AVG 11.1

Chapter 11 (Coherence on a choiceless witnessing of happenings) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
भावाभावविकारश्च स्वभावादिति निश्चयी ।
निर्विकारो गतक्लेशः सुखेनैवोपशाम्यति ॥ ११-१॥

PURPORT:
One who has realized that the continuance
of things, the hindrance of other things and
the perturbations thereof are part of the
natural order of presence and are perceived
so by one's own nature, comfortably finds repose;
being unagitated and removed of all sorrows.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥
भावाभावविकारः च स्वभावात् इति निश्चयी ।
bhāvābhāvavikāraḥ ca svabhāvāt iti niścayī ।
निर्विकारः गतक्लेशः सुखेन एव उपशाम्यति ॥ ११-१॥
nirvikāraḥ gatakleśaḥ sukhena eva upaśāmyati ॥ 11-1॥ 

MEANING:
aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = said ॥
bhāvābhāvavikāraḥ (भावाभावविकारः) = continuance, hinderance and alteration (compound of bhāva (भाव)  meaning 'existence/continuance of happening' and abhāva (अभाव)  meaning 'not becoming/elimination/hinderance' and vikāraḥ (विकारः)  meaning 'transformation/change/perturbation')
ca (च) = and
svabhāvāt (स्वभावात्) = from nature (as in part of the natural order of things)
iti (इति) = thus
niścayī (निश्चयी) = one who has known for certain/one who is sure of themselves/one who has realized for sure ।
nirvikāraḥ (निर्विकारः) = composed/unperturbed/one in repose/unagitated
gatakleśaḥ (गतक्लेशः) = free from affliction/removed of sorrows (compound of gata (गत) meaning 'gone from' and kleśaḥ (क्लेशः) meaning 'pain/affliction')
sukhena (सुखेन) = comfortably/conveniently
eva (एव) = indeed
upaśāmyati (उपशाम्यति) = comes to stillness/finds quietude॥ 11-1॥

COMMENT:
The opening line in the eleventh chapter is a beautiful mediation on the natural order of things - an order that has been cyclically set in motion since the very origins of the universe - nature (or any designated manifestation that we assign the phrase 'nature' to) does not interfere nor support the harmonious arising of things, alteration of things and the eventual cessation of things. All of the entities within this grand cycle are supported and brought to arise, endure and cease based upon appropriate conditions that are interdependently linked to produce or sustain or cease. This happens quite on its own accord and once this is absorbed within, Ashtavakra informs that latent confusion on the part of the seeker melts away.
Of course, the seeker may be left with the subjective question 'Who am I within this cycle?'. If the question is deeply interrogated, an answer that can resonate is 'Who is that who is having this particular line of question?'. If the answer is 'I am the human who is having this question', then one is forced to confront oneself with the original question of 'Who am I within this cycle?' and theretofore recursively.

The answers ultimately point back to the source - firstly, the awareness which clarifies is a matter of looking within and secondly, the question really arises from our inherent sense of duality; especially our attempt to answer questions like 'Who am I' with answers like 'I am the human who is having this question' or 'I am a human' or 'I am a sentient being' imply that one feels a need to 'qualify' and 'designate'.
Somehow answers like 'I am the human who is having this question' or 'I am a human' or 'I am a sentient being' seem more normal to our conditioned mindset than an answer like 'I am'.
Answers that seek to qualify and designate indicate superimposition at work and where there is superimposition, there is duality - the focusing of being something rather than just being - a reification of the projected sense of identity rather than directly experiencing the nature of reality that Ashtavakra talks about - that harmonious cycle of arising, enduring and cessation; an awareness beyond the duality of even duality and non-duality, an awareness that transcends designations that classify this as 'one' and that as 'not-one' and this as 'self' and that as 'other', a knowledge that 'things are as it is without superposition or qualifications or designations'.

AVG 10.8

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 8
कृतं न कति जन्मानि कायेन मनसा गिरा ।
दुःखमायासदं कर्म तदद्याप्युपरम्यताम् ॥ १०-८॥

PURPORT:
How many lives and how many beginnings
have elapsed preoccupied with doing the same
wearisome actions and enterprise with your
body, mind and speech? It is these befuddled
activities that, here and now, you need to relinquish.

TRANSLITERATION:
कृतम् न कति जन्मानि कायेन मनसा गिरा ।
kṛtam na kati janmāni kāyena manasā girā ।
दुःखम् आयासदम् कर्म तत् अद्य अपि उपरम्यताम् ॥ १०-८॥
duḥkham āyāsadam karma tat adya api uparamyatām ॥ 10-8॥

MEANING:
kṛtam (कृतम्) = done/did
na (न) = not
kati (कति) = how many
janmāni (जन्मानि) = births/beginnings/creations
kāyena (कायेन) = with the body
manasā (मनसा) = with the mind
girā (गिरा) =  with speech।
duḥkham (दुःखम्) = pain/sorrow/suffering
āyāsadam (आयासदम्) = involving affliction/comprising difficulty
karma (कर्म) = work
tat (तत्) = that
adya (अद्य) = now/today/at this present juncture
api (अपि) = even
uparamyatām (उपरम्यताम्) = render quiet/cease/pacify ॥ 10-8॥

COMMENT:
In closing this beautiful meditative chapter, Ashtavakra brings up the aspects of renunciation and relinquishment again by reiterating that for a seeker, reality is perceived as a superimposition of the seekers concepts parlayed onto the pure undifferentiated nature of reality. Thus, the beginning practitioner mistakes empirical reality thus superimposed for their own individually acknowledged awareness. It is for this reason that the seeker will not want to assign or superimpose (even) the term 'emptiness' with any such ontological import. Undertaking that the absence of essence within existent phenomena that we conventionally call 'emptiness' is also another conceptual designation leads to the understanding that other related concepts like 'non-duality', 'absence-of-self-nature' and that 'all-things-are-unborn' are also falsely imagined constructions that we connote to conventionally existent entities (to clarify, when one says that 'all things are unborn', understand that it does not mean that things are not born but that things are not born of themselves, that is, that they have exactly zero percent intrinsic self-nature that might ontologically substantiate them).
The action of naming and designating masks the provisional and dependent nature of all existent objects and eases the seeker into a mindset that allows for the seeker to discriminate, differentiate and superimpose the designated definitions onto fundamentally undifferentiated reality. Understanding that the names and designations themselves possess no inherent value nor import allows one the insight and clarity to see that emptiness as a term is 'empty' (similarly so with other terms like 'non-duality', 'absence-of-self-nature' and that 'all-things-are-unborn').
Therefore, the chapters' closing lines aptly ask the relevant question: how many  beginnings must we, as a sentient species, undergo before we transcend the practice of assigning the same wearisome conceptual designations on our actions and enterprise using the faculties of our bodies, mind and our language?

AVG 10.7

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 7
अलमर्थेन कामेन सुकृतेनापि कर्मणा ।
एभ्यः संसारकान्तारे न विश्रान्तमभून्मनः ॥ १०-७॥

PURPORT:
Enough with abundance and desire; enough
indulging even in devout and pious deeds! By these,
the mind does not come to find repose nor peace
here in the forlorn wilderness of the changing world.

TRANSLITERATION:
अलम् अर्थेन कामेन सुकृतेन अपि कर्मणा ।
alam arthena kāmena sukṛtena api karmaṇā ।
एभ्यः संसारकान्तारे न विश्रान्तम् अभूत् मनः ॥ १०-७॥
ebhyaḥ saṃsārakāntāre na viśrāntam abhūt manaḥ ॥ 10-7॥

MEANING:
alam (अलम्) = no desire for (as in a sense of sufficiency with what one has)/enough
arthena (अर्थेन) = with abundance and prosperity
kāmena (कामेन) = with desire
sukṛtena (सुकृतेन) = with devout and piousness
api (अपि) = even
karmaṇā (कर्मणा) = with deeds and actions ।
ebhyaḥ (एभ्यः) = from these/of these
saṃsārakāntāre (संसारकान्तारे) = in the forlorn wilderness of the changing world (compound of saṃsāra (संसार) meaning 'world' and kāntāre (कान्तारे) meaning 'forests whose paths may be difficult and forlorn')
na (न) = not
viśrāntam (विश्रान्तम्) = tranquility/repose/peaceful stillness
abhūt (अभूत्) = has become
manaḥ (मनः) = mind ॥ 10-7॥

COMMENT:
This verse is an exhortation to the seeker to look into the core of their being which at first reading might be opaque in its implied meaning. Ashtavakra mentions that one can strive to disabuse oneself of the notion that the performing of meritorious deeds naturally paves the way for a guilt-free enjoyment of the results that accrue in terms of pleasures and wealth (an idea that was alluded to in the first verse of this chapter and subtly being reminded here again).
On a deeper reading, one begins to understand that we are always free, one does not need to hoard objects that appeal to the senses in order to achieve this sense of freedom. The sense of equanimity and bliss is right here and stilling the mind of its inherent fluctuations is an approach to realizing this sense of freedom.
The notion some harbor that freedom or liberation lies within the amassing of riches or attaining the extremes of sensory pleasure or even in the doing of 'good' deeds with expectation of reciprocation are ideas, concepts and thoughts that we have co-opted from a combination of factors that included parents, organized religion, culture, education, etcetera. In a subversive sense, even the concept of liberation and its foil - bondage - themselves are dualistic notions that we harbor within our minds (similarly co-opted). Given that we sentient beings were never bound when we were born nor bound in any manner when we pass on, and given the understanding that our bodies are performing what they are designed and evolved to perform (i.e. homeostasis to sustain life and gene transmission through reproduction to continue life) and given that our minds have that inherent stillness once one gleans the space occupied between two thought fluctuations, one starts to realize that no one 'achieves' liberation because there really is no bondage to be liberated from - in the strict sense of the word - these are concepts. Ultimately, bondage and liberation are mental abstractions resulting from our being steeped within cultural conditioning and the attendant duality (from conditioning) that allows for the ego and the self-model to continue to propagate.
Extending this line of thought as it pertains to duality, the superimposition of one's devotion onto an object of one's adoration itself creates a duality between the devotee and the object of adoration. One notices this kind of a superimposition when the object of adoration and reverence (say a god-like figure named and thusly conceptualized by us) is made correspondent and equated with mentally fabricated constructs (examples include self, soul, atman, brahman and other like entities named and conceptualized by us). In and of itself, this form of superimposition is a useful path for a seeker to commence the journey towards awareness. Such superimposition of mental constructs to an object of adoration might be useful insofar as it relates to the focusing of ones thoughts and actions, but, understand that in undertaking this approach to stilling of thoughts, duality always comes along for the ride. The purported objectivity that we seek and think we obtain in terms of these concepts and superpositions is ultimately just inter-subjective agreement - a commonly agreed upon idea of legitimacy that may not be objective nor true.

