नैष्कर्म्यात् कल्पनात्यागात् तनुḫ पतति देहिनः । कथम् एतद् अतो ब्रह्मन् सम्भवत्य् आशु जीवतः
By non-action and the abandonment of imagination, the body of the embodied one falls; O Brahman, how then does this happen swiftly while one is still alive?
जीवतẖ कल्पनात्यागो युज्यते न त्व् अजीवतः । रूपम् अस्य यथावत् त्वं शृणु श्रवणभूषणम्
The abandonment of imagination is possible while living, not after death; now listen, O ornament of listeners, to its true nature.
अहम्भावनम् एवाहुẖ कल्पनं कल्पकोविदाः । नञर्थभावनं तस्य सङ्कल्पत्याग उच्यते
Those skilled in discernment say that imagination is nothing but the sense of 'I'; the thought of its negation is called the abandonment of imagination.
पदार्थरसम् एवाहुẖ कल्पनं कल्पनाविदः । नञर्थभावनं तस्य सङ्कल्पत्याग उच्यते
Those who know imagination declare that the very taste for objects is imagination; the thought of its negation is called the abandonment of imagination.
इदम् अस्त्व् इति संवेगम् आहुस् सङ्कल्पम् उत्तमाः । नञर्थभावनं तस्य सङ्कल्पत्याग उच्यते
The wise say that the intense assertion 'let this exist' is resolve; the thought of its negation is called the abandonment of resolve.
स्मरणं विद्धि सङ्कल्पं शिवम् अस्मरणं विदुः । तच् च प्रागनुभूतं च नानुभूतं च भाव्यते
Know that resolve is memory; the absence of memory is known as auspiciousness. That memory pertains to what was previously experienced, and also to what was not experienced.
अनुभूतां नानुभूतां स्मृतिं विस्मृत्य कारणम् । सर्वम् एवाशु विस्मृत्य गूढस् तिष्ठ महामुनिः
Forgetting both experienced and unexperienced memories is the cause; by swiftly forgetting everything, the great sage remains hidden.
सर्वास्मरणमात्रेण तिष्ठायातेषु कर्मसु । अर्धसुप्तशिशुस्पन्द इवाभ्यस्तोपपत्तिषु
When all actions are sustained merely by non-remembrance, one remains as if half-asleep, like the slight movements of a sleeping child, in the states that arise from habit.
निस्सङ्कल्पं प्रवाहेण चक्रं प्रस्पन्दते यथा । स्पन्दस्व कर्मस्व् अनघ प्राक्संस्कारवशात् तथा
Just as a wheel turns by its own momentum without intention, O sinless one, so too let your actions arise naturally, governed by previous impressions.
अविद्यमानचित्तस् त्वं सत्त्वसंस्कारम् आगतः । प्रवाहापतितेष्व् एव स्पन्दस्व स्वेषु कर्मसु
You, whose mind does not truly exist, have come under the influence of the conditioning of existence; simply let your actions flow in their own course.
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर् विरौम्य् एष न च कश्चिच् छृणोति मे । असङ्कल्पḫ परं श्रेयस् स किम् अन्तर् न भाव्यते
I raise my arms and cry out, yet no one listens to me; the supreme good lies in freedom from intention—why is this not realized within?
अहो मोहस्य माहात्म्यं यद् अयं सर्वदुẖखहा । चिन्तामणिर् विचाराख्यो हृत्स्थो ऽपि त्यज्यते जनैः
Ah, the greatness of delusion! Though this gem of thought, called discernment, dwells in the heart and destroys all suffering, people still abandon it.
अवेदनम् असङ्कल्पस् तन्मयेनैव भूयताम् । एतावत् परमं श्रेयस् स्वयम् एवानुभूयताम्
Let there be awareness without intention, absorbed in that alone; let this supreme good be experienced directly by oneself.
किल तूष्णींस्थितेनैव तत् पदं प्राप्यते परम् । परमं यत्र साम्राज्यम् अपि राम तृणायते
Indeed, by remaining silent, that highest state is attained, where even the greatest sovereignty, O Rama, is regarded as mere straw.
गम्यदेशैकनिष्ठस्य यथा पान्थस्य पादयोः । स्पन्दो ऽविदितसङ्कल्पस् तथा स्पन्दस्व कर्मसु
Just as the feet of a traveler move toward their destination without conscious intention, so too let your actions proceed without deliberate thought.
