एवम् आद्यन्तरहितम् अभ्यासेन शनैश् शनैः । पदम् आसादयाद्वन्द्वम् अतीतं सर्ववस्तुनः
In this way, through steady practice, gradually attain the state that is without beginning or end, beyond all dualities and all things.
न च द्वैतं न चैवैक्यं जगद् इत्य् एव निश्चयी । परमाम् एहि विश्रान्तिम् आकाशविशदाशयः
Be certain that the world is neither dual nor one; attain supreme rest with a mind clear as space.
यद्य् एवं मुनिशार्दूल तद् अहम्प्रत्ययात्मकः । भवान् एवेह किं तावद् वसिष्ठाख्यस् ततो वद
If this is so, O best of sages, then you are truly the very essence of the sense of 'I'; why, then, are you called Vasistha here? Tell me this.
राघवे गदति त्व् एवं वसिष्ठो वदतां वरः । तूष्णीम् एव मुहूर्तार्धम् अतिष्ठत् स्पष्टचेष्टितः
When Raghava spoke thus, Vasistha, best among speakers, remained silent for half a moment, his movements clear.
तस्मिंस् तूष्णीं स्थिते किं स्याद् इति सभ्ये महाजने । पतिते संशयाम्भोधौ रामḫ पुनर् उवाच ह
As Vasistha stood silent, the great assembly was plunged into a sea of doubt, wondering what would happen; then Rama spoke again.
किमर्थं भगवंस् तूष्णीं भवान् अहम् इव स्थितः । न सो ऽस्ति जगति न्यायस् सतां यत्रोत्तरक्षयः
Revered one, why did you remain silent like me? In this world, there is no proper course for the noble where a reply is left unspoken.
न मे वक्तुम् अशक्यत्वाद् उक्तिक्षय उपस्थितः । किं तु प्रश्नस्य ते ऽद्यास्य तूष्णीम् एवानघोत्तरः
Because I am unable to speak, the end of words has arrived for me; yet, for your question today, I remain silent, without a fault in my reply.
द्विविधो भवति प्रष्टा तत्त्वज्ञो ऽज्ञो ऽथ वापि च । अज्ञस्याज्ञतया देयो ज्ञस्य तु ज्ञतयोत्तरः
There are two kinds of questioners: one who knows the truth and one who does not; to the ignorant, an answer is given according to their ignorance, but to the wise, according to their knowledge.
एतावन्तम् अभूत् कालं भवान् अज्ञाततत्पदः । भाजनं सविकल्पानाम् उत्तराणां महामते
For all this time, you have not known that supreme state; you have been a vessel for answers filled with distinctions, O great-minded one.
तज्ज्ञस् त्वम् अधुना जातो विश्रान्तḫ परमे पदे । योग्यो न सविकल्पानाम् उत्तराणाम् असि स्फुटम्
Now you have become a knower of That, resting in the supreme state; you are no longer fit for answers that are marked by distinctions, clearly.
यावान् कश्चित् किलोल्लेखो वाङ्मयो वदतां वर । सूक्ष्मार्थḫ परमार्थो वा बहुर् अल्पतरो ऽपि वा
Whatever surge of speech arises, O best of speakers—whether subtle meaning, ultimate meaning, or much or little—
प्रतियोगिव्यवच्छेदसङ्ख्याभेदादिभिर् भ्रमैः । स स सर्वो ऽङ्कितस् साधो भा इव त्रसरेणुभिः
All of it is marked by errors such as distinctions, divisions, numbers, and differences; just as a surface is marked by dust particles, O noble one.
उत्तरं सकलङ्कं च तज्ज्ञो नार्हति सुन्दर । नाकलङ्का च वाग् अस्ति त्वं च तज्ज्ञतरस् स्थितः
A knower of That does not deserve an answer that is tainted; nor is speech ever without taint, and you are established as one who knows That.
यथाभूतं च वक्तव्यं ज्ञस्यान्तेवासिनो मया । यथाभूतं विदुẖ काष्ठमौनम् अन्तविवर्जितम्
What must be spoken to the wise disciple by me is as it truly is; those who know as it truly is regard the highest silence as endless.
अविरामम् असङ्कल्पं मौनम् आहुḫ परं पदम् । तद् एव तव तज्ज्ञस्य दत्तस् सुन्दर उत्तरः
Unceasing, thought-free silence is called the supreme state; this alone, O wise one, is the beautiful answer given to you.
