Chapter 1 (Guidance on self-realization): Verse 10
यत्र विश्वमिदं भाति कल्पितं रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः स बोधस्त्वं सुखं चर॥ १-१०॥
Transliteration:
यत्र विश्वम् इदम् भाति कल्पितम् रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
yatra viśvam idam bhāti kalpitam rajjusarpavat ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः सः बोधः त्वम् सुखं चर ॥ १-१०॥
ānandaparamānandaḥ sa bodhastvaṃ sukhaṃ cara ॥ 1-10॥
Meaning:
यत्र (in that) विश्वम् (universe [also world]) इदम् (this) भाति (seem to appear/pass for) कल्पितम् (imaginary/fabricated/conceptually inferred) रज्जुसर्पवत् (रज्जु is braided rope or cord; सर्पवत् is like a snake; the compound means to mistake a braided rope for a serpent) ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः (a supreme state of felicity or bliss) सः (that) बोधः (awakening/awareness/consciousness/intelligence) त्वम् (you) सुखं (delight/happiness/felicity) चर (ramble/dally/play/stroll)॥ १-१०॥
Purport:
This universe that appears, akin to
the phantasm of a snake,
within a harmless clump of rope,
is similarly, in reality,
bliss... supreme bliss.
You are that bountiful bliss.
Now, gambol in this awareness.
Comments: The general import of these verses is that all of manifest reality is illusory. Stay with me here (as I understand that the first sentence can be construed to be magical in some respects). Research in neuroscience, cognition, quantum mechanics and consciousness has now shown us that reality and the nature of the same is very subjective to the perceiver. Each of us have slightly different versions of our constructed reality with which we navigate our physical and emotional universes. In addition, the common underpinnings of reality as perceived across a sentient species (say humans) may be drastically different from perceived reality by another sentient species (say house-sparrows or a tiger). Reality as understood today is akin to an active hallucination created within our brains via an constant process of interpretation of our sensory inputs. Perception rather than an actual reflection of what is 'true' is inherent to this process of interpretation. When the mind starts to find patterns of interpretations that are commonly agreed upon across our species, then a feedback loop of strengthening validations happen which help anchor our sense that the commonly agreed upon ‘state’ IS reality. The strengthening validations result in the creation of internal state-and-form-representations with the help of models, patterns and paradigms within bio-chemical networks appropriately and representatively wired inside the wetware of our brains. Additional sensory data coming in via learning, interacting and just plain living/breathing in this world help further refine the state-and-form-representations to ‘concretize and crystallize’ fixed objects. This gives name-and-form to the ambiguous and noisy sensory information that pours into our brains. This is what creates our representation of reality.
Sentient beings across a common species seem to share a version of reality that is commonly agreed upon by the majority of the members of that species. A different species could have its own version of manifest reality, as in the fact that interpretations, validations, models and names-and-forms fabricated for a particular species class will not be the same as fabricated for another species class. This is why the manifest perceptual reality for an animal is very different from our own perceptual reality. Ashtavakra says all of this within a couple of lines here. Ashtavakra drives this point home by referring to a didactic story used in erstwhile Indian philosophy of the rope and the snake. The analogy is as follows: one might mistakenly perceive a clump of rope lying on the floor in a dimly lit area to be a snake. When the same area is lit up, one understands that there is no other reality than a harmless clump of rope on the ground. In a similar manner, all manifest objects around us (as well as the universe itself) are really the products of our perception, biases, conditioning and pre-conceived impressions imprinted on our waking consciousness from our past knowledge and memory. Ashtavakra notes that the understanding of this fundamental aspect of reality will result in a state of bliss and satisfaction for the seeker who 'gambols in the resultant awareness'.
I will leave you with the following example that I had encountered some time back while reading about individual perceptions and the subjective result of such perceptions: Three individuals, let’s call them A, B and C are hiking in the desert. A is an experienced hiker and she is a veteran of many desert hikes. B is a also an experienced desert hiker, but she always prefers to hike with polarizing sunglasses. C is a rank newbie and is just starting out on his first hike. It is a fairly hot day and all three of them are thirsty. The conditions ahead are just optimal for the formation of mirages. They seem to come upon the mirage. A sees the mirage and knows it for what it is - it is an optical illusion and she remains nonplussed and continues hiking. B has worn her polarizing sunglasses and does not see the mirage (even if the mirage is there to be seen without the polarizing sunglasses). C sees the mirage and yells out ‘yes!!, we are in luck, there is water ahead!’. I will close with this final line - all of manifested reality is our perception of the inter-dependent arising of temporal phenomena via interactional processes to which we assign and designate names and forms.
