Chapter-18, Verse 22

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.22

असंसारस्य तु क्वापि न हर्षो न विषादता । स शीतलमना नित्यं विदेह इव राजते ॥ २२ ॥

For one who has transcended the world, there is no joy or sorrow anywhere. He always has a calm mind and shines like a bodiless being. (18.22)

The verse describes the state of jivanmukta - the person who is evolved and Realized while alive. He is the Pure Witness of everything, the Supreme Self (atman), which is identical with the Absolute Reality (brahman).

The Realized person is not affected by the dualities of joy and sorrow, which are the products of the mind and the senses. He is not attached to anything, nor does he have any desire or aversion. He is always content and peaceful, regardless of the external circumstances. He is not bound by the laws of karma, which determine the destiny of the ignorant.

The liberated person is compared to a bodiless being (videha), which means either a disembodied soul or a person who has realized his True Nature beyond the body. He shines with the light of his own Self, which is the source of all Bliss and Knowledge. He is not limited by time, space, or causation, which are the attributes of the phenomenal world. He is the Supreme Lord (raja) of his own Self, which is the only Reality.

Similar verses from other Vedic texts are:

- Yoga Vasistha 6.2.34

नास्ति देहो न चात्मा न च संसार एव च । निर्विकल्पं निराकारं निर्वाणं तत्त्वमेव हि ॥

There is no body, no self, and no world. The reality is without distinctions, without form, and without cessation.

- Bhagavad Gita 5.20

न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् ।

स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ॥ २० ॥

He who neither rejoices on obtaining what is pleasant nor grieves on obtaining what is unpleasant, who is steadfast in mind, who is free from delusion, who knows Brahman, and who abides in Brahman.