Ashtavakra Gita Ch.18, Vs. 96 -100 Commentary and Contemplation - 15th September 2017

The liberated one abides unconditionally in the Self, who is free of the concept of action and duty, who is always and everywhere the same. He is desireless. He does not worry about what he did or did not do. Even so, as I say, the three Ds: desire, doership, duality. These are the legs of the ego. As you see that you are not the doer, no desire actually is true about you because you are not a thing, you are not an object, and no separation has ever happened. You will find that the way of the outer world can continue. All the attributes which the sage has mentioned might continue to be seen in the life of the sage, but if you were to ask, 'What is your truth?' he would say, 'I am not doing anything. All is happening through the will of consciousness.'

A wise one is neither pleased by praise nor annoyed by blame, neither rejoices in life nor fears death. Again, we've discussed this. Don't get confused about not rejoicing. It is not that the external celebration cannot happen. So laughter can come, in fact, it becomes very natural for it to come, but he is not identified as the rejoicer. He is not identified as the one who fears death. All of this is the movement of the waves on the surface of the ocean, but you see, he knows that his depth is much more than the surface. His reality remains untouched whatever the movement of the ocean might be.

One of tranquil mind, neither seeks crowds nor wilderness. He is the same wherever he goes. So though it is said you need to renounce the world and go and live in the cave in the wilderness, there is no need to become very focused on getting a lot of crowds and followers or meeting a lot of people, changing the world—this kind of idea. On this simple seeing, 'I am the Self,' to see that everything that plays as this body-mind is the Leela of consciousness. So if it has to happen, it will happen. If it is not happening, it is not happening. Not attached to either happening or not happening. This is the important part because many times we can hear this instruction and we can feel like, 'I'm not the doer, so now I will do nothing.' But even that is a sense of doership. It's a bit subtle.

So let me repeat: you can have this idea that, 'Because I am not the doer, now I will do nothing.' But even that is a doing, an idea of doership of doing nothing. As long as you believe yourself to be the limited entity made up of the body-mind, then even the position that you might take of the non-doer is both styles of limitation. It is only in your recognition as your true Self that you will see that it is what? This 'not applicable' to doership. We are not the doer because it is not applicable. So the multiple choice comes: which one are you? Option A or Option B? Doer or non-doer? Option C: not applicable. There is 'not applicable' because you are not that which would have been either the doer or the non-doer. This, if you keep in your heart, if you want to contemplate about this, it will clear so much subtle misunderstanding that can come in Advaita.

Because there are many who can take the non-doership position also as a limited entity. They can take the non-desire or pure mind position also as a limited entity. Why are you empty of desire? Because desire and desirelessness both are not applicable. So when you hear that you have no desire, then the mind will come and say, 'With all these things, I must be free of my desire.' See that what you are, you are beyond any phenomenal attributes. So what could you want which is phenomenal? Only in the idea of your limitation can you truly want something. Therefore, desire, doership, and duality is in this ego, this limited identity, and also in their opposites. So it is not that you have to take their opposite position; it is to be empty of all positions.

Now you might say, 'So how do I become empty of all positions?' The instruction, like Guruji might say, the instruction sounds a bit like when I say 'be natural.' You're then doing the 'being natural' or trying to be. That's also doing. How to be empty of all positions? See what you are. What are you in this very moment? You will find that you are the witness of all phenomenal movement. That itself is beyond anything that you have conceived yourself to be in the past. And then when the thought comes and tells you, 'Oh, this is your position,' or 'This is what my offer of a new position for you is,' you know it's the same wrong idea. It's selling to the limited idea of yourself. That is why we keep emphasizing this self-recognition which is available. It is not difficult, but you cannot hold on to a limited position about yourself and hold on to the Self.