Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā
A Dialogue on Self-realization
Chapter 1, Verse 14
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Ashtavakra Gita 1.14 - Teachings on Self-Realization and Liberation
देहाभिमानपाशेन चिरं बद्धोऽसि पुत्रक ।
बोधोऽहं ज्ञानखड्गेन तन्निकृत्य सुखी भव
dehābhimāna-pāśena ciraṃ baddho’si putraka .
bodho’haṃ jñāna-khaḍgena tan-nikṛtya sukhī bhava .. 1-14..
Dear child, you have for long been bound by the noose of body-consciousness. Cut it off with the sword of knowledge ‘I am Consciousness’, and be happy and relieved.
Commentary by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Janaka, being a kshatriya, one of the warrior community, and given to fight and kill, Ashtavakra illustrates the process of Self-realization with the act of cutting with a sword and removing an obstruction.
“For long dear son, you have been tied firmly by the notion that you are the body, which you are not. It is like tying one firmly with a noose. The bondage is very strong. Whatever be the kind and duration of the bondage, there is a way of removing it yourself. The bondage is inner, wrought by your own mind.
“Use the sword of knowledge to sever it. Knowledge is accessed by the intelligence, which you have. Employ the knowledge, like a sword, to cut off the noose once for all.
“The ‘I’ in you is not matter or energy, which have made up the body. It is the presence called Consciousness, which is neither matter nor energy. How can such an ‘I’ be like the gross, thick body? So disown the wrong notion. Foster the right one. Cut off the bondage, like a noose by a sword. This is very much possible.
“Without doubt or suspicion, do this, and be relieved of your bondage. Be happy. Rejoice in the freedom for ever unhindered.”
How clearly, forcefully, does the Sage put across the idea of spiritual bondage and the manner in which it has to be done away with!
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