𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 𑌗𑍀𑌤𑌾 𑌪𑌂𑌚𑌮𑍋𑌽𑌧𑍍𑌯𑌾𑌯𑌃

𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 𑌗𑍀𑌤𑌾 is a 20-chapter dialogue of radical 𑌅𑌦𑍍𑌵𑍈𑌤, alternating between 𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰's precise instruction and 𑌜𑌨𑌕's ripening recognition. Again and again it points to one correction that changes everything: you are the awareness that knows experience, not the body-mind that appears in experience. The work does not aim to create a new spiritual personality; it aims to dissolve the old habit of identification, so life can be lived with responsibility but without inner bondage.

Up to this point, the dialogue has moved through a clear arc. Chapter 1 answers 𑌜𑌨𑌕's questions about 𑌜𑍍𑌞𑌾𑌨, 𑌮𑍁𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌿, and 𑌵𑍈𑌰𑌾𑌗𑍍𑌯, warning against compulsive attachment to 𑌵𑌿𑌷𑌯s while pointing to the witness (𑌸𑌾𑌕𑍍𑌷𑍀). Chapter 2 expresses the "afterglow" of recognition through metaphors like wave-water and rope-snake, loosening fear and ownership. Chapter 3 tightens the teaching into a diagnostic of residual craving and identity-knot, and Chapter 4 describes the lived texture of freedom where enjoyment may continue but compulsion does not.

Chapter 5 is short but sharp, and it revolves around a single refrain: 𑌏𑌵𑌮𑍇𑌵 𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 - "in this very way, enter dissolution." Here 𑌲𑌯 does not mean physical disappearance; it means dissolution of the false sense of being a separate, needy "someone" inside the body-mind aggregate (𑌸𑌂𑌘𑌾𑌤). 𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 challenges the reflex to search for purity by performing dramatic renunciation. If you are truly unattached, what is there to renounce? If you are the ocean of awareness, the world is a bubble and a wave - and the whole struggle of "holding on" begins to look unnecessary.

The next chapters echo and refine the same point. Chapter 6 has 𑌜𑌨𑌕 respond that for one who is established in truth there is "no giving up and no grasping" - the Self is untouched by both. Chapter 7 deepens the ocean imagery until gain and loss lose meaning. Chapter 8 gives crisp definitions of bondage and liberation as movements of mind, and Chapter 9 begins the turn toward 𑌨𑌿𑌰𑍍𑌵𑍇𑌦 (mature disillusionment) and effortless renunciation of 𑌵𑌾𑌸𑌨𑌾s (latent tendencies).

Seen as a whole, Chapter 5 is the "laya chapter": it points to freedom as a collapse of false identification, not as a project of self-improvement. The chapter repeats the same medicine in four doses - you have no real 𑌸𑌂𑌗 (attachment), the world rises from you like a bubble, it has no independent substance like the snake on a rope, and therefore the mind can settle into a fuller equanimity where pleasure and pain, hope and hopelessness, even life and death, do not shake the Self. The summary is simple: stop trying to become free in the future; recognize the already-free awareness now, and let the compulsion to cling dissolve.

𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 𑌉𑌵𑌾𑌚 ॥
𑌨 𑌤𑍇 𑌸𑌂𑌗𑍋𑌽𑌸𑍍𑌤𑌿 𑌕𑍇𑌨𑌾𑌪𑌿 𑌕𑌿𑌂 𑌶𑍁𑌦𑍍𑌧𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌤𑍁𑌮𑌿𑌚𑍍𑌛𑌸𑌿 ।
𑌸𑌂𑌘𑌾𑌤𑌵𑌿𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌕𑍁𑌰𑍍𑌵𑌨𑍍𑌨𑍇𑌵𑌮𑍇𑌵 𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 ॥ 5-1॥

Meaning (𑌪𑌦𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰𑌃 - the sage Ashtavakra
𑌉𑌵𑌾𑌚 - said; spoke
𑌨 - not
𑌤𑍇 - for you
𑌸𑌂𑌗𑌃 - attachment; association
𑌅𑌸𑍍𑌤𑌿 - is (𑌸𑌂𑌗𑍋𑌽𑌸𑍍𑌤𑌿 = 𑌸𑌂𑌗𑌃 𑌅𑌸𑍍𑌤𑌿)
𑌕𑍇𑌨 𑌅𑌪𑌿 - with anyone; by anyone
𑌕𑌿𑌂 - why? what for?
𑌶𑍁𑌦𑍍𑌧𑌃 - pure; stainless
𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌤𑍁𑌮𑍍 - to abandon; to renounce
𑌇𑌚𑍍𑌛𑌸𑌿 - you wish; you desire
𑌸𑌂𑌘𑌾𑌤 - aggregate; the body-mind bundle
𑌵𑌿𑌲𑌯𑌂 - dissolution; melting away
𑌕𑍁𑌰𑍍𑌵𑌨𑍍 - doing; while doing
𑌏𑌵𑌂 𑌏𑌵 - thus; in this very way
𑌲𑌯𑌂 - dissolution; absorption (of false identification)
𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 - go; enter; abide

Translation (𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
Ashtavakra said: You have no real attachment to anyone. Why do you, being pure, wish to renounce? Dissolve identification with the aggregate, and in this way enter dissolution.