यत्र विश्वमिदं भाति कल्पितं रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः स बोधस्त्वं सुखं चर॥ १-१०॥
Transliteration:
यत्र विश्वम् इदम् भाति कल्पितम् रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
yatra viśvam idam bhāti kalpitam rajjusarpavat ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः सः बोधः त्वम् सुखं चर ॥ १-१०॥
ānandaparamānandaḥ sa bodhastvaṃ sukhaṃ cara ॥ 1-10॥
Meaning:
यत्र (in that) विश्वम् (universe [also world]) इदम् (this) भाति (seem to appear/pass for) कल्पितम् (imaginary/fabricated/conceptually inferred) रज्जुसर्पवत् (रज्जु is braided rope or cord; सर्पवत् is like a snake; the compound means to mistake a braided rope for a serpent) ।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः (a supreme state of felicity or bliss) सः (that) बोधः (awakening/awareness/consciousness/intelligence) त्वम् (you) सुखं (delight/happiness/felicity) चर (ramble/dally/play/stroll)॥ १-१०॥
Purport:
This universe that appears, akin to
the phantasm of a snake,
within a harmless clump of rope,
is similarly, in reality,
bliss... supreme bliss.
You are that bountiful bliss.
Now, gambol in this awareness.
Comments: The general import of these verses is that all of manifest reality is illusory. Stay with me here (as I understand that the first sentence can be construed to be magical in some respects). Research in neuroscience, cognition, quantum mechanics and consciousness has now shown us that reality and the nature of the same is very subjective to the perceiver. Each of us have slightly different versions of our constructed reality with which we navigate our physical and emotional universes. In addition, the common underpinnings of reality as perceived across a sentient species (say humans) may be drastically different from perceived reality by another sentient species (say house-sparrows or a tiger). Reality as understood today is akin to an active hallucination created within our brains via an constant process of interpretation of our sensory inputs. Perception rather than an actual reflection of what is 'true' is inherent to this process of interpretation. When the mind starts to find patterns of interpretations that are commonly agreed upon across our species, then a feedback loop of strengthening validations happen which help anchor our sense that the commonly agreed upon ‘state’ IS reality. The strengthening validations result in the creation of internal state-and-form-representations with the help of models, patterns and paradigms within bio-chemical networks appropriately and representatively wired inside the wetware of our brains. Additional sensory data coming in via learning, interacting and just plain living/breathing in this world help further refine the state-and-form-representations to ‘concretize and crystallize’ fixed objects. This gives name-and-form to the ambiguous and noisy sensory information that pours into our brains. This is what creates our representation of reality.
Sentient beings across a common species seem to share a version of reality that is commonly agreed upon by the majority of the members of that species. A different species could have its own version of manifest reality, as in the fact that interpretations, validations, models and names-and-forms fabricated for a particular species class will not be the same as fabricated for another species class. This is why the manifest perceptual reality for an animal is very different from our own perceptual reality. Ashtavakra says all of this within a couple of lines here. Ashtavakra drives this point home by referring to a didactic story used in erstwhile Indian philosophy of the rope and the snake. The analogy is as follows: one might mistakenly perceive a clump of rope lying on the floor in a dimly lit area to be a snake. When the same area is lit up, one understands that there is no other reality than a harmless clump of rope on the ground. In a similar manner, all manifest objects around us (as well as the universe itself) are really the products of our perception, biases, conditioning and pre-conceived impressions imprinted on our waking consciousness from our past knowledge and memory. Ashtavakra notes that the understanding of this fundamental aspect of reality will result in a state of bliss and satisfaction for the seeker who 'gambols in the resultant awareness'.
I will leave you with the following example that I had encountered some time back while reading about individual perceptions and the subjective result of such perceptions: Three individuals, let’s call them A, B and C are hiking in the desert. A is an experienced hiker and she is a veteran of many desert hikes. B is a also an experienced desert hiker, but she always prefers to hike with polarizing sunglasses. C is a rank newbie and is just starting out on his first hike. It is a fairly hot day and all three of them are thirsty. The conditions ahead are just optimal for the formation of mirages. They seem to come upon the mirage. A sees the mirage and knows it for what it is - it is an optical illusion and she remains nonplussed and continues hiking. B has worn her polarizing sunglasses and does not see the mirage (even if the mirage is there to be seen without the polarizing sunglasses). C sees the mirage and yells out ‘yes!!, we are in luck, there is water ahead!’. I will close with this final line - all of manifested reality is our perception of the inter-dependent arising of temporal phenomena via interactional processes to which we assign and designate names and forms.
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