रागद्वेषादिशब्दार्था नात्मन्य् अन्यतमाश् शिवे । सम्भवन्ति पृथग्रूपा वह्नौ हिमकणा इव
Words and meanings such as attachment and aversion do not arise in the pure Self; they exist separately, like drops of frost in fire.
यद् यद् राजत्वदीनत्वसुखदुःखादिवेदनम् । आत्मीयं परकीयं च तत् तद् अर्चनम् आत्मनः
Whatever experience of brightness, dullness, pleasure, pain, and so forth, whether belonging to oneself or to others, is all a form of worship of the Self.
विद्धि संवित्तिम् एवार्चां वेत्त्य् आत्मात्मानम् एव च । घटाद्यात्मतया ब्रह्मन् स्वयम् आत्मतयैव वा
Know that consciousness alone is worship, and the Self knows itself, whether as the Self of a pot or as its own true Self, O Brahman.
शिवं शान्तम् अनाभासम् एकं भासुरम् आततम् । जगत्प्रत्ययवत् सर्वम् आत्मरूपम् इदं स्थितम्
The auspicious, peaceful, non-manifest, singular, radiant, all-pervading Self stands as the form of everything, just as the world appears.
अहो नु चित्रम् आत्मैव घटाद्य् अन्यद् अवस्थितम् । जीवादिस् स्वस्थ एवान्तर् नूनं विस्मृतवान् इव
How wondrous! The Self itself appears as the pot and other objects, while the inner Self, as the living being, seems to have forgotten itself, though it remains unchanged within.
सर्वात्मकस्यानन्तस्य शिवस्यान्तः किलात्मनः । पूज्यपूजकपूजाख्यो विभ्रमः प्रोदितो वृथा
For the infinite, all-pervading, auspicious Self within, the distinctions of worshipped, worshipper, and worship are declared to be mere illusions, without substance.
नियताकारशान्तत्वं न च सम्भवतीश्वरे । यतस् सङ्कल्प्यते ब्रह्मन् पूज्यपूजामयः क्रमः
Fixed form and tranquility do not exist in the Lord, for the sequence of worshipped and worshipper is imagined, O Brahman.
पूज्यपूजाव्यवच्छिन्नो देवो ऽनित्यो ऽमलात्मनः । सर्वशक्तेर् अनन्तस्य नेश्वरत्वस्य भाजनम्
The uninterrupted worshipped-worshipper deity is impermanent for the pure Self; it is not the vessel of the infinite, all-powerful, non-lordly nature.
त्रिजगत्प्रसृताच्छाच्छसंविद्रूपस्य चात्मनः । नेश्वरत्वाद् ऋते ब्रह्मन् व्यपदेशो ऽपि युज्यते
O Brahman, except for the state of being the Lord, even the designation does not apply to the Self, whose nature is pure consciousness, pervading the three worlds.
देशकालपरिच्छिन्नो येषां स्यात् परमेश्वरः । अस्माकम् उपदेश्यास् ते न विपश्चिद् विपश्चितः
Those for whom the Supreme Lord is limited by space and time are to be instructed by us; the wise do not instruct the wise.
तदीयां दृष्टिम् उत्सृज्य तथेमाम् अवलम्ब्य च । समस् स्वस्थमनाश् शान्तो वीतरागो निरामयः
Abandoning their viewpoint and adopting this one, remain equal-minded, self-possessed, peaceful, free from passion, and untouched by affliction.
कार्योपहारैर् अभितो यथाप्राप्तैर् अखिन्नधीः । आत्मानम् अर्चयंस् तिष्ठ सुखदुःखशुभाशुभैः
With an unwearied mind, worship your own Self with whatever means are at hand, remaining amidst pleasure and pain, good and evil.
अधिगतवति साधाव् एवम् एवाशु नूनं त्वयि तरलितजीवं जन्मदुःखादि किञ्चित् । न लगति परिशुद्धे सर्वतस् स्फाटिकाङ्गे नवसदन इवान्तर् निष्कलङ्के कलङ्कः
Indeed, when this purity is attained in the good, then for you, whose soul has become tranquil, birth, suffering, and the like no longer adhere—just as a stain does not cling inside a flawless, crystal-clear new house.
शिवः किम् उच्यते देव परं ब्रह्म किम् उच्यते । आत्मा किम् उच्यते वापि परमात्मा किम् उच्यते
What is called Shiva, what is called the Supreme Brahman, what is called the Self, or what is called the Supreme Self?
तत् सत् किञ्चिन् नकिञ्चिच् च शून्यं विज्ञानम् एव च । इत्यादिभेदो भगवंस् त्रिलोकेश किम् उच्यते
What is called 'that', 'existence', 'something', 'nothing', 'void', or 'consciousness'—O Lord of the three worlds, what is meant by these various terms?
