Ashtavakra Gita Part 3.

Each shloka of ashtavakra Gita shows the same reality, but in a different dimension, example, context and its rather interesting to understand the principles in today's times.

Shadow and foot prints.

Just as the Shadow is a projection, not a reality, in life, it is like the desires of the role we play in the light of ego. This is a profound realisation.

Ego creates desires, just as light creates shadow. Here the ego is i am a business man. I am a father. A am a son. I am a friend. This is the I. In this context.

When there is light, there will be a shadow. However the way the mind works, we start going in the direction of the shadow, we get attracted to the shadow, which points to different directions in the day, depending on the position of the light (sun) in the sky.

Many times with the modern un realized gurus, the followers start following the guru, who is following his shadow of desires!

We chase different desires at different times of the day, and keep going in the journey of life, creating experiences, which are like footprints. The footprints of doing actions and having possessions to feel positive emotions in the manas.

Some footprints show the journey to Richness of palacaes, some to poverty of huts, some to being alone in the mountains, some in noise of clubs! However they are all footprints.

We are so obsessed with the shadow, we so are driven by the desire, that we choose material goals to satisfy the desires! It's a shadow after all, which has caused the journey of experiences!

When we walk, in the direction of the shadow, we take the shadow with us. We can not detach it.

When we walk, we leave our footsteps or memories or experiences in the chitta behind.

Running faster and faster will never detach us from the shadow and footprints. This is like taking effort, doing something to detach.

Just resting under a tree, where there is no light, will dissolve both of them.

Here the tree is symbolic. It is not asking you not to take action. Or to take sanyas. The tree is the absence of ego or the realisation that these are just roles.

Once this happens, you align with the mission of loka kalyanam. Helping everyone with the talent, experience and qualifications you have. That's all.

The path of no longer driven by role based desires. It is driven by the mission.

This is exactly what is being an observer. Resting, observing, peaceful or on the journey, driven by the mission to help everyone, not by the shadows of desires.

How do you know that you were slowly becoming an observer:

An observer sees the duality in darkness as absence of light. Absence of joy in anger, absence of formless is the form. What is not, is also seen with what is. This means that one sees beyond the obvious. Beyond the bias of the mind. Beyond the conditioning. Anything that is manifested has two sides. One that is visible and the other that is opposite. Hence invisible. The realisation of also that the states are not permanent. What is living today will be dead tomorrow. What is day now, will become night tomorrow. Both states are accepted as a part of manifestation. As they originate from the same consciousness!

An observer sees the paper in the currency note. Observer sees the essence in everything. The underlying formless consciousness is seen in everything with form.

So seeing the duality and essense is being the observer!

This comes naturally. Not by training. Once this reality is clear, the observer truly becomes one with consciousness.

Observer in any situation:

In a nightclub, looking at people dancing with loud music, or near the sea, looking at the waves, with the only sound, the sound of the waves, the observer remains unattached and not avoiding anything. The tiny silence between the beats of the music and the long silence between two waves is observed, accepted and not interpreted.

Consciousness is like soil and water:

The grass grows in the soil. When it rains, it grows taller. When it does not, it dries up. Leaving seeds behind in the soil. The soil does not actively grow or dry the grass. It is because of the soil, or rather, in the soil, that the grass grows. Let's take a better example. The water in the ocean is not the cause of the waves. It's in the water, that the waves are formed. Likewise, everything is within the consciousness. It happens. It flows. As there is only consciousness all around. Once this realisation comes, adwaita is realized and established. Every tiny subatomic particle has the same consciousness, that a massive black hole has. As different forms, they all play their respective roles. Just like we are playing roles in life. The same consciousness connects everything together. The realisation makes one without ego immediately and one surrenders the dwaita to adwaita. The 5 core principles of brahaman are then experienced, not just understood. Of course the role play continues, but with awareness of doing, abundance of being and acceptance of having.

Surrender:

How to surrender and become one with the divine. When we hear the word surrender. We think we will lose control, power, the free will to act. Actually...

Surrender to divine is not loss of control. It is an acceptance that you never had any!

A profound learning indeed. A completely new perspective. The key to overcome the barrier of the mind to surrender!

Sat chit Anantam:

Sat chit Anantam are actually represented by acceptance of truth as it is, awareness in the present vibrant moment , and abundance in its infinity.

This is evident in nature. The cloud does not hold back it's rain. It is abundant. it is Anantam in its rain. It does not care if it rains or not, it does not hold anything back. It simply rains, when it has to. Forms again and again and keeps raining. It does not differentiate on whom it rains. Rich or poor, farms or sea, city or village.

The cloud has nothing to do with the past, it does not care how it got here. It has no plans for the future. It is just in the present moment, it is full of energy, awareness, in chit.

The cloud has accepted whatever comes it's way, wind, rain, formation, dissolution. This is acceptance. The truth, the consciousness remains before, during and after the cloud exists.

