Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā
A Dialogue on Self-realization
Chapter 2, Verse 13
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Ashtavakra Gita 2.13 - Self-Realization and the Nature of Consciousness
अहो अहं नमो मह्यं दक्षो नास्तीह मत्सम: ।
असंस्पृश्य शरीरेण येन विश्वं चिरं धृतम्
aho ahaṃ namo mahyaṃ dakṣo nāstīha matsamaḥ .
asaṃspṛśya śarīreṇa yena viśvaṃ ciraṃ dhṛtam .. 2-13..
Ah, wonderful ‘I’! Prostration to ‘I’! Here there is none so dexterous as I! Without touching it with the body or senses, the Universe is borne by me for an infinitely long time.
Commentary by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
See how the reflection on the Self can imbue wonderful inner dimensions in the seeker, Knower. Human personality has two counterparts, external, gross and internal, subtle. External consists of the body. Internal consists of mind, intelligence and ego.
The separation between the world and ourselves transpires only in the bodily, sensory level. The entire Universe is perceived inwardly, not outwardly. There too the perception is effected by the mind by taking imprints in itself, of the objects around. We experience and perceive these inner mental imprints alone. The whole process is within the body, untouched by the body, and done in, by and of the mind.
The imprinted Universe is but a float on the inner mind. The mind is not on the Universe. Universe alone is in our mind. Does not this mean that ‘I’, as perceiver, is bearing the whole Universe?
Can there be any doubt in this? It is a fact that we do not interact with the objects and the world. Every object remains in its own place, as it is. What we see and interact with is only our mind’s imprint of the object, the imprint being in the inner mind itself. That there is a Universe is also equally our own mind’s experience and assessment, a point to be remembered always.
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