यन्मयो हि भवत्य् अङ्ग पुरुषो वक्ति तादृशम् । ज्ञेयमात्रम् असच् चाहं वागतीते पदे स्थितः
For whatever a person is made of, O dear one, such does he speak; I am mere knowledge, non-being, abiding in the state beyond speech.
वागतीतपदस्थो हि कथं गृह्णाति वाङ्मलम् । अवाच्यं वच्मि नो तेन वाग् घि सङ्कल्पनाङ्किता
How can one established in the state beyond speech take up the impurity of speech? What is unspeakable, I do not utter, for speech is marked by conceptualization.
वाचि ये ये प्रवर्तन्ते तान् अनादृत्य दोषकान् । प्रतियोगिव्यवच्छेदपूर्वकान् वद को भवान्
Disregarding the faults of those who engage in speech, tell me, who are you, who speak only after excluding all opposites?
एवं स्थिते राघवेह यथाभूतम् इदं शृणु । कस् त्वं को ऽहं जगद् वा किम् इति तत्त्वविदां वर
Thus situated, O Raghava, listen here to the reality as it is: Who are you? Who am I? What is the world?—O best of those who know the truth.
अयं तावद् अहं शान्तश् चिदालोको निरामयः । चेत्यसंवेद्यरहितस् सर्वसङ्कल्पनातिगः
As for me, I am peaceful, the light of consciousness, free from affliction, devoid of objects and knowables, beyond all conceptualization.
स्वच्छं चिदाकाशम् अहं भवान् आकाशम् एव च । जगच् चाकाशम् अखिलं सर्वम् आकाशमात्रकम्
I am the clear space of consciousness, you are indeed space itself, and the entire world is space—everything is nothing but space.
शुद्धज्ञानैकरूपात्मा शुद्धज्ञानमयात्मनि । अन्यसंविद्दशोन्मुक्तस् त्व् अन्यद् वक्तुं न वेद्म्य् अहम्
With a self of pure knowledge alone, in a self made of pure knowledge, released from all states of other-knowing, I do not know anything else to speak of.
स्वपक्षोद्भावनपरा अहन्तात्मैकबन्धनम् । मोक्षार्थम् अप्य् उद्यमिनो नयन्ति शतशाखताम्
Those who are intent on promoting their own side, whose only bondage is the sense of 'I', even when striving for liberation, create a hundred branches of activity.
जीवतो ऽप्य् उपशान्तस्य व्यवहारवतो ऽपि वा । शववद् यद् अवस्थानं तद् आहुḫ परमं पदम्
Whether living in tranquility or engaged in worldly dealings, when one abides like a corpse, that state is called the supreme goal.
अबहिस्साधनं शान्तम् अनन्तस्साधनं समम् । न सुखं नासुखं नाहं नान्यद् इत्य् आसितं शिवम्
That auspicious state is established where there is no external means, where there is peace, where there is no end or means, where there is evenness, where there is neither happiness nor unhappiness, neither 'I' nor anything else.
मुक्तताया अहन्तेयम् अभावो भावनाङ्कया । तयैवान्विष्यते सेति जात्यन्धश् चित्रम् ईक्षते
The absence of the sense of 'I' is the mark of liberation; it is attained by the cultivation of such awareness. By that alone, one investigates, just as a person blind from birth sees something remarkable.
स्पन्दने ऽस्पन्दने चैव यत् पाषाणवद् आसितम् । अजडस्यैव तद् विद्धि निर्वाणम् अजरं पदम्
Know that the state of remaining like a stone, whether in movement or stillness, belongs only to one who is not inert; that is the deathless state of nirvana.
तच् च नान्यो विजानाति स्वयम् एवानुभूयते । लोकैषणाविरक्तेन ज्ञेन ज्ञत्वम् इवात्मनि
And this is not known by another; it is experienced by oneself alone, just as knowledge is known in oneself by the wise who are not attached to worldly pursuits.
नात्राहन्ता न च त्वत्ता नाहन्ता नैव चान्यता । केवलं केवलीभावो निर्वाणम् अमलं शिवम्
Here, there is no sense of 'I', nor of 'you', nor of 'I-ness', nor of otherness; there is only the state of pure being, which is nirvana, stainless and auspicious.
चेत्योन्मुखत्वम् एवाहुश् चेतनस्यास्य चेतनम् । एष एव च संसारो बन्धẖ क्लेशाय भूयसे
They say that the tendency of consciousness to turn toward objects is itself the consciousness of this mind; and this alone is samsara, bondage, and the cause of great suffering.