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ଅଷ୍ଟାଵକ୍ର ଗୀତା ନଵଦଶୋଽଧ୍ୟାୟଃ ଅଷ୍ଟାଵକ୍ର ଗୀତା is a 20-chapter dialogue of direct ଅଦ୍ଵୈତ that aims to dissolve the habit of living as a separate, anxious person. It does not offer a new belief system so much as a new center: awareness itself. When that center is recognized, the ordinary pressures of life - gain and loss, praise and blame, fear and desire - lose much of their authority. In the previous chapter (18), the teacher described freedom from many angles: the end of craving, the end of doership, the naturalness of inner rest, and the way the wise can live in any setting without being bound. It repeatedly emphasized that liberation is not a costume or a special state, but a change of identity from personality to awareness. Chapter 18 is long because it tries to make this insight unmistakable in every corner of experience. Chapter 19 is short and powerful because it is ଜନକ's spontaneous response after the knots have loosened. It begins with a vivid metaphor: doubt is like a thorn embedded in the heart, and truth-knowledge is like a tool that extracts it. Then it becomes a cascade of କ୍ଵ ("where is...?") statements, not as intellectual denial but as the felt inability to locate the old categories of life once one rests in one's own majesty. The final chapter (20) continues this style even more radically, sweeping away categories like creator/created, means/goal, knowledge/ignorance, and even bondage/liberation from the standpoint of non-dual Self-awareness. Together, Chapters 19 and 20 are the closing "afterglow" of the dialogue: not more arguments, but the language of a mind that can no longer find the old prison. Seen as a whole, Chapter 19 shows what knowledge looks like when it becomes lived. The removal of doubt produces a kind of inner spaciousness where the mind stops compulsively categorizing reality. The verses are not telling you to deny daily responsibilities; they are pointing to the inner place where responsibilities are handled without being carried as identity. The chapter invites you to taste that place and to let the thorn of doubt be removed again and again through clear seeing. ଜନକ ଉଵାଚ ॥ Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): The important point is the location: ହୃଦୟ. Doubt is not only intellectual; it is existential. It sits in the sense of "me" and "mine," in the fear of loss, in the craving for certainty. When identity shifts to awareness, the thorn loses its hold. This aligns with the overall message of Ashtavakra: freedom is a change of center, not a new set of ideas. Once the center changes, many doubts dissolve because they were built on a mistaken identity. Practice by treating doubt as something to understand, not something to obey. When doubt arises, ask: "What is the fear behind this doubt?" Often the fear is about being unsafe, unworthy, or out of control. Then return to the witness: notice the awareness that knows the doubt. That awareness is steady even while doubt is present. Use study and inquiry as the forceps: one clear question repeated steadily ("What is aware?") is often more powerful than endless debate. Over time, the thorn loosens and the heart becomes quieter. କ୍ଵ ଧର୍ମଃ କ୍ଵ ଚ ଵା କାମଃ କ୍ଵ ଚାର୍ଥଃ କ୍ଵ ଵିଵେକିତା । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): The boldest line is "where is duality, where is non-duality?" This is not denying the teaching of ଅଦ୍ଵୈତ. It is saying that once non-duality is seen, it is no longer held as a concept. When the thorn of doubt is removed, you don't keep holding the forceps. The mind stops arguing about duality/non-duality because it is resting in the lived reality that those concepts were pointing to. Practice by watching where you treat life aims as identity. Notice where duty becomes guilt, desire becomes compulsion, gain becomes self-worth, and discernment becomes self-judgment. Then return to awareness and let your actions be guided by clarity rather than by inner hunger. Also, notice your attachment to concepts: do you cling to being "non-dual" as an identity? Let the concept do its job as pointer and then release it. Over time, you will understand why Janaka says these categories cannot bind when one rests in ସ୍ଵ-ମହିମା. କ୍ଵ ଭୂତଂ କ୍ଵ ଭଵିଷ୍ୟଦ୍ ଵା ଵର୍ତମାନମପି କ୍ଵ ଵା । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): Similarly, place is something the body occupies, not something awareness "occupies." Awareness knows place, movement, and location, but is not located like an object. This is why Advaita uses analogies like space: space contains all locations but is not confined to any. Janaka is describing that kind of spaciousness: the mind stops being imprisoned in the timeline of "my past" and "my future." Practice by noticing how time creates suffering. Regret is past-identity; anxiety is future-identity. When either arises, return to direct presence: breath, sensation, awareness itself. See that the past and future are thoughts appearing now. Then act responsibly in the present without being owned by the timeline. This does not erase planning; it removes existential imprisonment. Over time, you will taste what Janaka is pointing to: a steadiness that is less dependent on time-stories. କ୍ଵ ଚାତ୍ମା କ୍ଵ ଚ ଵାନାତ୍ମା କ୍ଵ ଶୁଭଂ କ୍ଵାଶୁଭଂ ୟଥା । