Do you know what’s wild? We’ve spent our entire lives collecting labels like they were Pokémon cards. “I am a student. I’m the boss. I am depressed. I am spiritual. I am successful. “I am a failure.” Ashtavakra examines all of this and softly drops a truth so powerful that it shakes the ground beneath everything we believe we are:
“You are not the body. You are not the mind. You are the Self — pure, infinite awareness.”
Not someday. Not following meditation retreats or Himalayan silence treks. Right now. As you are reading this. Your breath moves. Your heart beats.
Janaka’s Final Question
King Janaka, calmer than ever, approaches his master and asks: “Master, I understand detachment, illusion, and witnessing…. but tell me — who am I really? What is my true nature?”Ashtavakra does not deliver a lecture. He gives lightning. “Janaka, you are the silent awareness that causes the entire world to rise and fall. Suns burn, bodies age, thoughts appear and vanish—but You, the witness, stay unaffected.”Janaka is stunned. Not because it sounds lyrical. But he feels it. For the first time, he recognizes the place within himself that remains constant even as everything else changes.
The body is not you—and that’s the good news.
Look, this body is only transient. Skin wrinkled, bones fracture, and hearts break. You already know it. I know it. But we cling to it as if it were permanent—which is why dread arises. Ashtavakra says:
“The body is like a garment. It comes, it goes. You — the pure Self — are never born and never die.”
Sounds spiritual? It is absolutely freeing. Because when you are not the body, death loses its terror. Thoughts lose power when you aren’t the mind. If you’re not your trauma, you’re not damaged. If you are not your success, you are not stuck with it.
Then what is real?
Only that which never changes. What is the one item in your life that has remained constant since you were a child? Not your face. Not your feelings. not your beliefs. It’s the awareness that observes everything. When you were five, it was there. When your heart first broke, it’s still there. When you scrolled Instagram at 3 a.m., it was there too. What about that unchanging presence? That’s you. Everything else is on screen. You are the screen.
Janaka Awakening
After hearing this, Janaka closes his eyes. And something clicks. He speaks softly: “Master… I am not the king. I am not even this body. I am the awareness in which this life is happening.”Ashtavakra smiles—the smile of someone who has been longing for this moment. “Yes, Janaka. You were never bound. You only believed you were.”And that’s it. That is liberation—no angels singing, no fireworks—just a quiet, irreversible recognition of what has always been true.
Why this matters to us right now, in 2025.
You do not need to be a king or a monk. You don’t have to go to the mountains or give up Wi-Fi. You simply need to notice: The thinking “I’m not enough” is just that: a thought. The anxiety you’re experiencing peaks, dips, and disappears. You remain. The person you believe you are is a tale your mind keeps telling. And the coolest part? You do not need to become the Self. You already are. Awakening is not about adding anything. It is about abandoning the idea that you are small, distinct, and unfinished.
So, How Do You Live This?
Here’s the practical form of enlightenment—no incense or chanting required:
- Pause and observe. Do not suppress any emotions that arise. Simply see it. “Ah, sadness is here.” You are the space, not the grief.
- Stop over-identifying. Do not say, “I am angry.” Comment: “Anger is here.” Feel the difference? One traps you. The other releases you.
- Sit in silence (even for three minutes). Not to escape life, but to find oneself. No phone. There’s no music. Only breath and awareness.
- Remember this truth: you will experience drama, overthinking, and heartbreak again. It’s okay. Just remember that underlying it all, you are still and unaffected.
The Final Drop of Wisdom.
Ashtavakra concludes with one last masterstroke:
“You are pure consciousness — infinite, eternal. The world is your reflection. Nothing binds you but your mind. Nothing frees you but your own seeing.”
And that is the essence of the Ashtavakra Gita. Freedom is not something you can accomplish. It is something to be realized.
Final Thoughts for BeingBloom Readers
You aren’t your thoughts. You are not defined by your history or grief. You are the awareness in which life occurs. The Self has never been broken or lacking anything. Realizing this does not mean you can avoid life. You may finally live it without fear.
