इतश् चेतश् च विक्षिप्तरूपाण्य् एतानि तत् कथम् । किं वा त्वा कथयन्त्व् अङ्ग गतानीहैव पञ्चताम्
These senses are scattered here and there in various forms—so how, or what, O dear one, could tell you, when they have already merged into dissolution here itself?
निर्मातृपितृको यद्वद् विशरारुश् शिशुव्रजः । तथाक्षवृन्दम् अधृति निरहम्भाववासनम्
Just as a herd of children without mother or father is restless and disordered, so too is the group of senses, lacking support and dwelling in the state of egolessness.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्ताख्या दशा वेद्मि न काश्चन । तुर्य एवावतिष्ठे ऽहं तत्र दृश्यं न विद्यते
I do not experience any of the states called waking, dreaming, or deep sleep; I abide only in the fourth state, where no object of perception exists.
इति निर्वचनीभावं यथार्थकथनेन सः । लुब्धको मुनिना नीतो जगामाभिमतां दिशम्
Thus, by speaking truthfully of his state beyond words, the hunter was led by the sage and went in the direction he desired.
अतो वच्मि महाबाहो नास्ति तुर्येतरा दशा । निर्विकल्पा हि चित् तुर्यं तद् एवास्तीह नेतरत्
Therefore, O mighty-armed one, I declare: there is no state other than the fourth; for the fourth is pure consciousness without conceptualization, and only that exists here, nothing else.
सत्यं दृष्ट्वा ब्रह्मभावं गते जीवे निरर्थकम् । देहे भवन्तीन्द्रियाणि चित्रभित्ताव् इवानघ
When the truth of the state of Brahman is seen and the individual soul has departed, O sinless one, the senses in the body become meaningless, like images on a painted wall.
यत्रेष्टानिष्टसम्बन्धे नोदयस् सुखदुẖखयोः । न तच् चित्तं भवेद् राम तत् सत्त्वं तुर्यगं विदुः
Where there is no arising of pleasure or pain in relation to what is desired or undesired, O Rama, that mind is not; know that state as the fourth, transcendent.
स्वप्नकाले स्वप्न एव जाग्रद् व्यग्रापरिग्रहात् । जाग्रच् च स्वप्नताम् एति स्मरणीयतया तया
In the dream state, only the dream exists; in waking, due to engagement with objects, waking prevails; and waking itself turns into dream by the power of memory.
असत्यं जाग्रति स्वप्नस् स्वप्ने जाग्रद् असन्मयम् । जाग्रत्स्वप्नविकारान्ता घनमोहा सुषुप्तभूः
In waking, the dream is unreal; in the dream, waking is unsubstantial; at the end of the modifications of waking and dream, dense delusion becomes the state of deep sleep.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्ताख्यं त्रयम् अङ्ग भ्रमोद्भवम् । वरत्रायाम् इवाहित्वं विज्ञाने प्रस्फुरत् स्थितम्
The triad called waking, dream, and deep sleep, O friend, arises from error; it shines forth and remains established in consciousness, like the placement of a cord in a contest.
तुर्यम् अस्त्य् अनवच्छिन्नं शुद्धचिन्मात्ररूपि यत् । तत्रैतत् स्फुरति भ्रान्त्या तरङ्गत्वम् इवाम्भसि
The fourth exists, unbounded, whose nature is pure consciousness alone; within it, this appears by delusion, like the movement of waves in water.
यथाभूतार्थविज्ञानात् त्रयम् एतद् विलीयते । जीवन्मुक्तपदं शुद्धं तुर्यम् एवावशिष्यते
Through knowledge of things as they truly are, this triad dissolves; only the pure fourth state remains, which is the condition of the liberated while living.
प्रोक्तं विदेहमुक्तत्वं तुर्यान्त इति पण्डितैः । चिद् ब्रह्मेत्येवमादीनां वचसां तद् अगोचरः
The state called 'disembodied liberation,' known as the culmination of the fourth state, is described by the wise; it is beyond the reach of words such as 'consciousness,' 'Brahman,' and the like.
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्ताख्यं त्रयं रूपं हि चेतसः । शान्तं घोरं च मूढं च त्र्यात्म चित्तम् इह स्थितम्
The mind has three forms: waking, dream, and deep sleep; here, the mind exists as peaceful, intense, and dull, each with its own nature.
घोरं जाग्रन्मयं चित्तं शान्तं स्वप्नमयं स्थितम् । मूढं सुषुप्तभावस्थं त्रिभिर् हीनं मृतं भवेत्
The mind in its intense form is based in waking; in its peaceful form, it abides in dream; in its dull form, it rests in deep sleep—when all three are absent, one is said to be dead.
