The Ashtavakra Gita: A Commentary- Part 1

The following article will be a commentary on the classic text "The Ashtavakra Gita". This is one of my favorite spiritual texts and highlights the reason why Advaita is considered the "Direct Path". Ashtavakra's teachings to King Janaka have one goal: the complete destruction of ignorance.

The verses are taken from the translation by John Henry Richards and can be found HERE.

For reading on the go, there is an excellent app available for this text and can be found HERE.

Before embarking on this journey, it's important to define terminology to be sure there is no confusion in what the text says or in what I am trying to convey. Please familiarize yourself with the following terminology. This terminology is credited to the Path of Knowledge Program and the teachings of Tarun Pradhaan. Without his guidance and generosity, none of this would be possible.

The Existence- Brahman, the All. There is an apparent changing aspect, the Experience, and an unchanging aspect, the Experiencer.

The Experiencer- the unchanging aspect of the Existence which is ever-present. It is the essence of the Existence and thus the whole of the Existence. Also referred to as Consciousness, Awareness, the Witness, The Self, Atman. Emptiness is another term to describe the Experiencer since it is free of all possible characteristics and is pure subjectivity. 

The Experience- the changing aspect of the Existence. It is also known as the illusion or Maya. Fundamental ignorance causes identification with the Experience (namely the body and mind and creates the sense that "I Am the Doer") and thus suffering arises for the illusory individual.

Self-Realization- The dropping of the ignorance that "I Am the Doer". There is the realization that "I Am the Experiencer" and that "Experience is illusory". We see that the essence of this Existence is that which is ever-present, the Emptiness, Experiencer or Witness of all Experience.

Awareness- A remembering or recall of the essential Knowledge "I Am the Experiencer". Awareness causes gradual destruction of ignorance and the tendencies which cause suffering.

Experiencing- it is a presence that is the base state of the Existence where there is no subject or object, no Experiencer or Experience. Experiencing is all there is, all there was, and all there ever will be. Anything else is an unnecessary division.

Oneness/Nonduality- There can be a recognition that there is no two in this Existence, only one, indivisible reality. There is only this Existence, Experiencing itself as illusory Experience.

Verses 1.1-1.10.

Janaka said:

How is one to acquire knowledge? How is one to attain liberation? And how is one to reach dispassion? Tell me this, sir. 1.1

Janaka has finally reached the point that everyone from Gautama Buddha to you and me, eventually reaches. He realized that the traditional wisdom about how to be happy, passed on by family, friends, and society, is ultimately unsatisfactory. The riches are no longer bringing happiness, the lavish meals start to taste bland, the title of King no longer holds the meaning it once did. The questions arise: “Who Am I? What Is My Purpose Here? Is There Any Way to Attain Happiness and Freedom?”. Fortunately, he has stumbled upon the Guru, who manifests to all spiritual seekers eventually. His Guru appears as the sage Ashtavakra who will point him to the essential Knowledge.

In his second question, Janaka asks “How is one to attain liberation?” What is Janaka hoping to be liberated from? He’s hoping to be liberated from the hedonic treadmill of human life, that is, the constant and endless need to fulfill desires. This can also be referred to as rebirth, Samsara, or karmic bondage. He has realized that the hedonic treadmill is never-ending and no amount of desire fulfillment will ever bring true peace and freedom. When one desire is fulfilled, another arises to take its place.

Janaka is hoping to find unconditional happiness, peace, and freedom. His happiness is currently dependent upon the outcomes of desire fulfillment; he knows no other way to live. Fortunately, he’s found that there is another way which is demonstrated by the Guru, Ashtavakra. This unconditional happiness, peace, and freedom that Janaka seeks, emanates from the Guru. After many years and lifetimes of desire fulfillment, it is difficult to understand how dispassion from worldly desires is possible. This gives rise to Janaka’s final question: “How is one to reach dispassion?”.

Ashtavakra said:

If you are seeking liberation, my son, avoid the objects of the senses like poison and cultivate tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment, and truthfulness as the antidote. 1.2

Everything within our experience is conveyed via the senses. They are tools that evolved to aid in survival. The only way by which an organism can know its surroundings and determine what will be beneficial for survival is via the senses. Knowing this, we see that the senses play a key role in the hedonic treadmill. We pursue objects of the senses that bring reward and avoid those that bring punishment. This is mechanistic behavior that is observed at even the most primitive single-celled organism. The senses are not meant to create the lasting happiness and freedom that Janaka seeks.

Ashtavakra singles out the senses as a key role in suffering. He compares the objects of the senses to “poison”. They are the poison that causes the death of one desire and the automatic birth of another desire. Janaka knows that the objects of senses can never provide freedom but his habitual tendencies continue to cause endless seeking in the realm of experience.

Ashtavakra simply says “stop”. Stop looking at the objects of the senses for freedom. He prescribes a purification practice to Janaka here as well. He asks Janaka to “ cultivate tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment, and truthfulness” as an antidote to the poison. This will require Janaka to make major changes in his lifestyle and to begin cultivating equanimity in the face of all experience. Janaka needs to begin recognizing the actions that are causing suffering in his life and ones that bring happiness. This cultivation creates the optimal soil for the seed of knowledge to be planted by Ashtavakra.

