नाहं भूत्वा त्व् अहं हीदं वच्मि तिष्ठामि यामि वा । आत्मावलोकनेनाहम् अनहङ्कारतां गतः
I do not say, 'I have become' or 'I stand' or 'I go.' Through self-inquiry, I have attained a state free from ego.
नूनम् एवान्य एवैते मत्तो ऽज्ञाश् चक्षुरादयः । यान्तु तिष्ठन्तु वा देहे ममैते तु न केचन
Surely, these senses such as sight are other than me and are ignorant; let them come or stay in the body, but none of these are truly mine.
कष्टं को ऽयम् अहं नाम कथं केनोपकल्पितः । जगद्बालकवेतालस् तालोत्तालातुलाकृतिः
Alas, what is this so-called 'I'? How and by whom has it been imagined? It is like a goblin, a child’s fantasy, or a phantom with a form shaped by clapping and measuring.
एतावन्तं चिरं कालं व्यर्थम् आलुठितो ऽवटे । अहम् अम्बुतृणोन्मुक्ते दुरद्रौ हरिणो यथा
For such a long time, I have wandered in vain in this pit, like a deer lost in a barren forest, eager for water and grass.
स्वार्थैकालोकने चक्षुर् यदि तून्मुखतां गतम् । तद् अहं नाम को ऽसौ स्याद् यो ऽस्मि दुःखेन मोहितः
If the eye turns toward seeing only its own true purpose, then who is this 'I' who is deluded by suffering?
स्पर्शनाम्नि निजे तत्त्वे यदि जाता त्वग् उन्मुखी । तत् को ऽयं स्याद् अहं नाम कुपिशाच इवोदितः
If the skin, in its own essence called 'touch,' turns inward, then who is this so-called 'I' that appears like a mischievous goblin?
रसेष्व् अभिनिषण्णे ऽस्मिन् स्वे क्रमे रसनेन्द्रिये । अहं मृष्टभुग् इत्य् एष कुतस्त्यः कुत्सितो भ्रमः
When the sense of taste is absorbed in its own nature among flavors, how could there arise this false and contemptible notion, 'I am the enjoyer of delicious things'?
शब्दशक्तिं श्रिते श्रोत्रे वराके स्वार्थपण्डिते । तद् अहङ्कारदुःखस्य निर्बीजस्य क आगमः
When the power of sound rests in the ear, which is itself a poor expert in its own function, how can the pain of egolessness arise there?
आत्मम्भरित्वभरिते घ्राणे स्वं गन्धम् आगते । अहं घ्रातेति यो मन्ता तं चौरं नैव वेद्म्य् अहम्
When the nose, filled with its own essence, receives a scent, I do not know that thief who thinks, 'I am the one who smells.'
मृगतृष्णाक्रमेणैषा भावनाप्य् अर्थभावनी । भावस् तस्याम् असत्यायां यस्यासाव् अपि सम्भ्रमः
This notion, which imagines objects, is like a mirage; and the confusion that arises in it belongs to one who takes the unreal as real.
वासनाहीनम् अप्य् एतच् चक्षुरादीन्द्रियं स्वतः । प्रवर्तते बहिस् स्वार्थे वासना नात्र कारणम्
Even without latent tendencies, the sense organs such as the eye naturally function outwardly toward their objects; latent tendencies are not the cause here.
वासनारहितं कर्म क्रियते ननु चित्त हे । केवलं नानुभूयन्ते सुखदुःखदृशो ऽत्र ताः
O mind, actions are performed even without latent tendencies; only the experiences of pleasure and pain are not felt in that case.
तस्मान् मूर्खाणीन्द्रियाणि त्यक्त्वान्तर्वासनां निजाम् । कुरुध्वं कर्म हे सर्वं न दुःखं समवाप्स्यथ
Therefore, abandoning the foolish senses and your own inner tendencies, perform all actions; you will not encounter suffering.
भवद्भिर् एव दुःखाय वासना वासिता मुधा । बालैः पङ्कक्रीडनकविनाशेनेव खिन्नता
It is you yourselves who have foolishly colored your mind with tendencies that bring sorrow, just as children are distressed by the loss of their playthings in the mud.
वासनाद्या दृशस् सर्वा व्यतिरिक्तास् तु नात्मनः । जलाद् इव तरङ्गाल्यो ज्ञस्यैवाज्ञस्य नानघ
All perceptions beginning with tendencies are distinct from the Self, O sinless one, just as waves and the like are distinct from water; this is known to the wise, not to the ignorant.