Commentary (𑌅𑌨𑍁𑌸𑌂𑌧𑌾𑌨):
This opening verse aims straight at a common confusion: mistaking outer renunciation for inner freedom. 𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 says, "You have no real 𑌸𑌂𑌗." In Advaita, the Self is 𑌅𑌸𑌂𑌗 - unattached - because attachment belongs to the mind's stories, not to awareness itself. If that is true, then the drama of "I must purify myself by giving things up" is already slightly off. Purity (𑌶𑍁𑌦𑍍𑌧𑌿) here is not moral perfection; it is the natural untangledness of awareness. The "thing to dissolve" is not the world; it is the mistaken identity that feels bound. That is why he names 𑌸𑌂𑌘𑌾𑌤 - the bundle of body sensations, thoughts, and roles - and asks you to dissolve your clinging to it as "me".

This is close to the Upanishadic refrain 𑌅𑌸𑌂𑌗𑍋 𑌹𑍍𑌯𑌯𑌂 𑌪𑍁𑌰𑍁𑌷𑌃 - "this Self is unattached." It also echoes the 𑌭𑌗𑌵𑌦𑍍 𑌗𑍀𑌤𑌾's emphasis on 𑌅𑌸𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌿 (non-clinging): action may continue, but the inner knot of "I need this to be whole" is loosened. In ordinary life, the same mistake shows up when we believe a lifestyle change will automatically heal inner restlessness: "If I change jobs, move cities, end this relationship, buy this thing, then I will be okay." Sometimes change is needed; but the deeper bondage is the compulsion that says "my well-being depends on the next rearrangement." 𑌲𑌯 points to a different freedom: the Self is already okay, and therefore choices can become cleaner and less desperate.

Practice by shifting the target of renunciation. Instead of renouncing objects, renounce the reflex of identification. When a strong desire or fear arises, ask: "What is the 𑌸𑌂𑌘𑌾𑌤 element right now - sensation, emotion, thought, or role-image - that I am calling 'me'?" Then do a simple three-step experiment: (1) feel the sensation without commentary, (2) name the thought as a thought, and (3) rest as the knower for two breaths. After that, act normally: speak, work, set a boundary, or rest. The practice is not to suppress life but to dissolve the sticky "I am this" in the middle of life. Over time, renunciation becomes natural because the inner grip loosens; you do not have to throw life away to stop being owned by it.

𑌉𑌦𑍇𑌤𑌿 𑌭𑌵𑌤𑍋 𑌵𑌿𑌶𑍍𑌵𑌂 𑌵𑌾𑌰𑌿𑌧𑍇𑌰𑌿𑌵 𑌬𑍁𑌦𑍍𑌬𑍁𑌦𑌃 ।
𑌇𑌤𑌿 𑌜𑍍𑌞𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌵𑍈𑌕𑌮𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌮𑍇𑌵𑌮𑍇𑌵 𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 ॥ 5-2॥

Meaning (𑌪𑌦𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
𑌉𑌦𑍇𑌤𑌿 - arises; comes forth
𑌭𑌵𑌤𑌃 - from you; belonging to you
𑌵𑌿𑌶𑍍𑌵𑌂 - the universe; the world
𑌵𑌾𑌰𑌿𑌧𑍇𑌃 - from the ocean
𑌇𑌵 - like; as
𑌬𑍁𑌦𑍍𑌬𑍁𑌦𑌃 - bubble
𑌇𑌤𑌿 - thus; in this way
𑌜𑍍𑌞𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌾 - having known
𑌏𑌕𑌮𑍍 - one
𑌆𑌤𑍍𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌮𑍍 - the Self (𑌜𑍍𑌞𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌵-𑌏𑌕𑌂-𑌆𑌤𑍍𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌮𑍍 = 𑌜𑍍𑌞𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌾 𑌏𑌕𑌂 𑌆𑌤𑍍𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌮𑍍)
𑌏𑌵𑌂 𑌏𑌵 - thus; in this very way
𑌲𑌯𑌂 - dissolution; absorption
𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 - go; enter; abide

Translation (𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
The world arises from you like a bubble from the ocean. Knowing yourself as the one Self, in this very way enter dissolution.