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): The phrase "where is Self and where is not-Self" can sound strange, because Advaita often teaches discrimination. But Janaka is speaking after recognition: the discrimination has done its job and the mind is no longer fighting. It does not mean confusion; it means the mind is no longer imprisoned by the concept-maker. The Self is not an object to be separated; it is the awareness in which objects appear. When that is clear, worry and worrylessness become passing moods, not identities. Practice by noticing how your mind manufactures worry through splitting. It often starts with "This shouldn't be" or "This must be." When it arises, pause and return to awareness. Then do the practical, ethical thing without the extra mental war. Also practice discrimination in the right way: distinguish the witness from the witnessed, not as a tense fight but as a clear seeing. Over time, the "where is worry" that Janaka speaks becomes less theoretical and more real. କ୍ଵ ସ୍ଵପ୍ନଃ କ୍ଵ ସୁଷୁପ୍ତିର୍ଵା କ୍ଵ ଚ ଜାଗରଣଂ ତଥା । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): The verse also links this to fearlessness. Fear depends on identifying as a limited being in a changing world. When the Self is known as awareness, fear loses its deepest base. Practical caution remains, but existential dread softens. This is why state-transcendence and fear-transcendence are mentioned together: both are aspects of the same shift of identity. Practice by noticing awareness across states. In waking life, pause and recognize the witness. Before sleep, rest as that witness. When fear arises, locate it in the body and see it as an experience known by awareness, not as an absolute command. Then take practical steps calmly. Over time, fear loses authority because you stop treating the mind-state as identity. That is the lived ତୁରୀୟ the verse points to. କ୍ଵ ଦୂରଂ କ୍ଵ ସମୀପଂ ଵା ବାହ୍ୟଂ କ୍ଵାଭ୍ୟଂତରଂ କ୍ଵ ଵା । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): This is a practical shift because many suffer by treating inner states as more real than outer life, or outer life as more real than inner peace. Janaka is pointing to the common ground: awareness. When the common ground is recognized, the mind becomes less divided. The gross and subtle are simply different textures of experience, not different selves. Practice by noticing that the same awareness knows both outer and inner. Listen to a sound, then notice a thought. In both cases, ask: "What knows this?" Feel that the knower is the same. This simple observation reduces inner/outer division. Then bring it into life: handle outer tasks without losing inner steadiness, and handle inner emotions without losing outer responsibility. This is how the verse’s spaciousness becomes lived. କ୍ଵ ମୃତ୍ୟୁର୍ଜୀଵିତଂ ଵା କ୍ଵ ଲୋକାଃ କ୍ଵାସ୍ୟ କ୍ଵ ଲୌକିକମ୍ । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): This verse also protects you from overvaluing meditative absorption. Samadhi can be valuable as a stabilizer, but if you treat it as the final identity, you can become dependent on it. Janaka’s exclamation says: even samadhi is not the Self. The Self is what knows samadhi and also knows ordinary life. When this is clear, life and death lose their existential terror, and spiritual experiences lose their ability to inflate ego. Practice by holding experiences lightly. If you have calm states, enjoy them, but don't cling. If you have worldly responsibilities, do them, but don't make them your identity. Contemplate impermanence gently: bodies change, worlds change. Then return to awareness as the steady ground. This reduces fear of death and addiction to special experiences. Over time, the "where is samadhi" becomes a lived understanding rather than a slogan. ଅଲଂ ତ୍ରିଵର୍ଗକଥୟା ୟୋଗସ୍ୟ କଥୟାପ୍ୟଲମ୍ । Meaning (ପଦାର୍ଥ): Translation (ଭାଵାର୍ଥ): Commentary (ଅନୁସଂଧାନ): This verse also reminds us of the purpose of teachings. Teachings are pointers. They are meant to remove confusion and establish you in the Self, not to become an endless hobby. Once the thorn is removed, you do not keep pulling. When the mind rests, even talk about knowledge can become a distraction if it is used to feed identity. Janaka’s "enough" is therefore a marker of maturity. Practice by balancing study with silence. If you read and discuss teachings, also create time to let them settle: sit quietly, feel awareness, and stop chewing concepts. Notice if you use spiritual talk to avoid direct seeing or to perform identity. Reduce that. Let your life reflect the teaching more than your words. This turns the verse into a practical instruction: move from talk to rest, from analysis to lived clarity.
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