Chapter-18, Verse 45

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.45

विषयद्वीपिनो वीक्ष्य चकिताः शरणार्थिनः।

विशन्ति झटिति क्रोडं निरोधैकाग्रसिद्धये॥१८- ४५॥

Seeing the tigers of the senses, the frightened refuge-seekers at once enter the cave in search of cessation of thought and one-pointedness.

Seeing the tigers of the objects (of desire), the scared ones seeking shelter, quickly enter the cave (of the mind) for the attainment of the cessation (of the mind) and one-pointedness.

The meaning of this verse is that some people, who are afraid of the temptations and troubles of the worldly life, try to escape from it by withdrawing their senses and mind from the external objects and seeking solitude. They think that by doing so, they can achieve liberation from the bondage of the ego and the cycle of birth and death. 

However, this is not the true way of Realization, as the Ashtavakra Gita teaches. The true way is to recognize one's own Self as the pure, infinite, and blissful Consciousness, which is beyond the duality of the subject and the object, the seer and the seen, the doer and the done. The true way is to remain as the Witness of all phenomena, without attachment or aversion, without identification or rejection, without desire or fear. The true way is to be free from the notion of 'I' and 'mine', and to abide in the natural state of peace and joy.

This verse can be compared with  similar verses from other Vedic texts as follows:

- In the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 6, verse 10, Krishna says to Arjuna:

योगी युञ्जीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थितः।

एकाकी यतचित्तात्मा निराशीरपरिग्रहः॥

The true Yogi should be in Constant (satatam) Remembrance (yunjita) of God (atmanam); developing (sthitah) internal solitude (ekaki); keeping the mind steady (yata cu inhittatma); staying away from desires (nirasir); and possessiveness 

(aparigrahah).

- In the Mundaka Upanishad, chapter 2, section 1, verse 10, the sage Angiras says to the student Shaunaka:

परीक्ष्य लोकान्कर्मचितान्ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन। तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत्समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्॥

Having examined the worlds attained by the works, the wise one becomes dispassionate, knowing that there is nothing eternal to be achieved by the results of action. For the sake of knowing that, he should approach a Guru, who is well-versed in the scriptures and established in Brahman, with fuel in hand.