देहभावनयैवात्मा देहदुःखवशे स्थितः । तत्त्यागेन ततो मुक्तो भवतीति विदुर् बुधाः
Only by identifying with the body does the Self remain subject to bodily pain; the wise know that by abandoning that identification, one is freed from it.
अन्तस्सङ्गविहीनत्वाद् दुःखवन्त्य् अङ्ग नो यथा । पत्त्राम्बूपलदारूणि श्लिष्टान्य् अपि परस्परम्
Because there is no inner attachment, limbs do not suffer, just as leaves, water, stones, and wood, though touching, do not affect each other.
अन्तस्सङ्गेन रहिता यान्ति निर्दुःखतां पराम् । श्लिष्टा अपि तथैवात्मा देहेन्द्रियमनांस्य् अलम्
Freed from inner attachment, they attain supreme freedom from suffering; so too, even when united, the Self, body, senses, and mind are unaffected.
अन्तस्सङ्गो हि संसारे सर्वेषां नाम देहिनाम् । जरामरणमोहानां तरूणां बीजकारणम्
For inner attachment is, in the world, the seed-cause for all embodied beings of old age, death, and delusion, as seeds are for trees.
अन्तस्संसङ्गवाञ् जन्तुर् मग्नस् संसारसागरे । अन्तस्संसङ्गमुक्तस् तु तीर्णस् संसारसागरात्
A creature possessing inner attachment is submerged in the ocean of worldly existence; but one freed from inner attachment has crossed the ocean of worldly existence.
अन्तस्संसङ्गवच् चित्तं शतशाखम् इहोच्यते । अन्तस्संसङ्गरहितं विलीनं चित्तम् उच्यते
The mind, when internally attached, is said here to have a hundred branches; the mind that is free from internal attachment is said to be dissolved.
भग्नस्फटिकवद् विद्धि मनस् सक्तम् अपावनम् । अभग्नस्फटिकाभासम् असक्तं विद्धि वै मनः
Know the mind that is impure and attached to be like broken crystal; know the unattached mind, shining like unbroken crystal.
असक्तं निर्मलं चित्तं मुक्तं संसार्य् अपि स्फुटम् । सक्तं तु दीर्घतपसा युक्तम् अप्य् अतिबन्धवत्
The unattached, pure mind is clearly liberated, even if engaged in worldly life; but the attached mind, even if engaged in long austerities, is greatly bound.
अन्तस्सक्तं मनो बद्धं मुक्तं सक्तिविवर्जितम् । अन्तस्संसक्तिर् एवैकं कारणं बन्धमोक्षयोः
The mind attached within is bound; the mind free of attachment is liberated. Internal attachment alone is the single cause of bondage and liberation.
अन्तस्संसक्तिमुक्तस्य कुर्वतो ऽपि न कर्तृता । सुखदुःखवति स्वप्ने सम्भ्रमोन्मुखता यथा
For one freed from internal attachment, even while acting, there is no sense of doership—just as in a dream, there is confusion and readiness for pleasure and pain.
चित्ते कर्तरि कर्तृत्वम् अदेहस्यापि विद्यते । स्वप्नादाव् इव विक्षुब्धसुखदुःखदशामयम्
Doership is attributed to the mind, even when there is no body; as in a dream and similar states, the agitated mind experiences conditions of pleasure and pain.
अकर्तरि मनस्य् अन्तर् अकर्तृत्वं स्फुटं भवेत् । शून्यचित्तो हि पुरुषः कुर्वन्न् अपि न चेतति
When the mind is non-doing within, non-doership is clearly present; for a person whose mind is empty, even while acting, there is no sense of agency.
चेतसा कृतम् आप्नोषि चेतसा न कृतं न तु । न क्वचित् कारणं देहो न चित्तम् अपि कर्तृ वै
What is done with the mind, you experience; what is not done with the mind, you do not. Nowhere is the body the cause, nor is the mind truly the agent.
असंसक्तम् अकर्त्र् एव कुर्वद् एव मनो विदुः । न कर्मफलभोक्तृत्वम् असक्तं प्रतिपद्यते
The mind is understood to act without attachment and without a sense of agency; when unattached, it does not acquire the experience of the results of actions.
ब्रह्महत्याश्वमेधाभ्याम् असंसक्तो न लिप्यते । दूरस्थकान्तासंसक्तमनाः कार्यैर् इवाग्रगैः
One who is unattached is not tainted even by killing a Brahmin or performing an Ashvamedha sacrifice; just as the mind attached to a distant beloved is unaffected by actions performed nearby.
