අෂ්ටාවක්ර ගීතා is a 20-chapter dialogue of direct අද්වෛත, alternating between අෂ්ටාවක්ර's sharp pointers and ජනක's deepening recognition. Its method is not to decorate life with beliefs, but to correct the central mistake that produces bondage: taking the body-mind to be the Self. Again and again it points to the witness (සාක්ෂී) - awareness itself - as what you are, and shows how freedom becomes natural when identification loosens.
The previous chapters have already established the core vision. Chapter 1 combines ethical stabilizers with direct inquiry into the witness. Chapter 2 speaks the afterglow of recognition through metaphors like wave-water and rope-snake, loosening fear and ownership. Chapter 3 exposes the subtle ways desire and ego can survive after insight, and Chapter 4 describes the lived texture of freedom where compulsion drops.
Seen as a whole, Chapter 7 is a chapter of unshakable inner balance. It says: let the world-boat drift; let the world-wave rise and fall; none of this adds to or subtracts from awareness. The result is not coldness but spaciousness: ජනක remains ශාංත (peaceful), අසක්ත (unattached), and අස්පෘහ (without hungry craving).
ජනක උවාච ॥
මය්යනංතමහාංභෝධෞ විශ්වපෝත ඉතස්තතඃ ।
භ්රමති ස්වාංතවාතේන න මමාස්ත්යසහිෂ්ණුතා ॥ 7-1॥
Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Janaka said: In me, the infinite great ocean, the boat of the world drifts here and there by the wind of its own nature. For me there is no impatience.
මය්යනංතමහාංභෝධෞ ජගද්වීචිඃ ස්වභාවතඃ ।
උදේතු වාස්තමායාතු න මේ වෘද්ධිර්න ච ක්ෂතිඃ ॥ 7-2॥
Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In me, the infinite great ocean, the wave of the world rises and sets naturally. For me there is no gain and no loss.
මය්යනංතමහාංභෝධෞ විශ්වං නාම විකල්පනා ।
අතිශාංතෝ නිරාකාර ඒතදේවාහමාස්ථිතඃ ॥ 7-3॥
Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In me, the infinite great ocean, the world is only a conceptual construction. I am exceedingly peaceful and formless; I abide as this alone.
නාත්මා භාවේෂු නෝ භාවස්තත්රානංතේ නිරංජනේ ।
ඉත්යසක්තෝऽස්පෘහඃ ශාංත ඒතදේවාහමාස්ථිතඃ ॥ 7-4॥
Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The Self is not in objects, nor are objects in the Self there in the infinite, spotless reality. Knowing thus, unattached and without craving, I abide in peace as this alone.
අහෝ චින්මාත්රමේවාහමිංද්රජාලෝපමං ජගත් ।
ඉති මම කථං කුත්ර හේයෝපාදේයකල්පනා ॥ 7-5॥
Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Ah! I am pure consciousness alone, and the world is like a magic show. Then how and where, for me, can there be the imagining of "reject this" and "accept that"?
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