Chapter-18, Verse 18

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.18

धीरो लोकविपर्यस्तो वर्तमानोऽपि लोकवत्। न समाधिं न विक्षेपं न लेपं स्वस्य पश्यति॥१८॥

The wise man though living like an ordinary person is the reverse of the common man. He sees neither absorption, nor distraction nor involvement of himself.

The wise one is the one who has realized his True Nature as the Pure Awareness, the witness of everything, and the Self of all. He is free from the bondage of ignorance, desire, and action. He is not attached to anything, nor does he identify with anything. He is not swayed by the dualities of pleasure and pain, praise and blame, success and failure, etc. He lives in the world, but is not of the world. He is not affected by the changes and events of the world, nor does he have any expectations or fears from it. He is always content, peaceful, and blissful in his own Self.

He does not see inner stillness, distraction or fault in himself. This means that he does not have any notion of meditation or non-meditation, concentration or dispersion, virtue or vice, in himself. He does not depend on any external or internal means to attain peace or happiness. He does not judge himself or others by any standards or criteria. He does not have any sense of doership or enjoyership in his actions or experiences. He does not have any ego or personality that can be affected by praise or criticism. He is beyond all concepts and distinctions, and abides in his natural state of Awareness.

This verse is a description of the state of jivanmukta, or the liberated one, who has attained the Supreme Knowledge of the Self. He is the embodiment of wisdom, detachment, and compassion. He is the ideal of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, which teaches the oneness of the Self and Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.

Similar verses from other Vedic texts are:

- Yogavashishta 6.2.8:

अविकारी विकारेषु विकारीव विलोकितः।

अविकारी विकारेषु विकारीव विलोकितः॥

The unchanging one, though seen in the changing ones; Is like the changing one, though he is unchanging.

This verse means that the Self, which is unchanging, pure, and blissful, appears to be changing, impure, and miserable, due to the association with the body, mind, and senses, which are changing, impure, and miserable. The Self is like the sky, which is unaffected by the clouds, but appears to be affected by them. The Self is the same in all beings, but appears to be different due to the different conditions and qualities of the bodies and minds. The wise one, however, knows the difference between the Self and the non-Self, and does not identify with the changing ones, but remains as the unchanging one.

- Bhagavad Gita 5.20:

न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम्।

स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः॥

He who does not rejoice on obtaining what is pleasant; And does not grieve on obtaining what is unpleasant; He who has a steady intellect, who is not deluded; He who knows Brahman, he abides in Brahman.

This verse means that the one who has realized Brahman, the Supreme Reality, which is the same as the Self, does not react to the pleasant or unpleasant situations of life. He is not affected by the dualities of the world, which are based on the ignorance of the true nature of the Self. He has a steady intellect, which is not confused by the illusions of the mind. He knows that he is Brahman, and he abides in Brahman, which is his own blissful nature.

- Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.4:

यथा नद्यः स्यन्दमानाः समुद्रे अस्तं गच्छन्ति नामरूपे विहाय। तथा विद्वान्नामरूपाद्विमुक्तः

परात्परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम्॥

As the rivers, flowing into the ocean; Lose their names and forms. So the wise one, freed from name and form, attains the Supreme person, the divine.

This verse means that the one who has attained the Supreme knowledge of the Self, which is the same as the Supreme Person, the divine, loses his individuality and merges with the Absolute. He is no longer bound by the name and form, which are the products of ignorance and the cause of suffering. He is free from the limitations of the body, mind, and senses, and attains the Infinite, eternal, and blissful Reality. He is one with the ocean of Consciousness, which is the Source of all existence.