The sage's inner condition is YOUR inner condition | Ashtavakra Gita (explained)

The Ashtavakra Gita.

Tranquility.

Janaka said:

"Though appearing asleep like other men, one whose interest in the world is exhausted, whose mind has been emptied, who thinks only by inadvertence, is in Reality awake.

When desire has melted, how can there be wealth, or friends, or the seduction of senses? What use is scripture and knowledge?

I have realized the Supreme Self, the Witness, the One. I am indifferent to bondage and freedom. I have no need for liberation.

The inner condition of one who is devoid of doubt, yet moves among creatures of illusion, can only be known by those like him."

What is the inner condition of a sage? Surely, it cannot be the same as the condition of a common human mind. The same as "my" mind. This idea often keeps the search going.

But appearances can be deceiving. In fact, they are deceiving. And your evaluation of a sage's inner condition, or even that of your own inner condition, is part of the misconception.

"Though appearing asleep like other men, one whose interest in the world is exhausted, whose mind has been emptied, who thinks only by inadvertence, is in Reality awake."

Sitting quietly in meditation, or lying down apparently asleep, or going through the usual activities of life, apparently the same as any person, the One who has realized Self is indeed awake.

Awake meaning aware. Unceasingly. Unconditionally.

In Samadhi, the Sage knows that the Self is this Aware-ness. In sleep, the Sage knows the Self remains as this Aware-ness. In any experience, the Sage knows that the Self is present as the very same Awareness.

So, whatever thought, whatever experience may be passing by, does it matter? The Truth is known. Now, if someone asks this sage what their inner condition is like, how to attain it, what can they say?

Simply to inquire, "What am I?"

When it is clear that I am, that "I" means this Awareness, then if the thoughts refer to a first person, or a second or third, they are known to be just thoughts. They are not the Truth.

The Truth is that I is pure Awareness.

Not a mind, not a body, not a person, not an individual being. So, simply asking what am I, recognizing the answer, you have arrived at the Sage's inner condition. The experiences are not different. The states of mind are the same. There is no difference in this inner condition and your inner condition.

Because the innermost condition is simply that of being aware.

That is the only true State.

So what is the difference? It is just that for the sage the interest in comparing this experience to that, or this state to some other, has been given up.

The sage has tendered resignation from the world. Has exhausted all interest in it. What is the point of comparing states and levels between lives when all such comparisons assume the sort of selves that do not even exist?

Ironically, the very thing that disturbs the seeker's mind is the idea of not having attained. The sage's tranquility comes from the knowledge that there is absolutely nothing to attain because: A. There are no individual selves, and B. The Supreme State is the very nature of Reality — The one and only Self.

The person I thought I was was just a web of thoughts and beliefs. A single insight pierced this illusion. Carved out the conceit at its center. Hollowed. Emptied. In the absence of anything that can be considered me, the Mind is indeed empty and awake.

Empty does not mean permanently thought-free. It means an intrinsic Capacity; open to contain; space for the world. The world and all its forms including thought may continue to appear. It is not through action, or some failure, but through the laws of Nature and the grand works they produce.

The inner workings of Nature are being known. Not because dead matter became alive, not because this body was born, but because there is this intrinsic quality of being awake. Aware.

Reality is awake. Aware of its own works.

So now, what state or experience is to be sought for and by whom?

"When desire has melted, how can there be wealth or friends or the seduction of senses? What use is scripture and knowledge?

I have realized the Supreme Self, the Witness, the One. I am indifferent to bondage and freedom. I have no need for liberation."

When a desire arises, ask it who is it for? As soon as it admits that the one it is for does not even exist, then that desire is no longer desire.

It is just a passing thought. It may be acted upon or not, but it is not your concern. It has nothing to do with the Witness, the Supreme Self. The One that makes the thought possible, that witnesses it, that watches it arise and subside.

Can the Supreme Reality be in bondage? Can this Infinite Capacity to perceive, That which gives meaning to the idea of freedom itself, can this Awareness require freedom?

There's no need for liberation, for there is no one to liberate.

All this talk is just to share with You your own secrets.

You are in reality awake. Forever awake. Unconditionally aware.

What are you doubting? What is there to doubt about the fact of being aware?

"The inner condition of one who is devoid of doubt, yet moves among creatures of illusion can only be known by those like him."

This inner condition is your inner condition. Just without any doubt, with complete clarity of what the Self is.

If you think yourself a body, you are a loose collection of solids, liquids, and gas. If you think yourself an individual mind, you're a loose collection of perceptions, feelings, and thoughts. If you think yourself a person, an independent sentient entity, look closer. You'll find that this person is purely fiction, entirely a creature of illusion.

Look for the first person. You cannot find it anywhere. There are only thoughts, feelings, sensations. But nowhere can you point to and say that is I.

But that You which is aware, can that You be an illusion?

No. There can be no doubt about That.

There remains the Sentience, which is absolutely real. Beyond doubt.

That is the one Aware-ness. The Supreme Self.