आलोकितं नाम कथम् अवस्तु किल लभ्यते । प्रयत्नेनापि सम्प्राप्तं मृगतृष्णाम्बु केन वा
How can something unreal ever be obtained merely by seeing it? Even with effort, who has ever acquired the water of a mirage?
असद् एव सदैवासद् अज्ञानाद् अस्य सत्यता । ज्ञानाद् यथास्थितं वस्तु दृश्यते नश्यति भ्रमः
The unreal always remains unreal; only through ignorance does it appear as real. When true knowledge arises, things are seen as they truly are, and the delusion is destroyed.
अविद्याया विचाराय जीवपुर्यष्टकादिका । अप्य् अत्यन्तम् असत्यायाः कल्पना कल्पितात्मनि
For the sake of examining ignorance, concepts such as the eightfold subtle body and the individual soul are imagined, though they are utterly unreal, being mere projections upon the imagined self.
तस्मात् तदुपदेशाय सेयं जीवादिकल्पना । कृता शास्त्रैः प्रबोधाय तां त्वम् एकमनाश् शृणु
Therefore, for the purpose of instruction, this notion of the individual soul and so on has been presented in the scriptures to awaken understanding; now, listen to it with focused mind.
जीवत्वम् इव सम्प्राप्ता पुर्यष्टकपदे स्थिता । कलाकलङ्करहिता चितिर् आचेतनोन्मुखी
Consciousness, devoid of qualities and impurities, appears as if it has attained individuality and abides in the state of the eightfold subtle body, though it is inclined toward the insentient.
यद् यथा भावयत्य् आशु तत् तथानुभवत्य् अलम् । सत्यं भवत्व् असत्यं वा बालेव निशि यक्षकम्
Whatever one intensely imagines, that alone is swiftly experienced, whether real or unreal—just as a child sees a ghost at night.
पञ्चतन्मात्रकलनास् सा भावयति यत्र याः । तत्रात्मनि तथारन्ध्रास् ताः पश्यति तथोदिताः
Wherever consciousness forms the notions of the five subtle elements, there, within itself, it perceives those very channels as they arise.
ताभ्य एव समुत्पन्नं बहिस्स्थं भूतपञ्चकम् । पश्यत्य् अनन्यद् अन्याभं शाखाशतम् इवाङ्कुरः
From these alone arises the external fivefold elements, which it perceives as not different from itself, just as a hundred branches emerge from a single sprout.
इदम् अन्तर् इदं बाह्यम् इति निश्चयवांस् ततः । जीवो यथा यद् आदत्ते तत् तथा द्रढयत्य् अलम्
When the living being holds the conviction, 'this is inner, this is outer,' whatever it accepts, it firmly establishes as such.
रश्मिजालम् इवेन्दोर् यद् आत्मनः प्रतिभासनम् । बाह्यस्पर्शतया तेन तद् एवाशूररीकृतम्
Just as the moon's rays appear to arise from itself, so too, whatever manifests from the self is quickly made external through the sense of outer contact.
मरिचस्येव यत् तैक्ष्ण्यं शून्यत्वम् इव खस्य यत् । आत्मनो वेदनं तेन तद् एवान्यद् इवाश्रितम्
As the sharpness belongs to a mirage, and emptiness to the sky, so too, the self's own awareness is taken as something other, though it is only itself.
अत्रैव निश्चयं बुद्ध्वा नियमस् सुदृढीकृतः । अनेनेत्थम् अनेनेत्थं भाव्यम् इत्य् अविखण्डितम्
Having discerned this certainty here, one establishes discipline firmly, deciding, 'Let it be thus, let it be thus,' without wavering.
स्वभावेतरनामासौ स्वसङ्कल्पनियामकः । क्वचित् कदाचिद् भवति स्वभावेनैव नान्यथा
This is called by another name, but it is governed by one's own intention; sometimes, somewhere, it happens by its own nature, never otherwise.
आत्मनैवेदम् अखिलं सम्पन्नं द्वैतम् अद्वयम् । षण्डो मधुरसेनेव मृदेव च महाघटः
All duality and non-duality are accomplished by the self alone, just as a eunuch is sweetened by syrup, or a great pot is made of clay.
सन्निवेशविकारादि देशकालादिसम्भवात् । सम्भवत्य् अत्र न त्व् ईशे देशकालाद्यसम्भवात्
Arrangement, transformation, and the like arise from the presence of space, time, and so on; but here, they do not occur, for space, time, and the rest are absent.
