Ashtavakr Samhita : 7
References from : Astavakra Samhita : Commentator Swami Nityaswarupananda ji,
Advaita Ashram, Kolkata.
Edition October 2010.
Important explanations as quoted in : Ch. 8 :
Sh. 2 & 4.
Desiring, grieving etc. are the modifications
of the CHITT ( चित्त ) the
mind stuff, which may be likened respectively to a lake and its ripples. The
depths of the lake are, as it waves, our own true self. We can only catch a
glimpse of the depths when the water is calm and clear and there are no waves.
If the water is muddy or agitated, the depths will not be seen.
Likewise, as long as there are mental modifications, which are
possible only so long as we identify ourselves with them, we cannot see the Self
and are in ignorance and bondage. But when the mind is calm and free from such
modifications, we realize our true nature and thus attain liberation.
Egoism is bondage, constituting as it does the identification of
the Self with the body and mind . And Ego-less-ness is liberation. When there
is no ego, there is no identification of the Self with body and mind, and the
Self is realized as one without a second pervading the whole universe. Having
this knowledge one becomes perfectly tranquil and free from desire or aversion.
Ch. 9: Sh. 1, 2, 4, 7 & 8.
Our life is a
mixture of opposite. And we always have preferences which cause us to choose
certain things to be done and others avoided. As long as we consider this world
to be real we cannot escape the pairs of opposites nor eradicate the sense of
duty.
The only way out of this state of
things is to realize the un-reality of the world, and renounce our
identification with it.
Some people learn the hollowness of
the world by observing the sufferings of others; they realize that the world cannot give
eternal happiness. The majority of people get this lesson only after plunging
into the world and experiencing for themselves the ills of life.
For men no time or age is possible
in which there will be unalloyed good and joy, un-attended by evil and sorrows,
he cannot therefore, hope to gain joy and peace in the course of life’s process. He has to realize the supreme fact
that peace and perfection can only be attained by transcending the process of
relative life and remaining un-attached to its experiences.
Body, mind, senses etc. are the
basic elements differing only in the patterns of combinations. It is these patterns of combinations that
make us consider one thing beautiful and another ugly and thus desire the one
and dislike and dislike the other.
But the moment we feel all things
to be the same, all likes and dislikes will vanish and we shall know our true
nature.
Bondage consists in attraction to
the body and the things of the world. Freedom lies in foregoing that attraction
and abiding in the True nature of the self.
It is desire that binds us to the
world and makes us think it real and thus subjects us the rounds of births and
re-births. The moment we are free from desire, the reality of the world will
vanish and there will no further re-incarnation for us.
Who has renounced desire is
completely free.
Quietude : Those who have attained complete indifference
to worldly objects and are solely intent on Self-realization are sure to be endowed
with this rare quality of mind.
With Courtesy and Pranam to SWAMI Ji…..
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