrow arise, feel them, and return to awareness. This makes life more integrated and closer to the non-split vision Janaka describes. kva māyā kva cha saṃsāraḥ kva prītirviratiḥ kva vā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The verse also includes prīti and virati - attachment and withdrawal - to show that even emotional postures are not ultimate. The mind can attach or withdraw, but the Self is vimala, untouched. When this is seen, emotions can be handled more cleanly: love becomes less possessive, and withdrawal becomes less avoidant. Practice by watching where you feel like a separate "jiva." It often appears as fear, comparison, and the need to control. When it arises, return to awareness and notice that awareness is already whole. Also work with attachment and withdrawal in relationships: love without clinging, step back without hatred. Over time, the sense of separate self weakens, and the conceptual load of these pairs becomes lighter. kva pravṛttirnirvṛttirvā kva muktiḥ kva cha bandhanam । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): This is the heart of the entire teaching: the Self is steady even as life moves. When you recognize that steadiness, you can engage in action without being inwardly trapped and you can rest without using rest as escape. Freedom becomes a background rather than a rare event. The verse uses svastha to emphasize this: the Self is "at home" in itself. Practice by returning to the unchanging in the middle of change. In action, pause and notice awareness. In rest, pause and notice awareness. See that awareness is the same. Then allow action and rest to happen without inner identity-building. This gradually makes kūṭastha a lived reference point rather than a concept. kvōpadēśaḥ kva vā śāstraṃ kva śiṣyaḥ kva cha vā guruḥ । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): At that point, even the traditional aims of human life (puruṣārthas) lose their binding power. Not because life becomes meaningless, but because the heart is no longer seeking completion through aims. You can still live ethically and responsibly, but you are not living to fill a lack. This verse therefore describes the end of the seeker posture, not the end of living. Practice by respecting the path without clinging to it. Use teachings and teachers to remove confusion, but do not build a permanent identity around being a seeker. Each day, create a moment of direct rest as awareness without leaning on concepts. Let ethics and responsibility remain, but drop the psychological hunger for completion through goals. Over time, the mind begins to understand what nirupādhi śiva means in experience: a wholeness that does not need to be earned. kva chāsti kva cha vā nāsti kvāsti chaikaṃ kva cha dvayam । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The statement "nothing arises in me" is not nihilism; it is non-duality. It means: no separate, independent reality arises outside awareness. Experiences still appear, but they are not treated as separate substances. The chapter closes exactly where Advaita points: awareness is the ground, and the mind's categories cannot capture it. Practice by applying the "enough words" spirit. When you find yourself lost in conceptual argument - about existence, non-existence, one, two - pause and return to direct presence. Notice awareness here, now. Let experiences arise without making them into absolute conclusions. Then act responsibly in the world without panic. This is how the teaching ends: not with more debate, but with rest in the Self. iti aṣṭāvakragītā samāptā । Meaning (padārtha): Translation (bhāvārtha): Commentary (anusandhāna): The phrase ōṃ tat sat is traditionally used as a sacred closure. It can be read as a small summary: ōṃ as auspicious remembrance, tat as "That" reality beyond objectification, and sat as truth/reality. It seals the teaching with a reminder: what the words were pointing to is not merely a concept; it is the living truth that is present as awareness. Practice by letting the ending become an inner ending. After reading, do not rush to collect more ideas. Sit quietly for a few minutes and rest as awareness. Notice what is already present before thought. Then take the teaching into life in small ways: reduce craving, reduce doership, speak truth, act kindly, and return often to the witness. This is how the gItA truly "ends": as lived freedom rather than as stored information.
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