Ashtavakra Gita – the Body, Mind & Jivatma

Ashtavakra Gita – the Body, Mind & Jivatma

All dies, king dies, pauper dies, intelligent dies, ignorant dies, enlightened persons like Gautam Buddha died, even Shree Rama & Shree Krishna died. But jivatma is eternal. Body made of three attributes (sattva, rajas and tamas) takes birth or dies or experiences childhood, youth and old age.
Modern science says, matter and energy is not destructible but can be transformed. Likewise, spirituality also says, jivatma is not destructible and eternal.
Sri Ashtavakra described Raja Janaka about various aspects of body, ego, mind, soul, almighty and liberation in various chapters. He described that the disinterest or indifference towards desires and living in sacrificial way arises peace. One should live in curbed (limited) way. One should drop doer-ship and let the things happen in natural way. Instead of doer, one becomes seer. It will bring peace and eligibility for spiritual wisdom.
 
The various aspects are as under:

Brahman (Parmatma, Almighty or God) & Jivatma (Soul, Self):

1. Science accepts 106 elements but these elements are not pure elements but due to conjunction. Originally, there is root element. This element is Brahman in spirituality.
2. Entire universe is expansion of Brahman, as iron can be converted into many items but these items can be re-converted into iron. So items are transient and iron is root. Universe is pair of opposites. It is borne and dies. Hence, universe exits but is not eternal.
3. Brahman and Jivatma are infinite, formless, pure, serene, blissful, eternal, all pervasive, desire-less and perfect.
4. Jivatma develops from Brahman and is no-doer and uninvolved witness. It is also infinite and complete. For instance, child takes birth from mother. Both mother and child are complete.
5. It appears that universe is operating everything but in fact Brahman is operating. Doer is almighty.

Ego:

1. Ego or I am-ness, is feeling of doer-ship and doer-ship gives rise to desire and worry. Ego expands into my great country, my great family, my great caste, my great children etc. Ego demands from others, not gives. It separates from jivatma.       
2. Acquisition and renunciation, both are forms of ego. Due to ego, worldly person want to acquire everything and also want to renounce to get heaven. But till I-ness or mine-ness exists, ego exists.
3. Due to ego, people thinks parmatma & living beings different which causes greed, jealousy,  aversion, hatred, hoarding tendency, etc.
4. Ego decides the goal and generates desires which are fulfilled through body.
5. Actions done with doer-ship and ego are bondage and cause pains. Actions done naturally without ego are blissful.
6. When ego is eliminated, person perceives nearness to almighty. Ego is destroyed by eliminating mine-ness. 
7. When person feels that all actions are due to and as per directions of almighty, he becomes free, worriless and peaceful. For enlightened person, renunciation is not done, it automatically happens.

 
Ignorance:

1. World is full of ignorance, restless and painful. All actions are due to mind. Whatever actions or karmas have been done, these are performed out of desires and ego. Therefore, their fruits are to be borne. There is no escape. One has to endure them without that these will not nullify.
2. Treating jivatma different is ignorance but treating self to body is grave ignorance.
3. Parmatma & jivatma is not realised due to ignorance. Ignorance about jivatma, arises desires and attachment. Out of ignorance, one considers himself as body and different from jivatma. Ignorance makes the chit dusty. Realisation about it eliminates delusion.

 
Desires & Karma (actions, activities):

1. People are at unrest not because of actions but for desires and thoughts. Desires and thoughts are root of actions. Therefore, crime or sin starts when thought arises which is cause of pleasure-pain. World is pair of opposites viz. pleasure-pain, gain-loss, love-hate, violence-non-violence, intake-renunciation, attachment-detachment, life-death etc. and these go on.
2. Passions (राग) and fears are main fences (वृत्तियाँ) of mind. Passions are for sense objects. Among passions, sexual desire is strongest. Among fears, fear of death is strongest. The distinction between man and woman is external, bodily; jivatma-wise both are same. When desires perish, difference is eliminated.
3. Desires create thoughts; thoughts turn into impulses which inspire karma. All actions arise from desires for enjoyment, lead to re-birth. Desires are root; thoughts are stem and branches and karmas are leaves. Stopping of karmas does not eliminate desires. Hence, elimination of desires destroys world of karma.
4. Desires are the root, thoughts are trunk & branches and actions are leaves. Actions can be arrested only by elimination of desires. Desires are bondage and lust, anger, greed etc. are its fruits. Very few people reaches at thought level and still fewer at witness level.
5. People have several desires but sexual desire is most intense which is difficult to drop. Restraint of enjoyment of senses is not possible till desires are not at rest inside.  The desires cannot be crushed or curbed but can be transformed. Desires can provide short lived pleasure but not permanent bliss. Although pleasure is short lived pleasure yet people adopt negative means to get it.
6. When desires are fulfilled, one feel happy and when desires are not fulfilled, he feels distressed. Non-fulfilment of desires causes anger, greed, lust, attachment, jealousy, aversion, distress etc. To fulfil desires, the persons do good or bad karmas. Desires are never extinguished. These continue to increase and become web of desires.

 
Bondage and Attachment:

1. World is not bondage. Eating, drinking, living or doing other actions is not bondage. Desires are not bondage.
2. Mind is only bondage. Convictions and options are nature of chit. Impulses rise from it. These impulses are mind. Convictions & options develop thoughts, make planning and to implement it, body & senses work. By doing actions, one becomes doer. Actions become new samskara. The entire process is bondage.
3. Attachment is not due to world but because of desires, greed and passion and to obtain something. Attachment of any kind say with good deeds or bad deeds is bondage. Despite performing painful actions in so many lives, attachment continues.
4. However, actions without attachment (निष्काम कर्म) are not bondage.
5. Ashtavakra says, any kind of support is also bondage. Bhajan, kirtan, bhakti, worship, japa, tapa, yajna, havan, karma kanda, purity of mind, yogic kriya (dharna, dhyan, Samadhi, hatha yoga etc.) etc. are done with desire of fruits. These also lead to bondage. Similarly, renunciation of actions also is bondage.
6. Moksha is not possible till any support is available even of God. Residing in jivatma avoids bondage which is moksha.

Detachment & Dispassion (वैराग्य):

1. Dispassion is necessary for attaining spiritual wisdom. Dispassion does not mean abstaining from world but detachment from worldly desires and remaining in pure consciousness, free from “I am-ness”, is dispassion and key of spiritual wisdom and moksha. 
2. Detachment or giving up desires leads to renunciation of world. It brings freedom from demerits. Detachment from them does not mean, one should live without food, cloth etc. It only means to live with their bare minimum requirements.
3. Accept all that comes, all things as they are, as per divine will.
4. Then practice forgiveness, simplicity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness. It requires only change in vision. The true nature of people is eternal jivatma and therefore, changes the vision which shall change world. Detachment.
5. Charites, Sadhana, wealth, etc. are all means to achieve liberation.
6. Non-attachment is neither attachment nor detachment, neither intake nor renunciation. It is to reside as contented with sentiment of indifference.

Sri Ashtavakra explained the above aspects in the following chapters and verses (the respective verses and chapters in Sanskrit are mentioned in the end):

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