यत्र चित्तं मृतं तत्र सत्त्वम् एकं स्थितं समम् । तद् विद्धि जीवन्मुक्तत्वं तत् तुर्यं तन् महत् पदम्
Where the mind is dead, there remains only one, equal existence; know that as liberation while living, as the fourth state, as the supreme goal.
तत्रैते मुनयस् सिद्धा ब्रह्मविष्णुहरादयः । सत्त्वात्मके तुर्यपदे जीवन्मुक्ता व्यवस्थिताः
There, in that fourth state of pure existence, the sages and perfected ones—Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and others—are established as liberated while living.
यं तं मुनिं वने व्याधḫ पृष्टवान् मृगहेतुना । स संस्थितस् तुर्यपदे शुद्धसत्त्वोदयात्मनि
That sage whom the hunter questioned in the forest, seeking a deer, was established in the fourth state, in the self where pure existence has arisen.
चित्ताचारं न जानाति मृतचित्तस् स कञ्चन । शान्ताशेषविशेषांशम् अद्वैतैक्यपदं गतः
He whose mind is dead does not know the movements of the mind at all; he has attained the state of nonduality, where all distinctions have become utterly peaceful.
समस्तसङ्कल्पविलासमुक्ते तुर्ये पदे तिष्ठ निरामयात्मा । यत्र स्थितास् साधु सदेहमुक्ताḫ प्रशान्तभेदा मुनयो महान्तः
Abide in the fourth state, free from all play of thought-constructions, with a self free from affliction; there, great sages, liberated while still embodied, dwell, their sense of division completely pacified.
एष एवाङ्ग सिद्धान्तो यत् कालगगनाद्य् अपि । चिन्मात्रांशाद् ऋते नान्यज् जगदाद्य् अस्ति किञ्चन
This alone, dear one, is the settled conclusion: apart from a ray of pure consciousness, there is nothing else—no time, no space, nor anything else at all—that constitutes the world.
जनयत्य् अच्छम् आभासं भङ्गुरं स्फुरणात् स्वतः । जगद्रूपं निशाविद्युद् इव चित् कालखादि च
Consciousness itself, by its own spontaneous flashing, produces a clear but fleeting appearance—the form of the world, of time, space, and so on—just as lightning appears in the night sky.
यत्र स्फुरति चिद्विद्युत् तज् जगत् कालखादि च । स्थितैव यन् न स्फुरति तच् छान्तं सर्वम् अक्रमम्
Wherever the lightning of consciousness flashes, that is the world, time, space, and so forth; but where it does not flash, all is utterly peaceful and without sequence.
यावद् आलोक्यते ऽम्भोदस् तावत् सत्यैव खे तडित् । कारणं नात्र पृच्छामि चित्स्पन्दे कारणं वद
As long as lightning is seen in the sky, it is truly present; I do not ask for a cause in this matter—tell me, what is the cause of the vibration of consciousness?
वैतण्डिकाज्ञदुर्बुद्धिविलासं दूरतस् त्यजन् । शृण्व् एतद् ईदृशस्यैव वक्तव्यं नापलापिनः
Setting far aside the displays of ignorant and dull minds, like the Vaitandikas, listen: only one who speaks thus should be heard, not one who babbles aimlessly.
तिष्ठत्य् एव घने विद्युत् सा च स्फुरति भङ्गुरा । आबालम् एतत् संसिद्धं केन नामापलप्यते
Lightning remains in the cloud, yet it flashes forth and is fleeting; this is established from the very beginning—by whom, then, can it be denied?
नित्यं सत्त्वम् असत्त्वं वा विभो हेत्वनपेक्षणात् । चित्स्पन्दस्य कथं न स्यात् स्पन्दो हीह सहेतुकः
Whether it is always existent or nonexistent, O all-pervading one, since it does not depend on any cause, how can the vibration of consciousness have a cause, when vibration here always has a cause?
अवाताम्बुधिदीपादे रत्नानां कचनस्य वा । वायोर् वा शून्यसंस्थस्य स्पन्दे कस्येह हेतुता
For the movement of wind, or a jewel, or a piece of glass, or a lamp, or for the wind itself when it rests in emptiness—what cause can there be for their vibration here?
रामासर्वात्मनो ऽप्य् एवं तत्तातत्तोपपद्यते । स्वतस् सर्वात्मनो नित्यम् अतẖ किं नोपपद्यते
O Rama, even for the all-pervading Self, thus, both reality and unreality are possible; if all is always the Self by its own nature, why then should it not be possible?
चिद् अस्पन्दा स्पन्दिनीति शब्दे भेदो न वस्तुनि । ब्रह्मैकघनम् अद्वैतं विद्धि वारि यथा द्रवम्
The distinction of 'unmoving consciousness' and 'moving consciousness' is only in words, not in reality; know Brahman to be one, dense, nondual—like water is fluid.