Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā
A Dialogue on Self-realization
Chapter 1, Verse 8
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Ashtavakra Gita 1.8 - Teachings on Self-Realization and Liberation
अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशित: ।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव
ahaṃ kartety-ahammāna-mahā-kṛṣṇāhi-daṃśitaḥ .
nāhaṃ karteti viśvāsāmṛtaṃ pītvā sukhī bhava .. 1-8..
You are bitten by the powerful black serpent, namely, egoistic notion, ‘I am the doer’. Drink well the nectar of faith, namely ‘I am not the doer’, and be comfortable.
Commentary by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Maharshi puts the proposition in a figurative manner. “O Janaka”, says he, “you are under the strong effect of the black serpent’s poison. It has bitten you hard. Your true consciousness has faded. The only remedy is to drink nectar. The nectar is the faithful recognition that you are not the doer, kartā.”
If you are not the doer, where is the resulting bondage? The person does not change, nor do his mind and intelligence. Only the effect of ignorance, like that of snake poison, that too of the black serpent, becomes extinct.
The whole process is psychological, rather psycho-intellectual. The mind, understanding, is deluded now, the effect brought by the poison of Krishna-sarpa, black serpent. The only remedy is to drink nectar, which has the power to neutralize the poison. Drink it, without any thought or hesitation. Nectar alone is the antidote for Krishna-sarpa’s poison.
As the mind is deluded by a negative line of thinking, it can also be illumined and follow the right line of thinking. Both have their respective effects on the mind. Do not complicate matters. Do not waste time in false argumentation. Simply foster the faith and faithfully practise true knowledge.
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