रथस् त्व् अस्यास् स्मृतः प्राणः कलनाया मुनीश्वर । यत्र प्राणमरुत् तत्र मननं परितिष्ठति
O sage, the chariot of this calculation is breath; where the wind of breath is, there thought abides.
यत्र स्थितैषा कलना तद् एव परिचोपति । यत् प्रयाति वनं वात्या तद् एव परिघूर्णते
Where this calculation remains, there it moves about; where the wind goes into the forest, there it whirls around.
मनस्य् आकाशसंलीने न प्राणः परिचोपति । तेजस्य् असत्ताम् आयाते न रूपम् इव राजते
When the mind dissolves into space, the vital breath does not remain; just as, when light ceases to exist, form does not shine.
प्राणे प्रशान्ते मनुते न मनो ऽन्तर् मनाग् अपि । वात्यायाम् उपशान्तायां न रजो हि विकम्पते
When the vital breath is calmed, the mind does not think at all within; just as, when the wind has subsided, dust does not stir.
यत्र प्राणमरुद् याति मनस् तत्रैव तिष्ठति । यत्र यत्रानुसरति रथस् तत्रैव सारथिः
Wherever the wind of the vital breath goes, there the mind remains; just as, wherever the chariot goes, there the charioteer is.
प्राणसम्प्रेरितं चित्तं याति देशान्तरं क्षणात् । क्षेपणोन्मुक्तपाषाण इव तन् नान्यथा जवि
The mind, driven by the vital breath, travels to another place in an instant, swift as a stone released from a sling—never otherwise.
यत्र पुष्पं तत्र गन्धो यत्राग्निस् तत्र चोष्णता । यत्र प्राणो मनस् तत्र यत्रेन्दुस् तत्र तद्रुचिः
Where there is a flower, there is fragrance; where there is fire, there is heat; where there is the vital breath, there is mind; where there is the moon, there is its light.
संवित्तिः पवनस्पन्दान् नाडीसंस्पर्शतस् स्वतः । संवित्तेस् स्फारता चित्तम् अतस् तत् प्राणकोटरे
Consciousness arises from the movement of air, from the contact of the channels, and from itself; the expansion of consciousness is the mind, and so it is within the vital breath.
सर्वत्र विद्यते संविद् व्योमस्वच्छा जडाजडे । क्षुभ्यतीव तु सा प्राणस्पन्दाद् इत्य् अनुभूयते
Consciousness exists everywhere, clear as space, in both the inert and the sentient; but it is especially perceived to be agitated by the movement of the vital breath.
सत्तामात्रस्वरूपेण जडेषु समवस्थिता । प्राणसम्बोधितोदेति वेदनात्मतयाजडे
In inert things, it abides as mere existence; awakened by the vital breath, it rises in the non-inert as the very essence of sensation.
नानास्फारसमुल्लासैर् यः पूर्वं परिवल्गितः । प्राणो ऽतीते तु मनने स एवाशु न चोपति
The vital force, which once surged with diverse lively impulses, does not swiftly return when it has departed in contemplation.
पुर्यष्टके चित् परमा स्वे मुने प्रतिबिम्बति । आदर्श एव प्रतिमा दृश्यते नोपलादिषु
O sage, the supreme consciousness is reflected in the subtle body, just as an image appears in a mirror, but is not seen in other objects.
मनः पुर्यष्टकं विद्धि सर्वकार्यैककारणम् । तद् एव भेदैः कथितम् अन्यैस् स्वाशयकल्पितैः
Know the mind as the subtle body, the sole cause of all actions; it is described by others in various ways, shaped by their own inclinations.
यस्माद् उदेति फलम् आकुलदृश्यजालं तत् तन् न वस्त्वितरद् इत्य् अनुभूतम् उच्चैः । तस्मान् मनो विपरिवर्ति हि देहदृष्ट्या सर्वं तु तत्परम् अवस्त्व् इति विद्धि तत् त्वम्
Since the fruit arises from it—the tumultuous array of perceptions—it is realized that nothing else is real; therefore, know that the mind alone, through bodily perception, turns everything into the supreme unreality, and that is your true nature.
मुने शृणु कथं कार्यकारिणी स्पन्दशालिनी । पतन्तीव चितिः पुंसाम् उपैति मरणाभिधाम्
O sage, listen to how consciousness, active and producing effects, seems to fall and attains what is called death in beings.