सर्वकर्मफलाभोगम् अलं विस्मृत्य सुप्तवत् । प्रवाहापतिते कार्ये स्पन्दस्व गतवेदनम्
Forget all enjoyment of the fruits of action, as one does in sleep; let your actions arise naturally in the flow of events, free from awareness.
स्पन्दस्व गतसङ्कल्पं सुखदुẖखान्य् अभावयन् । प्रवाहापतिते कार्ये वेष्टितोन्मुक्तशष्पवत्
Move about, having abandoned all intentions, regarding pleasure and pain as absent, like a blade of grass carried away and released by the current of a stream.
रसभावनम् अन्तस् ते मालं भवतु कर्मसु । दारुयन्त्रमयस्येव परार्थम् इव कुर्वतः
Let the sense of taste within you become dull in all actions, like a wooden or mechanical device acting only for the sake of others.
नीरसा एव ते सन्तु समस्तेन्द्रियसंविदः । आकारमात्रसंलक्ष्या हेमन्तर्तौ लता इव
Let all your sensory experiences be devoid of savor, perceived only as forms, like vines in winter.
बोधार्कापीतरसया स्पन्दिषड्वर्गसत्तया । यन्त्रस्पन्दाभया तिष्ठ वल्ल्येव शिशिरे द्रुमः
Remain with the awareness that is like the sun of knowledge, with the six impulses merely vibrating mechanically, like a tree in winter with only its creepers moving.
विदान्तररसान्य् एव प्रवृत्तान्य् अपि धारय । स्वयत्नेनेन्द्रियाण्य् आशु हेमन्तर्तुस् तरून् इव
Sustain the activities of the senses only with the inner essence of knowledge, restraining them quickly by your own effort, like trees in winter restrain their sap.
सरसेन्द्रियवृत्तैस् तैẖ कुर्वतो ऽकुर्वतस् तथा । संसारानर्थसार्थो ऽयं न कदाचन शाम्यति
As long as one acts with lively sense-activities, whether acting or not acting, this caravan of worldly suffering never ceases.
निस्सङ्कल्पं मरुज्ज्वालायन्त्राम्बुस्पन्दवद् यदि । स्पन्दसे तद् अनन्ताय श्रेयसे परिकल्पसे
If you move without intention, like the vibration of water moved by the wind or the motion of a machine, then you are established in the highest, endless good.
एतद् एव परं धैर्यं जन्मज्वरनिवारणम् । यद् अवासनम् अभ्यस्तनिजकर्मसु कर्तृता
This alone is supreme courage, the remedy for the fever of birth: to practice action without the sense of doership.
अवासनम् असङ्कल्पं यथाप्राप्तानुवृत्तिमान् । शनैश् चक्रं भ्रमाभोग इव स्पन्दस्व कर्मसु
Remain without fixation, free from intention, following what comes as it comes; in your actions, move gently, like a wheel turning by the momentum of past motion.
मा कर्मफलबुद्धिर् भूर् मा ते सङ्गो ऽस्त्व् अकर्मणि । उभयं वा त्यजैतत् त्वम् उभयं वा समाश्रय
Let there be no thought in you of the fruits of action, nor any attachment to inaction; either abandon both, or embrace both equally.
बहुनात्र किम् उक्तेन सङ्क्षेपाद् इदम् उच्यते । सङ्कल्पनं परो बन्धस् तदभावो विमुक्तता
Why say much here? In brief, this is declared: imagination is the supreme bondage; its absence is liberation.
नेह कार्यं न चाकार्यम् अस्ति किञ्चन कुत्रचित् । सर्वं शिवम् अनाद्यन्तम् अनन्तं प्राग्वद् आस्यताम्
Here, there is truly no action nor inaction anywhere; let everything, beginningless and endless, auspicious and infinite, remain as before.
पश्यन् कर्मण्य् अकर्मत्वम् अकर्मणि च कर्मताम् । यथाभूतार्थविद्रूपश् शान्तम् आस्स्व यथासुखम्
Seeing non-action in action and action in non-action, being one who knows things as they truly are, abide in peace as you find comfort.
अवेदनं विदुर् योगं शान्तम् आसितम् अक्षयम् । योगस्थẖ कुरु कर्माणि नीरसो माथ वा कुरु
They call yoga the state of non-feeling, peaceful, and imperishable; established in yoga, perform actions without taste for them, or do not act at all.