सुषुप्तवत् प्रशमितभाववृत्तिना स्थितं सदा जाग्रति येन चेतसा । कलान्वितो विधुर् इव यस् सदा मुदा निषेव्यते मुक्त इतीह स स्मृतः
He whose mind, even while awake, always remains as calm and inactive as in deep sleep, and who, like the moon with its phases, is ever joyfully served—he is regarded as liberated here.
इत्य् उक्तवत्य् अथ मुनौ दिवसो जगाम सायन्तनाय विधये ऽस्तम् इनो जगाम । स्नातुं सभा कृतनमस्करणा जगाम श्यामाक्षये रविकरैश् च सहाजगाम
After the sage had spoken thus, the day moved toward evening; the sun set. The assembly, having offered their salutations, departed to bathe, and the twilight rays of the sun accompanied them.
विदेहमुक्ता ये राम ते गिराम् इह गोचरे । नैव तिष्ठन्ति तस्मात् त्वं जीवन्मुक्तान् इमाञ् शृणु
O Rama, those who are liberated after death are beyond the reach of words here; therefore, listen to the characteristics of those liberated while living.
प्रकृतान्य् एव कार्याणि ययारञ्जितयाच्छया । क्रियन्ते तृष्णयेमानि तां जीवन्मुक्ततां विदुः
Actions are performed naturally, as if colored by desire; these actions arise from thirst, and that state is known as liberation while living.
या स्थितिस् तृष्णया जन्तोर् बाह्यार्थे बद्धभावया । तं बन्धम् आहुर् आचार्यास् संसारनिगडं दृढम्
The condition in which a creature is bound by thirst for external objects is called bondage by the teachers; it is the strong chain of worldly existence.
नूनम् उज्झितसङ्कल्पा हृदि बाह्ये विहारिणी । वासना योदिता सेह जीवन्मुक्तशरीरिणी
Indeed, when intention is abandoned and the mind moves freely within and without, when desire is subdued, that is the state of the body of one liberated while living.
बाह्यार्थव्यसनोच्छूना तृष्णा बद्धेति राघव । सर्वार्थव्यसनोन्मुक्ता तृष्णा मुक्तेति कथ्यते
O Raghava, thirst that is swollen by attachment to external objects is called bondage; thirst that is free from all attachments is called liberation.
पूर्वं यस्यास् तु तृष्णाया वर्तमाने च शाश्वती । निर्दुःखता निष्कलता सा मुक्तैव बुधैस् स्मृता
That thirst, which was present before and remains constant now, when it is free from sorrow and impurity, is regarded by the wise as liberation.
इदम् अस्तु ममेत्य् अन्तर् यैषा राघव भावना । तां तृष्णां शृङ्खलां विद्धि कलनां च महामते
O Raghava, the inner thought, 'Let this be mine,' is the chain of thirst; know this, O wise one, as the great bond of calculation.
ताम् एतां सर्वभावेषु सत्स्व् असत्सु च सर्वदा । सन्त्यज्य परमोदारं पदम् एति महामनाः
The great-minded one, always abandoning that (desire) in all beings, whether existent or nonexistent, attains the supreme and noble state.
बन्धाशाम् अथ मोक्षाशां सुखदुःखदशाम् अपि । त्यक्त्वा सदसदाशां च तिष्ठाक्षुब्धमहाब्धिवत्
Having given up the desire for bondage, the desire for liberation, and the states of pleasure and pain, as well as the hope for what is real or unreal, remain undisturbed like a great ocean.
अजरामरम् आत्मानं बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमतां वर । जरामरणशङ्काभिर् मा मनः कलुषं कृथाः
Knowing yourself to be ageless and immortal, O best of the wise, do not let your mind be tainted by the fear of old age and death.
पदार्थजातं नेदं ते नायम् अप्य् असि राघव । किञ्चित् तदन्यद् एवेदम् अन्य एवासि शाश्वतः
This collection of objects is not yours, nor are you this, O Raghava; this is something else entirely, and you are ever different.
असदभ्युत्थिते विश्वे सत्ये वा सततं स्थिते । त्वयि तत्ताम् उपगते तृष्णायास् सङ्गमः कुतः
When the universe arises from the unreal or abides always in the real, and you have attained that reality, how can there be any union with the fatigue of craving?
अन्यश् च राम मनसि पुरुषस्य विचारिणः । जायते निश्चयस् साधो स्फाराकारश् चतुर्विधः
Moreover, O Rama, in the mind of the discerning person, there arises a fourfold firm conviction, vast in form.
