Chapter-18, Verse 57

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.57

कर्तव्यतैव संसारो न तां पश्यन्ति सूरयः ।

शून्याकारा निराकारा निर्विकारा निरामयाः ॥ ५७ ॥

The world is only a duty for them who do not see it. The wise who are of the form of emptiness, formless, unchanging and spotless see no such thing.

The meaning of this verse is that the sense of obligation and attachment to worldly actions is a source of bondage and suffering for those who are ignorant of their True Nature. They are deluded by the appearance of multiplicity and diversity in the phenomenal world, and they identify themselves with their body, mind and ego. They do not realize that they are essentially the pure, eternal and blissful Self, which is beyond all attributes and modifications.

The wise, on the other hand, have realized their identity with the Supreme Brahman, which is the substratum of all existence. They are free from all desires, fears and sorrows, and they abide in the state of Peace and Bliss. They see the world as an illusion, a projection of their own Consciousness, and they are not affected by its changes and troubles. They are of the form of emptiness, meaning that they have no limitations or boundaries. They are formless, meaning that they have no shape or size. They are unchanging, meaning that they are not subject to birth, death or decay. They are spotless, meaning that they are pure and untainted by any impurity or sin.

This verse expresses the essence of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, which teaches the non-dualism of the Self and Brahman, and the illusory nature of the world. It also echoes the teachings of Buddhism, which advocates the Realization of emptiness (shunyata) and the cessation of suffering (nirvana).

There are many verses from other Vedic texts that convey similar ideas. 

- From the Bhagavad Gita:

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।

उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥ २.१६ ॥

The unreal has no existence; the Real never ceases to be. The Truth about both has been realized by the seers of the essence. 

This verse explains the difference between the transient and the eternal, the relative and the absolute, the phenomenal and the noumenal. The unreal refers to the world of names and forms, which is subject to change and destruction. The Real refers to the Brahman, which is the immutable and indestructible reality behind all appearances. The seers of the essence are those who have attained the vision of the Truth, and who have transcended the duality of the unreal and the Real.

- From the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥ १.२ ॥

Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. 

This is the definition of yoga given by Patanjali, the founder of the classical system of yoga. It implies that the goal of yoga is to calm and control the mind, which is the source of all suffering and ignorance. By stopping the modifications of the mind, one can attain the state of samadhi, which is the union of the individual Consciousness with the universal Consciousness.