अनाद्यन्तम् अनाभासं सत् किञ्चिद् इह विद्यते । इन्द्रियाणाम् अनाभासाद् यन् नकिञ्चिद् इव स्थितम्
Here, there exists something that is without beginning or end, without appearance; because it does not appear to the senses, it seems as if it were nothing.
यद् इन्द्रियाणां बुद्ध्यादियुक्तानाम् अप्य् अदृश्यताम् । गतं तत् कथम् ईशान वद केनावगम्यते
O Lord, when even the senses and the mind, along with intellect and the rest, have become unperceivable, how then can that be known? Tell me by what means it is apprehended.
यो मुमुक्षुर् अविद्यांशः केवलं नाम सात्त्विकः । सात्त्विकैर् एव सो ऽविद्याभागैश् शास्त्रादिनामभिः
The seeker of liberation, who is touched only by a trace of ignorance and is predominantly pure, removes that portion of ignorance by means of pure means such as scripture and the like, which are themselves free from ignorance.
अविद्यां श्रेष्ठयाश्रेष्ठां क्षालयन्न् इह तिष्ठति । मलं मलेनापहरन् युक्तिज्ञो रजको यथा
He remains here, cleansing the superior and inferior forms of ignorance, just as a skilled washerman removes dirt with dirt.
काकतालीयवत् पश्चाद् अविद्याक्षय आगते । प्रपश्यत्य् आत्मनैवात्मा स्वभावस्यैष निश्चयः
When, like the chance meeting of a crow and a palm fruit, the destruction of ignorance occurs, then one perceives the Self by the Self; this is the certainty of its nature.
यथा कथञ्चिद् अङ्गारं निघृष्य क्षालयञ् शिशुः । करनैर्मल्यम् आप्नोति कार्ष्ण्याङ्गारक्षये यथा
Just as a child, by rubbing and cleaning a piece of charcoal in any manner, attains clean hands when the blackness of the charcoal is gone,
यथा कथञ्चिच् छास्त्राढ्यैर् भागैर् भागं विचारयन् । सात्त्विकैस् तामसं नाशाद् द्वयोर् आत्मोदयस् तथा
So too, by reflecting in any way with portions of scriptural knowledge, which are pure, upon portions that are impure, the destruction of both purity and impurity leads to the arising of the Self.
पश्यत्य् आत्मानम् आत्मैव विचारयति चात्मना । आत्मैवास्तीह नाविद्याविद्याविद्याक्षयं विदुः
The Self perceives itself and inquires into itself by itself; here, only the Self exists—there is no ignorance. The wise know the destruction of ignorance as ignorance itself.
यावत् किञ्चिद् इदं वस्तु नानेवात्मावगम्यते । क्रमा गुरूपदेशाद्या नात्मज्ञानस्य कारणम्
As long as there is any object here, the Self is not realized as non-dual. Sequential means such as the teacher’s instruction are not the cause of Self-knowledge.
गुरुर् हीन्द्रियवृन्दात्मा ब्रह्म सर्वेन्द्रियक्षयात् । यद् वस्तु यत्क्षयप्राप्यं तत् तस्मिन् सति नाप्यते
The guru is truly the essence of the senses, Brahman; when all the senses are dissolved, whatever is attained by their dissolution does not remain when that is present.
अकारणा अपि प्राप्ता भृशं कारणतां द्विज । क्रमा गुरूपदेशाद्या आत्मज्ञानस्य सिद्धये
Even without a cause, the attainment of knowledge becomes a cause, O twice-born; gradually, through the teachings of the guru and other means, the accomplishment of self-knowledge occurs.
क्रमे गुरूपदेशानां प्रवृत्ते शिष्यबोधतः । अनिर्देश्यो ऽप्य् अदृश्यो ऽपि स्वयम् आत्मा प्रसीदति
When the teachings of the guru proceed in sequence and the disciple understands, even that which cannot be indicated or seen, the Self, reveals itself.
शास्त्रार्थैर् बुध्यते नात्मा गुरोर् वाचा न चानघ । बुध्यते स्वयम् एवैष स्वबोधवशतस् स्वतः
The Self is not understood through the meanings of scripture or the words of the guru, O sinless one; it is understood by itself alone, through its own power of awareness.
गुरूपदेशशास्त्रार्थैर् विना चात्मा न बुध्यते । एतत्संयोगसत्तैव स्वात्मज्ञानप्रकाशिनी
Without the teachings of the guru and the meanings of scripture, the Self is not understood; only the presence of their union illuminates the knowledge of one's own Self.
गुरुशास्त्रार्थशिष्याणां चिरसंयोगसत्तया । अहनीव जनाचार आत्मज्ञानं प्रवर्तते
Through the long-standing union of guru, scripture, and disciple, self-knowledge arises in daily life, just as the day dawns.