Chapter-3: An Introduction

Ashtavakra Gita Chapter-3

An Introduction

Self in All - All in Self

Ashtavakra is delighted after hearing Janaka's Joy in Chapter-2,  but sees inconsistencies. He fires off a series of confrontational verses about attachment to worldly pleasure in this Chapter. 

The declaration of Upaniṣads ‘Brahman am I’ is the ultimate Truth. Established in this non-dual Self, man comes to experience that the phenomenal world around him is a meaningless empty illusion. The fear of death, the pangs of attachment, the fatigue of greed and the tantrum of passions – all these end with Self-Realisation. 

The Self glows through him in his life flooding all around Its glory and beauty. In this chapter Aṣṭāvakra, in a teasing tone, ridicules the royal King Janaka’s apparent involvement in the functions of his throne, in spite of his Self-Realisation. On transcending the mind, if the Self is realised and the universe of names and forms has rolled away, where is the occasion for such a Realised saint to continue the outer duties of the world? 

The pomp and show of life, the passions and excitements of the court, the worries of conducting the state’s administration and responsibilities of maintaining law and order – these are unavoidable for a king. From the Self when viewed, the world is merely an illusion. Therefore, to involve oneself in them should be considered as a sign of one’s own spiritual ‘ignorance’. 

In this line of argument, Aṣṭāvakra tests the depth of Realisation in his student. In the following chapter, we shall hear Janaka's spirited answers to all the points raised by his Teacher in his impeachment of the royal saint of Videha. These two chapters (3&4) together read an exciting dialogue, extremely enlightening to aspirants. The taunting words of the Master are tipped with sharp ridicule and they should really wound the student's vanity, if he is not already fully established in the Pure Immutable Self!