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.
अनात्मन्य् आत्मताम् अस्मिन् देहादौ दृश्यजालके । त्यक्त्वा सत्त्वम् उपारूढो गूढस् तिष्ठ यथासुखम्
Attributing selfhood to what is not the self, in the body and other objects seen as a net, having abandoned this, ascend to serenity and remain concealed as you please.
कुचकोटरसंसुप्तं विस्मृत्य जननी सुतम् । यथा रोदिति पुत्रार्थं तथात्मार्थम् अयं जनः
Just as a mother, forgetting her child asleep in her bosom, cries out for her son, so do people lament for the sake of the self.
अजरामरम् आत्मानम् अबुद्ध्वा परिरोदिति । हा हतो ऽहम् अनाथो ऽहं नष्टो ऽस्मीति जनो मुधा
Not knowing the self as ageless and immortal, people cry out in vain, 'Alas, I am ruined, I am helpless, I am lost!'
देशकालक्रियाभेदे देहस्थे मरणाभिधे । लोको ऽनुशोचत्य् आत्मानम् अहो नु खलु मूढता
When the body, which is subject to differences of place, time, and action, is called 'death', people grieve for the self—how great indeed is their folly!
देशकालक्रियाभेदं यदि देहो ऽनुधावति । तद् अनादेर् अनाशस्य किम् अस्यागतम् आत्मनः
If the body pursues distinctions of place, time, and action, what has thus arrived for the beginningless and imperishable Self?
अन्यद् भुक्तं वान्तम् अन्यद् इदं तद् यज् जनव्रजैः । देहस्य नाशिनो नाशे आत्मनाशो ऽनुशोच्यते
One thing is eaten and vomited, another is this—what is mingled among crowds of people; when the perishable body perishes, why is the destruction of the Self lamented?
देहात्मनोर् महीपाल सविकाराविकारयोः । सुवर्णभस्मोपमयोस् सम्बन्धẖ क इवैतयोः
O king, what connection is there between body and Self—one subject to change, the other changeless—like gold and its ashes?
नानाकारविकाराख्यैस् स्वविलासैर् अनन्यगैः । लीलयैव स्वम् आत्मानम् आत्मायं गोपयन् स्थितः
With diverse forms and modifications, its own playful manifestations, not arising from anything else, the Self abides, concealing itself by itself, as its own sport.
सर्गनिर्माणसंहारैर् मिथẖ कारणतां गतैः । अकारणस्वभावेन वित् स्फुरत्य् आत्मनात्मनि
Through creation, maintenance, and dissolution, which mutually become causes, the Self, whose nature is causeless, shines forth in itself as itself.
क्रीडत्य् आत्मा शिशुर् इव सङ्कल्पैर् लीलयोम्भितैः । तृणैर् मणिम् इवात्मानं स्वच्छम् आच्छाद्य चञ्चलैः
The Self plays, like a child, with thoughts that arise in sport, covering its clear nature with restless fancies, as grass might cover a jewel.