तृष्णयैव विनष्टास् स्थ व्यर्थम् इन्द्रियचारकाः । कोशकाराः कुक्रिमयस् तन्तुनेव स्वयम्भुवा
It is only because of craving that you are destroyed, wandering in vain after the senses, like silkworms weaving their own cocoons from threads produced by themselves.
तृष्णयैवेह लुठथ जरामरणसङ्कटे । भ्रमदृष्ट्येव शिखरिपथिकाश् श्वभ्रभूमिषु
It is only because of craving that you flounder here in the peril of old age and death, like travelers on mountain paths who, with confused vision, stumble into chasms.
वासनैवेह भवतां हेतुर् एकत्र बन्धने । रज्जुश् शून्याशयप्रोता मुक्तानाम् आतता यथा
It is only mental conditioning that binds you here; like a rope strung through empty space, it is stretched out for the bound, but for the liberated, it is as if not there at all.
कल्पनामात्रकलिता न सत्यैषा हि वस्तुतः । असङ्कल्पनमात्रेण दात्रेणेव विलूयते
This is formed only by imagination; in reality, it does not truly exist. By the mere absence of conceptualization, it is dissolved, like a gift that is never given.
एषा हि भवताम् एव विमोहाय क्षयाय च । वातलेखेव दीपानां स्फुरताम् अपि तेजसा
Indeed, this alone is the cause of your delusion and decline, like the wind extinguishing even brightly shining lamps.
हे चित्त सर्वेन्द्रियकोश तस्मात् सर्वेन्द्रियैर् ऐक्यम् उपेत्य नूनम् । आलोक्य चात्मानम् असत्स्वरूपं निर्वाणम् एकामलबोधम् आस्स्व
Therefore, O mind, container of all the senses, surely unite with all the senses, perceive your own self as having the nature of unreality, and abide in nirvana, the single, stainless awareness.
विषयविषविषूचिकाम् अनन्तां निपुणम् अहंस्थितिवासनाम् अपास्य । अभिमतपरिहारकार्ययुक्त्या भव विभयो भगवान् भियाम् अभूमिः
Casting aside the endless, subtle fever of sense-objects and the persistent habit of ego-identity, by the method of rejecting what is not desired, become fearless, O blessed one, the very ground where fear cannot stand.
अपारपर्यन्तवपुः परमाण्वणुर् एव वा । चिद् अचेत्या तदाक्रान्तौ न शक्ता वासनादयः
Whether one’s form is boundless or as minute as an atom, when consciousness pervades and is not engaged with objects, then tendencies and the like have no power.
मनश्शेमुष्यहङ्कारप्रतिबिम्बैश् शठेन्द्रियैः । वासनोत्थापिता शून्यवेताली त्रासनोद्यता
The mind, with its six deceitful senses, is stirred by impressions and reflects the ego; it is like a hollow specter, ready to frighten.
तत्कृतेभ्यो विकारेभ्यो भीतिं तान्य् एव भूरिशः । भूयो ऽप्य् अनुभवन्त्व् अन्तर् अहं हि चिद् अलेपिका
Let those many modifications arising from it repeatedly bring fear; yet within, I am pure consciousness, untouched.
चितो न जन्ममरणे सर्वगायाश् चितः किल । किं नाम म्रियते ब्रूत मार्यते केन वापि किम्
Consciousness neither has birth nor death; it pervades all. Tell me, what truly dies, what is killed, and by whom?
चितो न जीवितेनार्थस् सर्वात्मा सैव जीवितम् । किं प्राप्स्यति कदात्मैष प्राङ्मृतो यदि जीवति
Consciousness has no purpose in living; it is the life of all. What will this self gain, if it lives after dying before?
जीव्यते म्रियते चेति कुविकल्पकलापिनाम् । कलना मनसाम् एव नात्मनो विततात्मनः
The notions of living and dying belong only to those who are confused by false imagination; these are calculations of the mind, not of the true, expansive self.
यो ह्य् अहम्भावतां प्राप्तो भावाभावैस् स गृह्यते । आत्मनो नास्त्य् अहम्भावो भावाभावाः कुतो ऽस्य ते
He who has attained the sense of 'I' is grasped by existence and non-existence; but for the self, there is no sense of 'I', so how can existence or non-existence apply to it?
अहम्भावो मुधा मोहो मनश् च मृगतृष्णिका । जडः पदार्थसम्भारः कस्याहम्भावभावना
The sense of 'I' is a vain delusion, the mind is a mirage; the inert collection of objects—whose is the notion of 'I'?