In nature, rivers, mountains, clouds, trees are all manifestation of the universal sat chit Anantam. Extrapolate the example of the cloud and see how each element of nature is similar in this way. This is a small exercise you can do now.

Just reading is usually not enough. Thinking, reflecting, relating, experiencing, debating, discussing, clarifies doubts in the mind, which is like dust accumulated on a crooked mirror.

The shape of our mirror is not flat. It is deformed by all the biases, and experiences of the mind which have become a blueprint to learn this life, in autopilot mode, without we understanding it. Knowing about the power of subconscious mind straightens the mirror, as now you have the power to change the blue print itself. When the dust on mirror is clear, with study, you see the reflection of the true self in it.

You need both, study and mastery on the subconscious mind, to achieve this state.

When the consciousness is same in nature, and the universe and in you, it is natural to be sat chit Anantam same in our life, isn't it?

But what stops us, is the maya or the mind games, our the biases he have formed for survival, to fulfill desires, to protect what we have.

Though this is not wrong, as leaving all this, will take us away from having any purpose in this human form, it should not be binding.

Awareness that this is my mind, this is my body, is the key. Connection to anahata naada is hence the key to this awareness.

Being aware of maya itself is enough to break the maya. It's like knowing that the reflection is not real. The realisation is enough.

Formless:

Is it the form that causes separation. The deep realisation that everything in essense is formless, leads to the adwaita state, where the observer, the act of observing and the object ask become one. The form exists, but is not permanent. The universe itself is not permanent, leave aside, our own body!

Leaving the i behind:

The breath you take is not controlled by your thought. It happens. The blood flow in your body does not happen by your thought. It just happens. Everything in nature, the waves, the rivers, the clouds just happen. They are not controlled by your thoughts! When a thought comes, there is an i. As the i has a thought. Once you realise the insignificance of the thought, the thought does goes away and so does the i. I is manifested as a thought. When there is no thought, there is no i. This is nothing but samadhi state. You can have this as a day to day experience at times when you are just being. No thoughts. No i. Just in bliss. In these times of silence, there could be an inspirational thought. There could be times when you think about the past and present.. These are the 3 states of mind. Thoughtless where time does not exist. Thought in the present. And thinking in the future or past. This is the awareness with which you navigate the universe in its space and time.

Origin of thought is brahama.

Thinking is Vishnu

Being thoughtless is Shiva.

Don't imagine the fear of what may happen and have no attachment to the greed of want of the future.

Neither be bothered about the shame, anger and regrets driven by the past.

Just enjoy the present moment as, life is all about this moment. Not about the past or future!

Space and consciousness:

It is simply going beyond the mind, into nothing and being with eternal consciousness, which is nothing but space. Space is present everywhere and it occupies most of the universe, than atoms! Matter is very less. Miniscule, as compared to space. Space is the first element of creation also. So the nature of consciousness is very similar to space. No shape. No form. No age. No past and no future.

Relaxation to revelation:

When there is total relaxation, not sleep, but a state of no struggle, just like nature, like a river flows, rainfall happens, snow falls, trees grow, effort lessly, there is no awareness of breath or the body. In this state, one realises that it's the same consciousness that is manifested everywhere, irrespective of time and distance. The awe and amazement of your own infinite creation comes..The quest to know, to reach, to transform is gone. There is total rest. There is nothing further to do. No where to go. Nothing to achieve. This is the state, when you actually merge with nothing and realise the last shloka of nirvanashatakam as your own state.. The desire to seek blessings, to go to holy places, to hills, to meditation camps is all gone. You will still do it, as a part of enjoying different experiences as you have a body.. With the 4th shloka of manaspuja, starting to realise that all the world is created for your enjoyment. You will still take care of the body with food, excercise and sleep, as it's needed. But only to that extent. You will still take of your energy, to keep it in the higher chakras. You will still keep your mind aware that you are playing a role. The triad of energy body and mind is there in existence, but is no longer governing. The "i" is now aware that it is not bound by this triad. Its presence felt with anhata naada, Jyoti and vibrations in sahastrara.

The seer:

As long as the there is a seer, there is dwaita, as there is something to be seen. The merger is seer and seen is adwaita. No seperate identity. Its dissolution. Which happens in deep samadhi. Which happens in a thoughtless state. You get a thought at times or you think, and again you are back to the thoughtless mode.

Who am I:

This reading is the first step to know. Next is experiencing the presence. The third one is being one with the one.

This is like reading about fire, the temprature, the light, the mechanics etc.. It's necessary but not sufficient.

the next stage is experiencing the fire, via the heat, light etc. this is sufficient, but not complete.

The third stage is knowing that you are the fire. There is nothing but fire! You have nothing to describe. You are it. That's all. This is of course an example! Don't take it literally!

the constant Anahata naada, vibration in fontanelle, light in the third eye are, awareness of breath, touch in the tongue of khechari, this is the manifestation of the consciousness perceived by senses, the revelation to the answer of "who am I". The anubhuti.

