वसिष्ठस्यानने रामश् शनैर् दृष्टिम् अपातयत् । भ्रमन्तीम् अम्बरे वातः फुल्लपद्म इवालिनीम्
Rama cast his gaze slowly upon Vasistha’s face, as the wind sets a blooming lotus with bees adrift in the sky.
मुनिस् त्व् अनुज्झितेनाथ तेनैव रघुनन्दनम् । क्रमेणोवाच वाक्यज्ञो वाक्यं वाक्यार्थकोविदम्
Then the sage, without breaking his composure, addressed Raghunandana in due order, being skilled in speech, to one who knows the meaning of words.
कच्चित् स्मरसि यत् प्रोक्तं ह्यो मया रघुनन्दन । वाक्यम् अत्यन्तगुर्वर्थं परमार्थावबोधकम्
Do you remember, O Raghunandana, what I spoke to you yesterday—a statement of utmost gravity, revealing the highest truth?
इदानीम् अवबोधार्थम् अन्यच् च रिपुमर्दन । उच्यमानं मयेदं त्वं शृणु शाश्वतसिद्धये
Now, for the sake of your understanding, O destroyer of foes, listen to this further teaching I am about to give, for the attainment of eternal perfection.
वैराग्याभ्यासवशतस् तथा तत्त्वावलोकनात् । संसारात् तीर्यते तेन तेष्व् एवाभ्यासम् आहर
Through the force of practice in dispassion, and likewise by the contemplation of reality, one crosses over the world; therefore, apply yourself to these practices.
सम्यक् तत्त्वावबोधेन दुर्बोधे क्षयम् आगते । गलिते वासनावेशे विशोकं प्राप्यते पदम्
When, through true understanding of reality—though difficult to attain—desires have faded away, one reaches the state beyond sorrow.
दिक्कालाद्यनवच्छिन्नम् अदृष्टोभयकोटिकम् । एकं ब्रह्मैव हि जगत् स्थितं द्वित्वम् इवागतम्
The one Brahman alone, unlimited by direction, time, or anything else, unseen by both extremes, appears as this world, though it seems to have become dual.
सर्वभावानवच्छिन्नं यत्र ब्रह्मैव विद्यते । शान्तं समसमाभासं तत्रान्यत् तत् कथं भवेत्
Where only Brahman exists, unbounded by all forms and states, peaceful and appearing the same everywhere—how could anything else exist there?
इति मत्वाहम् इत्य् अन्तर् मुक्त्वा मुक्तवपुर् महान् । एकरूपः प्रशान्तात्मा मौनी स्वात्ममयो भव
Thinking thus, having let go of the sense of 'I' within, and having abandoned the body of bondage, become one in form, with a tranquil mind, silent, and composed of your own Self.
नास्ति चित्तं न चाविद्या न मनो न च जीवकः । एताश् च कलना राम कृता ब्रह्मण एव ताः
There is no mind, no ignorance, no thought, and no individual soul; all these, O Rama, are mere fabrications of Brahman alone.
यास् सम्पदो याश् च दृशो याश् चितो याश् चिदेषणाः । ब्रह्मैव तद् अनाद्यन्तम् अब्रह्मेह न विद्यते
Whatever attainments, perceptions, thoughts, or desires for consciousness there are—all that is Brahman alone, without beginning or end; there is nothing here that is not Brahman.
पाताले भूतले स्वर्गे त्रिनेत्रान्तं तृणादि यत् । दृश्यते तत् परं ब्रह्म चिद्रूपं नान्यद् अस्ति हि
Whether in the netherworld, on earth, or in heaven, whatever is seen—from the three-eyed god to a blade of grass—is the supreme Brahman, of the nature of consciousness; truly, there is nothing else.
उपेक्ष्यं हेयम् आदेयं बन्धवो विभवा वपुः । ब्रह्मैव विगताद्यन्तम् अब्धिवत् प्रविजृम्भते
What is to be neglected or accepted, friends, wealth, or body—all this is Brahman alone, endless and beginningless, manifesting like the ocean.
यावद् अज्ञानकलना यावद् अब्रह्मवासना । यावद् आस्था जगज्जाले तावच् चित्तादिकल्पना
As long as there are fabrications of ignorance, tendencies contrary to Brahman, and attachment to the web of the world, so long do the imagined mind and the rest persist.
देहे यावद् अहम्भावो दृश्ये ऽस्मिन् यावद् आत्मता । यावन् ममेदम् इत्य् आस्था तावच् चित्तादिविभ्रमः
As long as there is the sense of 'I' in the body, as long as there is selfhood in what is seen, and as long as there is the conviction 'this is mine,' so long does the confusion of mind and the like persist.
