अस्पन्दवातसदृशं खकोशाभाच्छचिन्मयम् । अचेत्यं शान्तम् उदितं लताविकसनोपमम्
It is like unmoving wind, like the sky within a jar, made of consciousness, ungraspable, peaceful, arisen like the blossoming of a vine.
सर्वस्य वस्तुजातस्य तत् स्वभावं विदुर् बुधाः । सर्वोपलम्भो गलति तत्रस्थस्य विवेकिनः
The wise know this as the nature of all things; for one established there with discernment, all perception falls away.
सुषुप्ते स्वप्नधीर् नास्ति स्वप्ने नास्ति सुषुप्तधीः । सर्गनिर्वाणयोर् भ्रान्ती सुषुप्तस्वप्नयोर् इव
In deep sleep, the mind of dreams does not exist; in dreams, the mind of deep sleep is absent. The confusion between creation and dissolution is just like that between deep sleep and dreams.
भ्रान्तिर् वस्तुस्वभावो ऽसौ न स्वप्नो न सुषुप्तता । न सर्गो न च निर्वाणं सत्यं शान्तम् अशेषतः
This confusion is merely the nature of things; it is neither dream nor deep sleep, neither creation nor dissolution. What is true is utterly peaceful.
भ्रान्तिस् त्व् असन्मात्रमयी प्रेक्षिता चेन् न लभ्यते । शुक्तिरुप्यम् इवासत्यं किल सम्प्राप्यते कथम्
If this confusion, which is made only of non-being, is examined, it is not found; how can something unreal, like silver in a shell, ever be attained?
यन् न लब्धं च तन् नास्ति तेन भ्रान्तेर् न सम्भवः । स्वभावाद् उपलम्भो ऽन्यो नास्ति कश्चन कस्यचित्
What is not obtained does not exist; therefore, confusion cannot arise. Apart from its own nature, there is no other perception for anyone.
स्वभाव एव सर्वस्मै स्वदते किल सर्वदा । अनानैव हि नानेव किं वादैस् स विभाव्यताम्
One's own nature always delights everyone at all times. It is not many, nor is it divided; why should it be discussed with arguments?
अस्वभावे महद् दुẖखं स्वभावे केवलं शमः । इति बुद्ध्या विचार्यान्तर् यद् इष्टं तद् विधीयताम्
Great suffering arises from what is not one's nature; in one's own nature, there is only peace. Thus, after considering with reason, let what is desired be done.
सूक्ष्मे बीजे ऽस्त्य् अगस् स्थूलो दृष्टम् इत्य् उपपद्यते । शिवे ऽमूर्ते जगन् मूर्तम् अस्तीत्य् उत्तमसङ्कथा
In the subtle seed, there is the gross tree; this is observed and accepted. In Shiva, the formless, the world is manifest; this is the highest teaching.
रूपालोकमनस्कारबुद्ध्यहन्तादयḫ परे । स्वरूपभूतास् सलिले द्रवत्वम् इव खात्मकाः
Forms, perceptions, intentions, intellect, ego, and the rest are supreme; being of their own nature, they are like fluidity in water, having the nature of space.
मूर्तो यथा स्वसदृशैẖ करोत्य् अवयवैẖ क्रियाः । आत्मभूतैस् तथा भूतैश् चिदाकाशम् अकर्तृ सत्
Just as a tangible object acts through its own similar parts, so too the space of consciousness, though non-acting, operates through elements that arise from itself.
आत्मस्थाद् अहम् इत्यादिर् अस्मदादेर् असंसृतेः । शब्दो ऽर्थभावमुक्तो ऽयं पटहाद् इव जायते
From the Self arises the notion of 'I' and similar expressions, but for us there is no involvement; this word arises devoid of real substance, just as a sound comes from a drum.
यद् भ्रान्तं प्रेक्षया नास्ति तन् नास्त्य् एव निरन्तरम् । जगद्रूपम् अरूपात्म ब्रह्म ब्रह्मणि संस्थितम्
That which is seen in delusion does not truly exist; it never exists at all. The world-form, established in formless Brahman, is Brahman alone.
येषाम् अस्ति जगत्स्वप्नस् ते स्वप्नपुरुषा मिथः । न सन्त्य् आत्मनि मिथ्याङ्गा नास्मास्व् अम्बरपुष्पवत्
Those for whom the world-dream exists are like dream-figures to each other; in the Self, these false limbs do not exist, just as flowers do not exist in the sky.
मयि ब्रह्मैकरूपं ते शान्तम् आकाशकोशवत् । वायौ स्पन्दैर् इवाभिन्नैर् व्यवहारश् च तैर् मयि
For me, they are of the one form of Brahman, peaceful like the ether within a jar; their dealings with me are undivided, like movements in the wind.
