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Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā
A Dialogue on Self-realization
Poojya Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Chapter 7, Verse 4
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Ashtavakra Gita 7.4 -

नात्मा भावेषु नो भावस्तत्रानन्ते निरञ्जने ।
इत्यसक्तोऽस्पृह: शान्त एतदेवाहमास्थित:

nātmā bhāveṣu no bhāvas-tatrānante nirañjane .
ity-asakto’spṛhaḥ śānta etad-evāham-āsthitaḥ .. 7-4..

The Self is not in objects, and objects too are not in the Self, for it is infinite, taintless. Being so, it is unattached and desire-free. I am seated in such a Self.

Commentary by Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha

The seeker’s rumination on the Self need not be rigid or restricted. Self has a number of qualities. Use any of them for rumination. Self is different from the body. None of bodily qualities applies to the Self. Be clear and definite about this point.

Here Janaka states that the Self is not in any object. Nor is the object in the Self. Earlier he likened the world with a boat on the ocean of the Self. Here he argues the Self is no object, hence unlimited. It cannot be present in anything, like water or air in a pot. No object is present in it either. Is it not true, absolutely?

Self is all-pervading, hence there is no room for any second presence at all. Janaka has already stated about the non-existence of a gross, solid world. How can the non-dual Self be attached to anything? Everyone complains about attachment.

Think deeply whether the singular Self can foster attachment! Self is full, abundant, blissful. Should you then look for anything else for your joy or fulfilment? Realize your own blissfulness.

Are you not sleeping every day, leaving everything you possess, including your body, to enjoy unalloyed happiness? The poor and the rich sleep alike, the aggrieved and the pleasant as well.

Scrap the idea of a second presence and attachment to it for ever. Feel full, free and blissful in yourself.

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