AVG 10.6

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 6
राज्यं सुताः कलत्राणि शरीराणि सुखानि च ।
संसक्तस्यापि नष्टानि तव जन्मनि जन्मनि ॥ १०-६॥

TRANSLITERATION:
राज्यम् सुताः कलत्राणि शरीराणि सुखानि च ।
rājyam sutāḥ kalatrāṇi śarīrāṇi sukhāni ca ।
संसक्तस्य अपि नष्टानि तव जन्मनि जन्मनि ॥ १०-६॥
saṃsaktasya api naṣṭāni tava janmani janmani ॥ 10-6॥

PURPORT:
Dominions, dynasties, descendants, spouses,
corporeal bodies, luxuries and such transitory
phenomena have been lost to your being
and could not have been owned by you;
you were conditioned to be attached to them
and tried to cling to them birth after birth.

MEANING:
rājyam (राज्यम्) = dominion/dynasty/kingdom
sutāḥ (सुताः) = progeny (literal translation = sons)
kalatrāṇi (कलत्राणि) = spouses (literal translation = wives)
śarīrāṇi (शरीराणि) = corporeal bodies
sukhāni (सुखानि) = amenity/luxury/comforts
ca (च) = and ।
saṃsaktasya (संसक्तस्य) = attached dependently/yoked
api (अपि) = even
naṣṭāni (नष्टानि) = perished/wasted/lost
tava (तव) = of you
janmani janmani (जन्मनि जन्मनि) = birth after birth ॥ 10-6॥

COMMENT:
This verse has a direct reference to the idea of reincarnation and my humble opinion being that one might be able to read meaning into these lines even if one does not subscribe to the notion of reincarnation. There does not seem to be any unified clarity nor scientific understanding of rebirth from one life to another and I aver that we almost certainly can’t know anything about rebirth.
While the erstwhile formulations around rebirth involved and implied the presence of a soul that purportedly transmigrated from one physical body to another, the seeker is better served by the understanding that instead of an abiding, enduring soul, the sentient human (during their sojourn on this planet) acts more like a vessel that collects within themselves the ever-morphing cultural phenomena, truths, teachings, learnings and other lessons. This presents us with two possible choices; the first being the idea that all of the knowledge collected and wisdom (or ineptitude) garnered is incorporated and concretized within an enduring self and that self now moves to a new body after the death of the original. The second alternative being that reincarnation is simply the transmission of patterns, conveying of habits, transferring of mores and passing of values from one generation to the next. While the former (the illusion of an enduring self) does not have basis and is not tenable (as we have seen in this poem earlier), the latter - transmission of mores and a recurrence of shared patterns - can be thought of as the only plausible interpretation of reincarnation.
What we know for certain is that when we eventually die (and that is the one fact that we can be sure of), the only truth that can be posited and considered tenable is that the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements that constitute our bodies will be recycled into creatures sentient and artifacts non-sentient; we scatter as disparate components and merge back into this planet (and the universe at large) to be recycled over and over again. In this sense, one remains humbly transformed by this eventuality; indeed, we find intrinsic acceptance of the concept of reincarnation within this understanding.
Ultimately, designations like rebirth and reincarnation are concepts created by our peoples insofar as it relates to our past and our vain hope to be delivered intact into an unknown future - another form of clinging - this particular type of clinging apparently formulated by our self-models to somehow transcend impermanence and death. The seeker that strives to reach beyond such self-identification with the past grant to themselves the innate freedom to develop a mindset of clarity and harmony. The alternative is to remain in bleak doubt on the cusp between clarity in being and confusion in non-being.
In closing, it can be understood that reincarnation or rebirth isn’t something that happens to us after we die. We are transformed every second, dependent on multiple interlinked conditions that make our continued existence possible. Rebirth is something that happens to us every instant of every day.

AVG 10.5

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 5
त्वमेकश्चेतनः शुद्धो जडं विश्वमसत्तथा ।
अविद्यापि न किञ्चित्सा का बुभुत्सा तथापि ते ॥ १०-५॥

PURPORT:
You are unified with reality; of pristine awareness
and undifferentiated. The universe as
perceived is inert and passive and only
hallucinatory. In this sense, you are not moved
by those sensations that appear to be real
but are created within your mind. Thus, how can
the curiosity to know the extremes of pleasure
or of discontent be found within you?

TRANSLITERATION:
त्वम् एकः चेतनः शुद्धः जडम् विश्वम् असत् तथा ।
tvam ekaḥ cetanaḥ śuddhaḥ jaḍam viśvam asat tathā ।
अविद्या अपि न किञ्चित् सा का बुभुत्सा तथा अपि ते ॥ १०-५॥
avidyā api na kiñcit sā kā bubhutsā tathā api te ॥ 10-5॥

MEANING:
tvam (त्वम्) = you
ekaḥ (एकः) = one/unified/indissoluble
cetanaḥ (चेतनः) = pure awareness (literal meaning 'consciousness/intelligence')
śuddhaḥ (शुद्धः) = pure/pristine
jaḍam (जडम्)* = inert/passive/sans intelligence*
viśvam (विश्वम्) = universe
asat (असत्) = unreal/hallucinatory (sensations that appear to be real but are created within the mind)
tathā (तथा) = and ।
avidyā (अविद्या) = ignorance (as being in a state of being unaware)
api (अपि) = also
na (न) = not (as in 'not ignorant' and not being taken up by those sensations that appear to be real but are created within the mind)
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = anything
sā (सा) = that
kā (का) = what
bubhutsā (बुभुत्सा) = curiosity about/desire to know
tathā (तथा) = likewise
api (अपि) = also
te (ते) = your ॥ 10-5॥

COMMENT:
Ashtavakra here asserts two facets of awareness – one subtle and one overt; the subtle aspect is that awareness that allows for the seeker to attain a measure of tranquility is always inherent within the seeker and this awareness can be realized by a process of self-inquiry and by living an examined life that is unbiased. The overt aspect of this verse teaches that ignorance (referred to as avidyā (अविद्या) in the verse) is non-existent within the one who has this measure of tranquility.
The one who is tranquil will have understood the true nature of the objects within the world without the yearning for additional sensory experiences. Within the context of this verse, avidyā refers to a misunderstanding of the nature of reality and more specifically, about the non-discoverability the self. In this sense, it is not lack of information (as is traditionally connoted by the word 'ignorance' or avidyā), but a conditioned perspective of the world intrinsic to the individual that prompts the individual to perceive and assign essence/basis/spirit to phenomena that may be conventionally real but ultimately empty of any such essence or spirit. This does not stem from a willful rejection of the nature of reality, but more from a misperception as a result of past conditioning. One understands that avidyaa (I would term it as 'non-insight' of the true nature of reality) is akin to a seeker mistaking conventional reality as the only conceivable reality and to misidentify entities as fundamentally cloaked within permanence (when impermanence is really the only constant within our lives). Non-insight is also the sense of conferring the notion of 'self' upon objects that are ultimately empty of any underlying stratum that abides forever. One also understands that the idea of avidyaa mentioned here (rather than the traditional concept of sin as speculated in certain spiritual traditions) is the seat for unhappiness within the individual as the individual confers spirit or self within objects that do not have any such abiding nature within themselves.

NOTE:
*In relation to Ashtavakra’s assertion (he uses the word jaḍam (जडम्)) that the universe is potentially devoid of information and by translation inert and non-intelligent, the following is a presumptive speculation (albeit hopeful) about the disparate nature of entropy, the increasing volume of information generated by sentients and my own way of reconciling the two in the far future.
Entropy increases as the universe ages. This means that the total volume of all useful information that has been generated in the far future will be at best be composed of disparate bits of information at very large distances from each other. Therefore, one surmises that while a large amount of information content might be out there, the assembling and assimilation (as in collecting and constructing the bits to make sense) of the same may well-nigh be impossible. Contrast this with the fact that as sentient beings evolve, the sum total of all information created and added to the universe is constantly increasing as sentients go through the process of evolution, adaptation and improvisation - in fact, some people might explain the classical concept of reincarnation this way - where the useful information left behind by sentient beings is added to the ever growing volume of information already amassed and the information generated by us is one way we may be remembered/reincarnated.
Reconciling these two thoughts was hard for me (the futility inherent in the idea that the juggernaut of entropy marches unstoppably and the hope and promise implicit in recovering information generated thus far in the future). This made me think of branes (short for membranes) – the hypothesis that there are other universes out there with differing sets of fundamental physical constants that may either be viable, or, be on the edge of viability or, non-viable; we sentients seem to have made the ‘viability-cut’ due to a nice blend of fundamental constants that interplay well to create structures like you and I.
If we presume that each of many universes (one of which is this particular universe that you and I inhabit where the constants align to permit life) represents a thin slice of a great whole, maybe the disparate information that we sentients have generated will at some point of time in the far future find their way into another brane where the physical constants differ by appropriate degrees that allow for the information to be reconstituted (in part or whole). If this speculative scenario manifests, it then becomes somewhat comforting to think that the information that we create and add onto the universe may have a chance of being assimilated and all of our thoughts and ideas rejuvenated again.

AVG 10.4

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 4
तृष्णामात्रात्मको बन्धस्तन्नाशो मोक्ष उच्यते ।
भवासंसक्तिमात्रेण प्राप्तितुष्टिर्मुहुर्मुहुः ॥ १०-४॥

PURPORT:
Attachment is to be yoked solely
to desires borne within the mind.
Emancipation is the severance of the same.
It is only by dispassion to the world of
change and circumstance that one can
recognize the serenity of self-awareness
time and time again.

TRANSLITERATION:
तृष्णामात्रात्मकः बन्धः तन्नाशः मोक्षः उच्यते ।
tṛṣṇāmātrātmakaḥ bandhaḥ tannāśaḥ mokṣaḥ ucyate ।
भवासंसक्तिमात्रेण प्राप्तितुष्टिः  मुहुः मुहुः ॥ १०-४॥
bhavāsaṃsaktimātreṇa prāptituṣṭiḥ muhuḥ muhuḥ ॥ 10-4॥

MEANING:
tṛṣṇāmātrātmakaḥ (तृष्णामात्रात्मकः) = consisting solely of craving/desire (compound of tṛṣṇā (तृष्णा) meaning 'desire/craving/yearning' and mātra (मात्र) meaning 'simply or merely/being nothing but' and atmakaḥ (अत्मकः) meaning 'of itself')
bandhaḥ (बन्धः) = attachment/bondage/fettered
tannāśaḥ (तन्नाशः) =  destruction of that (the reference to 'that' is as in 'of desire')
mokṣaḥ (मोक्षः) = emancipation/deliverance/liberation
ucyate (उच्यते) = is said to be ।
bhavāsaṃsaktimātreṇa (भवासंसक्तिमात्रेण) = solely by non-attachment to the phenomenal world (compound of bhava (भव)  meaning 'world/that phenomenal domain of circumstance and change' asaṃsakti (असंसक्ति)  meaning 'not joined/not attached/state of being detached' and mātreṇa (मात्रेण)  meaning 'only by/solely by')
prāptituṣṭiḥ (प्राप्तितुष्टिः) = happiness from accomplishing/satisfaction from attaining (compound of prāpti (प्राप्ति) meaning 'obtainment/achievement/attained' and tuṣṭiḥ (तुष्टिः)  meaning 'satisfaction/joy')
muhuḥ muhuḥ (मुहुः मुहुः) = time and time again/continually/regularly ॥ 10-4॥

COMMENT:
The import behind the previous verse and this remains the same; the themes of dispassion, the manacles of desire that muddle our thoughts and our thoughts themselves being drawn towards sense objects mediated by our conditioning. Of course, the awareness that results from the clarity that comes from a dispassionate understanding of entities while being grounded within the present moment is the focus of the seeker.
Repetition is a common theme across spiritual traditions especially when the writer wants to convey the importance of a concept  and these verses are no different. Rather than comment on similar themes, I wanted to take this opportunity to dwell a bit on the following that seem to make my nascent understanding clearer. In addition, this also summarizes some themes that have crossed my mind while working on the first nine chapters. Again, these are paths that have been useful for me, and, of course, to each their own.

