न कर्म तज्जं नोपास्तिर्विरोधाभावतो गिरे । प्रत्युताशाज्ञाननाशे कर्मणा नैव भाव्यताम्
Neither action nor worship, being products of ignorance, can remove it, for there is no opposition between them; indeed, action cannot bring about the destruction of hope and ignorance.
अनर्थदानि कर्माणि पुनः पुनरुशन्ति हि । ततो रागस्ततो दोषस्ततोऽनर्थो महान्भवेत्
Actions that bring misfortune repeatedly arise; from them comes attachment, from attachment comes fault, and from that, great harm results.
तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन ज्ञानं सम्पादयेन्नरः । कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणीत्यतः कर्माप्यवश्यकम्
Therefore, by every effort, a person should acquire knowledge, yet performing actions here is also necessary.
ज्ञानादेव हि कैवल्यमतः स्यात्तत्समुच्चयः । सहायतां व्रजेत्कर्म ज्ञानस्य हितकारि च
For liberation comes only from knowledge; therefore, their combination is proper—action serves as an aid to knowledge and is beneficial to it.
इति केचिद्वदन्त्यत्र तद्विरोधान्न सम्भवेत् । ज्ञानाधृद्ग्रन्थिभेदः स्याद्धृद्ग्रन्थौ कर्मसम्भवः
Some say here that this is not possible due to their opposition; the cutting of the heart-knot comes from knowledge, while the heart-knot itself arises from action.
यौगपद्यं न सम्भाव्यं विरोधात्तु ततस्तयोः । तमः प्रकाशयोर्यद्वद्यौगपद्यं न सम्भवि
Simultaneity between them is not possible because of their opposition, just as darkness and light cannot exist together.
तस्मात् सर्वाणि कर्माणि वैदिकानि महामते । चित्तशुद्ध्यन्तमेव स्युस्तानि कुर्यात्प्रयत्नतः
Therefore, O wise one, all Vedic actions should be performed only for the sake of purification of the mind, and one should do them diligently.
शमो दमस्तितिक्षा च वैराग्यं सत्त्वसम्भवः । तावत्पर्यन्तमेव स्युः कर्माणि न ततः परम्
Calmness, self-control, forbearance, dispassion, and the rise of purity—actions are only up to that point, not beyond.
तदन्ते चैव संन्यस्य संश्रयेद् गुरुमात्मवान् । श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठं च भक्त्या निर्व्याजया पुनः
After that, having renounced, one should seek out a teacher, self-possessed, learned in the scriptures and established in Brahman, and serve him again with sincere devotion.
वेदान्तश्रवणं कुर्यान्नित्यमेवमतन्द्रितः । तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्यस्य नित्यमर्थं विचारयेत्
One should always listen attentively to Vedanta, and constantly reflect on the meaning of statements such as 'That Thou Art.'
तत्त्वमस्यादि वाक्यं तु जीवब्रह्मैक्यबोधकम् । ऐक्ये ज्ञाते निर्भयस्तु मद्रूपो हि प्रजायते
The statement 'That Thou Art' and others reveal the unity of the individual and Brahman; knowing this unity, one becomes fearless and attains my own form.
पदार्थावगतिः पूर्वं वाक्यार्थावगतिस्ततः । तत्पदस्य च वाक्यार्थो गिरेऽहं परिकीर्तितः
First comes the understanding of the meaning of the words, then the comprehension of the sentence; the meaning of the word 'That' in the sentence, O mountain, is declared by me.
त्वं पदस्य च वाच्यार्थो जीव एव न संशयः । उभयोरैक्यमसिना पदेन प्रोच्यते बुधैः
You are indeed the direct meaning of the word, the living being—of this there is no doubt; the unity of both is declared by the word 'asi' by the wise.
वाच्यार्थयोर्विरुद्धत्वादैक्यं नैव घटेत ह । लक्षणातः प्रकर्तव्या तत्त्वमोः श्रुतिसंस्थयोः
Because the direct meanings of the two are opposed, their unity cannot occur; it must be made through implication, as taught in the scriptures regarding 'That Thou Art.'
