न जायते न म्रियते नाभिवाञ्छति नोज्झति । न मुक्तो न च बद्धो ऽयम् आत्मा सर्वस्य सर्वदा
This Self is never born, never dies, does not desire, does not abandon, is not liberated, nor is it bound—this is always the Self of all.
आत्मावबोधाभ्युदिता निरात्मन्य् आत्मतां गता । सर्परज्जुभ्रमाकारा भ्रान्तिर् दुःखाय केवलम्
When self-awareness arises in what is devoid of self, the sense of self is attained; like the illusion of a snake in a rope, this delusion exists only for suffering.
अनादित्वान् न जातो ऽयम् अजातत्वान् न नश्यति । आत्मात्मव्यतिरिक्तं तु नाभिवाञ्छत्य् असम्भवात्
Because it is beginningless, this is not born; because it is unborn, it does not perish. The self does not desire anything apart from itself, for such a thing is impossible.
दिक्कालाद्यनवच्छेदान् न बद्धो ऽयं कदाचन । बन्धाभावे ऽप्य् अमुक्तिस् स्याद् अमोक्षस् तेन स स्मृतः
Because it is not limited by directions, time, or other distinctions, it is never bound. Even in the absence of bondage, liberation may not occur; thus, it is called non-liberation.
एवङ्गुणविशिष्टो ऽयम् आत्मा सर्वस्य राघव । अविचारवशान् मूढो लोको ऽयं परिरोदिति
Thus, endowed with these qualities, this self is present in all, O Rāghava. Yet, under the sway of lack of inquiry, this world, deluded, laments.
सम्यगालोकिताशेषपूर्वापरजगत्क्रमः । मा शोकं गच्छ सुमते मौर्ख्योपहतलोकवत्
Having rightly observed the entire sequence of worlds, past and future, do not grieve, O wise one, like the world afflicted by ignorance.
द्वे एव कलने त्यक्त्वा मोक्षबन्धात्मिके सदा । विदुषा व्यवहर्तव्यं यन्त्रेणेवात्ममौनिना
Always abandoning only the two constructs of liberation and bondage, the wise should act, remaining silent within, like a machine.
न मोक्षो नभसः पृष्ठे न पाताले न भूतले । मोक्षो हि चेतो विमलं सम्यग्ज्ञानावबोधितम्
Liberation is not on the surface of the sky, nor in the netherworld, nor on earth; liberation is the mind purified, awakened by true knowledge.
सकलाशास्व् असंसक्त्या यस् स्वयं चेतसः क्षयः । स मोक्षनाम्ना कथितस् तत्त्वज्ञैर् आत्मदर्शिभिः
The complete cessation of all desires, through non-attachment, is called liberation by those who know reality and have seen the self.
यावत् प्रबोधो विमलो नोदितस् तावद् एव सः । मौर्ख्यदीनतया राम भक्त्या मोक्षो ऽभिवाञ्छ्यते
O Rama, as long as pure awakening has not arisen, liberation is desired through devotion, due to ignorance and weakness.
चिरं प्रबोधम् आसाद्य चित्ते ऽवितततां गते । दश मोक्षा न वाञ्छ्यन्ते किम् उतैको हि मोक्षकः
But when awakening is attained after a long time, and the mind has become expansive, not even ten liberations are desired, let alone a single one.
अयं मोक्षस् त्व् अयं बन्धः पेलवां कलनाम् इमाम् । परित्यज्य महात्यागी त्वं त्वम् एव भवाभवः
This is liberation, this is bondage—abandoning this feeble notion completely, the truly great renouncer realizes: you yourself are existence and non-existence.
परिगलितविकल्पतां प्रयातस् सगरसुतौघनिखातमेखलाङ्कम् । अवनिवलयम् अन्तरस्तसङ्गश् चिरम् अनुपालय सर्वदोदितश्रीः
Having reached the state where all doubts have melted away, with the girdle of the ocean’s waves encircling the earth, maintain for a long time the glory that arises everywhere, with all inner attachment cast aside.
लीलयापश्यति वपुः कलनात्मनि जायते । रम्यस्यापश्यतो वक्त्रं हृदि दौरूप्यधीर् इव
By play, one perceives the body; from conceptualization, it arises; but for one who does not perceive the beautiful face, there is a sense of baseness in the heart, as if of inferior metal.
तद्वशाद् इयम् आयाता महती मेदुरोदरा । माया मदमहाशक्तिस् सुरास्वादलवाद् इव
By its influence, this vast, dense-bellied illusion has arisen—great Maya, the power of delusion—just as the taste for wine comes from a drop of liquor.
