Have you ever had a dream that felt too real? You wake up sweating, heart beating, and convinced that what just happened definitely occurred. But as soon as you open your eyes, it vanishes—like smoke from a candle. That is how Ashtavakra explains the world we inhabit. Not to dismiss life as pointless, but to demonstrate how fragile our perception of “reality” actually is.
The King’s Confusion
King Janaka once asked Ashtavakra, “Master, how can I exist in this world if it’s all an illusion? “My palace, my people, my responsibilities—are they not real?” Ashtavakra grinned, his eyes shining with serene clarity. “Janaka, tell me what you consider’real’? Can anything that appears and then disappears be real? The body comes and disappears. The mind rises and falls. Even joy and grief dance for a minute before vanishing. “The dream seems real until you wake up.” Janaka frowned. “But, if everything is a dream, what should I do? “Just sit and watch life slip away?” Ashtavakra shakes his head. “No, Janaka. Play your part, but remember it’s a play. Live, but don’t get trapped. Love, but do not cling. “Act, but do not identify.” And that is the heart of this teaching: you are both the performer and the audience.
Reality isn’t what you think.
We all think our lives are rock solid—the place we live in, the money we make, the relationships we form. But the moment death enters the picture, all that “solidity” crumbles. Everything we take seriously eventually evaporates — and Ashtavakra’s greatness is in showing us that this impermanence isn’t tragic. It is liberating. Because when you let go of what is fleeting, you begin to connect with what is timeless. He says:
“You are pure awareness, unaffected by what comes and goes.” The world is a painting on the canvas of your mind. The image may change, but the canvas stays.”
That’s crazy, right? It’s similar to understanding you’re dreaming, but instead of waking up, you remain in the dream knowing it’s a dream. That awareness alters everything.
Why Do We Suffer?
The majority of our pain stems from how tightly we hold onto what happened. We suffer not because people leave us, but because we expected them to stay forever. We suffer not because we fail, but because we believe achievement will define us. According to Ashtavakra, sorrow is proof that we have mistaken illusion for reality. Like pursuing a mirage and wailing when your hands are empty. When you stop seeking permanence from the temporary, peace will softly enter your life.
The world is a mirror
Here’s the paradox: Ashtavakra does not deny that the world exists. He claims it exists as a reflection and not as the truth. Just like your reflection in the mirror, it appears real, but if you embrace it, you’ll feel the glass. Janaka reportedly asked, “If everything is a reflection, then what am I seeing?” Ashtavakra responded, “You are seeing yourself – not the self of ego, but the self of boundless awareness. “The world is your reflection, not your prison.” That is very powerful. Because it shifts your entire perspective from “the world is happening to me” to “the world is appearing in me.” It’s no longer a battleground; rather, it’s a mirror that reflects what’s inside.
The Dream Analogy
The dream analogy is Ashtavakra’s microphone drop. When you dream, your mind generates people, tales, worries, and wants out of thin air. You believe it’s genuine until you wake up. Consider your current existence to be a deeper, longer dream. You believe you are awake, but you are actually traveling through habits, phobias, and roles that your mind created. And enlightenment? It’s not about fleeing the dream; it’s about recognizing you’re dreaming while still in it.
How to Live in the Dream.
This is not about abandoning the globe. That’s where many folks get things wrong. You do not have to give up your life to live mindfully. You only need to disengage without disconnecting. Work, but don’t let success to define you. Love, but don’t sacrifice others for your own happiness. Fail, but don’t make it a permanent part of your identity. Ashtavakra’s advice is incredibly pertinent in our hyper-digital world. Social media, for example, is the quintessential modern illusion: everyone curating their “reality,” chasing affirmation, and forgetting that it’s just smoke and mirrors. You can still play the game; just remember that it is a game.
The moment Janaka awoke
After hearing Ashtavakra’s remarks, something sparked inside King Janaka. He sat silently for a long time. Finally, he said, “Master, I understand now. My kingdom, my people, and my concerns rise and fall like ocean waves. “But I’m the ocean itself.” Ashtavakra grinned. “Exactly. The waves are not separated from the ocean. The illusion was never in the world; it was in believing you were merely a wave.” From that point forward, Janaka ruled his country with the same zeal — but without attachment. He lived heartily, laughed profoundly, and loved openly, but nothing could disturb his peace. He knew it was all a dream. Despite this, he had never experienced a more wonderful dream.
We do not need to become saints to embody this fact. We just need to wake up a little—to realize that we’ve been taking the play too seriously. Everything softens when you stop trying to control every scenario in life and instead view it as a cosmic movie. You laugh more. You have less fear. And the chaos that once seemed overwhelming begins to become strangely lyrical. So live your dream. I adore the folks in it. Do your work. Follow your passions. But remember, you don’t have control over the dream. You’re here to experience it deliberately. As Ashtavakra once said,
“Once you know it’s a dream, you’re finally free to enjoy it.”