प्राक्तनैस् तैर् इहान्यैश् च स्वैर् मनोमननेहितैः । कर्मवातैर् विचित्रेहैः परिपीवरतां गतैः
Through actions performed here by oneself and others, by thoughts and intentions of the mind, and by the varied winds of karma that have grown strong, consciousness is affected.
मनस्त्वं या गता शक्तिस् सुजडेव मुने चितेः । सा स्फुरत्य् अनया ब्रह्मन् स्वचिता साक्षिभूतया
O sage, the power that has become the mind is merely an inert force of consciousness; by this, O Brahman, consciousness shines forth, witnessed by its own awareness.
अस्याः प्रसादाद् इह सा चित् कलङ्कवती मुने । जगद्गन्धर्वनगरं करोति न करोति च
By its grace, O sage, consciousness here becomes tainted; it creates and does not create the world, like a city of the Gandharvas.
विनात्मसत्तया जीवो मूकस् तिष्ठति कुड्यवत् । तत्सत्तया प्रस्फुरति नभस्सम्प्रेरिताश्मवत्
When the essence of the Self is absent, the living being remains mute like a wall; when that essence is present, it stirs forth like a stone propelled through the sky.
यथा स्फुरत्य् अतिजडम् अयो ऽयस्कान्तसन्निधौ । तथा स्फुरति जीवो ऽयं सति सर्वगते परे
Just as exceedingly inert iron becomes active in the presence of a magnet, so too does this living being stir when the all-pervading Supreme exists.
सर्वस्थयात्मशक्त्यैव जीव एष स्फुरत्य् अलम् । मकुरो बिम्बम् आदत्ते द्रव्यान् नान्तस्स्थिताद् अपि
It is solely by the omnipresent power of the Self that this living being becomes active, just as a mirror receives a reflection even from objects not residing within it.
सुविस्मृतस्वभावत्वाच् जीवो ऽयं जडतां गतः । मोहाद् विस्मृतभावत्वाच् छूद्रताम् इव सद्द्विजः
Because its true nature is thoroughly forgotten, this living being has fallen into inertia; through delusion and forgetting its own nature, it is like a noble twice-born who has become degraded.
प्रविस्मृतस्वभावा हि चिच् चित्तत्वम् उपागता । मोहोपहतचित्तत्वात् सुमहान् इव दीनताम्
Those who have utterly forgotten their own nature have entered into a state of consciousness that is mere mind; due to minds afflicted by delusion, they become greatly impoverished, like the wealthy fallen into misery.
जडयावशया देहो वातशक्तिसमानया । सञ्चाल्यते कलनया पत्त्रं वा वीचिमालया
The body, under the sway of inertia and compelled by the force of wind, is set in motion by calculation, just as a leaf is moved by a stream of waves.
कर्मात्मना वराकेण जीवेन मनसामुना । चाल्यन्ते देहयन्त्राणि पाषाणा इव वायुना
By means of action, the wretched living being, through its mind, causes the mechanisms of the body to move, as stones are moved by the wind.
शरीरशकटानां हि कर्षणे परमात्मना । मनःप्राणोदयौ ब्रह्मन् कृतौ कर्मकरौ दृढौ
In the drawing of the carts of the body by the Supreme Self, O Brahman, the arising of mind and breath are the two strong agents of action.
चिज् जडं तूररीकृत्य रूपं जीवत्वम् एव च । मनोरथम् उपारुह्य वहत्प्राणतुरङ्गमम्
Having made consciousness and inertness distant, and form and life as well, riding upon the chariot of imagination, it carries the horse of vital breath.
क्वचिज् जातपदार्थत्वं क्वचिन् नष्टपदार्थताम् । क्वचिद् बहुपदार्थत्वं क्वचिन् नानापदार्थतां
At times it attains the state of having objects, at times the loss of objects; sometimes it has many objects, sometimes it has various objects.
गतेव भिन्नेवास्तेच्छम् अत्यजन्ती निजं पदम् । जलतेव तरङ्गत्वं सैवासेव सदोदिता
Seeming to depart, seeming to break, yet not abandoning its own place, just as water takes the form of a wave, so it always arises in its own being.
उपजीव्यात्मनो रूपं परं स्फुरति वृत्तिषु । आलोकम् उपजीव्येमं रूपश्रीर् द्रव्यगा यथा
The form of the self, sustained by itself, shines forth in the activities; just as the radiance of form is sustained by light and enters into substance.