Linga Purana

अलक्षणमनिर्देश्यम् अणोरल्पतरं शुभम् निरालम्बम् अतर्क्यं च विनाशोत्पत्तिवर्जितम्

Without characteristics, indescribable, subtler than the subtle, auspicious, without support, inconceivable, and free from origin and destruction.

कैवल्यं चैव निर्वाणं निःश्रेयसम् अनुत्तमम् अमृतं चाक्षरं ब्रह्म ह्य् अपुनर्भवम् अद्भुतम्

It is liberation, nirvana, the highest and unsurpassed good, immortal, imperishable Brahman, wondrous and beyond rebirth.

महानन्दं परानन्दं योगानन्दमनामयम् हेयोपादेयरहितं सूक्ष्मात्सूक्ष्मतरं शिवम्

It is great bliss, supreme bliss, the bliss of yoga, free from affliction, devoid of acceptance and rejection, subtler than the subtle, Shiva.

स्वयंवेद्यमवेद्यं तच् छिवं ज्ञानमयं परम् अतीन्द्रियम् अनाभासं परं तत्त्वं परात्परम्

That Shiva, consisting of knowledge, is self-known and unknowable, supreme, beyond the senses, without appearance, the highest reality, beyond the highest.

सर्वोपाधिविनिर्मुक्तं ध्यानगम्यं विचारतः अद्वयं तमसश्चैव परस्तात्संस्थितं परम्

Free from all limitations, attainable through meditation and inquiry, nondual, and established beyond darkness, the supreme.

मनस्येवं महादेवं हृत्पद्मे वापि चिन्तयेत् नाभौ सदाशिवं चापि सर्वदेवात्मकं विभुम्

Thus, one should contemplate Mahadeva in the mind or in the lotus of the heart, or Sadashiva at the navel, the all-pervading Lord who is the essence of all gods.

देहमध्ये शिवं देवं शुद्धज्ञानमयं विभुम् कन्यसेनैव मार्गेण चोद्घातेनापि शंकरम्

Within the body, one should meditate on Shiva, the Lord, who is pure knowledge and all-pervading, by the path of Kanyasā, or by the method of upward movement, on Shankara.

क्रमशः कन्यसेनैव मध्यमेनापि सुव्रतः उत्तमेनापि वै विद्वान् कुम्भकेन समभ्यसेत्

Step by step, by the path of Kanyasā, or by the middle path, O virtuous one, or by the highest method, the wise should practice with kumbhaka.

द्वात्रिंशद् रेचयेद्धीमान् हृदि नाभौ समाहितः रेचकं पूरकं त्यक्त्वा कुम्भकं च द्विजोत्तमाः

The wise, being concentrated in the heart or navel, should exhale thirty-two times, having abandoned inhalation and exhalation, and practice kumbhaka, O best of twice-born.

साक्षात्समरसेनैव देहमध्ये स्मरेच्छिवम् एकीभावं समेत्यैवं तत्र यद्रससम्भवम्

With direct and equal absorption, one should contemplate Shiva within the body, attaining unity, and thus whatever essence arises there.

आनन्दं ब्रह्मणो विद्वान् साक्षात्समरसे स्थितः धारणा द्वादशायामा ध्यानं द्वादश धारणम्

The wise, established in direct and equal absorption, know the bliss of Brahman; concentration is twelve measures, meditation is twelve concentrations.

ध्यानं द्वादशकं यावत् समाधिर् अभिधीयते अथवा ज्ञानिनां विप्राः सम्पर्कादेव जायते

Meditation up to twelve stages is called samadhi; or, O Brahmins, for the wise, it arises simply through association.

प्रयत्नाद्वा तयोस्तुल्यं चिराद्वा ह्यचिराद्द्विजाः योगान्तरायास् तस्याथ जायन्ते युञ्जतः पुनः

Or, through effort, both attain equally, whether after a long time or quickly, O twice-born; then, for one engaged in practice, obstacles to yoga arise again.

नश्यन्त्य् अभ्यासतस् ते ऽपि प्रणिधानेन वै गुरोः

Even those obstacles are destroyed by repeated practice and by devotion to the teacher.