Our bodies are no different from any other entity out there - like a clod of dust or an incandescent electric bulb, all we are is just fortuitous (albeit temporal) collections of atoms and molecules with an emergent condition that we call consciousness or cognition.

To never feel absolutely certain of anything is fundamental to understanding humility and a reminder that there is much more unknown, uncertain and unclear than the known. On the same theme of humility, one’s undertaking to overwhelm opposition cannot be accomplished by force or fiat; the perceived satisfaction that one seemingly obtains by overcoming resistance through fiat is illusory.

Awareness results when one strives to overcome resistance by reasoned and logical arguments that is rooted within compassion and empathy for the other's station in the world.

No entity arises from itself, from another, from both itself and another, or from neither itself nor another.

All existent entities, ideas and phenomena are 'empty'; meaning they don't cause or define themselves, but arise and cease due to underlying conditions that are themselves dependently linked to further substratal conditions. That said, under analysis, incongruity and unreasonableness can be found within even the most analytically balanced and meticulously constructed positions - these positions and systems are there just to guide us - ultimately, one just have to find themselves.

All thinking assumes groupings that ultimately channel to defining 'name-and-form' and 'difference', but one understands that such groupings have no foundational referent as an essence within any such 'name-and-form' entities or opposing aberrations thereof. That said, if one is forced to choose between objections that are deemed rational and perceptive and concessions that are uninvolved and yielding, choose on the side of the former as the former signifies a deeper level of engagement and understanding with the other.

Linguistic expression, vocabulary and associated concepts do not refer to actual existent things. All languages that we have refined over the course of evolution recursively refers to conceptual formulations of itself.

We cannot help but live within the cultural conditioning that we have been imprinted with - if we step outside of the conditioned channels, we will either be labelled impractical or will find ourselves to be non-functioning members of society. That said, never contrive to show obeisance nor tribute to dogma or doctrine nor to preceptors who mention that their tenets and canons are the only way forward, for, there will always be a new tenet, a new gospel and a new preceptor who will have an alternative.

Thoughts within our minds are just electrical signals correlated with the manifestational equivalents of name-and-form representations that have been ingrained within us as a result of cultural conditioning. Consciousness is our process of regurgitation and presentation of information from a repository of ‘world-thought’ that keeps getting passed down.

All of our experiential problems in dealing with the phenomenal world stem from our innate need to latch onto our conditioned beliefs, conjecture and suppositions. Envy in any way, shape or form is an accelerant to the fire of desire and only serves to concretize the prejudicial conditioning that we have been culturally subjected to. Be devotedly truthful even if that path is unwieldy, embarrassing or cumbersome; for, obscuring the same by design or by accident only makes the path to awareness prejudicial, and in the long run, unmanageable.

AVG 10.3

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 3
यत्र यत्र भवेत्तृष्णा संसारं विद्धि तत्र वै ।
प्रौढवैराग्यमाश्रित्य वीततृष्णः सुखी भव ॥ १०-३॥

PURPORT:
Recognize that wherever there is craving
and attachment, the stream of the
phenomenal world flows there. Adopting
a mindset of strong willed dispassion,
absolve from the want of objects desired
for by thought and find happiness.

TRANSLITERATION:
यत्र यत्र भवेत् तृष्णा संसारम् विद्धि तत्र वै ।
yatra yatra bhavet tṛṣṇā saṃsāram viddhi tatra vai ।
प्रौढवैराग्यम् आश्रित्य वीततृष्णः सुखी भव ॥ १०-३॥
prauḍhavairāgyam āśritya vītatṛṣṇaḥ sukhī bhava ॥ 10-3॥

MEANING:
yatra yatra (यत्र यत्र) = wherever
bhavet (भवेत्) = may come to be
tṛṣṇā (तृष्णा) = craving/hankering/desire
saṃsāram (संसारम्) = stream of the phenomenal world
viddhi (विद्धि) = know thus/you should know
tatra (तत्र) = there
vai (वै) = indeed ।
prauḍhavairāgyam (प्रौढवैराग्यम्) = strong willed dispassion (compound of prauḍha (प्रौढ) meaning 'strong willed/firm/absolute' and vairāgyam (वैराग्यम्) meaning 'dispassion/non-attachment [to objects of enjoyment]')
āśritya (आश्रित्य) = endorsing/accepting/adopting
vītatṛṣṇaḥ (वीततृष्णः) = absolved from craving/free of desire (compound of vītatṛṣṇaḥ (वीत) meaning 'free of/absolved' and tṛṣṇaḥ (तृष्णः)  meaning 'craving/desire/hankering')
sukhī (सुखी) = content/tranquil/happy
bhava (भव) = become ॥ 10-3॥

COMMENT:
We have seen earlier in this chapter that the default temperament of a mind that has been conditioned by  cultural forces is to dwell and assign fixity to thoughts and actions that closely mirror the prior conditioning that the individual has experienced. This mindset of attachment is referred to variously as grasping, clinging, aversion, greed or craving. The state of attachment in response to a phenomenal experience can manifest itself either in physical transformations of the individual or in mental shifts of perspective resulting in an alteration of the emotional state of the individual. In most cases, the change is a physiological or a psychological stimulus indicating that the individual covets more of that experience that provided for the sense of pleasure or alternatively, none of that experience that caused a sense of hurt. Put another way, the nature of the experience and our somatic and mental states wanting more or less of the same creates either an increase in the underlying sense of passion or an increase of the latent feeling of aversion leading to strengthened conditioning.
Ashtavakra gently informs that adopting a mature disposition of dispassion that will help absolve the constant amassing of objects sought for by thought is the way to happiness. The dispassion that Ashtavakra mentions here is not an anarchic perspective of passion or desire. Rather, dispassion is that sense of awareness that comes about from clearly understanding the present moment as we encounter the present in real time - not dwelling in the past nor worrying about the future.
A state of dispassion cannot be summoned up from our being; rather, a mindset of dispassion is cultivated and arises when focus is trained towards the present state of happening as one starts to put away and not dwell on those discursive thoughts that are tied to conditioning. In addition, it should be noted that the word 'dispassion', also elicits a tendency on the part of the seeker to fall into a skeptical mindset and associate aspects of apathy, somber stoicism, indifference, aloofness, non-participation or shunning with this feeling. Far from this, dispassion is the mindful commitment to the present moment with complete acceptance of outcomes unconstrained by thoughts that constantly discriminate between alternatives and provoke choice. The insight gained leads to action on the part of the individual to steer away from a mindset of 'what is in it for me' to a mindset of 'I am at peace doing this' in the performance of their activities. The mindset itself is ego-less, the disposition calm and the thoughts not swayed by conditioning.

AVG 10.2

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 2
स्वप्नेन्द्रजालवत् पश्य दिनानि त्रीणि पञ्च वा ।
मित्रक्षेत्रधनागारदारदायादिसम्पदः ॥ १०-२॥

PURPORT:
Perceive gifts, property, wealth and
even family and friends and other
such good fortunes as real within a
conventional sense but, empty of
any inherent essence that confers to
them immortality; just like the perceived
images within one's dreams. This spectacle
recognized by our minds is but a temporal
slice of our manifest awareness.

TRANSLITERATION:
स्वप्न इन्द्रजालवत् पश्य दिनानि त्रीणि पञ्च वा ।
svapna indrajālavat paśya dināni trīṇi pañca vā ।
मित्रक्षेत्रधनागारदारदायादिसम्पदः ॥ १०-२॥
mitrakṣetradhanāgāradāradāyādisampadaḥ ॥ 10-2॥

MEANING:
svapna (स्वप्न) = dream
indrajālavat (इन्द्रजालवत्) = like a hallucinatory visual impression
paśya (पश्य) = having seen
dināni (दिनानि) = days
trīṇi (त्रीणि) = three
pañca (पञ्च) = five
vā (वा) = or ।
mitrakṣetradhanāgāradāradāyādisampadaḥ (मित्रक्षेत्रधनागारदारदायादिसम्पदः) = friends, lands, wealth, dwellings, wives, gifts and such other good fortunes (compound of mitra (मित्र) meaning 'friends' and kṣetra (क्षेत्र) meaning 'lands/provinces/fields' and dhana (धन) meaning 'wealth/affluence' and agāra (अगार) meaning 'house/dwelling' and dāra (दार)  meaning 'wife/spouse' and dāya (दाय) meaning 'gift/present/giving' and ādi (आदि) meaning 'and such other/etcetera' and sampadaḥ (सम्पदः) meaning 'good fortune')॥ 10-2॥

COMMENT:
The thoughts that arise within our minds are singularly autonomous processes that are part and parcel of our evolutionary biology; the arising of thoughts, the enduring of the same and cessation thereof is as independent a process as is breathing or the heart pumping – they happen on their own volition. The arising of the thoughts themselves and the phenomenal entities that thoughts associate themselves with (Ashtavakra gives some examples that one must not read too literally) may not be the problem in and of itself. Individual responsibility and the power of restraint lies in how we translate thoughts into action (or the lack of action as appropriate). While the individual may not be accountable for the thoughts that arise within the themselves, the individual is singularly accountable for their actions in response to the thought.
The movement or the action undertaken by the individual in response to thought is sometimes referred to as free-will or self-expression - in that sense, all individuals are free to act and react (impulsively or otherwise) based upon the current trajectory and velocity of their thoughts, but understand that once the action has been brought to bear from the mental plane to the physical, the action undertaken tends to define its own trajectory and velocity dependent upon and influenced by the trajectories and velocities of various other actions and choices that have been propagated by other entities (individuals, natural forces and other random occurrences that may or may not resonate with the individuals choices), the ensemble of which determine the outcome.
The response of any natural system to a perturbation is to go back to the natural state of equilibrium preferred by the system. In the same sense, while the individual's action itself may be construed as being presented based upon the will of the individual, the outcome may or may not be dependent upon the will of the taker-of-the-action; the outcome is dependent and interlinked upon the combined set of actions and forces that form the larger context and environment within which the individual acts. In this sense, acting upon thought and having the result of such actions conform to the expectations set by the ego may not be expected to resonate as we live within a dependent framework that is based upon factors, choices and actions that are interlinked and inter-dependent.