You do not consist of any of the elements — earth, water, fire, air, or even ether. To be liberated, know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the witness of these. 1.3

Ashtavakra immediately jumps from the relative, worldly, teachings of “tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment, and truthfulness” to the essential Knowledge needed for liberation. This teaching highlights why the Path of Knowledge, Advaita, or nonduality is considered the “direct path”, or the “pathless path”. This passage destroys any, and all, possible paths to “enlightenment”. The doer, seeker, ego, or individual is no longer center stage. The witness of the doing, seeking, and mental activity is revealed as the unchanging Truth of this Existence. This is Self-Realization.

In the days of Ashtavakra and Janaka, the fundamental elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether were considered to be fundamental. These were pointed to as the building blocks, or essence, of “who we are” even though they are changing and fleeting appearances. This same belief is held today except we’ve substituted the 5 elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether for 118 elements in the periodic table along with their “fundamental” components of atoms made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Looking closer, we see that even these atoms are fleeting and changing and composed of subatomic particles. It’s an infinite regression that will never have an end.

Ashtavakra tells Janaka to look directly at his Experience and to find the unchanging aspect of this Existence. It is the consciousness, witness, knower, pure subjectivity, or Experiencer which is always present. He utilizes progressive elimination or “neti neti” (not this, not this) to help Janaka find that which is unchanging. Anything that can be observed as Experience (such as the 5 elements listed above) is changing and can be discarded as the essence, or True Self.

If only you will remain resting in consciousness, seeing yourself as distinct from the body, then even now you will become happy, peaceful and free from bonds. 1.4

After delivering the essential Knowledge required for Self-Realization, Ashtavakra instructs Janaka to remain in this Knowledge. There must be an ongoing application of this Knowledge to remove residual ignorance. Remembering our True Nature, which is that of the Experiencer or Witness, can be referred to as Awareness. Awareness is a state that is permeated by the Knowledge “I Am the Experiencer” and that “this Experience is Illusory”. This Awareness brings the peace, freedom, happiness, and liberation that is sought. This Awareness practice will continue for the entirety of the seeker’s life. The Awareness will slowly burn through all bondage and ignorance until happiness and freedom are revealed. To use a metaphor, it cleans the mirror which has been covered in dust.

Interestingly, the word Ashtavakra refers to the “eight bends” or deformities he was born with. Fortunately, Ashtavakra was also born with the understanding that identification with the body would only cause suffering, and to remain happy, peaceful, and free, one must always view oneself as "distinct from the body". He is sharing this Knowledge with Janaka from direct experience which makes it even more powerful.

You do not belong to the brahmin or any other caste, you are not at any stage, nor are you anything that the eye can see. You are unattached and formless, the witness of everything — so be happy. 1.5

For Janaka, remaining in Awareness will result in deidentification with what his society, family, and education had taught him. Again, this is a gradual process that may take the whole of one’s life. Ashtavakra speeds up this process by destroying Janaka’s ignorance with the essential Knowledge. Janaka is fortunate to have a Guru that will identify his ignorance and provide the appropriate antidote. 

Within this illusory individual, there are beliefs and thoughts which claim Experience as “me” and “mine”. One of the most common identifications is that of social status, caste, or religion. This egoic, mental activity will claim superiority over others in any way possible. This is a simple survival mechanism. This even occurs in spirituality and is known as “spiritual materialism”. Ashtavakra is addressing this spiritual materialism immediately by telling Janaka that he is “not at any stage”. He is beyond caste, stage, or any Experience. Again, remain the Witness, remain in Awareness and the freedom will become self-evident.

Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain are purely of the mind and are no concern of yours. You are neither the doer nor the reaper of the consequences, so you are always free. 1.6

Ashtavakra continues to burn through ignorance in this passage and focuses on ethics, hedonic tone, and cause and effect (karma). When we realize our True Nature, we see that we are completely detached from worldly concerns. Even concerns which we initially thought were inherent and integral to “us as human beings”.

How can ethics be of no concern to us? This can initially sound dismissive and nihilistic. In duality, right and wrong are classifications of Experience created by the dividing activity of the mind. Ethics are subjective and dependent upon the person or group of people determining the criteria for ethical behavior. There is no end to the debate about right and wrong behavior. This has created incredible amounts of suffering in this world as individuals cling to their societal and religious code of ethics. Ashtavakra is simply saying “give yourself a break from this circus and be the Witness that you are”. When this is realized, the battle of right and wrong continues, uninterrupted but we do not suffer because of it.

When going deeper, we see that even the hedonic tone of everyday activity is also a division in the mind and is completely subjective. A simple example is that some people like the taste of licorice, while other people hate it. This is one example of many but highlights that the mind determines pleasure and pain based on past experiences. Why continue the constant search for pleasure and avoidance of pain when we can simply enjoy the entire play, completely detached and free?

