2026-03-26 04:57:34 by ambuda-bot
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ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA
that is ours and through ignorance feel that we are in
bondage.
To the question of Janaka as to how can freedom
be achieved, the answer given by Ashtavakra is simple.
"Know the Self as Pure consciousness, the unaffected
witness of the phenomenal world, and you will be
free" (I.3). In reality the Self is always free and free-
dom is not attained, but simply realized and discover-
ed. The impediment to self-realization and freedom is
our pre-occupation with the objective world, which
inevitably leads to conflict of interests and conse-
quently to feud, jealousy, revenge and moral depra-
vity. The result is the erection of fictitious barriers
between man and man. To get rid of these barriers
of separation and the obsessions fostered by the
possessive instinct it is necessary to cultivate an atti-
tude of detachment and to culture the moral virtues
of charity, forgiveness, sincerity and love of truth.
The moral discipline liberates the mind from the octo-
pus of sense-objects and diverts it inwards. The in-
ward diversion of the mind will enable the aspirant to
realize his independence and detachment from the
network of relations, which constitute the phenomenal
world. So long as the mind sees another self, there
is bondage. Freedom consists in seeing nothing but
the Self in everything. The Self is the Brahman,
the undivided and undifferentiated Consciousness-
Existence-Bliss and is not to be confounded with the
ego. The ego is consciousness limited and distorted
by the mind as light is distorted by the prism. As
soon as a person effects his liberation from the snares
ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA
that is ours and through ignorance feel that we are in
bondage.
To the question of Janaka as to how can freedom
be achieved, the answer given by Ashtavakra is simple.
"Know the Self as Pure consciousness, the unaffected
witness of the phenomenal world, and you will be
free" (I.3). In reality the Self is always free and free-
dom is not attained, but simply realized and discover-
ed. The impediment to self-realization and freedom is
our pre-occupation with the objective world, which
inevitably leads to conflict of interests and conse-
quently to feud, jealousy, revenge and moral depra-
vity. The result is the erection of fictitious barriers
between man and man. To get rid of these barriers
of separation and the obsessions fostered by the
possessive instinct it is necessary to cultivate an atti-
tude of detachment and to culture the moral virtues
of charity, forgiveness, sincerity and love of truth.
The moral discipline liberates the mind from the octo-
pus of sense-objects and diverts it inwards. The in-
ward diversion of the mind will enable the aspirant to
realize his independence and detachment from the
network of relations, which constitute the phenomenal
world. So long as the mind sees another self, there
is bondage. Freedom consists in seeing nothing but
the Self in everything. The Self is the Brahman,
the undivided and undifferentiated Consciousness-
Existence-Bliss and is not to be confounded with the
ego. The ego is consciousness limited and distorted
by the mind as light is distorted by the prism. As
soon as a person effects his liberation from the snares