‘Moksha’ is the eighth chapter. Ashtavakra’s vision of liberation is revolutionary, because he says that moksha is not a ‘fruit’ you have to win. Moksha is already available; only the veil of ignorance has to be lifted. This position is a philosophical forerunner of Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘adyaiva-moksha-vada’ (moksha is here and now). In modern philosophy, Martin Heidegger’s concept of ‘unconcealment’ (Unverborgenheit) is comparable to Ashtavakra’s vision of liberation. In both, truth is a matter of disclosure. It opens to you on its own.Textual context
Moksha
Liberation · 4 shlokas
In just four shlokas, Ashtavakra hands you the definition of bondage and liberation. And the definition is behavioral. One state of the mind is bondage, another state is moksha. That is all.
The eighth chapter holds Ashtavakra’s reading of “moksha.” Moksha is the recognition of your own nature. It is no location and no condition. This position lines up, remarkably, with the fourth chapter of Badarayana Vyasa’s Brahma Sutras, even though the Ashtavakra Gita was likely composed before them.
So far
After peace, moksha. This moksha already exists; you never have to fetch it in from anywhere.
किञ्चिन्मुञ्चति गृह्णाति किञ्चिद्दृष्यति कुप्यति॥
kiñcin muñcati gṛhṇāti kiñcid dṛṣyati kupyati
Meaning“Bondage is when the mind wants something, grieves over something, releases something, grasps something, sees something and is pleased, sees something and is enraged.”
For the readerYou can make a checklist. What did you do today? “Wanted something? Yes. Grieved? Yes. Grasped? Yes.” Then today you were bound. You do not have to reduce these actions. Just observe them. Who is doing this? Why?
न मुञ्चति न गृह्णाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति॥
na muñcati na gṛhṇāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati
Meaning“Liberation is when the mind does not want, does not grieve, does not release, does not grasp, does not rejoice, and does not rage.”
For the readerThis shloka can look misleading: “So moksha means feeling nothing at all?” No. Happiness comes, yet there is no sense of “I am happy.” Anger comes, yet there is no sense of “I am angry.” Energy simply flows, and the “I” does not fix itself inside it.
तदा मोक्षो यदा चित्तमसक्तं सर्वदृष्टिषु॥
tadā mokṣo yadā cittam asaktaṁ sarva-dṛṣṭiṣu
Meaning“Bondage is when the mind is attached to any one experience. Moksha is when the mind is unattached in all experiences.”
For the readerAll day long you pass through many experiences. In each experience a brief grip forms. This coffee is good, this atmosphere is bad. This “brief grip” is itself bondage. Releasing it is necessary.
मत्वेति हेलया किञ्चिन्मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा॥
matveti helayā kiñcin mā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā
Meaning“When there is no ‘I,’ there is moksha. When there is ‘I,’ there is bondage. Holding this in mind, lightly, grasp nothing and release nothing.”
For the readerChapter 8 ends. The formula of these four shlokas is simple. When the “I” shrinks, moksha. When the “I” expands, bondage. The practice is this: do not grasp the “I,” and do not force it away. Just observe it, lightly.