असतश् शशशृङ्गादेर् मृगतृष्णाम्भसो ऽथ वा । आलोकनाद् अलभ्यस्य कीदृक् स्याद् अथ कारणम्
How could there be a cause for something nonexistent, like the horn of a hare or the water of a mirage? What kind of cause could there be for something that cannot be perceived?
असतश् शशशृङ्गादेẖ कारणं मार्गयन्ति ये । वन्ध्यापुत्रस्य पौत्रस्य स्कन्धम् आसादयन्ति ते
Those who seek a cause for what does not exist, like the horn of a hare, are like those who try to grasp the shoulder of the grandson of a barren woman.
असत्यप्रतिभासानाम् एतद् एवाशु कारणम् । यद् अनालोकनं नाम समालोकाक्षयक्षयम्
The immediate cause of unreal appearances is simply non-perception—that is, the absence of true seeing, which is the exhaustion of the power of perception.
परमात्मायते जीवो ऽबुध्यमानस् त्व् अचेतनम् । चेतनं बुध्यमानस् तु जीव एवावतिष्ठते
The individual soul appears as the supreme Self; when it is not aware, it is insentient, but when it is aware, it abides as the living being.
परमात्मैव जीवो ऽयं बुध्यमानस् त्व् अचेतनम् । आम्र एव रसापत्तेḫ प्रयाति सहकारताम्
The individual self is truly the supreme Self, while the intellect is insentient; just as a mango, when its juice is extracted, becomes like a citron.
चेतनं बुध्यमानस् तु जीव एवावतिष्ठते । जीवो जीवति जीर्णेषु जातिजन्मसु जर्जरः
When the intellect is conscious, it is only the individual self that abides; the individual self lives on, even as bodies decay and are born again, worn out by repeated births.
ये परां दृष्टिम् आयाता दृश्यश्रीपारदर्शिनः । न विद्यमानम् अप्य् अस्ति तेषां वेदनम् आततम्
Those who have attained the highest vision, who see through the splendor of appearances, for them, even what does not exist is not perceived at all.
ये परां दृष्टिम् आयाता विद्धि तेषाम् अपाम् इव । अरूपालोकमननं स्पन्दम् अस्पन्दनं सदा
Know that for those who have attained the highest vision, their contemplation is like water—formless, always perceiving movement and stillness as one.
ये परां दृष्टिम् आयाता विद्धि तेषाम् अपाम् इव । स्पन्दम् अस्पन्दनं सर्वम् अवेदनवशाद् इह
Know that for those who have attained the highest vision, their experience is like water—movement and stillness are all, here, due to the absence of sensation.
अरूपालोकमननं वेष्टितोन्मुक्तदामवत् । बुद्धाẖ कर्मसु चेष्टन्ते वृक्षपत्त्रेष्व् इवानिलाः
Their contemplation is formless, like a loosened string from a coil; the awakened act in the world as the wind moves among the leaves of trees.
ये परां दृष्टिम् आयातास् संसृतेḫ पारदर्शिनः । न ते कर्म प्रशंसन्ति कूपं नद्यां पिबन्न् इव
Those who have attained the highest vision, who see through the course of worldly existence, do not praise action, just as one drinking from a river does not praise a well.
ये बद्धवासना मूढाẖ कर्म शंसन्ति ते ऽनघ । श्रुतिस्मृत्युदितं तेन विनाधोऽधḫ पतन्ति ते
Those who are bound by desires and deluded praise action, O sinless one; without what is taught in the scriptures, they fall lower and lower.
इन्द्रियाणि पतन्त्य् अर्थं धृष्टगृध्रा इवामिषम् । तानि संयम्य मनसा युक्त आसीत तत्परः
The senses rush toward their objects, bold and greedy like vultures toward flesh; restraining them with the mind, one should remain steadfast, intent upon that goal.
नासन्निवेशं हेमास्ति नासर्गं ब्रह्म विद्यते । किं तु सर्गादिशब्दार्थमुक्तं युक्तम् अतश् शिवम्
There is no golden place called 'non-existence,' nor is there a 'Brahman' apart from nature; rather, the terms like creation and so forth are used appropriately—thus is the auspicious truth.
एकान्धकारे सम्पन्ने व्यवहारो युगक्षये । निर्विभागो निराभासो यथा ब्रह्मघने तथा
When utter darkness prevails at the end of an age, all activity ceases, undivided and without appearance—just as in the mass of Brahman.
