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.
जीवस् सङ्कल्पमात्रात्मा यत्सङ्कल्पो ऽवतिष्ठते । हृदि भूत्वा स एवाशु बहिḫ प्रसरति स्फुटम्
The individual soul is of the nature of mere intention; whatever intention is held, that, becoming established in the heart, quickly and clearly spreads outward.
यथास्थितास्यां निश्चिन्तां वर्जयित्वाम्बरोपमाम् । न कयाचिद् अपि स्थित्या शाम्यत्य् अहम् इति भ्रमः
Except for the one who remains as she is, carefree and sky-like, the notion 'I am at rest by any particular state' is a delusion.
चिन्ता तु चिन्त्यमानापि भावनीयाम्बरोपमा । अहम्भावोपशमने शमनेन क्रमेण ते
Even when worry is contemplated, it is like the sky to be imagined; by gradually calming the sense of 'I', it is pacified in you.
तज्ज्ञा व्यवहरन्तीह भाव्यभावनवर्जितम् । अरूपालोकमननं मौनदारुनरा इव
The knower of that, acting here, is free from both imagination and non-imagination; their contemplation is formless, like silent ascetics made of wood.
अकिञ्चिद्भावनो यस् स्यात् स मुक्त इति कथ्यते । जीवन्न् आकाशविशदो बद्धस् त्व् अन्य इव स्फुटम्
One whose mind is established in nothingness is called liberated; living, he is clear as space, while another is clearly bound.
अहम् इत्य् एव शुक्रस्था संविद् आपादमस्तकम् । विसरत्य् अखिले देहे ब्रह्माण्डे ऽर्कप्रभा यथा
The consciousness situated in the semen, as 'I am', spreads from head to foot throughout the whole body, like the light of the sun in the universe.
दृङ् नेत्रं स्वदनं जिह्वा श्रुतिश् श्रोत्रं भवत्य् असौ । इत्याद्या वासनाḫ पञ्च बद्ध्वा तासु निमज्जति
The tendency arises: 'sight is the eye, taste is the tongue, hearing is the ear,' and so on; binding itself with these five inclinations, it becomes immersed in them.
विद्भावो ऽक्षतयोदेति मनो भूत्वैकदेशतः । सर्वगो ऽपि रसो भूमौ यथाङ्कुरतया मधौ
From a particular aspect, the mind arises as the sense of individuality, just as, though pervasive, the essence of taste appears in the earth as a sprout in honey.
यो भावयति भावेषु नेह रूढेष्व् अभावताम् । तस्यायत्नवतो दुẖखम् अनन्तं नोपशाम्यति
He who contemplates objects but does not become established in them as real, for him, without effort, endless suffering does not arise.
येन केनचिद् आच्छन्नो येन केनचिद् आशितः । यत्र क्वचन शायी ज्ञस् सम्राड् इव विराजते
Covered by whatever, sustained by whatever, lying wherever—such a knower shines forth like a sovereign.