आपादमस्तकम् अहं मातापितृविनिर्मितः । इत्य् एको निश्चयो राम बन्धायासद्विलोकनात्
From head to foot, 'I am made by my mother and father'—this is one conviction, O Rama, which binds, due to the perception of the unreal.
अतीतस् सर्वभावेभ्यो वालाग्राद् अप्य् अहं तनुः । इति द्वितीयो मोक्षाय निश्चयो जायते सताम्
'I am a body, completely distinct from all beings, even by the tip of a hair'—this second conviction arises among the noble for liberation.
जगज्जालपदार्थात्मा सर्वदैवाहम् अक्षतः । तृतीयो निश्चयश् चेत्थं मोक्षायैव रघूद्वह
I am always unbroken, the essence of all things in the net of the world; this third conviction, O descendant of Raghu, is indeed for liberation.
अहं जगच् चासद् इदं शून्यं व्योमसमं सदा । एवम् एष चतुर्थो ऽपि निश्चयो मोक्षसिद्धये
I and the world are unreal; this is empty, ever like the sky; thus, this fourth conviction also is for the attainment of liberation.
निश्चयेषु चतुर्ष्व् एवं बन्धाय प्रथमस् स्मृतः । त्रयो मोक्षाय कथिताश् शुद्धभावनयोम्भिताः
Of these four convictions, the first is remembered as bondage; the other three, imbued with pure contemplation, are described as leading to liberation.
एतेषां प्रथमः प्रोतस् तृष्णया बन्धयोग्यया । शुद्धतृष्णास् त्रयस् स्वच्छा जीवन्मुक्ता विलासिनः
Among these, the first is strung with desire and fit for bondage; the other three, with pure desire, are clear and delight in the state of the liberated while living.
सर्वम् आत्माहम् एवेति निश्चयो यो महामते । तम् आदाय विषादाय न भूयो याति ते मतिः
O great-minded one, the conviction that 'all is truly myself'—when you hold to this, your mind does not again fall into sorrow.
तिर्यग् ऊर्ध्वम् अधस्ताच् च व्यापको महिमात्मनः । सर्वम् आत्मेति तेनान्तर् निश्चयेन न बध्यसे
The greatness of the self pervades everywhere—across, above, and below; with the conviction that all is the self, you are not bound within.
शून्यं प्रकृतिमाये च ब्रह्म विज्ञानम् इत्य् अपि । शिवः पुरुष ईशेति नित्यम् आत्मैव कथ्यते
Emptiness, nature, illusion, Brahman, knowledge, Shiva, person, Lord—all these are always spoken of as the self alone.
सदा सर्वं सद् एवेदं नेह द्वित्वान्यते क्वचित् । विद्यते विद्यया व्याप्तं जगन् नेतरयान्धया
Always, all this is truly one; nowhere here is there any duality or otherness; the world is pervaded by knowledge, not by blind ignorance.
आपातालम् अनन्तात्मा पूरितो ऽम्बुभिर् अम्बुधिः । आब्रह्मस्तम्बपर्यन्तं जगद् आपूर्णम् आत्मना
The ocean, whose essence is infinite, is filled with water down to the lowest depths; the universe, from Brahma to the smallest blade of grass, is completely pervaded by the Self.
ऋतं सर्वम् इदं नित्यं नानृतं विद्यते क्वचित् । वार्य् एव सकलो ऽम्भोधिर् न तरङ्गादयः पृथक्
All this is truth, eternal; nowhere does untruth exist. The entire ocean is only water—waves and the like are not separate from it.
पृथक् कटककेयूरनूपुरादि न काञ्चनात् । भिन्नास् तरुतृणाकारकोटयश् चैव नात्मनः
Bracelets, armlets, anklets, and so on are not distinct from gold; likewise, countless forms of trees and grasses are not separate from the Self.
द्वैताद्वैतसमुद्भेदैर् जगन्निर्माणलीलया । परमात्ममयी शक्तिर् अद्वैतैव विजृम्भते
Through the play of creation, with its divisions of duality and non-duality, the supreme power, composed of the Supreme Self, manifests as non-dual alone.
आत्मीये परकीये च सर्वस्मिन्न् एव सर्वदा । नष्टे वोपचिते कार्ये सुखदुःखे गृहाण मा
In what is one's own and what is another's, in everything and always, whether something is lost or gained, in pleasure and pain—do not grasp or reject.