ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF” : 27 - Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya

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Monday, August  24, 2020.3:07. AM.
ATMA BODHAM “KNOWLEDGE of the SELF”
(68 Slokam-s in  9 Chapters)
Chapter 6 - “The Birth of the EGO” - Sloka-s 25-37 (13 no.)
Slokam 27: As Mistaking the Rope for a Snake
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Slokam-27 :

"1 Rajju-sarpa-vat aatmaanam 2 jeevam jnaatvaa bhayam vahet;
3 na aham jeevah paraatmaa iti 4 jnaatah chet nirbhayah bhavet."
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Translation :

1 Rajju-sarpa-vat aatmaanam        =  As one who regards a rope as a snake, so too one
2 jeevam jnaatvaa bhayam vahet;  =   regarding oneself as an ego, is overcome by fear;
3 na aham jeevah paraatmaa iti      =  “I am not the ego, but the Supreme Self” –
4 jnaatah chet nirbhayah bhavet.   =    if he realizes this, he becomes fearless.
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Discourse :

An attempt is made in this verse to relieve the intellect of the burden placed upon it
by the falsely created sense of “I”. The burden is simply all the fears resulting from the
misplaced identity of oneself as an individual. These are shown in this verse to be
unnecessarily taken upon one’s own shoulders, when in reality they do not even exist.
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#“Rajju-Sarpa-Vat Atmanam”: The Rope-Snake Analogy :

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1.In this simile, a rope is seen and misidentified as being a snake. The resulting fear
that grips the person beholding this has no basis as it arises from pure delusion. The rope is
not even aware of the existence of the ‘snake’, so it cannot be held responsible. It is the
individual consciousness or the ego which has to bear the responsibility of the
consequences for this deluded perception.

2.The burden of ‘fears’ represent the entire range of deluded perceptions arising from
this ego-consciousness. Fear is used here as an Upa-Lakshanam (a term representing many
other terms in the same family). All the 6 negative qualities are included in it from Kama,
Krodha onwards. The Jiva, under its own delusion and imagined fear, suffers from the
consequences of such fear.

3.The real fear of the snake is due to the venom in its bite. The sage solves the
problem by removing the ‘venom’ from the snake’s bite. The venom lies in the sense of
egoism that heads this whole web of delusion. We will discuss more on the details of how
this happens, but at this stage, for the sake of completing this analogy, we mention here
that the “ego-sense” in a sage is rendered ‘toothless’. The snake has been burnt and is there
only in appearance, it cannot do any harm. A burnt snake may still look like a snake but it
cannot do anything.

4.The sage’s egoism is like that. It is just enough to go on functioning in this world; it
serves only an operational function. But really there is no ‘venom’ in it. The venom of
selfishness has been transformed into the nectar of universal vision.
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Fear & Bondage :

1.A burnt rope cannot be used to tie anything; the moment it is touched it crumbles to
ashes. Similarly, the sage’s egoism, which is burnt, cannot tie him to this world anymore.
The sage is freed from bondage to this world.

2.An ignorant person’s ego is full of venom. If he is criticized he will seek revenge on
the one who criticizes him. He will try to bite back with venom. But in a Jnani there is no
such reaction. He knows he has been criticized, but remains indifferent to it, understanding
that it is only a thought current passing through. He has no fear of criticism.

The fearlessness of the sage tantamounts to complete liberation from all bondage.
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3.Because the Jnani has risen above egoism, he sees the correct picture of all the facts
listed in verse 26 above. He knows that the consciousness expressing through his intellect is
a reflection of the Self, i.e. it is Chid-Abhasa. Hence he is not disturbed by any wave
produced in it, such as the crest of praise or the trough of criticism.

The End.

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NEXT : B. THE SELF-LUMINOUS SELF: (28-29)
Slokam 28: As a Lamp Illumines Objects

To be continued ....

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