Linga Purana

सो ऽहम् एवं जगत्सर्वं मय्येव सकलं स्थितम् परतन्त्रं स्वतन्त्रे ऽपि तदभावाद्विचारतः

Thus, I am indeed all this world; all is established in Me alone. Though independent, it is dependent, for apart from Me, upon reflection, it does not exist.

एकत्वमपि नास्त्येव द्वैतं तत्र कुतस्त्वहो एवं नास्त्यथ मर्त्यं च कुतो ऽमृतमजोद्भवः

There is truly no oneness, so how could there be duality? Thus, there is neither mortality nor, then, immortality or birthless origin.

नान्तःप्रज्ञो बहिःप्रज्ञो न चोभयगतस् तथा न प्रज्ञानघनस्त्वेवं न प्राज्ञो ज्ञानपूर्वकः

He is not inwardly conscious, nor outwardly conscious, nor conscious in both ways; not a mass of consciousness, nor conscious in the ordinary sense, nor preceded by knowledge.

विदितं नास्ति वेद्यं च निर्वाणं परमार्थतः निर्वाणं चैव कैवल्यं निःश्रेयसमनामयम्

There is nothing known or to be known; liberation is the highest reality. Liberation is indeed aloneness, the highest good, free from affliction.

अमृतं चाक्षरं ब्रह्म परमात्मा परापरम् निर्विकल्पं निराभासं ज्ञानं पर्यायवाचकम्

The immortal, imperishable Brahman, the supreme Self, both transcendent and immanent, without difference, without appearance, is knowledge, called by many names.

प्रसन्नं च यदेकाग्रं तदा ज्ञानमिति स्मृतम् अज्ञानमितरत्सर्वं नात्र कार्या विचारणा

That which is clear and one-pointed is called knowledge; all else is ignorance—no further inquiry is needed here.

इत्थं प्रसन्नं विज्ञानं गुरुसंपर्कजं ध्रुवम् रागद्वेषानृतक्रोधं कामतृष्णादिभिः सदा

Thus, the clear knowledge that arises from contact with the teacher is steadfast, always free from passion, hatred, falsehood, anger, desire, and thirst.

अपरामृष्टमद्यैव विज्ञेयं मुक्तिदं त्विदम् अज्ञानमलपूर्वत्वात् पुरुषो मलिनः स्मृतः

This, which is untouched by intoxication, should be understood today as the giver of liberation; because ignorance is the original impurity, a person is considered impure.

तत्क्षयाद्धि भवेन्मुक्तिर् नान्यथा जन्मकोटिभिः ज्ञानमेकं विना नास्ति पुण्यपापपरिक्षयः

Indeed, liberation comes from the destruction of that (ignorance), not otherwise, even in millions of births; without knowledge alone, there is no exhaustion of merit and demerit.

ज्ञानम् एवाभ्यसेत् तस्मान् मुक्त्यर्थं ब्रह्मवित्तमाः ज्ञानाभ्यासाद्धि वै पुंसां बुद्धिर्भवति निर्मला

Therefore, O best knowers of Brahman, one should practice knowledge alone for the sake of liberation; for through the practice of knowledge, a person's intellect truly becomes pure.

तस्मात्सदाभ्यसेज्ज्ञानं तन्निष्ठस्तत्परायणः ज्ञानेनैकेन तृप्तस्य त्यक्तसंगस्य योगिनः

Therefore, one should always practice knowledge, being steadfast in it and devoted to it; for the yogi who is satisfied with knowledge alone and has abandoned attachment has nothing to be done.

कर्तव्यं नास्ति विप्रेन्द्रा अस्ति चेत्तत्त्वविन्न च इह लोके परे चापि कर्तव्यं नास्ति तस्य वै

O foremost of Brahmins, there is nothing to be done for him; and if anything remains, it is not for the knower of truth; in this world and the next, truly, there is nothing to be done for him.

जीवन्मुक्तो यतस् तस्माद् ब्रह्मवित् परमार्थतः ज्ञानाभ्यासरतो नित्यं ज्ञानतत्त्वार्थवित् स्वयम्

Because he is liberated while living, therefore he is truly a knower of Brahman in the highest sense; always engaged in the practice of knowledge, he knows the true meaning of knowledge himself.

कर्तव्याभ्यासमुत्सृज्य ज्ञानमेवाधिगच्छति वर्णाश्रमाभिमानी यस् त्यक्तक्रोधो द्विजोत्तमाः

Abandoning the practice of duties, he attains knowledge alone; O best of twice-born, he who is attached to caste and stage of life, having given up anger.