यावन् नोदितम् उच्चैस्त्वं सज्जनासङ्गशृङ्गतः । यावन् मौर्ख्यं न सङ्क्षीणं तावच् चित्तादिनिम्नता
As long as you have not risen high through the summit of association with the noble, and as long as folly is not diminished, so long does the lowness of mind and the rest remain.
यावच् छिथिलतां यातं नेदं भुवनभावनम् । सम्यग्दर्शनशक्त्यान्तस् तावच् चित्तोदयस् स्फुटः
As long as this imagination of the world has not become loosened, and until the power of true vision arises within, so long does the mind clearly arise.
यावद् अज्ञत्वम् अन्धत्वं वैवश्यं विषयाशया । मूर्छामोहसमुच्छ्रायस् तावच् चित्तादिकल्पना
As long as ignorance, blindness, helplessness, and desires for sense objects, and the heights of stupor and delusion exist, so long does the imagination of mind and the rest continue.
यावद् आशाविषामोदः परिस्फुरति हृद्वने । प्रविचारचकोरो ऽत्र न तावत् प्रविशत्य् अलम्
As long as the fragrance of the poison of hope vibrates in the forest of the heart, the chakora-bird of discrimination does not truly enter there.
भोगेष्व् अनास्थमनसश् शीतलामलनिर्वृतेः । छिन्नाशापाशजालस्य क्षीयते चित्तविभ्रमः
For one whose mind is unattached to enjoyments, who abides in cool, pure bliss, and whose net of hope-bonds is cut, the confusion of mind is destroyed.
तृष्णामोहपरित्यागान् नित्यशीतलसंविदः । पुंसस् संशान्तचित्तस्य प्रबुद्धस्य क्व चित्तभूः
For the one who has abandoned thirst and delusion, whose awareness is ever cool, whose mind is pacified and awakened—where is the realm of mind for him?
असंस्तुतम् इवानास्थम् अवस्तु परिपश्यतः । दूरस्थम् इव देहं स्वम् असन्तं चित्तभूः कुतः
For one who regards the unreal as unstated and unimportant, who sees his own body as distant and nonexistent—how can there be a realm of mind?
भावितानन्तचित्तत्त्वरूपरूपान्तरात्मनः । स्वाङ्गांशलीनजगतश् शान्तो जीवादिविभ्रमः
For one whose mind has become infinite, whose essence is the reality of consciousness, whose inner being is free of all forms, and in whom the world has dissolved into his own limbs—there, the illusion of individuality and all delusion such as the sense of living beings is at peace.
असम्यग्दर्शने शान्ते मिथ्याभ्रमभरात्मनि । उदिते परमादित्ये परमार्थैकदर्शने
When the false perception has subsided and the mind is tranquil, and when the supreme sun of true understanding has arisen, there is the vision of the one ultimate reality, dispelling the burden of false delusion in the self.
अपुनर्दर्शनायैव दग्धं संशुष्कपर्णवत् । चित्तं विगलितं विद्धि वह्नौ घृतलवं यथा
Know that the mind, having been consumed and dried up like a withered leaf, is no longer available for perception—just as a drop of ghee vanishes in fire.
जीवन्मुक्ता महात्मानो ये परावरदर्शिनः । तेषां या चित्तपदवी सा सत्त्वम् इति कथ्यते
Those great souls who are liberated while living and who perceive the highest and the lowest—whatever state their mind attains is called 'sattva' (pure being).
जीवन्मुक्तशरीरेषु वासना व्यवहारिणी । न चित्तनाम्नी भवति सा हि सत्त्वपदं गता
In the bodies of the liberated while living, the tendencies that pertain to worldly dealings do not bear the name 'mind,' for they have reached the state of pure being (sattva).
निश्चेतसो हि तत्त्वज्ञा नित्यं सत्त्वपदे स्थिताः । लीलया प्रभ्रमन्तीह सत्त्वसंस्थितिहेलया
Indeed, those who know the truth are without mind, always established in the state of pure being; here, they move about playfully, as if by mere sport, due to the momentum of sattva.
शान्ता व्यवहरन्तो ऽपि सत्त्वस्थास् संयतेन्द्रियाः । नित्यं पश्यन्ति चिज्ज्योतिर् न द्वैतैक्ये न वासनाः
Though tranquil and engaged in worldly activity, those established in sattva, with controlled senses, always perceive the light of consciousness; in them, there is neither duality nor unity, nor any latent tendencies.
अन्तर्मुखतया सर्वं चिद्वह्नौ त्रिजगत्तृणम् । जुह्वतो ऽन्तर् विचेष्टन्ते मूढवच् छीतलाशयाः
Turning inward, they offer all the worlds, like blades of grass, into the fire of consciousness; within, they do not stir, remaining cool-hearted, unlike the deluded.