AVG 10.1

Chapter 10 (A sense of repose through the renunciation of craving) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
विहाय वैरिणं काममर्थं चानर्थसंकुलम् ।
धर्ममप्येतयोर्हेतुं सर्वत्रानादरं कुरु ॥ १०-१॥

PURPORT:
Casting off as one does an antagonist,
cast off desires and the want for sensual
gratifications. So also, relinquish the acquisition
and preservation of wealth; a process visited
by hardship. Similarly, give up those moral
practices whose objective was to attain these
desires and worldly riches. In transcending
desires, riches and even mores, you attain
your own self: dispassionate, impartial, choiceless.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥
विहाय वैरिणम् कामम् अर्थम् च अनर्थसंकुलम् ।
vihāya vairiṇam kāmam artham ca anarthasaṃkulam ।
धर्मम् अपि एतयोः हेतुम् सर्वत्र अनादरम् कुरु ॥ १०-१॥
dharmam api etayoḥ hetum sarvatra anādaram kuru ॥ 10-1॥

MEANING:
aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = said ॥
vihāya (विहाय) = relinquishing/repudiating
vairiṇam (वैरिणम्) = adversary/antagonist
kāmam (कामम्) = desire
artham (अर्थम्) = worldly riches and abundance/temporal prosperity
ca (च) = and
anarthasaṃkulam (अनर्थसंकुलम्) = mixed with hardship and difficulty (compound of anartha (अनर्थ) meaning 'loss/scarcity' and saṃkulam (संकुलम्) meaning 'combined with/mixed with/densely abounding in') ।
dharmam (धर्मम्) = good work and deeds attended to with an awareness of the present circumstances (within the context of this verse, the meaning is construed as 'the practice of observance of prescriptive ceremonies whose aim is to amass worldly riches and attain the object of one's desire/yearning')
api (अपि) = also
etayoḥ (एतयोः) = of these two
hetum (हेतुम्) = the cause/the motive source
sarvatra (सर्वत्र) = everywhere
anādaram (अनादरम्) = dispassionately/impartial/choicelessly (literal meaning is 'apathy/indifference' which does not make sense with the context of Ashtavakra's purported message in this case)
kuru (कुरु) = do/achieve ॥ 10-1॥

COMMENT:
The focus of the tenth chapter is a meditation on desire; our innate sense of craving towards entities that appeal to our senses and our need to acquire said objects of desire. Desire and its manifestations like craving, hankering and clinging seem to obtain embodiment within our psyche sometime after our births and our formative years. A fundamentally evolutionary manifestation, desire in its incipient state can be understood to arise from a combination of our body's homeostatic regulation to maintain a state of good repair and the response of the body's hormonal mechanisms to reflexively and automatically calibrate chemical responses dependent upon that innate need for equilibrium.
The ego (that is absent at the time of birth) slowly crystallizes and takes shape as we mature. The addition of cultural impingements that take the form of language and the linguistic designations imputed on objects using name-and-form are additionally subsumed by the ego in securing a firmer foothold in the process of this crystallization.
The evolution based manifestation of our innate sense of self-regulation and homeostasis morphs itself over time and matures into the ever-growing sense of a need to want to pull things into the center of ones being so that the ego can continue to 'collect' (either in a physical sense or from an emotional perspective) the artifacts implicated by names-and-form and thus obtain a sense of permanence. This feeling of wanting to pull in objects that are culturally perceived to be of value to the center of ones being, assigning 'ownership' over the object and 'claiming' the object as one's own is a constant process. This cycle of aggregating externalities into the self-centered locus slowly shifts from one sense object to another as the ego and the self cannot find lasting contentment from just one sense object. The ego is unable to find the necessary satisfaction within any one single sense-object as the defining characteristic of sense objects is rooted within their impermanence.
It is in the nature of objects to arise, endure and to be ultimately recast; for this reason and this reason alone, the sense of desire, clinging and ownership keeps shifting from one sense object to the next; an unending search that can only be eschewed by what Ashtavakra calls for within this chapter - a sense of renunciation from objects of desire (Kama), relinquishment of actions whose aim is in the amassing of physical objects that appeal to the senses (Artha) and even casting off the practice of the observance of rituals and prescriptive ceremonies (Dharma) whose aim is to amass more of and dwell within the conventional realities presented by Kama and Artha.

AVG 9.8

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 8
वासना एव संसार इति सर्वा विमुञ्च ताः ।
तत्त्यागो वासनात्यागात्स्थितिरद्य यथा तथा ॥ ९-८॥

PURPORT:
It is the culturally sculpted predispositions
within us that frame our perceived worlds;
understanding that, one needs to unshackle
themselves from these cultivated dispositions.
Unshackling from desires of the world comes from
casting off one's intrinsic predispositions.
Having renounced desires, one is fully free
to live wherever one pleases.

TRANSLITERATION:
वासनाः एव संसारः इति सर्वाः विमुञ्च ताः ।
vāsanāḥ eva saṃsāraḥ iti sarvāḥ vimuñca tāḥ ।
तत्त्यागः वासनात्यागात्  स्थितिः अद्य यथा तथा ॥ ९-८॥
tattyāgaḥ vāsanātyāgāt sthitiḥ adya yathā tathā ॥ 9-8॥

MEANING:
vāsanāḥ (वासनाः) = conditioned predispositions/culturally sculpted predilections that fashion our thoughts actions and emotions
eva (एव) = surely
saṃsāraḥ (संसारः) = world
iti (इति) = thus understood
sarvāḥ (सर्वाः) = all
vimuñca (विमुञ्च) = renounce/eschew/repudiate
tāḥ (ताः) = those।
tattyāgaḥ (तत्त्यागः) = renunciation of that (the reference to 'that' is taken to refer to the phenomenal world)
vāsanātyāgāt (वासनात्यागात्) = from the renunciation of inclination and desire (compound of vāsanā (वासना) meaning 'conditioned inclinations' and tyāgāt (त्यागात्) meaning 'from the renunciation of')
sthitiḥ (स्थितिः) = standing with perseverance/steadfastly
adya (अद्य) = now
yathā (यथा) = where (as in 'wherever')
tathā (तथा) = there (as in 'as you please') ॥ 9-8॥

COMMENT:
Ashtavakra comes to the end of the ninth chapter with a resplendent meditation on the conditioned predispositions (or vasaanas) that govern and channel many of our everyday actions; most of the time, this channeling happens in a non-volitional manner.
These predispositions or conditioned predilections are really patterns of our habits that manifest as our outward tendencies in the form of our action, reaction and speech or inward tendencies in the form of subjective thought or mental state that inform the basis of our psychic framework that we bring to bear on phenomena/interaction.
These predispositions and inclinations arise from our previous activity and exposure - impingements like culture, education, parental tutelage, religion, politics etc.; the combined affects of these previous impingements bring to inform the direction of our future actions. The velocity of such future actions and the directionality of such future actions varies continuously and the combined sum of the velocity and the directionality inform our current frame of reference and future outlook. In this sense, we are constantly manifesting the sum total of our conditioned forces via our habits, outlook, persona and emotions. Ashtavakra specifically talks about this conditioning of the self not only in terms of the dispositions that we bring to bear (consciously or unconsciously) in an interaction, but, also the fact that we are subjected to similar forces of conditioning on the part of other sentients sharing/interacting our spaces.
In this sense, owing to the multiple interrelated dependencies (insofar as it relates to forces of conditioning) that are constantly connecting and disconnecting within the ambit of our perceptual space, our overall trajectory as a species and as sentients is not the result of individual choices or individual actions, but a sum of our overall tendencies that we bring to bear (conditioned collectively). In the same vein, the illusory self-model that is formed within ourselves (morphing into the ego in due course) is also sculpted, shaped and molded by the same forces of previous conditioning. Our egos and our self-model tends to align with our actions, outlook and behavior in a manner that is most conducive for the continuous onward propagation of the ego/self-model.
Ashtavakra in closing this chapter eloquently explains that the awareness that results from a clarity in this understanding is not just a sense of liberation from our constant worries and thoughts plaguing our minds, but also the liberty to conduct our work and perform our actions within an empathically compassionate framework unconstrained by prior conditioning that was originally yoked to a feedback loop whose only aim was to strengthen the self-model.

NOTE:
From the Yavakalāpī Sutra:
'I am' is a construing. 'I am this...I shall be...I shall not be...I shall be possessed of form...I shall not be possessed of form...I shall be percipient...I shall not be percipient...I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is a construing.
Construing is a disease, construing is a cancer, construing is an arrow. Therefore, seekers, you should train yourselves: 'We will dwell with an awareness free of construings.'
'I am' is a perturbation. 'I am this...I shall be...I shall not be...I shall be possessed of form...I shall not be possessed of form...I shall be percipient...I shall not be percipient...I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is a perturbation.
Perturbation is a disease, perturbation is a cancer, perturbation is an arrow. Therefore, seekers, you should train yourselves: 'We will dwell with an awareness free of perturbations.'
'I am' is a wavering. 'I am this...I shall be...I shall not be...I shall be possessed of form...I shall not be possessed of form...I shall be percipient...I shall not be percipient...I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is a wavering.
Wavering is a disease, wavering is a cancer, wavering is an arrow. Therefore, seekers, you should train yourselves: 'We will dwell with an awareness free of waverings.'
'I am' is a objectification. 'I am this...I shall be...I shall not be...I shall be possessed of form...I shall not be possessed of form...I shall be percipient...I shall not be percipient...I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is a objectification.
Objectification is a disease, objectification is a cancer, objectification is an arrow. Therefore, seekers, you should train yourselves: 'We will dwell with an awareness free of objectifications.'
'I am' is an act of conceit. 'I am this...I shall be...I shall not be...I shall be possessed of form...I shall not be possessed of form...I shall be percipient...I shall not be percipient...I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient' is an act of conceit.
An act of conceit is a disease, an act of conceit is a cancer, an act of conceit is an arrow. Therefore, seekers, you should train yourselves: 'We will dwell with an awareness free of acts of conceit.'

AVG 9.7

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 7
पश्य भूतविकारांस्त्वं भूतमात्रान् यथार्थतः ।
तत्क्षणाद्बन्धनिर्मुक्तः स्वरूपस्थो भविष्यसि ॥ ९-७॥

PURPORT:
Look upon the modification of our senses
as nothing other than a transmutation of the
primary elements: earth, water, fire, air and space.
Understanding this, may you be absolved of
attachment and bondage and thusly abide
within your own innate awareness.

