Ashtavakra Gita

Absorption in oneself means only this: let the mind, wherever it wanders, always return to its own true source

Defines the practice of self-absorption not as blocking thought but as a habit of return, wherever the mind happens to wander.

This teaching gives chapter 14's account of inward absorption a workable, almost technique-like shape, which is unusual for a text generally opposed to prescribing methods. Rather than demanding that the mind stop wandering, Ashtavakra defines the practice as letting it wander freely and simply noticing that wherever it goes, it can be traced back to its own source, the self from which every thought arises. This mirrors a move common across Vedanta and later non-dual teachers, who often describe self-inquiry less as concentration on one object and more as a repeated return to the sense of "I" underlying all objects. The teaching's ease is deliberate: it removes the burden of controlling thought and replaces it with the much lighter task of noticing where thought comes from.

Ashtavakra Gita