अन्तस्संसक्तिनिर्मुक्तो जीवो मधुरवृत्तिमान् । बहिः कुर्वन्न् अकुर्वन् वा कर्ता भोक्ता न हि क्वचित्
The living being, freed from inner attachment, conducts itself sweetly; whether acting or not acting outwardly, it is never truly a doer or an enjoyer.
अन्तस्संसक्तिमुक्तं यन् मनस् स्यात् तद् अकर्तृकम् । तद् वियुक्तं प्रशान्तं तत् तद् युक्तं तद् अलेपकम्
That mind which is freed from inner attachment is non-agent; it is separated, peaceful, and when united, it remains unstained.
तत् स्यात् सर्वपदार्थानां श्लिष्टानां निश्चितं बहिः । सर्वदुःखकरीं क्रूराम् अन्तस्सक्तिं विवर्जयेत्
It is certain that external contact with all objects exists; one should abandon the cruel inner attachment, which brings all suffering.
विरहितम् अलम् अन्तस्सङ्गदोषेण चेतश् शमम् उपगतम् आद्यं व्योमवन् निर्मलाभम् । सकलकलनमुक्तेनात्मनैकत्वम् एति स्थिरम् अलिनिभम् अम्भो वारिणीवालिनीले
The mind, free from the defect of inner attachment, attains peace, becoming pristine like the original sky; when released from all calculation, it attains firm unity with the Self, like water in a clear, unclouded lake.
कीदृशो भगवन् सङ्गः कश् च बन्धाय वै नृणाम् । कश् च मोक्षाय कथितः कथं चैष चिकित्स्यते
O Lord, what is attachment, and what binds people? What is said to bring liberation, and how is this treated?
देहदेहिविभागैकपरित्यागे न भावना । देहमात्रे तु विश्वासस् सङ्गो बन्धार्ह उच्यते
There is no contemplation in the complete abandonment of the distinction between body and embodied; but trust placed solely in the body is called attachment, and is said to be fit for bondage.
अनन्तस्यात्मतत्त्वस्य सपर्यन्तविनिश्चये । यत् सुखार्थित्वम् अन्तस् स सङ्गो बन्धार्ह उच्यते
The desire for happiness that arises within, even after the definite realization of the infinite Self-nature, is called attachment and is fit to be considered bondage.
सर्वम् आत्मेदम् अखिलं किं वाञ्छामि त्यजामि किम् । इत्य् असङ्गस्थितिं विद्धि जीवन्मुक्ततनुस्थिताम्
Know that the state of non-attachment is this: 'All this is the Self alone; what do I desire, what do I renounce?'—this is the condition of one established in the body of a liberated being while living.
नाहम् अस्मि न चान्यो ऽस्ति मा भवन्तु भवन्तु वा । सुखान्य् असक्त इत्य् अन्तः कथ्यते मुक्तिभाङ् नरः
He whose inner sense is unattached, thinking, 'I am not, nor is there another; let pleasures be or not be,' is said to be a man who partakes of liberation.
नाभिनन्दति नैष्कर्म्यं न कर्मप्रकृतेहितः । सुसमो यः फलत्यागी सो ऽसंसक्त इति स्मृतः
He who neither delights in inactivity nor is intent on actions arising from nature, who is well-balanced and renounces the fruits—he is remembered as unattached.
आत्मतत्त्वैकनिष्ठस्य हर्षामर्षवशं मनः । यस्य नायात्य् असक्तो ऽसौ जीवन्मुक्तश् च कथ्यते
He whose mind, firmly established in the truth of the Self, does not come under the sway of joy or resentment—he is unattached and is also called liberated while living.
सर्वकर्मफलादीनां मनसैव न कर्मणा । निपुणं यः परित्यागस् सो ऽसंसङ्ग इति स्मृतः
He who skillfully renounces, by mind alone and not by action, all the fruits of actions and the like—he is remembered as unattached.
असंसङ्गेन सकलाश् चेष्टा नानाविजृम्भिताः । चिकित्सिता भवन्त्य् अङ्ग श्रेयस् सम्पादयन्ति च
O dear one, all activities, though manifesting in various ways, when performed without attachment, become well-regulated and indeed lead to the highest good.
संसक्तिवशतस् सर्वे वितता दुःखराशयः । प्रयान्ति शतशाखत्वं श्वभ्रकण्टकवृक्षवत्
All the seeds of suffering, spreading in all directions due to the force of attachment, branch out into hundreds of shoots like a thorny tree in a pit.
रज्जुकृष्टघनघ्राणो यद् गन्त्र्याः पथि गर्दभः । भारं वहति भीतात्मा तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as a donkey, its nose pulled by a rope, carries a burden along the road in fear, so too is the display of bondage.