TRANSLITERATION:
पश्य भूतविकारान् त्वम् भूतमात्रान् यथार्थतः ।
paśya bhūtavikārān tvam bhūtamātrān yathārthataḥ ।
तत्क्षणात् बन्धनिर्मुक्तः स्वरूपस्थः भविष्यसि ॥ ९-७॥
tatkṣaṇāt bandhanirmuktaḥ svarūpasthaḥ bhaviṣyasi ॥ 9-7॥

MEANING:
paśya (पश्य) = upon observing/upon witnessing
bhūtavikārān (भूतविकारान्) =  modification of the elements (compound of bhūta (भूत)  meaning 'elements' and vikārān (विकारान्)  meaning 'modification/change')
tvam (त्वम्) = you
bhūtamātrān (भूतमात्रान्) = nothing but the principal elements (compound of bhūta (भूत) meaning 'elements' and mātrān (मात्रान्) meaning 'primary/just/only/principal')
yathārthataḥ (यथार्थतः) = in reality ।
tatkṣaṇāt (तत्क्षणात्) = from that point onward (compound of tat (तत्) meaning 'that' and kṣaṇāt (क्षणात्) meaning 'from that point')
bandhanirmuktaḥ (बन्धनिर्मुक्तः) =  free from attachment (compound of bandha (बन्ध)  meaning 'attachment/bondage/clinging' and nirmuktaḥ (निर्मुक्तः) meaning 'absolved from/free of')
svarūpasthaḥ (स्वरूपस्थः) = enduring within one’s own nature/abiding within ones innate awareness
bhaviṣyasi (भविष्यसि) = you will be/you will become॥ 9-7॥

COMMENT:
For a verse purported to be written 2000 years back (or, as some historians date this text to about 800 years), the prescient nature of this particular verse is nevertheless resoundingly loud - the fundamental import being that all of the energy in the universe is neither created nor destroyed but instead flows cyclically through various ecosystems. The ecosystems themselves forged within the hearts of stars millions and billions of years ago going through a continuous process of recycling that currently manifests (amongst many other things) as our bodies, and, in due course, result in the formation of various other systems - sentient or otherwise).
One does not have to look too far amongst grand systems like planetary formations or galaxies or galactic clusters to see this cycle in operation - one can look to understand this verse within the context of the planet we collectively share to better appreciate the deep import of these verses.
We see that the energy that we obtain flows directionally - flowing from the sun sustaining the earth and exiting as heat emanating from the various biogeochemical dependent systems on the earth. Intertwined within this glorious flow of energy are the individual elemental components that make up sentient beings on the earth - elemental components that are recycled - the atoms that compose you and I are not brand new - they have been cycling through the biosphere for eons and they have formed bits and parts of various other living organisms and non-living entities over the millennia.
In order to appreciate the elemental cycles, one need not grasp the full panoply of the periodic table of 120+ elements - instead, one only needs to look to the six most common elements that compose the organic molecules that dependently create living, breathing compassionate structures like you and I - carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur - these take a variety of chemical forms. Carbon created within the hearts of stars is found within all organic molecules, nitrogen and phosphorus created within stars is an essential component of RNA and DNA found inside every one of our cells, oxygen and hydrogen created within stars combine to form water and constitute 60% of our body mass and finally sulfur created within stars forms an essential component of every protein that gives form and shape to our corporeal forms.
It is important to understand that each of these cycles are dependent cycles propped up by various other dependent causes and conditions that allow for the harmonious flow of energy that give life to the biotic world and also give form and structure to the abiotic world.
Understanding the dependent nature of the various cycles that give us sustenance while simultaneously discerning that there cannot exist a scenario where any one of these processes, elements or cycles can stand by itself devoid of dependencies allows for the mind to find a measure of quietude and stillness. Ashtavakra mentions that this knowledge and a deep appreciation of the same allows the seeker to realize that they are not bound, but instead participating every second of the present moment within this grand elemental cycle.

AVG 9.6

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 6
कृत्वा मूर्तिपरिज्ञानं चैतन्यस्य न किं गुरुः ।
निर्वेदसमतायुक्त्या यस्तारयति संसृतेः ॥ ९-६॥

PURPORT:
They, who having gained awareness by their
union with equanimity and appropriate
detachment towards objects of the
phenomenal world and who help channel
others around them toward tranquility,
are they not the true spiritual guides?

TRANSLITERATION:
कृत्वा मूर्तिपरिज्ञानम् चैतन्यस्य न किम् गुरुः ।
kṛtvā mūrtiparijñānam caitanyasya na kim guruḥ ।
निर्वेदसमता युक्त्या यः तारयति संसृतेः ॥ ९-६॥
nirvedasamatā yuktyā yaḥ tārayati saṃsṛteḥ ॥ 9-6॥

MEANING:
kṛtvā (कृत्वा) = having done/having gained
mūrtiparijñānam (मूर्तिपरिज्ञानम्) = realization of the true nature of form and shape (compound of mūrti (मूर्ति) meaning 'anything which has definite shape or limits' and parijñānam (परिज्ञानम्)  meaning 'to use ones discriminative powers and thorough knowledge gained')
caitanyasya (चैतन्यस्य) = of awareness/of consciousness
na (न) = not
kim (किम्) = what (used here in an interrogative sense)
guruḥ (गुरुः) = spiritual preceptor/guide/teacher।
nirvedasamatā (निर्वेदसमता) = by detachment and equanimity (compound of nirveda (निर्वेद) literally meaning 'indifference' but in this context can be construed as 'detached' and samatā (समता)  meaning 'impartiality/evenness/equanimity')
yuktyā (युक्त्या) = yoked/joined; please note that the Sanskrit word nirvedasamatāyuktyā (निर्वेदसमतायुक्त्या) means 'to be joined together with equanimity and appropriate detachment [towards the objects of the world]')
yaḥ (यः) = who
tārayati (तारयति) = to liberate from/cross over
saṃsṛteḥ (संसृतेः) = cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence (for those who subscribe to reincarnation, the meaning is purported to refer to the supposed transmigration at death of the soul/self of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species; but, in this treatment, that particular construct is not being subscribed, but instead, one may still understand this word to refer to the cyclic process that involves our constituent atoms uncoupling themselves after our brief sentient sojourn on this planet and reconstituting themselves into other varied sentient and non-sentient forms - a form of reincarnation that we can comprehend and relate to) ॥ 9-6॥

COMMENT:
There is an interesting juxtaposition noticed between the sentiment expressed in the previous verse (the fact that varieties of spiritual experience collated by disparate strands of human groups ultimately express the same fundamental truths), and this verse that talks about the defining characteristic of a preceptor who is able to lead the seeker to a better understanding - Ashtavakra mentions that the teacher who might be considered fit to mentor and channel will be that one who has attained a measure of awareness by the discriminative process of arriving at the truth by themselves - rather than the approach where teachers study the spiritual hand-me-downs, memorize stanzas of religious poetry, don a semblance of knowledge and proceed to preach. Ashtavakra indirectly cautions us against these purported godmen who have little realization of awareness of their own selves yet have a storehouse of rote religious information at their fingertips to suit any occasion presented to them by the seeker.
In this sense many of us who have seen aspects of the peaceful awareness that is within our fundamental selves fear to open up because we tend to harbor the mistaken belief that we have something intrinsic to defend and to protect - some cherished ideal that culture and indoctrination has passed onto us that our ego looks to for the sake of continuity as well as permanence.
The process of awakening and awareness is the process of opening up so wide and leaving oneself so exposed that we stop the innate motivation to defend beliefs and protect dogmatic assertions that we have been led to understand. We become what is as it is understood from an absolute awareness perspective rather than become what is as the individual is personified. This opening up happens sans boundaries, walls or other narrow domestic structures erected by the fog of extraneous and erroneous conditioning.
In essence, Ashtavakra informs us that the right preceptor to lead the seeker will be that one who has had this sort of a liberated understanding of themselves where there is no pressure nor compulsion to defend nor to hold on.

AVG 9.5

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 5
नाना मतं महर्षीणां साधूनां योगिनां तथा ।
दृष्ट्वा निर्वेदमापन्नः को न शाम्यति मानवः ॥ ९-५॥

PURPORT:
Great preceptors, saints and yogis teach
using a wide diversity of doctrines and viewpoints.
Having observed this diversity, which of us
would judiciously not acquire that impartial
dispassion where serenity and tranquility is found.

TRANSLITERATION:
नाना मतम् महर्षीणाम् साधूनाम् योगिनाम् तथा ।
nānā matam maharṣīṇām sādhūnām yoginām tathā ।
दृष्ट्वा निर्वेदम् आपन्नः कः न शाम्यति मानवः ॥ ९-५॥
dṛṣṭvā nirvedam āpannaḥ kaḥ na śāmyati mānavaḥ ॥ 9-5॥

MEANING:
nānā (नाना) = varied/assorted/diversity
matam (मतम्) = doctrine/opinion/theory/viewpoint
maharṣīṇām (महर्षीणाम्) = of great preceptors
sādhūnām (साधूनाम्) = of saints
yoginām (योगिनाम्) = of yogis (yogi (योगी) refers to a practitioner of yoga. Yogi is technically male, and yoginī is the term used for female practitioners. The word yogi is also used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any spiritual tradition. A yogi should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism and excessive self-mortification.)
tathā (तथा) = additionally/as well/likewise।
dṛṣṭvā (दृष्ट्वा) = having seen
nirvedam (निर्वेदम्) = indifference/impassiveness (as in a feeling of indifference towards learning and amassing more opinions and doctrines)
āpannaḥ (आपन्नः) = attained/realized/acquire
kaḥ (कः) = what
na (न) = not
śāmyati (शाम्यति) = attains serenity/realize tranquility
mānavaḥ (मानवः) = sentient seeker (literally translates to 'man') ॥ 9-5॥

COMMENT:
This verse is yet another beautiful bit of poetry that talks about the fundamental universalities that underpin many of our great (and not-so-well-known) spiritual traditions. The crux of the message here is that if one observers the family of spiritual practices that our species have managed to abstract over the millennia, one finds that there are themes and morals within these spiritual practices that, when looked at piecemeal, may seem explicitly honed to that specific aggregation and culture, but, from a larger perspective, seem to be closely interlinked and meshed with each other in terms of the overall message and the insight thereof. Ashtavakra's question is simple - in the face of such similarities, overlapping ideals and criss-crossing of lush and productive insights between spiritual traditions, how can the discerning seeker not realize a sense of dispassion and find serenity?

From my limited understanding of the great spiritual traditions, some of these similarities and overlapping ideals may be understood to broadly fall into three broad paths that we tend to tread concurrently as we travel through life: The first common truth being that nothing is annihilated or squandered in the universe and the very truth, tranquility and serenity that we go out seeking is really within oneself; old galaxies form new ones, planets and sentient beings disintegrate into newer forms, if we destroy things around us, we tend to destroy ourselves, if we fabricate falsehoods to another, we deceive ourselves.

The second fundamental commonality is the fact that everything changes and all existents are in a continuous state of transition without interruption; the process of arising of phenomena, enduring of the same and cessation of manifest experience is like a river, it keeps on flowing, gurgling, transmogrifying, and ever-morphing.
The third overlapping ideal across the traditions is the principle of cause and effect; the simplest way to enunciate this is via the age-old aphorism - the kind of seed sown and the kind of care taken in nurturing the plant will produce that kind of fruit. All of manifest phenomena stands upon a causal framework that itself is impermanent, mutable and constantly adjusting to appropriate underlying causes ad-infinitum.

In closing this beautiful verse, the following wise words of a twitter user named SisterSufi rings: “Truth inspires all religions and it remains at the core of their universal ideals.  But era, culture, and personality make changes to religions that are passed down through generations and which change with time again and again.  Seek the universal not the ephemeral.”

AVG 9.4

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 4
कोऽसौ कालो वयः किं वा यत्र द्वन्द्वानि नो नृणाम् ।
तान्युपेक्ष्य यथाप्राप्तवर्ती सिद्धिमवाप्नुयात् ॥ ९-४॥

PURPORT:
What might be that time and when 
might be that era when pairs of
opposites stop to vex sentient beings?
When one renounces these dualities,
they arrive at a state of stillness
content with what comes of itself.