अभ्रोदरे ऽभ्रभागानां स्पन्दास्पन्दमयी यथा । स्वसंविदात्मिका सत्ता भूतानाम् ईश्वरे तथा
As, within a cloud, the parts of cloud exist as movement and stillness, so too, in the Lord, the existence of beings is of the nature of self-awareness.
जलस्यान्तर् जलांशानां द्वैताद्वैतमयो यथा । स्वसंविदात्मा स्वस्पन्दस् तथा ब्रह्मणि भूतदृक्
Just as, within water, the portions of water are both dual and nondual, so too, in Brahman, the perception of beings is self-awareness and its own vibration.
यथाम्बरे ऽम्बरांशानां द्वैताद्वैतैकतात्मनि । स्वसंविदात्मिका सत्ता भूतानाम् ईश्वरे तथा
As, in space, the portions of space are united in the one essence of duality and nonduality, so too, in the Lord, the existence of beings is of the nature of self-awareness.
अनन्यावयवव्याप्तिर् यथावयविनि स्थिता । अनन्या सृष्टिर् आभाति तथानवयवे शिवे
Just as the parts pervade the whole without being separate, so too, creation appears as non-other in the partless Shiva.
जगतो ऽन्तर् अहंरूपम् अहंरूपान्तरे जगत् । स्थितम् अन्योऽन्यवलितं कदलीदलपीठवत्
Within the world is the form of 'I,' and within the form of 'I' is the world; both are established, mutually reflected, like the layers of a plantain stem.
रूपालोकमनस्कारै रन्ध्रैर् बहिर् इव स्थिताम् । सृष्टिं पश्यति जीवो ऽन्तस् सरसीम् इव पर्वतः
The individual, through the apertures of perception shaped by form, sees the creation as if it were outside, just as a mountain sees a lake within itself.
जीवो जगत्तयात्मानं पश्यत्य् अयम् अकारणम् । हेमेव कटकादित्वं तद् अपश्यन् न पश्यति
This individual, without any real cause, perceives himself as the world; just as gold, not recognizing itself, sees itself as a bracelet or other ornament.
जीवन्तो ऽपि न जीवन्ति म्रियन्ते न मृता अपि । सन्तो ऽपि न च सन्तीव परावरविदश् शुभाः
Though alive, they do not truly live; though dead, they are not truly dead; though existent, they seem not to exist—such are the blessed ones who know the highest and the lowest.
प्रबुद्धस् सर्वकर्माणि कुर्वन्न् अपि न पश्यति । गृहकर्माणि गेहस्थो गोष्ठभाण्डमना इव
The awakened one, even while performing all actions, does not see himself as the doer—like a householder engaged in household tasks, yet his mind is on the cattle and their goods.
विराड् हृदि यथा चन्द्रḫ प्रतिदेहं तथा स्थितः । जीवो हिमकणाकारस् स्थूले स्थूलो लघौ लघुः
Just as the full moon appears in every heart, so the cosmic being abides; the individual, like a drop of dew, is gross in the gross, subtle in the subtle.
अहमात्मा त्रिकोणत्वम् उपगच्छति कल्पनात् । असद् एव सदाभासं मन्यते चेतनाद् वपुः
The self, through imagination, assumes the form of a triangle; consciousness regards the unreal as real, taking on a body that only seems to exist.
कर्मकोशे त्रिकोणे तु शुक्रसारो ऽवतिष्ठते । देहे जीवो ऽहम् इत्य् आत्मा स्वामोदẖ कुसुमे यथा
In the triangular repository of action, the essence of vitality abides; in the body, the individual self, thinking 'I am,' dwells as fragrance in a flower.
अहम् इत्य् एव शुक्रस्था संविद् आपादमस्तकम् । विसरत्य् अखिले ज्योत्स्ना यथा ब्रह्माण्डमण्डपे
The awareness established in the vital essence, as 'I am,' pervades from head to toe, spreading everywhere like moonlight in the expanse of the universe.
अक्षरन्ध्रप्रणालेन विवृतं वेदनोदकम् । व्याप्नोति त्रिजगद् धूमो वियन् मेघतया यथा
Through the channel of the subtle nerve, the water of sensation, once opened, pervades the three worlds like vapor spreads in the sky as a cloud.
देहे यद्य् अप्य् अशेषे ऽस्मिन् बहिर् अन्तश् च वेदनम् । विद्यते तत् तथाप्य् अत्र शुक्रे ऽस्ति घनवासनम्
Although sensation exists everywhere, both inside and outside this entire body, yet here, in the semen, it has a dense abode.