आलस्यं प्रथमं पश्चाद् व्याधिपीडा प्रजायते प्रमादः संशयस्थाने चित्तस्येहानवस्थितिः

First comes laziness, then affliction by disease arises; negligence, doubt, and instability of mind in this matter.

अश्रद्धादर्शनं भ्रान्तिर् दुःखं च त्रिविधं ततः दौर्मनस्यमयोग्येषु विषयेषु च योग्यता

Lack of faith, non-perception, confusion, and threefold suffering follow; dejection, unfitness for unsuitable things, and fitness for suitable things.

दशधाभिप्रजायन्ते मुनेर्योगान्तरायकाः आलस्यं चाप्रवृत्तिश् च गुरुत्वात्कायचित्तयोः

Obstacles to yoga arise for the sage in ten ways: laziness, inactivity, heaviness of body and mind.

व्याधयो धातुवैषम्यात् कर्मजा दोषजास् तथा प्रमादस्तु समाधेस्तु साधनानाम् अभावनम्

Diseases from imbalance of bodily elements, those born of actions, and those from faults; negligence is the absence of contemplation on the means to samadhi.

इदं वेत्युभयस्पृक्तं विज्ञानं स्थानसंशयः अनवस्थितचित्तत्वम् अप्रतिष्ठा हि योगिनः

This knowledge, touched by both, is doubt about the place; instability of mind is the lack of establishment for yogis.

लब्धायामपि भूमौ च चित्तस्य भवबन्धनात् अश्रद्धाभावरहिता वृत्तिर्वै साधनेषु च

Even after attaining the state, because of the bondage of the mind, there is absence of faith and lack of steadiness in practices.

साध्ये चित्तस्य हि गुरौ ज्ञानाचारशिवादिषु विपर्ययज्ञानमिति भ्रान्तिदर्शनम् उच्यते

When the mind is fixed on the teacher, knowledge, conduct, or Shiva and the like, false knowledge is called the perception of error.

अनात्मन्यात्मविज्ञानम् अज्ञानात्तस्य संनिधौ दुःखमाध्यात्मिकं प्रोक्तं तथा चैवाधिभौतिकम्

Knowledge of self in what is not self, due to ignorance in his presence, is called inner suffering, and likewise, suffering from external sources.

आधिदैविकमित्युक्तं त्रिविधं सहजं पुनः इच्छाविघातात्संक्षोभश् चेतसस्तदुदाहृतम्

Suffering from divine causes is said to be the third, and all three are natural; disturbance of the mind is cited as arising from obstruction of desire.

दौर्मनस्यं निरोद्धव्यं वैराग्येण परेण तु तमसा रजसा चैव संस्पृष्टं दुर्मनः स्मृतम्

Dejection must be restrained by supreme detachment; dejection touched by darkness and passion is called durmanas.

तदा मनसि संजातं दौर्मनस्यमिति स्मृतम् हठात्स्वीकरणं कृत्वा योग्यायोग्यविवेकतः

When dejection arises in the mind, it is called durmanas; forcibly accepting things, without discerning the suitable from the unsuitable.

विषयेषु विचित्रेषु जन्तोर्विषयलोलता अन्तराया इति ख्याता योगस्यैते हि योगिनाम्

Restlessness for various objects in a being is known as an obstacle; these are indeed the obstacles to yoga for yogis.

अत्यन्तोत्साहयुक्तस्य नश्यन्ति न च संशयः प्रनष्टेष्वन्तरायेषु द्विजाः पश्चाद्धि योगिनः

For one endowed with utmost enthusiasm, they are destroyed without doubt; O twice-born, when obstacles are destroyed, then the yogi proceeds further.

उपसर्गाः प्रवर्तन्ते सर्वे ते ऽसिद्धिसूचकाः प्रतिभा प्रथमा सिद्धिर् द्वितीया श्रवणा स्मृता

Afflictions arise, all of which are signs of imperfection; the first accomplishment is intuition, the second is said to be hearing.

वार्त्ता तृतीया विप्रेन्द्रास् तुरीया चेह दर्शना आस्वादा पञ्चमी प्रोक्ता वेदना षष्ठिका स्मृता

The third, O best of Brahmins, is information; the fourth here is vision; the fifth is called taste, and the sixth is known as sensation.