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.
यद् अस्ति तन्मयेनैव भवितव्यं विजानता । आत्मैव जगताम् अस्ति न देहाद्यर्थजालकम्
One who knows must become wholly what truly exists; for only the Self exists in all worlds, not the web of objects like body and so forth.
पदार्थजातं देहादि विदा सन्त्यज्य दूरतः । आशीतलान्तẖकरणो नित्यम् आत्ममयो भव
Abandon the collection of objects such as the body, keeping them far away; with a mind cooled and tranquil, always become composed of the Self.
आत्मैव ह्य् आत्मनो बन्धुर् आत्मन्य् आत्मैव विद्यते । आत्मात्मनैवाह्रियते सर्वात्मात्मानुभूतितः
The Self alone is the companion of the Self, and the Self is found within the Self; the Self is drawn by the Self alone, as the universal Self is experienced by the Self.
यथा जलाद् ऋते नास्ति समुद्रत्वं महाम्बुधेः । आत्मतत्त्वाद् ऋते नास्ति जगत्त्वं जगतस् तथा
Just as the ocean cannot be an ocean without water, so too the world cannot be a world without the essence of the Self.
यथार्कẖ कुम्भलक्षेषु तथात्मा देहपङ्क्तिषु । नास्तम् एति न चोदेति नष्टानष्टासु तास्व् असौ
Just as the sun is reflected in many pots of water, so the Self appears in rows of bodies; it neither sets nor rises, whether those bodies are destroyed or remain.
अनात्मधीẖ क्वचिद् अपि शुक्तौ रजतता यथा । योदेत्य् अनघ मिथ्या सा सर्वगत्वाद् इहात्मनः
Just as the mistaken notion of silver arises in a shell, so the idea of non-Self arises; but this is false, O sinless one, for the Self is all-pervading here.
देहो ऽहम् इति या बुद्धिस् सा संसारनिबन्धनी । देहदुẖखानुपातित्वाद् असारत्वाच् च वस्तुनः
The thought 'I am the body' is the cause of bondage in worldly existence, because the body is subject to suffering and lacks true essence.
नकिञ्चिन्मात्ररूपो ऽस्मि यथैते गगनादयः । इति या शाश्वती बुद्धिस् सा न संसारबन्धनी
The enduring thought 'I am of the nature of pure nothingness, like space and so forth,' is not a cause of bondage in worldly existence.
यथा विमलतोयान्तर् बहिर् अन्तश् च भानुजम् । तेजस् तिष्ठति सर्वत्र तथात्मा सर्ववस्तुषु
Just as the sun's light exists both within and outside pure water, so too does the Self abide in all things.
भित्तौ नभसि पाताले पुरो दूरे च संस्थितः । आत्मा त्रिष्व् अपि कालेषु नासौ नश्यति कर्हिचित्
Whether situated in a wall, in the sky, or in the netherworld, whether near or far, the Self, in all three times, never perishes.
छेदादीनाम् अगम्यं खं यथैवात्मा तथैव हि । एतावन्मात्रको भेदो यच् चिन्मात्रात्मतात्मनि
Just as space cannot be cut or otherwise affected, so too is the Self; the only distinction is this: the Self is of the nature of pure consciousness.
सन्निवेशांशवैचित्र्यं यथा हेम्नो ऽङ्गदादिता । आत्मनस् तदतद्रूपं तथैव जगदादिता
Just as gold takes on various forms such as bracelets and other ornaments, so too does the Self appear as the manifold world, though its essence remains unchanged.
सरिताम् आसमुद्रान्तं यथैवाम्बु विवर्तते । उत्पन्नध्वंसिनाजस्रं तरङ्गौघेन वारिणि
Just as water, from rivers to the ocean, constantly transforms with the arising and destruction of waves, so too does the world arise and dissolve in the Self.
आत्मन्य् आत्मसमुल्लासस् तथैवायं विलोक्यते । नानापदार्थजालेन विनाशाब्धिं प्रधावता
In the Self, the play of the Self is seen, as the multitude of various objects rushes toward the ocean of dissolution.
विनाशवाडवाक्रान्तं भीमं कालमहार्णवम् । जगज्जालतरङ्गिण्यो यान्ति सर्गतरङ्गकाः
The waves of creation, which are the waves of the world, enter the dreadful great ocean of time, seized by the submarine fire of destruction.
तस्याप्य् अद्याप्य् अपूर्णस्य यḫ पाता कालवारिधेः । तम् आत्मानं महागस्त्यं राजन् भावय विन्ध्यवत्
O King, contemplate the Self as the great Agastya who, like the sage who drank the ocean, can drain even the unfathomable ocean of time, which is still unfilled.
शास्त्रसंव्यवहारार्थं संसारोच्छेदनोद्यतैः । आत्मादिकाẖ कृतास् सञ्ज्ञा वागतीतस्य वस्तुनः
For the sake of scriptural discourse and the effort to end worldly existence, terms such as 'self' and others have been established for a reality that is beyond words.
न रज्ज्वाम् अस्ति सर्पत्वं तन् मिथ्या कḫ प्रपश्यति । नात्मनो ऽस्ति क्वचिद् बन्धो मा मोहाद् भावयाङ्ग तम्
There is no snake in the rope; it is only falsely perceived by someone. Likewise, there is no bondage for the self anywhere—do not, out of delusion, imagine it, my dear.
मोहस् तद्भावनामात्रम् आहुर् मोहहरा नराः । तम् एव भावनात्यागात् त्यक्त्वा विज्वरतां व्रज
Delusion is said by those who dispel it to be nothing but such imagination; by abandoning that imagination, cast it off and attain freedom from affliction.
एष एवान्धकारो ऽसाव् एतद् एव परं मलम् । प्राग् अबद्धस्य बन्धेन सङ्कल्पो यẖ किलात्मनः
This alone is darkness; this alone is the supreme impurity. The resolve of the self, which was formerly unbound, is indeed bondage.