तयानया विकारिण्या तदतद्भावभूतया । इदं सम्पन्नम् अखिलं तापाद् इव मरौ पयः
By this ever-changing Maya, which assumes the forms of both real and unreal, all this has come into being, just as water appears on a mirage-heated plain.
मनो बुद्धिर् अहङ्कारो वासनाश् चेन्द्रियाण्य् अपि । एवङ्कल्पितनामाङ्कस् स्फुरत्य् आत्माब्धिर् अम्बुभिः
Mind, intellect, ego, tendencies, and even the senses—all these, bearing imagined names and marks, arise and shine forth like waters from the ocean of the Self.
चित्ताहङ्कारयोर् द्वित्वं वचस्य् अस्ति न वस्तुतः । यच् चित्तं स ह्य् अहङ्कारो यो ऽहङ्कारो मनो हि तत्
The duality of mind and ego exists only in speech, not in reality; what is called mind is indeed ego, and what is called ego is truly mind.
व्यतिरिक्तं हिमाच् छौक्ल्यम् इति सङ्कल्प्यते यथा । मुधैव कल्प्यते भेदश् चित्ताहङ्कारयोस् तथा
Just as whiteness is imagined as separate from snow, so too is the distinction between mind and ego merely imagined, and not real.
मनोऽहङ्कारयोर् अन्तर् द्वयोर् एकतरक्षये । क्षीणे द्वे एव हि यथा पटशौक्ल्ये पटक्षये
Between mind and ego, if either one of the two ceases, both are indeed destroyed, just as when the whiteness of cloth is gone, the cloth itself is also gone.
तुच्छां मोक्षधियं त्यक्त्वा बन्धबुद्धिं तथैषणाः । सुवैराग्यविवेकाभ्यां केवलं क्षपयेन् मनः
Abandoning vain thoughts of liberation and notions of bondage, one should, through true dispassion and discernment, simply dissolve the mind.
मोक्षो मे ऽस्त्व् इति चिन्ता चेज् जाता तद् व्युत्थितं मनः । मननोत्के मनस्य् उच्चैर् वपुर् दोषाय केवलम्
If the thought arises, 'May I attain liberation,' then the mind has become restless; when the mind is agitated by such thinking, it only brings harm to the body.
आत्मन्य् अतीते सर्वस्मात् सर्वरूपे ऽथ वा तते । को बन्धः कश् च वा मोक्षो निर्मूलं मननं कुतः
When the Self is beyond all, or is everything, or is that which pervades all forms, then what is bondage, what is liberation, and from where does rootless thought arise?
वायुस् स्पन्दनधर्मत्वाद् यदा लगति देहके । तदा स्फुरति हस्ताङ्गरसनापल्लवावली
When the wind, by its nature of vibration, enters the body, then the series of hands, limbs, tongue, and tender shoots (senses) begin to move.
पादपे पल्लवश्रेणीं चालयत्य् अनिलो यथा । तथैवाङ्गावलीं वायुर् देहे सञ्चालयत्य् अलम्
Just as the wind stirs a row of new leaves on a tree, so too does the wind cause the limbs of the body to move.
चित् सर्वव्यापिनी सूक्ष्मा न चला न च चाल्यते । न स्वतस् स्पन्दम् आयाति देवाचल इवानिलैः
Consciousness is all-pervading, subtle, unmoving, and cannot be moved; it does not stir of itself, like a mountain that is not shaken by the wind.
प्रतिबिम्बितसर्वार्था केवलं स्वात्मनि स्थिता । प्रकाशयति बोधेन जगन्तीमानि दीपवत्
Reflecting all things, it abides solely in itself; by its awareness, it illumines these worlds, like a lamp.
तत्र को ऽयं मुधा मोहो भवताम् अतिदुःखदः । अयं सो ऽहं ममाङ्गानि ममेदं चेति दुर्धियाम्
Then what is this pointless delusion of yours, which brings such intense suffering—this notion, 'I am this, these are my limbs, this is mine,' arising in those of confused understanding?
अनिच्छलोलत्वान् नुन्नदृषदारावराशिवत् । ज्ञत्वकर्तृत्वभोक्तृत्वक्रिया समुपलभ्यते
Because of its inherent stillness and immobility, like a firmly fixed rock, the notions of knowing, doing, enjoying, and action are merely perceived.
तत्रायम् आत्मा सम्मन्ता भोक्ता कर्तेति जायते । मुधैवाज्ञानतापोत्था मृगतृष्णेव वासना
There, the self is imagined as the approver, the enjoyer, the doer; but this is only a delusion born of ignorance, like the longing for water in a mirage.