TRANSLITERATION:
कः असौ कालः वयः किम् वा यत्र द्वन्द्वानि नो नृणाम् ।
kaḥ asau kālaḥ vayaḥ kim vā yatra dvandvāni no nṛṇām ।
तानि उपेक्ष्य यथा प्राप्तवर्ती सिद्धिम् अवाप्नुयात् ॥ ९-४॥
tāni upekṣya yathā prāptavartī siddhim avāpnuyāt ॥ 9-4॥

MEANING:
kaḥ (कः) = what
asau (असौ) = that
kālaḥ (कालः) = time
vayaḥ (वयः) = age
kim (किम्) = what
vā (वा) = or
yatra (यत्र) = where
dvandvāni (द्वन्द्वानि) = dyad of opposites
no (नो) = not
nṛṇām (नृणाम्) = of sentient beings (literal translation yields the masculine 'of men')।
tāni (तानि) = those
upekṣya (उपेक्ष्य) = relinquish/renounce
yathā (यथा) = of itself
prāptavartī (प्राप्तवर्ती) = resting contentedly (compound of prāpta (प्राप्त) meaning 'attained/achieved' and vartī (वर्ती) meaning 'abiding/staying'). The word yathāprāptavartī (यथाप्राप्तवर्ती) is taken to mean as one who is in a state of stillness and quietude internally content with what occurs of its own volition
siddhim (सिद्धिम्) = excellence/integrity/purity in outcome
avāpnuyāt (अवाप्नुयात्) = achieve/accomplish ॥ 9-4॥

COMMENT:
Ashtavakra here talks about the path that leads seekers to awareness and that sense of stillness that obtains when thoughts that dwell and stagnate within the mind are allowed to pass through without metastasizing within ourselves.
In this sense, we understand that our bodies and our experiences are really defined by the senses — the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste and mind* — and these senses, in direct contact with their objects of perception, give rise to corresponding sensations of bliss, euphoria, despair or melancholy (among others).
It is also understood that none of these sensations are permanent. Each sensation that is mediated and modulated by one or more of our sensory organs are transitory. The more we allow ourselves to be a willing participant to the paths that these sensations lead us towards, the less becomes our ability to discriminate reality and discern the true sense of awareness underlying within ourselves.
Ashtavakra mentions that when the seeker renounces dualities within themselves, the state of stillness that they arrive at will allow for them to work with the natural flow of phenomena that arises, abides and ceases - phenomena in dependent harmony with the flow of nature and its states thereof. This harmony is characterized by a rejection of innate predilections towards extremes of any potentially dualistic positions presented by our sensoria. The insight that follows allows for one to develop the appropriate discernment with respect to witnessing thoughts without prejudice and this in turn allows for a clarity of awareness to be established.

NOTE:
*Please note that the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste correspond to the standard Western oeuvre, but, one is compelled to add the 'mind' as a sense because the mind does not transcend the other bodily senses but complements them, serving as the site of sensation for mental sense-objects just as (for example) touch is the site of sensation for physical objects.
This compromise allows for us to weaken and eventually shatter the imaginary divisions between mental (which by nature is abstract neuronal integration) and physical phenomena (which by nature is discernment and accommodation of physical phenomena) and replace them with the understanding that all manifest phenomena are impermanent and without essence and thus come to the realization that all that we recognize as 'real' arises out of the contact between senses and objects mediated by the mind. In this sense, all of the traditional five senses and the mind are simultaneously active and/or synchronously quiescent, reciprocally cooperating with the sensations that ‘arise’ from contact with objects informing each other in somewhat of a recursive manner. It is by observance of the physical sensations that arise from the traditional sense organs that one can discern the impermanent nature of the physical sense perceptions and the essentially mutable aspects of our existence.

AVG 9.3

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 3
अनित्यं सर्वमेवेदं तापत्रितयदूषितम् ।
असारं निन्दितं हेयमिति निश्चित्य शाम्यति ॥ ९-३॥

PURPORT:
The wise one comes to a state of
peaceful awareness from the realization
that all manifest phenomena is
rendered into eventual decrepitude
by the threefold factors of misfortune
and thus understands phenomena to be
insubstantial, impermanent and insignificant.

TRANSLITERATION:
अनित्यम् सर्वम् एव इदम् तापत्रितयदूषितम् ।
anityam sarvam eva idam tāpatritayadūṣitam ।
असारम् निन्दितम् हेयम् इति निश्चित्य शाम्यति ॥ ९-३॥
asāram ninditam heyam iti niścitya śāmyati ॥ 9-3॥

MEANING:
anityam (अनित्यम्) = ephemeral/transitory/transient/impermanent
sarvam (सर्वम्) = all/everything /entirety
eva (एव) = indeed
idam (इदम्) = this
tāpatritayadūṣitam* (तापत्रितयदूषितम्) = । spoil or impair the quality or efficiency by the threefold adversity (compound of tāpa (ताप) meaning 'adversity/anguish/misfortune' and tritaya (त्रितय) meaning 'ternery/threefold/trinal' and dūṣitam (दूषितम्) meaning 'devalued and deteriorated')
asāram (असारम्) = insubstantial/uncomplicated
ninditam (निन्दितम्) = despicable/contemptible/shameful
heyam (हेयम्) = that which is subtractable/that which is reducible/worthy of rejection
iti (इति) = thus
niścitya (निश्चित्य) = having known for certain/having ascertained
śāmyati (शाम्यति) = comes to a peaceful awareness ॥ 9-3॥

COMMENT:
It is indeed interesting that we find this particular verse that talks about affliction and anguish within a chapter that Ashtavakra devotes to understanding detachment. But, on closer reading, one instinctively understands that sorrow and suffering are an undeniable and an unavoidable portion of life and a measure of detachment and equanimity cannot be attained by the seeking mortal unless one has a clear understanding of their types, origins and potential causes as it pertains to suffering. Clarity in this will help the seeker to better understand the origins, causes and the motivations of thoughts triggered as a result of suffering/unhappiness.
This understanding helps with the witnessing of thoughts rather than the individual dwelling within the thoughts. The moment one transforms oneself from an attitude where thoughts are not granted tenancy within the mind, but, instead allows oneself the luxury for the choiceless observance of the flow of thoughts entering and exiting the subconscious, a measure of peace is obtained. In the larger reckoning, sorrow stems from one source and one source only: our latent misunderstanding of who we truly are, a symptom of not knowing or not seeing our true awareness; an awareness that was once pure and present when we were much younger, but, slowly drowned out by the cacophony that accompanies the process of acculturation (adjustment to culture which was partly forced upon us and partly imbibed non-volitionally as we grow and interact with our peers and society in general). In that sense, our younger selves were limitless in terms of time, space, and knowledge, but, the process of living immersed within culture gradually limits our horizons and stunts our capacities to perceive our inexhaustible joyful awareness (which is oftentimes just hidden beneath each one of us waiting to be discovered by oneself). This stunting causes enormous distress, both conscious and unconscious. The seeker often fails to notice that the end of such suffering comes from the removal of not-knowing and basking within our legitimate identity - a journey that cannot be engendered by anyone else other than the one person - you.

NOTE:
*The word used by Ashtavakra in the analysis of the slow and eventual decrepitude of all manifest phenomena is tapatritayadusitam: split up as 'tapa' meaning adversity/anguish/misfortune, 'tritaya' meaning threefold and 'dusitam' meaning devalued and deteriorated. The original Sanskrit literature called them ‘tāpatraya’ or ‘the three miseries’ and categorized them into ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and adhibhautika. While these classifications are by no means prescriptory in any manner, it is nevertheless interesting to study and understand the categories to appreciate the timeless wisdom of erstwhile seers who seem to have observed nature around them and then gleaned teachings that later formed our great spiritual traditions. The first pertains to factors of the body and mind (ādhyātmika duhkha - related to ātma or the body/mind complex) caused by bodily suffering and mental anguish; said to be precipitated by hereditary diseases, disabilities and maladies caused by wanton negligence to ones own health; in addition, the mental anguish generated as a result of attachment and aversion are also said to come under ādhyātmika duhkha. The second category pertains to factors of randomness found within the cycles of nature or ādhidaivika duhka (pertaining to fate and unforeseen forces); includes the decay provoked by the power of time, nature and the unseen hand or fate; also includes the infirmities visited upon the individual by diseases and misery caused by the elemental forces like floods/fire and natural tribulations. The third category is ādhibhautika duhkha and this pertains to the misery that can potentially be induced by other sentient beings (examples include transmitted diseases spread by bugs like mosquitoes, communicable diseases caused by organisms, maladies that render the immune system deficient in fighting off affliction spread by viruses etc.).

AVG 9.2

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 2
कस्यापि तात धन्यस्य लोकचेष्टावलोकनात् ।
जीवितेच्छा बुभुक्षा च बुभुत्सोपशमं गताः ॥ ९-२॥

PURPORT:
Dear one! it is only someone truly fortunate whose
desire for everlasting life, whose craving to seek newer
amusements and whose willingness to hoard knowledge
has been stilled; this stilling arises from an insightful and
choiceless witnessing of the ways of the world and its people.

TRANSLITERATION:
कस्य अपि तात धन्यस्य लोकचेष्टावलोकनात् ।
kasya api tāta dhanyasya lokaceṣṭāvalokanāt ।
जीवितेच्छा बुभुक्षा च बुभुत्सा उपशमम् गताः ॥ ९-२॥
jīvitecchā bubhukṣā ca bubhutsā upaśamam gatā ॥ 9-2॥

MEANING:
kasya (कस्य) = of whom
api (अपि) = even
tāta (तात) = a term of affection used to refer to a junior or a senior (in this case taken to mean as 'my dear son')
dhanyasya (धन्यस्य) = of a most fortunate one
lokaceṣṭāvalokanāt (लोकचेष्टावलोकनात्) = from observing the ways and behavior of the people/from understanding the ways of the world (compound of loka (लोक) meaning 'world/people of the world' and ceṣṭā (चेष्टा) meaning 'manner of life/mores/action, activity, effort, endeavor, exertion' and avalokanāt (अवलोकनात्) meaning 'observing/watching/noticing') ।
jīvitecchā (जीवितेच्छा) = desire to live (compound of jīvita (जीवित) meaning 'life/living' and icchā (इच्छा) meaning 'desire/inclination')
bubhukṣā (बुभुक्षा) = desire to enjoy
ca (च) = and
bubhutsā (बुभुत्सा) = desire to know/curiosity about
upaśamam (उपशमम्) = a peaceful condition/cessation from agitation
gatā (गताः) = attained/gone to ॥ 9-2॥

COMMENT:
The key phrase that talks to the heart of this fascinating verse is lokaceṣṭāvalokanāt (लोकचेष्टावलोकनात्), a compound of loka (the world, people of the world), ceṣṭā (customs, habits, mores and patterns in culture) and avalokanāt (emanating from the process of observing). The emphasis of the phrase is significant; briefly, it means living and being a part of the cultural pattern and being a recipient of the education imparted over the course of our lives that ultimately translates to our minds being filled with fluctuations of thoughts - often racing and competing with each other all through the course of the day and when we dream during our sleep.