Commentary (𑌅𑌨𑍁𑌸𑌂𑌧𑌾𑌨):
The bubble-ocean image is chosen for its simplicity. A bubble is real as an appearance - you can see it, count it, watch it burst - yet it has no separate substance apart from the water. Likewise, the world appears with vivid detail, yet it has no reality independent of awareness. The verse is not arguing about physics; it is correcting psychological identity. When you take the bubble to be a separate entity fighting for survival, fear is inevitable. When you recognize the bubble as water taking a temporary shape, fear relaxes. "Knowing the one Self" (𑌏𑌕𑌂 𑌆𑌤𑍍𑌮𑌾𑌨𑌮𑍍) means shifting from "I am a small bubble inside a vast ocean" to "I am the ocean of awareness in which bubbles appear."

This metaphor is also a medicine for ownership. The mind tends to say, "This experience is mine; I must secure it." But if experiences are bubble-like, clinging becomes unnatural: you can appreciate without insisting. This is why Advaita insists on 𑌅𑌨𑌨𑍍𑌯𑌤𑍍𑌵 (non-separateness): the world is not "other" than consciousness, and therefore the Self is not threatened by the world. In daily living, this shows up when life changes and we panic: a job changes, health fluctuates, relationships evolve. The bubble view does not make you careless; it makes you saner. You still act - you update your resume, you see a doctor, you repair a relationship - but you do it from steadiness rather than from existential dread.

Practice with one concrete bubble each day. Choose one experience you usually cling to (praise, comfort, certainty, attention) and watch how quickly the mind turns it into identity. Then do a short contemplation: "This is a bubble in awareness. It arose, it will change, and awareness remains." Let that be felt, not merely thought. After that, take one grounded action that respects reality without worshipping it: do the work, speak the truth, rest the body, or set a boundary. If anxiety arises, treat it too as a bubble - a pattern of sensation and thought - and return to the ocean by resting for a few breaths as the simple fact of knowing. Over weeks, this shifts your center of gravity: you can enjoy bubbles without being frightened by their bursting.

𑌪𑍍𑌰𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌷𑌮𑌪𑍍𑌯𑌵𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌾𑌦𑍍 𑌵𑌿𑌶𑍍𑌵𑌂 𑌨𑌾𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌮𑌲𑍇 𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌯𑌿 ।
𑌰𑌜𑍍𑌜𑍁𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌪 𑌇𑌵 𑌵𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌮𑍇𑌵𑌮𑍇𑌵 𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 ॥ 5-3॥

Meaning (𑌪𑌦𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
𑌪𑍍𑌰𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌷𑌂 𑌅𑌪𑌿 - even though directly perceived
𑌅𑌵𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍁𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌾𑌤𑍍 - because it is not a real "thing"; because it lacks independent substance
𑌵𑌿𑌶𑍍𑌵𑌂 - the world; the universe
𑌨 𑌅𑌸𑍍𑌤𑌿 - is not
𑌅𑌮𑌲𑍇 - in the stainless one; O pure one
𑌤𑍍𑌵𑌯𑌿 - in you
𑌰𑌜𑍍𑌜𑍁-𑌸𑌰𑍍𑌪𑌃 - rope-snake (snake imagined on a rope)
𑌇𑌵 - like
𑌵𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌤𑌮𑍍 - manifest; apparent
𑌏𑌵𑌂 𑌏𑌵 - thus; in this very way
𑌲𑌯𑌂 - dissolution; absorption
𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 - go; enter; abide

Translation (𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
Even though it is directly seen, the world has no independent substance in you, O stainless one; it is like the snake imagined on a rope. In this very way enter dissolution.

Commentary (𑌅𑌨𑍁𑌸𑌂𑌧𑌾𑌨):
This verse addresses a subtle doubt: "If the world is not real, why do I see it so clearly?" 𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 answers by separating clarity from reality. The snake on a rope can be vividly seen, with shape and color, and yet it is not what it seems. The problem is not perception; it is misreading. Likewise, the world is 𑌪𑍍𑌰𑌤𑍍𑌯𑌕𑍍𑌷 (directly experienced), but it is 𑌅𑌵𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍁 (not an independent entity) when taken as a second, separate reality that can bind the Self. The point is not to deny experience; it is to withdraw the extra belief that turns experience into bondage: the belief that the Self is a small object within the experience.

The tradition often uses the rope-snake to explain fear. Fear is not created by the rope; it is created by the mistaken interpretation. In day-to-day terms, this is how our mind manufactures suffering: a neutral email is read as rejection, a silence is read as betrayal, a minor symptom is read as catastrophe. The mind adds a "snake" story and then reacts to its own story. Advaita says the deepest snake-story is "I am the body-mind, therefore I am vulnerable in every change." When the rope is recognized - awareness as the stable witness - the world may still appear, but it loses the power to terrify the Self.