Finally, Ashtavakra brings up cause and effect, or karma, a historically important concept in spirituality. There is a belief in many traditions that karma is what binds us to rebirth or Samsara. “Our” actions bring fruits and those fruits yield more actions. As an individual, we believe that we are the owner of our actions and the owner of the results of our actions. When taking the stance of the Experiencer which is our true nature, it is clear that actions and their fruits occur on their own, automatically without any “doer”. We are free from karma already. Karma has been built up as an insurmountable force in this universe with the seeker’s ultimate goal of achieving the end of karma. With one straightforward teaching from Ashtavakra, this ignorance is destroyed. There was never anyone bound to karma, you are the Witness of the karma and completely free.

You are the one witness of everything and are always completely free. The cause of your bondage is that you see the witness as something other than this. 1.7

Ashtavakra reiterates that anything that can be pointed to in this Experience is not you. You are the Witness of all of that and not limited by the Experience. Bondage occurs when we identify with any Experience. Most of us have identification with the body including its many sensations. When taken with mental activity (thoughts and perceptions) an individual is born.

Before identification occurs, there is pure Experiencing without divisions of “me”, “you”, “here”, “there”, or even “Experience” or “Experiencer”. This Experiencing or Witnessing is pure freedom. This freedom is always here and now but there is ignorance or blind beliefs that say “I Am the Body and Mind, bound to actions and their results”. This obscures the freedom which is already present. It is obvious now that the cause of so-called “bondage” is the belief that I am something other than the Experiencer.

Since you have been bitten by the black snake, the opinion about yourself that “I am the doer,” drink the antidote of faith in the fact that “I am not the doer,” and be happy. 1.8

The black snake in this passage refers to the fundamental belief in Experience. We believe that this Experience is real and inherently exists. We believe that we are of the Experience. This belief injects the poisonous thought “I am the doer”. With this thought come birth, death, cause, effect, suffering, happiness, and all of the other vicissitudes of life.

Ashtavakra asks Janaka to have faith. Faith in the Guru is required to eliminate this fundamental ignorance. This faith comes naturally for a seeker and takes time to develop. The true Guru will appear to the student when the student is ready to accept the essential Knowledge. Given that the teachings are completely opposite of everything we’ve learned in life it takes true faith to make the leap and accept these teachings. The true Guru will be a role model or an example of the Truth. Their actions will reflect the Truth and will always be aligned with the goal of destroying ignorance. When this true Guru appears, it is natural to take the leap of faith and drink the antidote to the poison of ignorance.

When the truth “I Am Not the Doer” is seen first hand there can be a number of responses but the most common is that of happiness. It can feel as if the weight of the world has dropped from one’s shoulders. Imagine all of the guilt, regrets, remorse, strife, efforts, and struggle suddenly falling away. 

Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the understanding that “I am the one pure awareness,” and be happy and free from distress. 1.9

Ashtavakra highlights the power of Awareness (the understanding or Knowledge that “I Am the Experiencer”). He compares it to fire that can burn down the forest of ignorance. This is a perfect metaphor for the process of purification that occurs after Self-Realization. When we live in Awareness, we can view all of the behaviors and activities of the mind that cause suffering with complete equanimity. The higher intelligence of the mind is able to reprogram itself to avoid unnecessary suffering. Activities that were previously unseen, such as greed or jealousy, are seen for what they are: unnecessary activities that create suffering for oneself and others. Slowly the ignorance, and thus suffering, is burnt away by this Awareness.

This is the second passage that uses the term “One”. This is nonduality, therefore we can not get by without talking more about Oneness. We touched on this briefly when we defined Experiencing. When Self-Realization occurs, again, we see that we are the Experiencer or Witness, not the Experience. The unchanging or essence of this Existence is the Experiencer. When we look closer though, we see that this division of the Existence into Experience and Experiencer is unnecessary. There is actually no separation between the Experiencer and the Experience. Can there be an Experience without the Experiencing of it? How far away is the Experience from the Experiencer? These questions reveal the base state of Experiencing when the Experiencer and the Experience merge. This shows the absence of two in this Existence and is the definition of Advaita. We see that being the one Experiencer also must mean that we are the entire Existence itself.

That in which all this — imagined like the snake in a rope — appears: that joy, supreme joy, and awareness is what you are, so be happy. 1.10

The snake in the rope is a common metaphor used in spiritual teachings to highlight the illusory nature of Experience. When we see a rope (reality) and mistake it for a snake (illusion) there is fear but when the illusion is seen through, we are relieved.

The water and wave metaphor is helpful here as well. Waves appear in the ocean but the wave is not separate from the water, which is the essence of the ocean. If we say that the Experiencer (water) is the essence of the Existence (ocean), how can anything that appears (waves) in the Existence (ocean) be separate from the Experiencer (water)?

In this passage, Ashtavakra mentions supreme joy as a characteristic of the Experiencer. This can be misinterpreted. Since the Experiencer is pure subjectivity, this supreme joy, or bliss, is actually describing the absence of all characteristics. We aren’t talking about joy for this body or mind, we are talking about the complete absence of any hedonic tone. This non-state is freedom and bliss. That bliss is what you are, “so be happy”!