The stilling of the mind refers to a process where one develops the equanimity to step outside of the constant flow of the river of thought and observe the movement of the thoughts, their patterns, their motivations, intentions and agendas (sometimes purposeless as thoughts emanate autonomously and sometimes modeled after specific choices and agendas upon the part of the thinker).

Utilizing the analogy of the river, the observer stands on the banks and witnesses the waters of thought gurgling along, rushing over the rocks, the nooks and crevices contained within the river of the mind - sans judgement, acknowledgement or denunciation - only indulging in pure observation. Once the observer of the river of thoughts becomes ever more slightly aware, it is seen that one is able to choicelessly and impartially observe a small portion of the thoughts flow by while the mind concentrates itself on judging, challenging and dwelling incessantly on the remaining larger portions.
Over time, the process of choiceless observation allows for one to slowly but surely indulge in a process where one is able to observe without judgement a larger and larger percentage of thoughts that flow by without consciously taking part or being influenced by such thoughts - in effect - not allowing for the thoughts to house themselves within the mind; just letting the flow happen harmoniously. Over time, the integrity of the process by which the observer that is witnessing and observing the thoughts only increases by its repeated application and the stilling of the mind results.

The energy that we assign to thoughts, the emotions associated with the thoughts, the constant churning that goes on within our minds about the various possibilities and permutations spun off by the original thought then subsides. The observer becomes the observed, the witnesser and the thoughts that the witnesser are having merge and become one to a degree where there is no difference between the subject (witnesser) and the object (thoughts). The state of duality that culture, education, training, acculturation and dogma that has been imposed upon the witnesser will now be shattered. Clarity results.

AVG 9.1

Chapter 9 (On Detachment and Equanimity) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
कृताकृते च द्वन्द्वानि कदा शान्तानि कस्य वा ।
एवं ज्ञात्वेह निर्वेदाद्भव त्यागपरोऽव्रती ॥ ९-१॥

PURPORT:
When does and which person has had respite
from pairs of dualities: states where personal
obligations were deemed complete and other states
where they were not? Knowing thus, be resolved
on renunciation with a secular mindset; always
applying an unbiased approach to the world.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥ 
कृताकृते च द्वन्द्वानि कदा शान्तानि कस्य वा ।
kṛtākṛte ca dvandvāni kadā śāntāni kasya vā । 
एवम् ज्ञात्वा इह निर्वेदात् भव त्यागपरः आव्रती ॥ ९-१॥
evam jñātvā iha nirvedāt bhava tyāgaparaḥ āvratī ॥ 9-1॥ 

MEANING:
aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = said ॥
kṛtākṛte (कृताकृते) = the performed and the not performed [as in done and not done duties/obligations] (compound of kṛta (कृत) meaning 'done/performed/completed' and ākṛte (आकृते) meaning 'not done/not complete')
ca (च) = and
dvandvāni (द्वन्द्वानि) = dyad of antipodes/pairs of opposites
kadā (कदा) = when
śāntāni (शान्तानि) = concluded/ameliorated/mitigated
kasya (कस्य) = whose
vā (वा) = or ।
evam (एवम्) = thus
jñātvā (ज्ञात्वा) = having known
iha (इह) = here
nirvedāt (निर्वेदात्) = through an unbiased approach/from impartiality
bhava (भव) = be
tyāgaparaḥ (त्यागपरः) = intent on repudiation/resolved on renunciation
āvratī (आव्रती) = desireless in a secular non-religious manner of undertaking (literally āvratī (आव्रती) translates to 'not a vratin(व्रतिन्)' i.e. not someone who engages in religious observance)॥ 9-1॥

COMMENT:
One of the key objectives in the opening lines of the ninth chapter is to remind the seeker that ultimately (whether one likes it or not), we live in a world filled with dualities - work deemed done and tasks deemed incomplete, desires satiated and those not fulfilled, expectations achieved or prospects falling short - the list is as long as the desires that we are confronted with in the world we are brought into - one cannot escape these fundamental dichotomies we face. We do not control* nor dictate any of these and other similar dichotomies presented. It is for this reason that Ashtavakra informs that knowing this truth, the seeker resolves on achieving a state of renunciation through a secular mindset utilizing an unbiased approach to the dualities presented to the seeker by the world.
From a larger perspective, the ninth chapter talks about an important, but sometimes overlooked concept - the concept of detachment - the process and the state of allowing oneself to separate themselves from their own thoughts and opinions with a perspective as to not be swayed overly at a mental and emotional level. This state of awareness (also referred to as non-attachment), allows for a seeker to clearly discriminate their thoughts as it applies to desire for things, people or concepts of the world and thus attain a perspective rooted within choiceless awareness.

At a fundamental level, our existence can be construed as living and navigating a framework of options that potentially involve choosing between one of the following states that always seem to be in opposition to each other. The dualities presented within the states of pleasure and pain, loss and gain, failure and success and criticism and praise. The verses in this chapter talk about the need on the part of the seeker to allow to foster within themselves the mental equanimity to accept and work with ether side of any one of these pairs of opposites in harmony with whatever vitality has arisen at that present moment. The vitality of each moment is modulated and tuned by the understanding that flows from awareness that we bring to that particular moment as we navigate any one of the pairs of opposites confronted. This will allow us to move from a mindset of picking and choosing any one of the pairs of opposites to a mindset of witnessing/allowing that particular aspect of the duality to pass by (fully immersed in the understanding that each of the dualities presented are impermanent, devoid of any specific essence and subject to the flow of dependencies that all of us are subjected to). A mindset that allows for the seeker to seek that middle ground where one understands that clinging to concepts, appearances and worldly projections will only tend to increase the sense of confusion and delusion. A state of being unattached to outward appearances while in the midst of appearances and being inwardly detached with concepts like emptiness while being  surrounded by emptiness all around.

NOTE:
*We talked about things 'not being within our control' at the beginning of this comment section. From my meager understanding, what I have gleaned is that all of the manifest phenomena that we are confronted with in this world in and of itself have arisen in a dependent manner and owe their brief existence due to being propped up by a causal framework that is itself inter-dependent, impermanent and devoid of any inherent essence. We and the 'things' that we interact with are part of this same glorious interplay - an interplay where parts are arising and coming into existence as we speak, portions of which abide and assume some semblance of permanence (however brief or prolonged as it might be) and some other portions of which are ceasing because the causal framework supporting the same has also ceased to be. Between the illusory self-model within our minds that constantly craves for permanence moment to moment amongst dualities and our culture-based-conditioning, we want to believe that we posses agency - the will to freely choose as we please - when, in reality, we have none..

AVG 8.4

Chapter 8 (Reflections on Bondage and Liberation) Verse 4
यदा नाहं तदा मोक्षो यदाहं बन्धनं तदा ।
मत्वेति हेलया किञ्चिन्मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा ॥ ८-४॥

PURPORT:
Where there is no awareness of 'I'
yoked to things that seem perceived,
there is liberation.
When 'I' clings to the perceived,
there is bondage. Considering
thus, instinctively refrain
from accepting or rejecting anything.

TRANSLITERATION:
यदा न अहम् तदा मोक्षः यदा अहम् बन्धनम् तदा ।
yadā na aham tadā mokṣaḥ yadā aham bandhanam tadā ।
मत्वा इति हेलया किञ्चित् मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा ॥ ८-४॥
matvā iti helayā kiñcit mā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā ॥ 8-4॥

MEANING:
yadā (यदा) = when
na (न) = not
aham (अहम्) = I
tadā (तदा) = then
mokṣaḥ (मोक्षः) = liberation/emancipation
yadā (यदा) = when
aham (अहम्) = I
bandhanam (बन्धनम्) = bondage/shackling
tadā (तदा) = then ।
matvā (मत्वा) = having thought/thinking that/considering that
iti (इति) = thus
helayā (हेलया) = easily/instinctively
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = anything
mā (मा) = do not
gṛhāṇa (गृहाण) = accept/gain
vimuñca (विमुञ्च) = reject/forfeit
mā (मा) = do not ॥ 8-4॥

COMMENT:
At the heart of these lines is an examination of craving and yearning and the identification of the individual with the objects of one’s craving. Craving for material forms and non-material phenomena is a clear and an unavoidable aspect of living. In many cases, the time taken to reflect and arrive at a clear understanding on the nature of craving is never attempted and it is only the discomfort that stems from a feeling of deficiency that manifests within the individual. When cravings are realized, then the individual enters a phase of being happy that itself is as impermanent as the original object of ones craving. When the drive to achieve a consummation of the craving is not achieved, then the individual goes through a phase of sadness. The perceived feelings of happiness and sadness are only phases, but many seekers go through cycles of such fluctuations that  the individual may find it difficult to step out of the pattern and examine the reasons for such recurrence. The obvious inquiry that some seekers indulge in will include the finding of ways by which one might break the topsy-turvy nature of yearning and its perceived fulfillment.

Examining craving and yearning through the lens of impermanency, one starts to understand that there is nothing to be done to break this cycle. Absolutely nothing needs to be done. The gnawing doubt of how one might free themselves of craving arises from a craving not to crave. The way forward involves a clearer examination and understanding of craving itself. Craving stems from an innate urge for the individual to find enjoyment. In that sense, craving and enjoyment are coupled to the sense of ‘I’ that Ashtavakra eloquently brings about here. Craving allows for the illusion of self to sustain itself from moment to moment via multiple pathways within the brain. People describe the brain to be inundated with chemicals and the one chemical that seems to stand out insofar as craving is concerned is dopamine - the molecule that seems to drive everything from motivation, addiction, attention, lust and psychosis. The self-model with the appropriate dopamine pathways within the brain has managed to evolve over millennia into a finely tuned machine wherein the release of the dopamine molecules results in a perceived feeling of exhilaration within the individual that is hypnotic, addictive and self-recursive. Since all feelings like happiness, euphoria and exhilaration is by its very nature short lived and impermanent; the self-model continuously searches and scans the environment for desired objects or feelings (the by-product of this search in turn allows for the self-model/ego to assume a level of permanency within the individual). From a cursory examination of the amount of recurrent pleasure that one might hope to obtain from a particular experience, it is seen that one can never hope to derive the same amount of pleasure the second, third or fourth time as compared to the first time that the individual achieves the object of their cravings. This is due to the nature of euphoria itself where it seen that euphoria and its mirror anguish are fundamentally transitory and are fleeting phenomenal states that pass on. Once the seeker understands the underlying futility of euphoria (and provisional nature of anguish in the same vein), the seeker begins to understand the nature of craving.

AVG 8.3

Chapter 8 (Reflections on Bondage and Liberation) Verse 3
तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं सक्तं कास्वपि दृष्टिषु ।
तदा मोक्षो यदा चित्तमसक्तं सर्वदृष्टिषु ॥ ८-३॥

PURPORT:
That is the state of bondage when awareness
is attached to any one particular sensory organ
and the things that seem perceived thereof.
That is the state of liberation when awareness
does not cling to things that seem to be
perceived by any one of our sensory organs.