अहं तु सन्मयस् तेषां स्वप्नस् स्वप्नवताम् इव । ते तु नूनम् असन्तो मे सुषुप्ते स्वप्नका इव
But I am the reality for them, as the dream is for dreamers; yet truly, they do not exist for me, like dream-figures in deep sleep.
तैस् तु यो व्यवहारो मे तद् ब्रह्म ब्रह्मणि स्थितम् । ते यत् पश्यन्ति पश्यन्तु तत् तैर् अलम् अलं मम
Whatever dealings they have with me, that is Brahman established in Brahman; let them see what they see—that is enough for them, and enough for me.
अहम् आत्मनि नैवास्मि ब्रह्मसत्तेयम् आतता । त्वदर्थं समुदेतीव तथारूपैव वाग् इयम्
I do not exist in the Self as a separate entity; this existence of Brahman is all-pervading. For your sake, it seems to arise, and in that way, this very speech appears.
अनिरुद्धस्य रुद्धस्य शुद्धसंविन्मयात्मनः । न भोगेच्छा न मोक्षेच्छा हृदि स्फुरति तद्विदः
For one whose nature is pure consciousness, unrestrained and unconfined, neither the desire for enjoyment nor the desire for liberation arises in the heart.
स्वभावमात्रायत्ते ऽस्मिन् बन्धमोक्षक्रमे नृणाम् । कदर्थनेत्य् अहो मोहाद् गोष्पदे ऽप्य् उदधिभ्रमः
In this process of bondage and liberation, which is governed solely by inherent nature, how astonishing it is that, out of delusion, people imagine an ocean even in a cow’s hoofprint.
अभावसाधने मोक्षे भावोपशमरूपिणि । न धनान्य् उपकुर्वन्ति न मित्राणि न च क्रियाः
When liberation is attained through the realization of absence and the quieting of all phenomena, neither wealth, nor friends, nor actions are of any assistance.
तैलबिन्दुर् भवत्य् उच्चैश् चक्रम् अप्पतितो यथा । तथाशु चेत्यसङ्कल्पे स्थिता भवति चिज् जगत्
Just as a drop of oil rises high and a wheel moves when it touches water, so too, when the thought of objects is established, consciousness swiftly becomes the world.
जाग्रति स्वप्नवृत्तान्तस्थितिर् यादृग्रसा स्मृतौ । तादृग्रसाहन्त्वजगज्जालसंस्था विवेकिनः
As the state of dream persists in memory during waking, so too, for the discerning one, the web of the world and the sense of 'I' remain only as impressions.
तेनैवाभ्यासयोगेन याति तत् तनुतां तथा । यथा नाहं न संसारश् शान्तम् एवावशिष्यते
Through repeated practice in this way, that state becomes subtle, so that neither 'I' nor 'world' remain, and only peace is left.
यदा यदा स्वभावार्कस् स्थितिम् एति तदा तदा । भोगान्धकारो गलति न सन्न् अप्य् अनुभूयते
Whenever the sun of one's true nature attains its own state, then the darkness of enjoyment disappears, and even what is not real is not experienced.
सो ऽयम् अहन्तारहितस् स्फुरति सृतौ भवति भासते च तथा । बुद्ध्यादिकरणनिकरो यस्माद् दीपाद् इवालोकः
Thus, this self devoid of ego shines forth, arises in creation, and radiates; just as light comes from a lamp, so the multitude of instruments like intellect and mind are illuminated by it.
रूपालोकमनस्कारबुद्ध्यादीन्द्रियवेदनम् । स्वरूपं विदुर् अम्लानम् अस्वभावस्य वस्तुनः
The perception of form, sight, attention, intellect, and the senses is known as the unwithering essence of the thing that is without inherent nature.
अस्वभावतनुत्वेन स्वभावस्थितिशान्तता । यदोदेति तदा सर्गो भ्रमाभḫ प्रतिभासते
When, due to the insubstantiality of its nature, there arises the peaceful abiding in one's own nature, then creation appears merely as an illusion.
यदा स्वभावविश्रान्तिस् स्थितिम् एति शमात्मिका । जगद् दृश्यं तदा स्वप्नस् सुषुप्त इव शाम्यति
When the mind, resting in its own nature, attains a state of peace, then the visible world subsides like a dream in deep sleep.
भोगा भवमहारोगा बन्धवो दृढबन्धनम् । अनर्थायार्थसम्पत्तिर् आत्मनात्मनि शाम्यताम्
Pleasures are the great disease of existence; relatives are strong bonds; the acquisition of wealth leads to misfortune—may all these subside within the Self, in the Self.