अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः ।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव ॥ १-८॥
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव ॥ १-८॥
Transliteration:
अहम् कर्त्ता इति अहंमान महाकृष्णा हिदंशितः ।
aham karttā iti ahaṃmāna mahākṛṣṇā hidaṃśitaḥ ।
न अहम् कर्त्ता इति विश्वास अमृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव ॥ १-८॥
na aham karttā iti viśvāsa amṛtaṃ pītvā sukhī bhava ॥ 1-8॥
aham karttā iti ahaṃmāna mahākṛṣṇā hidaṃśitaḥ ।
न अहम् कर्त्ता इति विश्वास अमृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव ॥ १-८॥
na aham karttā iti viśvāsa amṛtaṃ pītvā sukhī bhava ॥ 1-8॥
Meaning:
अहम् (I) कर्त्ता (the doer [of deeds]) इति
(like so) अहंमान (harboring the conceit of egotism and self-importance) महाकृष्णा (a
species of poisonous serpent that is characteristically darkly pigmented) हिदंशितः
([you have been] bitten by) ।
Purport:
Harboring the conceit that
"I am the doer" is akin
to the bite of a poisonous serpent;
Rest content in the confident wisdom
that "I perform no actions".
"I am the doer" is akin
to the bite of a poisonous serpent;
Rest content in the confident wisdom
that "I perform no actions".
Comments: The human ego tends to be a self-generated identity that accretes over time with our predilections, foibles, talents and our personalities. The accrued layers strengthen themselves furthermore via an interminable chitchat that always happens within our minds that allows for the illusion of the ego to constantly reinforce the bundle of penchants and eccentricities we call personality. This strengthening feedback loop ultimately reaches a point where one is unable to perceive anything without the lens of the ego transforming all interactions with the ego standing front-and-center. This naturally leads to a separation of perception between the 'I' (who carries the conceit of the ego) and the 'other' (which is a continuously interacting mesh of processes that are always dependent upon each other). The sense of separation or anomie experienced by the carrier of the ego ossifies into form of dualism where the feeling of 'I' always stands in opposition with the 'other'. This feeling becomes so strong that any remaining sense of connectedness wastes and languishes. Ashtavakra in this verse warns us of such pitfalls and succinctly points out that cherishing and clinging onto the conceit that 'I am the doer' of all actions that happen around the 'I' is the venom within us that needs to be subverted. The contentment that comes from the internal transformation where humility understands that the 'I' really does not perform any actions in-and-of-itself leads to immanence.
Notes: "When solidarity is organic, anomie is impossible." - Émile Durkheim
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