अन्यत्र रमते मूढः सो ऽज्ञानी नात्र संशयः संसारहेतुरज्ञानं संसारस्तनुसंग्रहः

The deluded one delights elsewhere—he is ignorant, of this there is no doubt; ignorance is the cause of worldly existence, and worldly existence is the gathering of bodies.

मोक्षहेतुस् तथा ज्ञानं मुक्तः स्वात्मन्यवस्थितः अज्ञाने सति विप्रेन्द्राः क्रोधाद्या नात्र संशयः

Likewise, knowledge is the cause of liberation; the liberated one abides in his own self; when ignorance remains, O foremost of Brahmins, anger and the like—of this there is no doubt.

क्रोधो हर्षस् तथा लोभो मोहो दम्भो द्विजोत्तमाः धर्माधर्मौ हि तेषां च तद्वशात्तनुसंग्रहः

Anger, delight, greed, delusion, hypocrisy, O best of twice-born, and righteousness and unrighteousness—all these, due to them, are the gathering of bodies.

शरीरे सति वै क्लेशः सो ऽविद्यां संत्यजेद्बुधः अविद्यां विद्यया हित्वा स्थितस्यैव च योगिनः

As long as the body exists, there is suffering; the wise one should abandon ignorance; having abandoned ignorance by knowledge, the yogi remains established.

क्रोधाद्या नाशमायान्ति धर्माधर्मौ च वै द्विजाः तत्क्षयाच्च शरीरेण न पुनः सम्प्रयुज्यते

Anger and the like are destroyed, and righteousness and unrighteousness too, O twice-born; and with their destruction, he is not joined again with a body.

स एव मुक्तः संसाराद् दुःखत्रयविवर्जितः एवं ज्ञानं विना नास्ति ध्यानं ध्यातुर् द्विजर्षभाः

He alone is liberated from worldly existence, free from the threefold suffering; thus, without knowledge, there is no meditation for the meditator, O best of twice-born.

ज्ञानं गुरोर्हि संपर्कान् न वाचा परमार्थतः चतुर्व्यूहमिति ज्ञात्वा ध्याता ध्यानं समभ्यसेत्

For knowledge truly comes from association with the teacher, not from speech; knowing the fourfold manifestation, the meditator should practice meditation.

सहजागन्तुकं पापम् अस्थिवागुद्भवं तथा ज्ञानाग्निर्दहते क्षिप्रं शुष्केन्धनम् इवानलः

The fire of knowledge quickly burns up both innate and incidental sin, as well as that arising from bones and speech, just as a dry log is burned by fire.

ज्ञानात्परतरं नास्ति सर्वपापविनाशनम् अभ्यसेच्च सदा ज्ञानं सर्वसंगविवर्जितः

There is nothing higher than knowledge for the destruction of all sins; one should always practice knowledge, free from all attachments.

ज्ञानिनः सर्वपापानि जीर्यन्ते नात्र संशयः क्रीडन्नपि न लिप्येत पापैर्नानाविधैरपि

All sins of the knower are destroyed—of this there is no doubt; even while playing, he is not tainted by various kinds of sins.

ज्ञानं यथा तथा ध्यानं तस्माद्ध्यानं समभ्यसेत् ध्यानं निर्विषयं प्रोक्तम् आदौ सविषयं तथा

As knowledge is, so is meditation; therefore, one should practice meditation; meditation is said to be without objects, but at first, it is with objects.

षट्प्रकारं समभ्यस्य चतुःषड्दशभिस् तथा तथा द्वादशधा चैव पुनः षोडशधा क्रमात्

One should practice in six ways, then in four, six, and ten likewise, then again in twelve and in sequence, in sixteen ways.

द्विधाभ्यस्य च योगीन्द्रो मुच्यते नात्र संशयः शुद्धजांबूनदाकारं विधूमाङ्गारसन्निभम्

By practicing in two ways, the master of yoga is liberated—of this there is no doubt. The form is pure, like molten gold, resembling smokeless charcoal.

पीतं रक्तं सितं विद्युत् कोटिकोटिसमप्रभम् अथवा ब्रह्मरन्ध्रस्थं चित्तं कृत्वा प्रयत्नतः

Yellow, red, white, shining like millions upon millions of lightning flashes, or else, with effort, fixing the mind at the Brahmarandhra.

न सितं वासितं पीतं न स्मरेद् ब्रह्मविद् भवेत् अहिंसकः सत्यवादी अस्तेयी सर्वयत्नतः

One who knows Brahman should not recall white, fragrant, or yellow; he becomes nonviolent, truthful, and completely abstains from stealing.