यन् मिथ्या तद् भ्रमायाल्पं कालं स्फुरति नो चिरम् । मोहात्मशुक्तिरुप्यादिमृगतृष्णाद्विचन्द्रवत्
That which is false appears only briefly due to delusion, like the illusion of silver in mother-of-pearl, a mirage, or a double moon.
यन् मिथ्या तत् क्षयं याति यत् सत्यं तन् न नश्यति । आबालम् एतज् जगति प्रसिद्धम् अशनादिवत्
Whatever is false comes to an end; what is true does not perish. This is well known in the world, even to children, as with food and the like.
नासतो विद्यते भावस् स्निग्धत्वं सिकतास्व् इव । सतश् च दृष्टो नाभावो भेकचूर्णाद् अणोर् अपि
There is no real existence in what is unreal, just as there is no moisture in sand; and nonexistence is not seen in what is real, not even as much as in the powder of a frog.
यथा भेकरजो ऽलक्ष्यं याति प्रावृषि भेकताम् । यत्र यत्र स्थितो जीवस् तथोदेति न नश्यति
Just as the dust of a frog becomes unnoticeable when it turns into a frog in the rainy season, wherever the living being abides, it arises there and does not perish.
केवलं भावनामात्रं बुद्ध्यैवास्य प्रमार्जय । आत्मत्वायाङ्ग ताम्रस्य हेमत्वायेव कालताम्
Merely by understanding, remove this notion, which is only imagination; for, O dear one, just as copper appears as gold by the effect of time, so too is the idea of selfhood.
जगद्भावास्थया मुक्तḫ प्रयाति परमात्मताम् । जीवो विमुक्तं कालिम्ना ताम्रं कनकताम् इव
When freed from the state of worldly existence, the individual attains the Supreme Self, just as copper, freed from blackness, becomes gold.
सर्वेषाम् एव जीवानां भावना भवबन्धनी । वागुरेव विहङ्गानाम् एकावष्टम्भकारिणी
For all living beings, imagination alone is the bondage to worldly existence, just as a net is for birds—the single cause of their captivity.
आत्मतत्त्वाद् ऋते नास्ति मदीयम् अहम् इत्य् अलम् । युक्तितो निश्चये रूढे नूनं गलति भावना
Apart from the reality of the Self, there is truly no such thing as 'I' or 'mine'; when certainty is firmly established through reasoning, imagination surely dissolves.
मांसास्थ्योघश् शवो देहẖ खं खम् अद्रिगणो जगत् । बुद्ध्यादयो विकल्पांशाẖ को ऽहं मम कथं च किम्
A corpse is but a mass of flesh and bones; the body is space, space, and a heap of mountains is the world; intellect and the rest are but modifications—who am I, what is mine, how, and what indeed?
संविदो ऽनन्तशुद्धायाẖ किलाकलितचेतसः । इयत्तोपशमं याति भावनाप्रलये सति
For one whose mind is untouched, whose awareness is infinite and pure, all these notions come to rest when imagination dissolves.
सम्यग्दर्शनम् एवास्या भावनाया विशाम्पते । विनाशं विद्ध्य् अनन्ताभं यामिन्या दिवसं यथा
O lord of men, know that the true vision alone brings about the dissolution of these notions, just as the day brings about the end of night.
प्रशान्तवासनो जीव एकतां याति चिद्घने । घृते घृतं जले तोयं क्षीरे क्षीरम् इवार्पितम्
When the tendencies are pacified, the individual merges into the mass of consciousness, like ghee into ghee, water into water, or milk poured into milk.
अतदात्मा तदात्मा च जीवḫ प्रस्फुरतीश्वरे । ज्वालायां तु यथालोको यथा गन्धलवẖ क्षितौ
The individual, both not identical and yet identical with That, shines forth in the Supreme, like light in a flame or fragrance in the earth.
येनैकतां भावयति जीवस् तद् भवति क्षणात् । यच्चित्तस् तन्मयो जन्तुẖ केनैतन् नानुभूयते
Whatever the individual contemplates as unity, he becomes that instantly; whatever is in the mind, the creature becomes that—who does not experience this?
ब्रह्मभावनया जीवो ब्रह्मताम् एति शाश्वतीम् । अमृतं भाव्यते येन सो ऽमृतीभवति स्वयम्
By contemplating Brahman, the individual attains the eternal state of Brahman; by contemplating immortality, he himself becomes immortal.