Practice by working with "snake moments" as they happen. When you feel a spike of fear or reactivity, ask two questions: (1) "What exactly is the rope-fact right now?" (what is actually known), and (2) "What extra story is being added?" Then do one breath of 𑌸𑌾𑌕𑍍𑌷𑍀-standing: notice that the story is known, the fear is known, the body sensations are known - therefore they are objects, not the knower. After two breaths, take one practical step based on the rope, not the snake: clarify the message, ask a question, rest, or wait. This trains a mature kind of freedom: you do not need to shut down perception; you only need to stop building your life on imagined snakes.

𑌸𑌮𑌦𑍁𑌃𑌖𑌸𑍁𑌖𑌃 𑌪𑍂𑌰𑍍𑌣 𑌆𑌶𑌾𑌨𑍈𑌰𑌾𑌶𑍍𑌯𑌯𑍋𑌃 𑌸𑌮𑌃 ।
𑌸𑌮𑌜𑍀𑌵𑌿𑌤𑌮𑍃𑌤𑍍𑌯𑍁𑌃 𑌸𑌨𑍍𑌨𑍇𑌵𑌮𑍇𑌵 𑌲𑌯𑌂 𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 ॥ 5-4॥

Meaning (𑌪𑌦𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
𑌸𑌮 - equal; even
𑌦𑍁𑌃𑌖-𑌸𑍁𑌖𑌃 - in pain and pleasure
𑌪𑍂𑌰𑍍𑌣𑌃 - full; complete
𑌆𑌶-𑌅𑌨𑌿𑌰𑌾𑌶𑍍𑌯𑌯𑍋𑌃 - in hope and hopelessness (success and failure)
𑌸𑌮𑌃 - equal
𑌸𑌮-𑌜𑍀𑌵𑌿𑌤-𑌮𑍃𑌤𑍍𑌯𑍁𑌃 - equal in life and death
𑌸𑌨𑍍 - being; abiding
𑌏𑌵𑌂 𑌏𑌵 - thus; in this very way
𑌲𑌯𑌂 - dissolution; absorption
𑌵𑍍𑌰𑌜 - go; enter; abide

Translation (𑌭𑌾𑌵𑌾𑌰𑍍𑌥):
Be even in pleasure and pain, full and complete; be even in hope and hopelessness, even in life and death. In this very way enter dissolution.

Commentary (𑌅𑌨𑍁𑌸𑌂𑌧𑌾𑌨):
After metaphors, the chapter ends with a lived description. 𑌸𑌮𑌤𑌾 (evenness) is not indifference; it is freedom from inner swing. The mind normally rides waves: hope lifts it, disappointment drops it; pleasure excites it, pain contracts it. 𑌅𑌷𑍍𑌟𑌾𑌵𑌕𑍍𑌰 points to a deeper fullness (𑌪𑍂𑌰𑍍𑌣𑌤𑌾) in which these waves can still arise but do not define you. The phrase 𑌸𑌮𑌜𑍀𑌵𑌿𑌤-𑌮𑍃𑌤𑍍𑌯𑍁𑌃 is especially strong: even the biggest polarity - life and death - loses the power to shake the Self when identity is no longer glued to the body-mind.

This echoes the Advaita understanding that the Self is 𑌨𑌿𑌤𑍍𑌯 (ever-present) while experiences are 𑌅𑌨𑌿𑌤𑍍𑌯 (changing). The 𑌭𑌗𑌵𑌦𑍍 𑌗𑍀𑌤𑌾 frames this as steadiness in dualities: 𑌮𑌾𑌤𑍍𑌰𑌾𑌸𑍍𑌪𑌰𑍍𑌶𑌾𑌸𑍍𑌤𑍁 𑌕𑍌𑌂𑌤𑍇𑌯 - contacts produce heat and cold, pleasure and pain; endure them. But Chapter 5 goes further: it suggests the evenness is not merely endurance; it is natural when the witness is recognized. In ordinary situations, you can taste this when you stop making a single outcome your identity. A project succeeds or fails; you learn and continue. Someone praises or criticizes; you listen and adjust without collapsing. The "fullness" is the inner freedom to stay intact.

Practice by training evenness in small, measurable ways. Choose one daily trigger-pair: praise/blame, gain/loss, comfort/discomfort. When one side arrives, notice the body's swing (tightness, rush, collapse) and name it: "wave". Then take one breath to feel the deeper ground: awareness is present in both wave-types. After that, do one action aligned with steadiness: a grounded reply instead of a defensive one; a walk instead of doom-scrolling; a small next step instead of rumination. Also train on purpose: do one small voluntary discomfort each day (a short cold rinse, a simple meal, a digital break) and watch the mind protest; let it protest without obeying it. This builds a quiet confidence: your well-being is not held hostage by conditions. As that confidence grows, 𑌲𑌯 happens naturally - the separate "me" that needs constant favorable conditions begins to dissolve, and life is carried with more gentleness and strength.

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