By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

When you know your own Self, jubilation bursts forth.  Glory and glee.  Gladness arises from within.  You can raise your arms to the sky and shout out loud, as Janaka did:

“Aho aham!  Wonderful am I!  I adore myself!” 

— Ashtavakra Samhita 2.11

He repeats this jubilant cry in verse 12, again in verse 13 and once more in verse 14, each time describing more about his expanded inner state.  It’s almost like the Sanskrit words explode off the page.

This is a significant upgrade from the way you usually feel.  The upgrade is what yoga is all about. First yoga makes you feel better: physically, mentally and emotionally.  Then it opens up a new dimension of inner experience, bliss arising from Source.  The bliss of Consciousness fills you completely, shining into every corner, illumining every shadow.

Freed from your needs, fears and memories, you are set in motion to shine your light into the world in whatever way will best serve others.  Best of all, you see the light shining in them, even when they cannot see it themselves.  This is enlightenment.  It is your destiny — if you so choose.

King Janaka was a seeker.  He yearned for Self-Realization.  He often invited forest sages in for conclaves, listening to them expound through day and night, though he had not yet attained his great desire.  When the young sage Ashtavakra arrived for one of these gatherings, King Janaka was not impressed.  Ashtavakra‘s body was bent (vakra) in eight (ashta) places.  He was a cripple.

Like most people, the king equated beauty and strength with higher Consciousness.  Plus Ashtavakra was only twelve years old.  But once he began expounding with the other sages, Janaka realized that this was the Guru he’d been waiting for.  Ashtavakra gave Janaka what he had been seeking, all at once, in a Divine moment while Janaka was dismounting from his horse.  I call it a giant leap into Consciousness.

The Ashtavakra Samhita is a dialogue between these two great beings.  Ashtavakra gives teachings, then Janaka describes them as his own personal experience, that he is:

Eternal, ever existent reality
Being God, being all
Having a body, not bound by the body
All-pervasive
All-knowing, absolute creative power, source of all
Possessing nothing, yet owning and being all.

When you know your own Self, jubilation bursts forth.  Glory and glee.  Gladness arises from within.  All you need is a Guru who can get you beyond the theory to the experience.  That’s what I got from my Guru – a giant leap into Consciousness.

This is why I call my new Telecourse, “Leaps & Bounds.”  It’s about the light of Consciousness shining forth from within, burning away all your limitations, and showing you the same light shining in all.  It’s a whole new way to see yourself!