अब्रह्मभावनाज् जीवो दीनताम् एत्य नश्यति । विषभावनयैवाङ्ग विषीभवति मानवः
By contemplating what is not Brahman, the individual falls into misery and perishes; by contemplating poison, O dear one, a person becomes poisoned.
आत्मनस् संविदो ऽच्छस्य संवेद्यकलनामलम् । सम्प्रमार्ज्योदितस् संविदात्मा व्यवहरानघ
The pure awareness of the Self, free from the stains of conceptualization, is revealed when all notions of the knowable are thoroughly cleansed; this awareness is the essence of action, O sinless one.
स्वेदोत्थदंशयौकान्तं भूतजातं सुराद्य् अपि । किं सर्वम् एव कर्मोत्थम् उत किञ्चिद् वदेति मे
Whether it is sweat, the bite of insects, the body born of elements, or even the gods—tell me, is all this indeed the result of action, or only some of it?
चतुर्दशविधस्यास्य भूतजातस्य राघव । किञ्चित् सकारणं जातं प्राक्तनैर् आत्मकर्मभिः
O Raghava, among the fourteenfold categories of beings, some are born with causes, arising from their own past actions.
किञ्चिन् निष्कारणं जातं कचनं सुमणेर् इव । स्वभावतो ऽधुना कर्म कारणात्तं भविष्यति
Some are born without cause, just as certain gems arise naturally; now, by their inherent nature, action will become the cause for them in the future.
हार्दान्धकारमार्ताण्ड संशयाब्दानिलप्रभो । जगतां भूतजातस्य जातस्याथ भविष्यतः
O lord of the wind that dispels the clouds of doubt and the darkness of the heart, this applies to the beings of the world—those already born and those yet to be.
किं कथं कारणायातं किं कथं चाप्य् अकारणम् । जातं वा जायते वापि कथं वापि जनिष्यते
How and why does something arise with a cause, and how and why does it arise without a cause? How is it born, how does it come into being, and how will it be born in the future?
दिक्कालाद्यनवच्छिन्नं व्योम्न्य् अव्योम्नि च संस्थितम् । चिद्व्योमानुभवप्राप्यम् आमोदḫ पवने यथा
Unbounded by direction, time, or other limits, established in space and beyond space, consciousness is experienced in the sky of awareness, just as fragrance is sensed in the wind.
ख इवार्को ऽम्बुदव्याप्तो वटबीज इवाङ्कुरः । वायौ स्पन्द इवालक्ष्यं व्योम्न्य् अव्योम्नि च चेतनम्
Just as the sun pervades the sky, as a sprout is contained within the banyan seed, or as an imperceptible vibration exists in the wind, so too consciousness abides in space and beyond space.
तत् क्वचिन् नित्यम् अचलं शान्तं समसमस्थिति । ब्रह्माण्डपाराम्बरवद् अनन्तम् अविकारि च
That is, at times, eternal, unmoving, peaceful, established in sameness; like the limitless expanse beyond the cosmic egg, unchanging.
क्वचित् स्वभावजात् स्पन्दात् स्फुरत्य् अग्निर् इव त्विषा । भूततन्मात्रभावेन जगत्तां समुपेयुषा
At times, arising from its own inherent vibration, it flashes forth like fire with its radiance, assuming the state of the subtle elements and becoming the world.
क्वचित् प्राक्स्पन्दसम्पन्नभूततन्मात्ररञ्जनात् । भूतत्वं समुपादत्ते हेमाङ्गददशाम् इव
At times, being colored by the subtle elements endowed with prior vibration, it takes on the condition of gross elements, like gold fashioned into an ornament.
यथा सत्त्वम् उपेक्ष्य स्वं शनैर् विप्रो दुरीहया । अङ्गीकरोति शूद्रत्वं तथा जाड्यं चिदीश्वरः
Just as a brahmin, disregarding his own nature, gradually assumes the state of a śūdra through wrong inclination, so does the Lord of consciousness take on inertness.
भूतानि द्विविधान्य् एवं प्रतिसर्गं स्फुरन्ति हि । अद्यचित्स्पन्दजातानि चिरचित्स्पन्दजानि च
Thus, the elements manifest in two ways at the time of creation: those born of recent consciousness-vibration, and those born of ancient consciousness-vibration.
तत्र ये चित्स्वभावोत्थस्पन्दजास् ते हि जीवकाः । निष्कारणं समुत्पन्ना रुचयस् सन्मणेर् इव
Among these, those arising from the vibration of the nature of consciousness are the living beings, coming into existence without cause, like the rays from a flawless gem.