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IdentityVoidVerse 135advanced

No Bondage, No Liberation

There is no bondage and no liberation for me; these are only bogeys for the frightened — reflections, like the sun in water.

Source verse · Verse 135
न मे बन्धो न मोक्षो मे भीतस्यैता विभीषिकाः। प्रतिबिम्बमिदं बुद्धेर्जलेष्विव विवस्वतः॥
na me bandho na mokṣo me bhītasyaitā vibhīṣikāḥ | pratibimbam idaṃ buddher jaleṣv iva vivasvataḥ
There is no bondage and no liberation for me; these are only bogeys for the frightened — reflections, like the sun in water.
▶ Practice this technique10 / 20 min · eyes either

How to practice

  1. 1Notice any fear of being "bound", or any anxious striving to get "free".
  2. 2Contemplate, with conviction: "There is no bondage for me, and no liberation for me."
  3. 3See that bondage and liberation are only bogeys (vibhīṣikā) that frighten one who feels small — mere reflections in the intellect, like the sun mirrored in water.
  4. 4Rest as the Self that was never bound and so needs no freeing.
Practice note. A deeply freeing verse: the very ideas of bondage and liberation are reflections, not realities. Drop both, and recognise the ever-free Self.

Terms in this technique

ātman
The true self; awareness as one’s own being.
cit
Consciousness itself, the aware principle.
aham
The sense of "I"; the self that is inquired into.
śūnya
Void, emptiness — not nothingness but open, contentless awareness.

Sources consulted

  • Jaideva Singh, Vijñānabhairava: The Manual for Self-Realization (Motilal Banarsidass, 1979)
  • Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijnana Bhairava: The Manual for Self Realization (Universal Shaiva Fellowship, 2007)
  • Bettina Bäumer, Vijñâna Bhairava: The Practice of Centering Awareness (Indica Books, 2011)
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