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.
शीतवातातपक्लेशम् एकदेशनिषण्णया । तरुर् वहति यत् तन्वा तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as a tree, rooted in one spot, endures the torment of cold, wind, and heat with its slender body, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
धराविवरनिर्मग्नो यत् कीटः पीडिताङ्गकः । क्षिणोति विकलः कालं तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as an insect, trapped in a crevice of the earth, suffers with its body oppressed and helplessly passes the time, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
दूर्वाङ्कुरतृणाहारः किरातशरपीडया । जहाति यन् मृगो देहं तत् संसङ्गविजृम्भितम्
Just as a deer, feeding on blades of grass and shoots, perishes from the pain of a hunter's arrow, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
वीरुत्तृणदशां याता लूयन्ते यत् पुनः पुनः । नानाविगतसञ्चारास् तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as creepers and grasses, repeatedly cut down, continue to grow in various places, so too is the display of bondage.
रसातलरसायोगात् तृणगुल्मलतादयः । जनयन्ति यद् आकारं तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as grasses, bushes, and vines take on forms through contact with the essence of the underworld, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
उत्पत्योत्पत्य लीयन्ते तरङ्गिणि तरङ्गवत् । भूतानि यद् अनन्तानि तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as countless waves arise and subside again and again on the surface of the sea, so too is the manifestation of attachment in beings.
शान्तैवानन्तसङ्काशा पदार्थशतसङ्कुला । यत् संसारनदी मत्ता तत् संसक्तिविजृम्भितम्
Just as the river of worldly existence, though appearing tranquil and endless, is crowded with hundreds of objects, so too is the manifestation of attachment.
सक्तिर् हि द्विविधा प्रोक्ता वन्ध्या वन्द्या च राघव । वन्ध्या सर्वत्र मूढानां वन्द्या तत्त्वविदां निजा
Indeed, O Raghava, power is said to be of two kinds: barren and fruitful. Barren is everywhere among the deluded; fruitful is the true power of those who know reality.
आत्मतत्त्वावबोधेन हीना देहादिवस्तुजा । भूयस्संसारदा सक्तिर् दृढा वन्ध्येति कथ्यते
Power that arises from attachment to body and other objects, lacking knowledge of the Self, becomes strong and is called barren, for it gives rise to further worldly existence.
आत्मतत्त्वावबोधेन सत्यभूता विवेकजा । वन्द्या हि कथ्यते सक्तिर् भूयस्संसारवर्जिता
But power that is born of discernment, established through knowledge of the Self, is called fruitful, for it is free from further worldly existence.