TRANSLITERATION:
तदा बन्धः यदा चित्तम् सक्तम् कासु अपि दृष्टिषु ।
tadā bandhaḥ yadā cittam saktam kāsu api dṛṣṭiṣu ।
तदा मोक्षः यदा चित्तम् असक्तम् सर्वदृष्टिषु ॥ ८-३॥
tadā mokṣaḥ yadā cittam asaktam sarvadṛṣṭiṣu ॥ 8-3॥

MEANING:
tadā (तदा) = then
bandhaḥ (बन्धः) = bondage/clinging
yadā (यदा) = when
cittam (चित्तम्) = mind
saktam (सक्तम्) = attachment/fondness
kāsu (कासु) = to anything/to anyone
api (अपि) = at all
dṛṣṭiṣu (दृष्टिषु) = perceiving via the sense-organs (dṛṣṭi (दृष्टि) directly relates to the faculty of seeing via the eyes and the word dṛṣṭiṣu (दृष्टिषु) by extension is any instrument of perception – any sensory organ)।
tadā (तदा) = then
mokṣaḥ (मोक्षः) = liberation
yadā (यदा) = when
cittam (चित्तम्) = mind
asaktam (असक्तम्) = detached/non-attachment/unattached
sarvadṛṣṭiṣu (सर्वदृष्टिषु) = in all the sense perceptions (compound of sarva (सर्व) menaing ‘all’ and dṛṣṭiṣu (दृष्टिषु); please see note on dṛṣṭiṣu (दृष्टिषु) above) ॥ 8-3॥

COMMENT:
While the first two verses of this chapter dealt with the concepts of liberation and bondage associated with the identification with and the disassociation from modifications and fluctuations of our internal mental processes and thoughts, this beautiful verse portrays identification with and disassociation from external objects as perceived by our sense organs.
Ashtavakra mentions that the state of bondage is that state where the mind is fixated on thoughts and our attempts to imbue those thoughts and their attendant perceptions with a mark of permanence and rigidity within our psyche. Similarly, the flip side of the coin is also true; in the sense that the state of liberation is that station within ones seeking where the mind is detached from recurring thoughts and all of the perceived inputs and all attempts to assign fixity to the same (by the underlying ego) is thwarted by the understanding that perceived phenomena and associated thoughts are fundamentally impermanent, lack any underlying essence and are conditionally dependent manifestations that are themselves impermanent.
In this sense, it is fundamental to understand the origination of thoughts and what constitutes thought. The moment the reader had finished reading the above line was when that particular thought sprung into the readers mind and a series of dependent thoughts and questions were automatically generated in the readers mind. The reader experienced a reaction within their mind based upon the prior conditioning of the reader. In this sense, the pattern of fluctuations intrinsically generated by the reader (in reading that sentence) within their minds are unconsciously channeled by past conditioning to appropriately meet new experiences and fold those experiences into pre-conceived templates. This will result in one of two outcomes - either a strengthening of the original patterns of memory stored within the brain resulting in strengthened conditioning of prior choices/prejudices or, conversely, will result in the attenuation of the mental patterns resulting in a weakening of conditioned responses and a (potential for) melting away of ones biases.  This happens every second of our waking selves and our dream selves. I cautiously and humbly aver that the only time this push-pull between the ossification-attenuation within ourselves fades away is when one goes into deep sleep.
Extending this line of reasoning, it can be said that there is no 'thinker' thinking up all of these thoughts. In fact, the thinker of thoughts itself is just one of the thoughts that spring up from the same set of individual instances of subjective, conscious experience described above. There is no separate thinker - the only truth is that there are these thoughts that autonomously arise within our subconscious or arise in reaction to meeting new experiences patterned and molded based upon prior conditioning.
A state of choiceless witnessing and observing of the phenomenal world where one is able to witness the genesis, persistence and the cessation of thoughts as they flow through our minds results in a measure of liberation where one does not feel anxiety, rejection, acceptance, joy or irritation at outcomes - this is the simple, yet profound import of these beautiful lines.

AVG 8.2

Chapter 8 (Reflections on Bondage and Liberation) Verse 2
तदामुक्तिर्यदा चित्तं न वाञ्छति न शोचति ।
न मुञ्चति न गृह्णाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ८-२॥

PURPORT:
That is the state of liberation when the mind
and the patterns of thought within
does not desire nor mourn nor reject
nor comply nor exult nor is resentful.

TRANSLITERATION:
तदा मुक्तिः यदा चित्तम् न वाञ्छति न शोचति ।
tadā muktiḥ yadā cittam na vāñchati na śocati ।
न मुञ्चति न गृह्णाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति ॥ ८-२॥
na muñcati na gṛhṇāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati ॥ 8-2॥

MEANING:
tadā (तदा) = then
muktiḥ (मुक्तिः) = liberation/salvation/freedom
yadā (यदा) = when
cittam (चित्तम्) = mind
na (न) = not
vāñchati (वाञ्छति) = strive after/desire/wish/hanker
na (न) = not
śocati (शोचति) = lament/mourn/grieves।
na (न) = not
muñcati (मुञ्चति) = reject/renounce/repudiate
na (न) = not
gṛhṇāti (गृह्णाति) = accept/allow/comply
na (न) = not
hṛṣyati (हृष्यति) = exult/thrilled/rejoice
na (न) = not
kupyati (कुप्यति) = is resentful of/is angry at/is offended with ॥ 8-2॥

COMMENT:
The previous verse in this chapter dealt with the idea of attachment and bondage. This verse inverts the argument of the previous and presents each of the conceptual ideas developed as it applies to the state of being aware and liberated - a state where the mind stops wanting and does not descend into anxiety because the seeking individual has a better understanding of themselves.
In this particular sense, the seeker who resolves to attain this state as described by Ashtavakra does not really have to do anything to be who they are or to reach that supposed 'lofty goal'. Leanings towards goal oriented spiritual practice, unchanging dualisms that explain goals on the basis of subject/object, cause/effect, salvation/damnation etc. only further confuse and polarize the seekers mind as the seeker now tries to apply these concepts to their practice and thus tend to lose their natural equanimity. In this sense, the path towards that sense of freedom and equanimity is not via the performance of chanting mantras or incessantly scheduled prayers or yogic calisthenics or pilgrimages to holy lands; the path is simply to look within oneself and start to slowly realize that each one of us are free innately.
The constant practice of looking outside of ourselves and searching, clinging and grasping onto entities, concepts and ideas that have no permanent foundation within this ever-changing cosmos is the reason why we do not get the time to look within. One realizes that one has always been free and the signs of such a change include the fact that once the individual experiences this state of liberation (however fleeting or however prolonged), on analysis, it is seen that the entities, concepts and ideas of the world has not really changed, the world has not fundamentally changed, it is the individual and how the individual chooses to deal with those same ideas and concepts that seem to have changed from the point to view of the individual's perspective.
The looking, understanding and the change has to come from within - no amount of austerities or other purported forms of attaining salvation commonly espoused by godmen will help - in fact, in many cases, such practices only serve the opposite - they steer the individual away from their own inner luminous selves. In short, self-flagellation in the name of seeking truth never helped and never will - not only does one torture their bodies and minds, but they also imperil whatever understanding one had garnered.

AVG 8.1

Chapter 8 (Reflections on Bondage and Liberation) Verse 1
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं किञ्चिद्वाञ्छति शोचति ।
किञ्चिन्मुञ्चति गृह्णाति किञ्चिद्धृष्यति कुप्यति ॥ ८-१॥

PURPORT:
Aṣṭāvakra said:
That is the state of bondage when the mind
hankers after or laments about something,
repudiates or complies with something,
exults about or is resentful of something.

TRANSLITERATION:
अष्टावक्र उवाच ॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ॥
तदा बन्धः यदा चित्तम् किञ्चित् वाञ्छति शोचति ।
tadā bandhaḥ yadā cittam kiñcit vāñchati śocati ।
किञ्चित् मुञ्चति गृह्णाति किञ्चित् हृष्यति कुप्यति ॥ ८-१॥
kiñcit muñcati gṛhṇāti kiñcit hṛṣyati kupyati ॥ 8-1॥

MEANING:
aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) = Aṣṭāvakra
uvāca (उवाच) = said ॥
tadā (तदा) = then
bandhaḥ (बन्धः) = bondage/restrained/imprisoned
yadā (यदा) = then
cittam (चित्तम्) = mind
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = something
vāñchati (वाञ्छति) = strive after/desire/wish/hanker
śocati (शोचति) = lament/mourn/grieves।
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = something
muñcati (मुञ्चति) = reject/renounce/repudiate
gṛhṇāti (गृह्णाति) = accept/allow/comply
kiñcit (किञ्चित्) = something
hṛṣyati (हृष्यति) = exult/thrilled/rejoice
kupyati (कुप्यति) = is resentful of/is angry at/is offended with॥ 8-1॥

COMMENT:
This chapter is a beautifully written meditation on the nature of attachment and its antithesis - liberation. After listening to Janaka explain his own state of self-realization in the previous chapter, Ashtavakra comes to the understanding that while Janaka's perception of awareness obtains the necessary clarity, Janaka's recognition of the same can use some additional polish.
A deeper survey into states of the mind hankering after an object of attachment, the disappointment of the mind in not obtaining the same, rejection and the eventual acceptance based upon preconceived assumptions and the attendant feelings of hatred or irritation or elation that accompanies these mental states is the theme of this verse.
One of the keys to gradually disabusing oneself of these states comes with the purity of understanding that all objects, existents, emotions, perceptions and manifest phenomena are presented to us via an extensively intricate scaffolding of causes and conditions that allows for the manifestation of said phenomena. Even without a detailed analysis, we infer that the manifest phenomena that our senses are confronted with (and comforted mostly) is always in a state of change (sentient beings age, things fall into decrepitude, seasons morph - the list goes on). The fact that the manifest phenomena in front of us is dynamic allows us to infer that the underlying scaffolding also follows this state of flux and change. This will mean that not a single one of the objects, existents, emotions, perceptions and manifest phenomena encountered have anything approaching an inherent unitary self that abides forever. All of the manifested phenomena are thus empty insofar as discovering an undying essentiality. Searching for inherently empty phenomena will come up empty.
Things fall apart with the advent of time is the best way to condense the above. A deeper analysis of this simple fact allows for one to infer that all manifestations of the phenomenal world is impermanent. The arising, enduring and ceasing of not only phenomena but also the causal scaffolding allows us to understand the impermanence behind the manifested.
Attachment and its close cousins bondage and clinging stems from our natural inclination to assign permanence and apply our own imputation of an essence or a self to the object of our attachment. We are not lesser creatures because of this - it is a natural by-product of society, culture and evolution. The imputation of a self-essence to objects happened in our distant past and must have begun with neural patterns within our brains rearranging themselves in such a way so as to allow for our proto-human ancestors to stitch together a semblance of continuity to their lives in the face of various threats (perceived or otherwise) from nature and its forces. The mechanism of stitching together of this continuity of the self-model from moment to moment allowed for our proto-ancestors to quell the overwhelming existential anxieties connected with their bodies eventual disintegration and instead, the illusion of the continuity engendered by the self-model must have allowed for them to plan their next forage. This presumably evolved over time to slowly metastasize into an enduring model of the self and its attendant ego. 
Ashtavakra informs that understanding of the reasons behind attachment and the mental states stimulated as a result of the same allows for us to transcend our natural state to one where the seeker becomes a dispassionate witness to the unfolding events and stays within the equilibrium established by understanding.