Chapter-18, Verse 56

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.56

सन्तुष्टोऽपि न सन्तुष्टः खिन्नोऽपि न च खिद्यते ।

तस्याश्चर्यदशां तां तां तादृशा एव जानते ॥ ५६ ॥

Even when pleased he is not pleased, not suffering even when in pain. Only those like him can know the wonderful state of such a man.

The meaning of this verse is that the enlightened person is free from all dualities and attachments. He is not affected by the changes of the world, nor by the emotions of the mind. He is content in himself, but not attached to his contentment. He is indifferent to pleasure and pain, but not insensitive to them. He is in a state of wonder, but not bewildered by it. He is beyond the reach of ordinary understanding, and only those who have attained the same state can comprehend him.

The verse expresses the paradoxical and sublime nature of the Self-Realized person, who has transcended the limitations of the ego and the senses. He is not bound by the conventional notions of happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, honor and dishonor. He is not swayed by the praise or blame of others, nor by his own thoughts and feelings. He is established in his own essence, which is pure consciousness, bliss, and peace.

The verse also implies that the state of enlightenment is not something that can be taught or learned by intellectual means. It is a direct and intuitive experience that can only be attained by the grace of the supreme reality, which is one's own true self. Only those who have realized their own Self can recognize and appreciate the Self of others. They are the rare and fortunate ones who have reached the goal of human life.

There are many verses in the Vedic texts that convey similar ideas to this verse. 

- In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:

ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः ।

लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥ १० ॥

He who performs actions, offering them to Brahman, abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not moistened by water. 

This verse describes the attitude of a karma yogi, who dedicates all his actions to the supreme reality, without expecting any personal reward or result. He is not attached to his actions or their outcomes, and thus remains unaffected by their merits or demerits. He is like a lotus leaf, which floats on the water but does not get wet by it.

- In the Mundaka Upanishad, the sage Angiras says to the student Shaunaka:

यथा नद्यः स्यन्दमानाः समुद्रे अस्तं गच्छन्ति नामरूपे विहाय । तथा विद्वान्नामरूपाद्विमुक्तः

परात्परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥ ८ ॥

As the flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their name and form; so a wise man, freed from name and form, goes to the divine person who is beyond all. 

This verse compares the state of liberation to the merging of the rivers into the ocean. The rivers lose their individual identity and become one with the vast and infinite sea. Similarly, the wise man, who has Realized his True Self, transcends the limitations of name and form, which are the products of ignorance and illusion. He attains the supreme person, who is the source and essence of all existence.

- In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the definition of yoga is given as:

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥ २ ॥

Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind. 

This verse explains the goal and method of yoga, which is to control and calm the fluctuations of the mind. The mind is constantly changing and creating various thoughts, emotions, and impressions, which cause bondage and suffering. By practicing the eight limbs of yoga, which include ethical disciplines, physical postures, breath control, sensory withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption, one can achieve the state of yoga, which is the cessation of the mind's activity. In this state, one is able to Realize one's Self.