चिन्मात्रं तु तयोर्लक्ष्यं तयोरैक्यस्य सम्भवः । तयोरैक्यं तथा ज्ञात्वा स्वाभेदेनाद्वयो भवेत्
Pure consciousness is the intended meaning of both, and the unity of the two is possible; knowing their unity thus, one becomes non-dual, free from distinction.
देवदत्तः स एवायमितिवल्लक्षणा स्मृता । स्थूलादि देहरहितो ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते नरः
The implication, as in 'this is that Devadatta,' is remembered; when freed from the gross body and such, a person attains Brahman.
पञ्चीकृतमहाभूतसम्भूतः स्थूलदेहकः । भोगालयो जराव्याधिसंयुतः सर्वकर्मणाम्
The gross body is formed from the fivefold compounded great elements; it is the abode of experience, subject to old age and disease, and the field of all actions.
मिथ्याभूतोऽयमाभाति स्फुटं मायामयत्वतः । सोऽयं स्थूल उपाधिः स्यादात्मनो मे नगेश्वर
This appears as real but is in fact false, being made of māyā; this gross body is the limiting adjunct of the self, O Lord of Mountains.
ज्ञानकर्मेन्द्रिययुतं प्राणपञ्चकसंयुतम् । मनोबुद्धियुतं चैतत्सूक्ष्मं तत्कवयो विदुः
Endowed with the organs of knowledge and action, joined with the five vital airs, and with mind and intellect—this is called the subtle body by the wise.
अपञ्चीकृतभूतोत्थं सूक्ष्मदेहोऽयमात्मनः । द्वितीयोऽयमुपाधिः स्यात्सुखादेरवबोधकः
This subtle body of the self arises from the uncompounded elements; this is the second limiting adjunct, the experiencer of pleasure and so on.
अनाद्यनिर्वाच्यमिदमज्ञानं तु तृतीयकः । देहोऽयमात्मनो भाति कारणात्मा नगेश्वर
This beginningless, indescribable ignorance is the third; this causal body of the self appears, O Lord of Mountains.
उपाधिविलये जाते केवलात्मावशिष्यते । देहत्रये पञ्चकोशा अन्तःस्थाः सन्ति सर्वदा
When the limiting adjuncts are dissolved, the pure self alone remains; within the three bodies, the five sheaths always exist inside.
पञ्चकोशपरित्यागे ब्रह्म पुच्छं हि लभ्यते । नेतिनेतीत्यादिवाक्यैर्मम रूपं यदुच्यते
By renouncing the five sheaths, Brahman, the support, is attained; by statements such as 'not this, not this,' my true form is described.
न जायते म्रियते तत्कदाचि- न्नायं भूत्वा न बभूव कश्चित् । अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे
It is never born, nor does it ever die; having once come into being, it never ceases to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, and ancient—it is not slain when the body is slain.
हतं चेन्मन्यते हन्तुं हतश्चेन्मन्यते हतम् । उभौ तौ न विजानीतौ नायं हन्ति न हन्यते
If one thinks it is the slayer, or thinks it is slain, both do not understand; it neither kills nor is killed.
अणोरणीयान्महतो महीया- नात्मास्य जन्तोर्निहितो गुहायाम् । तमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको धातुः प्रसादान्महिमानमस्य
Subtler than the subtle, greater than the great, the self is hidden in the cave of the living being; one who is free from desire and sorrow sees its glory through the grace of the Creator.
आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु । बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च
Know the self as the rider in the chariot, the body as the chariot itself; know the intellect as the charioteer, and the mind as the reins.
इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयांस्तेषु गोचरान् । आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः
The senses are called the horses, and the objects their paths; the wise say that the self, joined with mind and senses, is the experiencer.
यस्त्वविद्वान्भवति चामनस्कश्च सदाशुचिः । न तत्पदमवाप्नोति संसारं चाधिगच्छति
But one who is ignorant, whose mind is unrestrained and always impure, does not attain that state and enters into the cycle of birth and death.
यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति समनस्कः सदा शुचिः । स तु तत्पदमाप्नोति यस्माद्भूयो न जायते
But one who possesses knowledge, whose mind is controlled and always pure, attains that state from which there is no further birth.