न बन्धो ऽस्ति न मोक्षो ऽस्ति ब्रह्मैवास्ति निरामयम् । नैक्यम् अस्ति न च द्वित्वं संविद्भानं विजृम्भते
There is no bondage, nor is there liberation; only Brahman exists, free from affliction. There is neither unity nor duality; consciousness alone shines forth.
एकं यथा स्फुरति वारि तरङ्गभङ्गैर् एवं परिस्फुरति चित्तम् अकिञ्चिद् एतत् । त्वं बन्धमोक्षकलने प्रविमुच्य दूरे स्वस्थो भवाभयतयोदयसार एव
Just as water appears as waves, so the mind stirs in countless ways; having thoroughly examined bondage and liberation, remain distant and at peace, established in the essence of fearlessness and awakening.
सङ्कल्पोन्मुखतां यातास् सत्याश् चिन्मात्रसंविदः । आपस् तरङ्गत्वम् इव यान्ति भूमिप जीवताम्
O king, those who are pure consciousness, inclined toward imagination, become like water taking the form of waves, assuming the state of living beings.
ते जीवास् संसरन्तीह संसारे पूर्वम् उत्थिते । स्वकर्मकरणाद् देहेष्व् अब्जेष्व् इव मधुव्रताः
These living beings wander here in samsara, arising from previous causes; through their own actions, they move among bodies, like bees among lotuses.
सर्वात्मापि परं ब्रह्म कुर्वद् एव करोति नो । जननिष्ठानि दिवसकर्माणीव दिवाकरः
Though the supreme Brahman is the self of all, it does not act even while acting, just as the sun does not perform the daily tasks associated with its rising.
चलत्य् अचेतनम् अयो यथायस्कान्तसन्निधौ । तथा स्फुरति सर्गो ऽयं स्वस्थिते परमात्मनि
Just as iron moves in the presence of a magnet, so this creation stirs forth when the supreme Self remains established.
स्वपरिस्पन्दजो वारि यथावर्तḫ प्रवर्तते । तथायं चिन्मये जीवे देहस् सम्पद्यते स्वयम्
Just as a whirlpool arises in water due to its own movement, so too does the body come into being of itself in the living being whose nature is consciousness.
यथालातपरिस्पन्दाद् धेमचक्रं प्रदृश्यते । एवं स्वचेतनस्पन्दाद् देहो ऽयम् अवलोक्यते
As a circle of fire appears from the rapid movement of a firebrand, in the same way, through the vibration of one's own consciousness, this body is perceived.
यथा नदनदीभेदाद् बहुत्वं कल्प्यते ऽम्भसः । एवम् आकारभेदेन नानात्वं परमात्मनः
Just as, through the distinction of rivers and streams, multiplicity is imagined in water, so, through differences of form, diversity is conceived in the Supreme Self.
सुखदुẖखदशामोहो मनस्य् एवास्ति नात्मनि । केयूरकटकादित्वं सङ्कल्पे ऽस्ति न हेमनि
States of pleasure and pain, and delusion, exist only in the mind, not in the Self; just as the notions of bracelet or armlet exist only in thought, not in the gold.
मूढे जीवे मनश् चित्तम् इत्यादिकलनं विदुः । यथाभूतार्थतत्त्वज्ञे सत्त्वम् एतद् उदाहृतम्
In the deluded living being, the mind is reckoned as mind, intellect, and so on; but for one who knows the true reality as it is, this is called pure existence.
देहाद् अनन्तरं सत्त्वं व्योमताम् एति केवलम् । न जरामरणार्तीनां भूयो भवति कारणम्
After the body, pure existence attains the state of space alone; it no longer becomes the cause of old age, death, or suffering.
यथास्फुरत् स्फुरद् इव प्रतिबिम्बं गिरेर् भवेत् । तथाकर्तैव कर्तेव लक्ष्यते चेतनस् तनौ
Just as a reflection of a mountain may appear to tremble when the water trembles, so consciousness, though non-acting, appears as the doer in the body.
शारीरेषु विलासेषु सोम्य एवाशयेश्वरः । प्रतिबिम्बं विकारेषु मुखस्येवानुवर्तते
In the bodies and their activities, the Lord of the heart remains serene; like a face reflected in various forms, he follows their modifications.
यथार्कश् चञ्चलो वारि दृश्यते न तु चञ्चलः । तथात्मा चञ्चलो देहे दृश्यते न तु चञ्चलः
Just as the sun appears to move upon water, yet it does not truly move, so too the Self seems restless within the body, yet it is not truly restless.
