Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.8:
आत्मा ब्रह्मेति निश्चित्य भावाभावौ च कल्पितौ। निष्कामः किं विजानाति किं ब्रूते च करोति किम्॥८॥
Having realized the Self as Brahman, one sees that being and non-being are both imagined.
What does the desireless one know, say or do?
The meaning of this verse is that the Ultimate Reality is the Self, which is identical with Brahman, the Absolute and Infinite Consciousness. Everything else, including the world, the body, the mind, and the sense of individuality, is a product of ignorance and illusion.
When one attains the Knowledge of the Self, one transcends all duality and becomes free from desire, attachment, and suffering. Such a person has nothing to gain or lose, nothing to know or teach, nothing to do or avoid. He or she is established in the Bliss of the Self, which is beyond all words and actions.
This verse expresses the State of Realization (moksha) or enlightenment (jivanmukti), which is the Goal of the Ashtavakra Gita. It also implies that the path to this state is through the direct and intuitive Realization of the Self, not through any external means such as rituals, ethics, or scriptures. The Ashtavakra Gita is a radical and uncompromising text that challenges the conventional views of religion and spirituality, and presents the essence of advaita in a clear and concise manner.
There are many verses in the Vedic literature that convey a similar message of non-dualism and liberation.
- Kena Upanishad (1.3):
न तत्र चक्षुर्गच्छति न वाग्गच्छति नो मनः।
न विद्मो न विजानीमो यथैतदनुशिष्यात्॥
The eye does not go there, nor speech, nor the mind. We do not know, we do not understand, how to teach this.
It is from the Kena Upanishad (1.3), where the Nature of Brahman is described as beyond the reach of the senses, the mind, and the words.
- Yoga Vasistha (6.2.34):
निर्विकल्पो निराकारो निर्लीनो निर्मलोऽव्ययः।
स्वप्रकाशो निराधारो नित्यशुद्धबुद्धमुक्तः॥
He is without distinctions, without form, without dissolution, without impurity, without decay. He is self-luminous, without support, ever pure, wise, and free.
It is from the Yoga Vasistha (6.2.34), where the Sage Vasistha teaches Prince Rama the characteristics of the Self.
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