तद् ब्रह्मतिलतैलत्वं विद्धि ब्रह्मविदां वर । यथा तिले स्थितं तैलं तथेदं ब्रह्मणि स्थितम्
Know this, best of knower of Brahman: just as oil is present in sesame seeds, so too is Brahman present in all this.
मरणं जीवितं चेष्टा जाड्यचित्त्वे सुखासुखे । इतीदं ब्रह्मणि ब्रह्म तिले तैलम् इव स्थितम्
Death, life, activity, dullness, consciousness, pleasure, and pain—all this is Brahman within Brahman, just as oil is within sesame.
माया जीवो मनश् चित्तम् ईहानीहा गतिर् जगत् । इतीदं ब्रह्मणि बृहत् तिले तैलम् इव स्थितम्
Māyā, the individual soul, mind, consciousness, desire and aversion, movement, and the world—all this vastness is Brahman within Brahman, just as oil is within sesame.
तिलो ऽन्तस्संस्थितं तैलं यथानुभवति स्वयम् । तथानुभवति ब्रह्म स्वस्मिन्न् एवान्तरे जगत्
Just as the oil hidden within the sesame is experienced by itself, so too does Brahman experience the world within itself, inwardly.
चेतत्य् अन्तस् तिलस् तैलं क्वचित् पूर्वं क्वचित् परम् । क्वचिद् अल्पं क्वचिद् भूरि म्लानं शुद्धं क्वचिद् यथा
Within the sesame, the oil is perceived—sometimes earlier, sometimes later, sometimes little, sometimes much, sometimes impure, sometimes pure, as the case may be.
चेतत्य् अन्तस् तथा ब्रह्म क्वचिज् जाड्यं क्वचिच् चितिम् । क्वचिच् चित्तादि शैलादि क्वचिद् आकाशतां क्वचित्
In the same way, Brahman is perceived within—sometimes as dullness, sometimes as consciousness, sometimes as mind and the like, or as mountains, sometimes as the expanse of space.
क्वचिच् छून्यं क्वचित् स्पन्दं क्वचित् कालं क्वचिद् दिशम् । क्वचिच् छब्दं क्वचिच् छान्तं क्वचित् तनु क्वचिद् घनम्
At times there is emptiness, at times vibration, at times time, at times direction; at times sound, at times silence, at times subtlety, at times density.
तमस् तेजश् शुभं पापम् अहं त्वं तानि तत्र तत् । देशं तत्त्वम् अतत्त्वं प्राग् अद्य सत्त्वम् असद् बलम्
Darkness, light, auspiciousness, evil, 'I', 'you'—these are here and there; place, reality, unreality, before, now, existence, non-existence, strength.
एवम् एकम् अनानैव नानेवास्ते परं पदम् । दण्डचक्रलताकारैस् तरङ्गैर् अम्ब्व् इवाम्भसि
Thus, the one supreme state does not exist as many, nor as not-many, just as water in water appears with forms like stick, wheel, creeper, or wave.
एवं सर्वात्मनि तते क्वचित् किञ्चित् प्रकाशते । अद्वितीयम् अनाद्यन्ते द्रवत्वम् इव वारिणि
In this way, in the all-pervading Self, something appears here and there, though it is non-dual, without beginning or end, like liquidity in water.
तन्मृतिप्रसरे राम मुहूर्तं जडताभ्रमे । चिराचिरप्रत्ययिनि प्रश्नस् ते नोपपद्यते
When the flow of that memory arises, O Rama, for a moment there is the delusion of inertness; in what is established as both long and short duration, your question does not apply.
प्रतिभात्मनि विस्तारे यद् यथा प्रतिभासते । स एव तत् तथा तेन किम् इवात्र विकल्प्यते
Whatever appears in the expanse of the luminous Self, just as it appears, that alone is so; what indeed is there to be doubted about this?
किं द्रवस्पन्दने वारिमरुतोर् इव नो यथा । तयोस् तदात्मकतया युक्तḫ प्रश्नो भवादृशाम्
Why question about liquidity or vibration, as with water and wind? For those like you, such a question is appropriate only if they are truly distinct.
ब्रह्मात्मनि तथा सर्गे सर्गताप्रत्यये कृते । किं भूẖ किं खं किम् आशेति प्रश्नस् ते राम नोचितः
So too, in the Self that is Brahman, when the notion of creation is established, your question, O Rama—'What is earth? What is space? What is support?'—is not appropriate.
एतस्माच् च पदाच् छुद्धाल् लुठितानां भवार्णवे । भूतानां सुचिराभ्यस्ता वासनैवात्र कारणं
And from this state, for beings who have been tossed about in the ocean of becoming, it is only the deeply ingrained tendencies, practiced over a long time, that are the cause.
