Chapter-1, Verse 8

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 1.8

अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः। नाहं कर्ते ति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव॥८॥

8. You, who have been bitten by the great black serpent of egoism ‘I am the doer’, please drink the nectar of faith, ‘I am not the doer’, and be happy. 

The sense of ‘doership’ is the arrogant ego expressing in all our perceptions, feelings and thoughts as ‘I see’, ‘I hear’, ‘I feel’, ‘I think’, and so on. These false attitudes arise out of our identifications with our eyes, ears, mind and intellect. Seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking are really the functions of the eyes, ears, mind or intellect. As the Self, you are but the illuminator of these functions, which really belong to the different equipments. To arrogate ‘I am the doer’ is the essence of the ego. Here Ashtavakra once again expands on the philosophy of Doership of the ego. 

Once this ego starts functioning, we become smitten by the sense objects, and become polluted by the poison of sensuality. We become agitated with our passionate urgency to acquire, possess and enjoy the sense objects. These would bring about our spiritual annihilation. Hence Aṣṭāvakra compares the ego here with the black serpent and its poisonous bite. 

The only remedy is to de-hypnotise ourselves by consciously maintaining the wisdom ‘I am not the doer’. This is to be constantly maintained with ardent faith. This mental assertion is a specific cure for the poison of ego, and, therefore, it is compared here with nectar, the life-giving ambrosia.