Shloka 13
Kapila on Liberation: Detachment, Devotional Discipline, and the Soul’s Aloofness from the Guṇas
एवं त्रिवृदहङ्कारो भूतेन्द्रियमनोमयै: । स्वाभासैर्लक्षितोऽनेन सदाभासेन सत्यदृक् ॥ १३ ॥
evaṁ trivṛd-ahaṅkāro bhūtendriya-manomayaiḥ svābhāsair lakṣito ’nena sad-ābhāsena satya-dṛk
ដូច្នេះ អ្នកដែលបានដឹងខ្លួនពិត ត្រូវបានឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងជាមុនក្នុងអហង្គារបីប្រភេទ ហើយបន្ទាប់មកត្រូវបានឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងទៀតក្នុងកាយ ឥន្ទ្រីយ៍ និងចិត្ត ជាការឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងរបស់ខ្លួនតាមលំដាប់។
The conditioned soul thinks, “I am this body,” but a liberated soul thinks, “I am not this body. I am spirit soul.” This “I am” is called ego, or identification of the self. “I am this body” or “Everything in relationship to the body is mine” is called false ego, but when one is self-realized and thinks that he is an eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord, that identification is real ego. One conception is in the darkness of the threefold qualities of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance — and the other is in the pure state of goodness, called śuddha-sattva or vāsudeva. When we say that we give up our ego, this means that we give up our false ego, but real ego is always present. When one is reflected through the material contamination of the body and mind in false identification, he is in the conditional state, but when he is reflected in the pure stage he is called liberated. The identification of oneself with one’s material possessions in the conditional stage must be purified, and one must identify himself in relationship with the Supreme Lord. In the conditioned state one accepts everything as an object of sense gratification, and in the liberated state one accepts everything for the service of the Supreme Lord. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, is the actual liberated stage of a living entity. Otherwise, both accepting and rejecting on the material platform or in voidness or impersonalism are imperfect conditions for the pure soul.
FAQs
This verse explains that false ego is threefold—expressing itself through the elements, the senses, and the mind—and can be known by observing these manifested reflections.
Kapila instructs Devahuti to distinguish the changing products of material nature (ego and its manifestations) from the steady seer—the self-luminous consciousness—so she can progress toward liberation through clear discrimination.
Notice thoughts, emotions, and sensory impulses as movements of mind and ego, and repeatedly return to the stance of the observer; this reduces identification with reactions and supports steady devotional and spiritual practice.