यद् यथा संविदाभ्यस्तं शैत्यौष्ण्यादि निजोदयम् । असद् एव द्विचन्द्राभं तत् स्वभावं विदुर् बुधाः
Whatever is repeatedly impressed upon consciousness—such as cold, heat, and so on—arises as its own manifestation; but the wise know that, like the illusion of two moons, this is not real and is only its apparent nature.
स्वभावस्य स्वभावं स्वम् अबुद्ध्वैव भ्रमाकुलाः । अविकल्प्यस् स्वभावो न इति निश्चयिनस् स्थिताः
Those who, without understanding the true nature of nature itself, are bewildered by delusion; but those who are resolute know that nature is not to be imagined as distinct.
असम्भवात् परे तत्त्वे स्वत्वभावदृशोḫ पृथक् । स्वभावो ब्रह्मणीत्य् उक्तिर् अमूला न विराजते
Since, in the supreme reality, the notion of individuality is impossible, the statement 'nature is in Brahman'—when viewed as something separate—has no real foundation and does not shine forth.
एवम् एव प्रवर्तन्ते इति भावा भवा इव । एवम् एव निवर्तन्ते इत्य् अवृत्तियुता इव
Just so, phenomena seem to proceed as if they truly exist; and just so, they seem to cease as if they truly come to an end.
न जायते न म्रियते क्वचित् किञ्चित् कदाचन । सर्वं शान्तम् अनिर्देश्यं शैलोत्कीर्णम् इवाक्षयम्
Nothing is ever born, nor does anything ever die, anywhere or at any time; all is peaceful, indescribable, and imperishable, like a mountain carved from solid rock.
घनवासनयोच्छूने मोहे घनतरात्मनि । मुहूर्त एव कल्पत्वं दुẖखित्वाद् अनुमीयते
When delusion, swollen by dense impressions, arises in the even denser Self, then, for a moment, the sense of time and suffering is inferred.
यथा ब्रह्मणि ब्रह्मत्वं तथैवैतास् तदात्मिकाः । नामशब्दार्थरहितास् संस्थितास् स्वानुभूतयः
Just as Brahman is Brahman in Brahman, so too are these experiences established in their own essence, devoid of name, word, or meaning, abiding as pure self-experience.
वासना दीर्घदुẖखाय प्रेक्षिता सा न विद्यते । नाहम् इत्य् एव संवित्त्या स्वयत्नेन विलीयते
The tendency that brings prolonged suffering, when observed, is found not to exist; through the awareness of 'I am not this,' it dissolves by one's own effort.
अहन्तानुभवो दुẖखम् अनहन्तोदयस् सुखम् । दृषद्धृदयताभावाद् अलम् एतद् उदेति ते
The experience of ego is pain; the arising of non-ego is happiness. Because the hardness of heart is absent, this readily arises for you.
परमं मौनम् आश्रित्य यथास्थितम् अवस्थितः । अखण्डम् एतद् आप्नोति नरो निर्विघ्नम् उत्तमम्
By embracing supreme silence and remaining as one is, a person attains this unbroken, highest state, free from obstacles.
ब्रह्माभिधानास्ति शिलातिविस्तृता तस्यां त्रिलोकीचिरसालभञ्जिका । स्थिता भवाभावरयादिकात्मिका चित्तान्विताचित्तककाष्ठमौनिनी
There is a vast expanse called 'Brahman,' like an immense stone, within which the three worlds long remain unmanifest; established there is the essence of existence and non-existence, the mind-attached, mindless, silent one.
अहन्ताबीजसङ्कल्पमात्रम् एवम् इदं मुने । अविद्यमानम् एवाति विद्यमानम् इव स्थितम्
O sage, this is merely the seed-thought of ego, which, though truly nonexistent, appears as if it exists.
एवं चेत् तद् वद ब्रह्मंल् लोके शास्त्रे श्रुतौ स्मृतौ । देहḫ पिण्डादिनोदेति मृतस्येति किम् उच्यते
If this is so, then tell me, O Brahman, in the world, in scripture, in the Vedas and traditions: how does the body and the like arise, and what is said about the dead?
यथा ब्रह्म तथैवास्ति सर्गो ऽयं नियमान्वितः । अतदन्यस् तदन्यत्वं सर्गताप्रत्ययाद् गतः
Just as Brahman exists, so too does this creation, governed by order; anything other than that is considered otherness, which ceases when the conviction of creation is absent.
अत्र सर्गादिशब्दार्थो भूतादीन्य् उपसंस्थितः । भूतत्वं विद्धि भूतानाम् अहन्तामननात्मकम्
Here, the meaning of words like 'creation' refers to the elements and so forth; know that the nature of the elements is the essence of ego and thought.