Chapter 1 (Guidance on self-realization): Verse 11
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तो हि बद्धो बद्धाभिमान्यपि ।किंवदन्तीह सत्येयं या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत् ॥ १-११॥
Transliteration:
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तः हि बद्धो बद्धाभिमानी अपि ।
muktābhimānī muktaḥ hi baddho baddhābhimānī api ।
किंवदन्ती इह सत्या इयम् या मतिः सा गति भवेत् ॥ १-११॥
किंवदन्ती इह सत्या इयम् या मतिः सा गति भवेत् ॥ १-११॥
kiṃvadantī iha satyā iyam yā matiḥ sā gati bhavet ॥ 1-11॥
Meaning:
मुक्ताभिमानी (a compound of two words मुक्त meaning emancipated or free; अभिमानी meaning imagining ones self to be or possess - meaning one who has arrogated to oneself the fact that s(he) is free) मुक्तः (free) हि (surely/indeed) बद्धो (fettered/restrained/bound/
किंवदन्ती (the popular saying/the talk of the people) इह (in this world/here/at this point in time) सत्या (authentic/truth) इयम् (this) या (as) मतिः (prescience/thought/intuition/
Purport:
One who considers oneself free
is undeniably free.
One who considers oneself suppressed
will remain suppressed.
The popular saying "as one thinks,
so one becomes" is precise here.
Comment: This is another one of those lines that is succinct in its messaging yet abundant in meaning, implications and urgency. The fact that self-created notions of freedom or suppression are borne out of societal conditioning is the main import here. I want to expand on this a tiny bit: there are some who will want to sincerely posit that there is nothing worth improving as far as their selves are concerned and there is nothing more to be perceived other than for their own perceptions of the world. They believe that their own particular deficiencies, failings and vulnerabilities are a distinct and recognizable component of themselves and this particular set of perceived shortcomings is in reality a unique aspect of their 'personality'. While merits to such an approach can and will be seen (and one must keep an open mind about this aspect - as is seen to be a well-spring for creativity), in some cases, this conditioning precludes the opportunity to potentially improve the quality of their selves. As far as modern day rebuttals go, one might say that either one of education or psychoanalysis is the cure.
However, from what I understand, the toolset(s) offered by the conventional educational system offers little for seekers in so far as it relates to a subtler understanding of the freedom inherent within ourselves or the sense of contentment that can be achieved nor the heightened sense of awareness that results. The machinations of psychoanalysis offers little by way of insight and awareness - in my humble opinion - it allows the seekers to endlessly wallow in self-centered cogitations of their own making subsumed within the hazy constructs of their pre-conceived mental assumptions. Using these spare lines, Ashtavakra avers that the way can be found within ourselves. We are the products of our thoughts and emotions. The so-called self itself is a complex amalgam of ideas, virtues, traditions and vices inculcated over ones life by ones mentors, the education system, mass media, polity and your immediate vicinity of close company. This constraining amalgam of forces looks for conformity and imitation within the individual as well as the overall group. A false sense of comfort and solidarity springs from such conformity and imitation. I call it a false sense because the conditioned self thusly obtained is not ones true natural state. To be free will mean to shed any such conditioned internal (notional) and external (absorbed) dependencies. Freedom is the flowering of that internal emotional theater where one can start to see that one need not conform nor imitate nor be something/someone different nor follow authority set by tradition / teachers / polity. The cultivation of a mindset and understanding thereof is what these lines mean (to me).
However, from what I understand, the toolset(s) offered by the conventional educational system offers little for seekers in so far as it relates to a subtler understanding of the freedom inherent within ourselves or the sense of contentment that can be achieved nor the heightened sense of awareness that results. The machinations of psychoanalysis offers little by way of insight and awareness - in my humble opinion - it allows the seekers to endlessly wallow in self-centered cogitations of their own making subsumed within the hazy constructs of their pre-conceived mental assumptions. Using these spare lines, Ashtavakra avers that the way can be found within ourselves. We are the products of our thoughts and emotions. The so-called self itself is a complex amalgam of ideas, virtues, traditions and vices inculcated over ones life by ones mentors, the education system, mass media, polity and your immediate vicinity of close company. This constraining amalgam of forces looks for conformity and imitation within the individual as well as the overall group. A false sense of comfort and solidarity springs from such conformity and imitation. I call it a false sense because the conditioned self thusly obtained is not ones true natural state. To be free will mean to shed any such conditioned internal (notional) and external (absorbed) dependencies. Freedom is the flowering of that internal emotional theater where one can start to see that one need not conform nor imitate nor be something/someone different nor follow authority set by tradition / teachers / polity. The cultivation of a mindset and understanding thereof is what these lines mean (to me).
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