यथा घटेषु नष्टेषु घटाकाशं न नश्यति । तथा नष्टेषु देहेषु नात्मा नश्यति कस्यचित्
Just as the space within a pot is not destroyed when the pot is broken, so too, when bodies perish, the Self is not destroyed in anyone.
रूपालोकमनस्काररहितो ऽर्थानुरञ्जनम् । यथामलो मणिर् धत्ते धत्ते देहं तथेश्वरः
Free from form, sight, and mental impressions, yet coloring objects, just as a flawless jewel imparts its radiance, so does the Lord sustain the body.
रूपालोकमनस्कारैẖ किं वा मधुरसस् तरुम् । यथोल्लासयति प्रोच्चैस् तथा चिद् दृश्यमण्डलम्
What does a sweet sapling gain from forms, sights, or mental impressions? Just as it flourishes exuberantly, so does the sphere of consciousness shine forth.
त्रैलोक्यवर्तिनि यथा मधुरद्रव्यसञ्चये । स्थितं माधुर्यम् अखिले तथात्मा वस्तुजालके
Just as sweetness pervades all substances in the three worlds where sweet matter is present, so too the Self abides in the web of all objects.
यथार्को गच्छतो याति जन्तोस् तिष्ठति तिष्ठतः । मिथ्यैव न तु सत्येन तथात्मा वपुषाम् इह
Just as the sun seems to move when a creature moves, and seems to stand still when it stands, this is mere illusion, not reality; so too is the Self in bodies here.
प्रतिबिम्बविनाशेषु यथा न मकुरादयः । नश्यन्ति तद्वद् देहस्य नाशे नात्मा विनश्यति
When reflections vanish, mirrors and the like do not perish; in the same way, when the body is destroyed, the Self does not perish.
अङ्गारादिषु दग्धेषु यथा हेम न दह्यते । तथा देहेषु नष्टेषु चिन्मात्रं न विनश्यति
Just as gold is not burned when embers and the like are consumed, so too, when bodies are destroyed, pure consciousness does not perish.
अदृश्यो दृश्यते राहुर् गृहीतेन यथेन्दुना । तथानुभवमात्रात्मा चेत्येनात्मावलोक्यते
Just as Rahu, though invisible, is seen when it grasps the moon, so too the self, whose nature is pure experience, is perceived through the objects it illumines.
यद्वत् प्रकटताम् एति प्रतिबिम्बार्हता मणौ । प्रतिबिम्बेन तद्वद् वै चित्त्वं चेत्येन चेत्यते
As a jewel becomes manifest when it is fit to reflect an image, so too the mind is recognized through the objects it apprehends.
सङ्कल्पजालमुक्तायाश् चितो यत् स्वस्थम् आस्थितम् । क्षयातिशयनिर्मुक्तं तद् विद्धि परमं पदम्
Know that supreme state to be established in itself, free from the web of thoughts, and untouched by increase or decline.
सत्त्वस्थे बुद्धितत्त्वे ऽन्तस् स्वयम् आत्मोपलभ्यते । आदर्शे मलमुक्ते हि प्रतिबिम्बं प्रवर्तते
When the intellect is established in purity, the self is realized within; just as a reflection appears in a spotless mirror.
न शास्त्रैर् नापि गुरुणा दृश्यते परमेश्वरः । दृश्यते स्वयम् एवात्मा स्वया सत्त्वस्थया धिया
The supreme Lord is not seen through scriptures or by a teacher; the self is seen by itself, through a mind established in purity.
इमे देहादयस् सर्वे भावाḫ प्रकृतिरूपिणः । नाप्य् असन्तो न सन्तो ऽपि भ्रममात्राद् ऋते ऽनघ
All these—body and the rest—are forms of nature; they are neither real nor unreal, O sinless one, but exist only as illusion.
पथिकाḫ पथि दृश्यन्ते रागद्वेषविमुक्तया । यथा धिया तथैवैते द्रष्टव्यास् स्वेन्द्रियादयः
Just as travelers are seen on a road by a mind free from attachment and aversion, so too should one regard the senses and such, with the same detached awareness.
एतेषु नादरẖ कार्यस् सता नैवावधीरणम् । पदार्थमात्रतानिष्ठास् तिष्ठन्त्व् एते यथास्थितम्
One should neither cling to nor despise these; let them remain as they are, established merely as objects.