इतः पुष्पम् इतः पत्त्रम् अहम् इत्य् उदितो यथा । षण्डे स्वात्मनि वासन्तो रसो ऽद्वित्वे द्वितां हरन्
Just as one says, 'Here is a flower, here is a leaf, I am,' so in the eunuch's own self, spring's flavor brings duality into non-duality, removing the sense of difference.
इतः पटम् इतः कुड्यम् अहम् इत्य् उदितस् तथा । सर्गात्मन्य् आत्मनि ब्रह्म निर्द्वन्द्वे द्वित्वम् आहरत्
Here is cloth, here is a wall, and thus arises the notion of 'I'; in the Self, which is the essence of creation, in Brahman, which is beyond duality, duality is imagined.
अद्याङ्कुरो ऽहम् अद्यार्करुग् अहं त्व् अद्य वारिदः । यथेति तिष्ठत्य् अब्भागस् तथात्मा सदसद्वपुः
Today I am a sprout, today I am the sun's ray, today I am a cloud; just as water takes various forms, so too does the Self appear as existence and non-existence.
इति भाव्यम् अनेनेत्थम् इति सर्वेश्वरेरितम् । क्रमं खण्डयितुं लोके कस्य नामास्ति शक्तता
Thus it is to be contemplated, as declared by the Lord of all; who in this world has the power to break the sequence of events?
आदर्शे स्वच्छ आकारो नैव स्वः प्रतिबिम्बति । व्यतिरेकासम्भवतः कचत्य् एव तु केवलम्
In a clear mirror, one's own form does not reflect by itself; because distinction is impossible, only the shining remains.
ब्रह्मणि त्व् आत्मनात्मैव स्थितः कचति बिम्बति । द्वैतीभवत्य् अदेहो ऽपि चिन्मयत्वात् स्वभावतः
But in Brahman, the Self alone abides, shines, and is reflected; even without a body, due to its nature as pure consciousness, it appears as duality.
यद् यथैवात्मकचनं चेतितं कचतात्मना । असत्यम् अपि तन् नेह व्यभिचारि कदाचन
Whatever is thus illumined by the shining Self, even if unreal, never deviates from that appearance here.
हेमत्वकटकत्वे द्वे सत्यासत्यस्वरूपिणी । हेम्नि भाण्डमतौ यद्वच् चित्त्वाचित्त्वे तथात्मनि
The states of being gold and being a bracelet are both real and unreal; just as a vessel is imagined in gold, so too are consciousness and unconsciousness imagined in the Self.
सर्वगत्वाच् चितेश् चित्त्वं नित्यं मनसि विद्यते । हेमत्वं कटकस्येव जडता च स्थितान्यदा
Because consciousness is all-pervading, the quality of consciousness always exists in the mind; just as the goldness of a bracelet remains, so too does inertness abide at other times.
चित्त्वजाड्यात्मकं चित्तं दृढं भावयति स्वयम् । यदा यथैव यद्भावं तदा भवति तत् तथा
The mind, which is of the nature of consciousness and inertness, itself firmly assumes whatever state it contemplates; at whatever time, in whatever manner, whatever state is conceived, then it becomes exactly that.
काले काले चिता जीवस् त्व् अन्यो ऽन्यो भवति स्वयम् । भाविताकारवान् अन्तर् वासनाकणिकोदयात्
At different times, the consciousness becomes a living being, each distinct from the other, possessing the form that has been contemplated within, arising from the subtle impressions.
स्वप्ने दृष्टो यथा ग्रामो याति सत्यात्मतां क्षणम् । देहाद् देहं तथा याति जीवो ऽयं प्रतिभात्मकम्
Just as a village seen in a dream attains a momentary reality, so too does this conscious being move from body to body, manifesting as an appearance.
प्रतिभासो यथा स्वप्ने नरः कुड्यं पटं भवेत् । भवत्य् असत्यम् एवैवं देहाद् देहान्तरं स नः
As in a dream, a person may see a wall or a cloth, which are merely appearances and not real, so too is the transition from one body to another for us, only an unreal appearance.
असत्यम् एव म्रियते त्व् असत्यं जायते पुनः । जीवस् स्वप्रतिभासेन स्वप्नवत् स्वान्यरूपवत्
Only the unreal dies, and the unreal is born again; the living being, by its own appearance, is like a dream, taking on its own or another's form.
कालेनैतावता रूपम् इदं त्याज्यं मयेत्य् असौ । प्राकृतं निश्चयं रूढं भवत्य् अनुभवत् स्वतः
In time, this form is to be abandoned with the thought, 'This is mine,' and so, through experience, a firmly established natural conviction arises by itself.