The paravastha in our kriya yoga, where one is thoughtless, into nothing, you are not aware of own identity, ego, things are in adwaita! The one. No twos. Nothing to experience!

The realisation that you are actually the formless one with various roles played in life, all for helping everyone, nothing desired or avoidingfor self, is the jeevanmukti... No attachments and aversion!

Ownership of thoughts

My dear friend k sent me this video.

https://youtube.com/shorts/FSxy0AyLFro?si=yHwrEsd2RQmo_ABd

Which triggered this insight

One feels this is my thought. This is mine. This is not. This is good. This is bad. Reality is that these are thoughts. If they are not related to you role, like a dog barking on Everest, it has nothing to do with your role and no question of doing anything with you. If it's to do with your role, like taking your dog out for a walk, it's to do with your role of a dog lover, not with "you". Either way, you remain an observer.

The discretion of taking action comes from buddhi, which is mati, which is described in shiv Manas Puja as atmastvam, girija mati ... Every thought, when seen through mati or logic, you will realise it's not yours at all. You are just an observer.

Finally the observer merges with the observed thought and becomes thoughtless, as thought is always about someone else. You can not have a thought about yourself. There is nothing to think about!

Christmas 2025:

This insight was penned in a Christmas party with loud music! Inspiration can come anywhere! I was the only one, typing frantically, capturing the flow of thoughts here, as others swayed to the music!

Testing being an observer:

Being in a meditative state is the practice with eyes closed, sitting still, thoughtless. This is the beginning. Not the end.

The real test is when you are in the battlefield of life, in a club, in an emergency, in a chaotic situation and still you remain an observer act according to your role, just like arjuna did in Mahabharata... Eyes open in bright light, hearing deafening sounds, body shaking and moving, breath unsteady and fast, mind racing with thoughts, the annamaya, pranamaya and manomaya koshas in a vibrant state, still one is an observer, in vigyanmaya and Anand Maya koashs, in dual nature, zero and infinity, observing the senses, no neeed to do any pratyahar, no forceful withdrawal, just acceptance! That's all!

Core principles:

Being christmas eve 2025. Lot of christmas greetings coming from everyone. One Just has to focus on the core principles. Jesus is only about love. This seems very simple, but to truly love, is not easy at all. Jesus simplified the learning to suit the people at that time, in his land. Every divine person has adapted the truth to suit the times and place. For a society that is not very profound in its thinking, you need something simple. This is exactly what Jesus did.

Santana and Jainism and Buddhism are about the 5 core principles. These require a deeper study, which was prevalent in Bharat, hence, they were the foundations here.

Everything else. All rules, rituals are relevant only in a context. unless you truly imbibe the core principles, and see them being implemented, you will follow the rituals blindly. Once you see the core principles, you will know which are relevant when for you! And when they lose relevance, you will stop. You will not continue rituals!

Love everyone. That's all. It means everything. Unless you know that the divine is everywhere and you are the divine, how can you love everyone! That is the journey of life, we are in which Jesus has shown the easiest path to. In adwaita vedanta, bhakti or love happens only after gyana. Before this realisation, it is devotion, not bhakti.

Spread the message of love in everyone's life. Accept everyone as they are. No one is perfect. But you can love everyone without judging anyone. This is the core message from Jesus.

The teacher lives in his teachings. The disciple learns the teachings. So the teacher lives in the student and the tradition continues. Generation by generation. Hence when you love everyone, Jesus lives in you. He does not live in you when you wear a cross, read the Bible. He lives, when you live in his core teaching, not in some of the interpretations of his followers.

The same is true for Santan dharma, which comes alive when the principles are lived in day to day Life and universal love in anandmaya kosha is realized. Rituals and interpretations are designed to take you further on the path, not as destinations, where you stop the journey as you are comfortable with doing it repeatedly!

How the 5 core principles of sanatana are included in love. Our guruji, swami vishwananda has written a series of books, just titled love.

You can only love when you see eternal truth in everything, and see no difference of age, status, location and gender. This is satya.

When there is love, there can not be violence. This is ahimsa.

In love, there is no stealing from others, only an intention to give. This is asteya

In love, there is no accumulation of things, beyond ones means and needs, as the realisation is set that who is accumulating from whom? If everything is one. Hence the principle of aparigarha.

Brahmachrya is realised when the thought of universal consciousness and love for its manifestation happens.

Hence all 5 core principles of sanatana are embodied in love.

Unconditional love:

This is the love that is not based on anything which is favorable to you. Its there, whenever, whatever happens with who ever, including you!

Unconditional love comes from total hundred percent Acceptance which comes from the realisation that everything is one consciousness! Atma prem, the love for self is the greatest love and now everything is self! Itself!

Blessings:

May you understand, experience, transform and become pure love for yourself and for everyone, helping them to reduce their pain and suffering, by using your life experience, knowledge, talent, resources and energy. This is true freedom!