Verse 27
रज्जुसर्पवदात्मानं जीवं ज्ञात्वा भयं वहेत् ।
नाहं जीवः परात्मेति ज्ञातं चेन्निर्भयो भवेत् ॥ २७॥
RAJJU-SARPA-VAT AATMAANAM
JEEVAM JNAATVAA BHAYAM VAHET
NA AHAM JEEVAH PARAATMAA ITI
JNAATAH CHET NIRBHAYAH BHAVET
(As one who regards a rope as a snake, so too one, regarding
oneself as an ego, is overcome by fear. “I am not the ego, but the
Supreme Self”, if he realizes this, he becomes fearless.)
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.
“Rajju-Sarpa-Vat Atmanam”: The Rope-Snake Analogy
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.
The rope is our true identity, the SELF or the Atman.
The mistaken
identity of rope as a snake is our mistaken
notion of our ego “I am this jiva”
The burden of
‘fears’ represent the entire range of deluded
perceptions arising from this ego-consciousness.
Removing the venom
of snake’s bite is overcoming the notion that
“I am this Jiva”
Freedom / fearlessness is the state of Realization that “I AM THE
CHANGELESS, BIRTHLESS, DEATHLESS PURE SELF”
When a Jiva exists
with his mistaken identity as Jiva, he suffers from all the 6
negative qualities, Kama, Krodha etc. The Jiva, under its own delusion and
imagined fear, suffers from the consequences of such fear. 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. Hence, 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.
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.
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.
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 tantamount to complete liberation from all bondage. Because the Jnani
has risen above egoism, he sees the correct picture of all the facts listed in
the previous verse.
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.
Love.
