रागद्वेषभयादीनाम् अनुरूपं चरन्न् अपि । यो ऽन्तर् व्योमवद् अत्यच्छस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who, though acting in accordance with attraction, aversion, and fear, remains inwardly utterly clear like space—he is called a jīvanmukta, one liberated while living.
यस्य नाहङ्कृतो भावो बुद्धिर् यस्य न लिप्यते । कुर्वतो ऽकुर्वतो वापि स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He whose sense of 'I' is absent, whose intellect is not tainted, whether acting or not acting—he is called a jīvanmukta.
यश् चोन्मेषनिमेषाभ्यां विधेः प्रलयसम्भवौ । पश्येत् त्रिलोक्याः खसमस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who sees, in the opening and closing of the eyes, the creation and dissolution of the universe, as if it were space—he is called a jīvanmukta.
भोक्तैव यो न भोक्तैव शुद्धबोधैकतां गतः । बुद्धस् सुप्त इवास्ते ऽन्तस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who is as if an enjoyer and yet not an enjoyer, who has attained pure awareness alone, who abides inwardly like one awakened yet asleep—he is called a jīvanmukta.
नित्यं द्रष्टैव चाद्रष्टा जीवन्न् एव मृतोपमः । व्यवहर्तैव शैलाभस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who is always a seer and yet not a seer, living yet like one dead, who acts in the world yet is unmoving like a mountain—he is called a jīvanmukta.
यस्मान् नोद्विजते लोको लोकान् नोद्विजते च यः । हर्षामर्षभयोन्मुक्तस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He from whom the world does not recoil, and who does not recoil from the world, who is free from delight and resentment—he is called a jīvanmukta.
शान्तसंसारकलनः कलावान् अपि निष्कलः । यस् सचित्तो ऽपि निश्चित्तस् स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He whose calculation of worldly affairs is pacified, who, though possessing parts, is partless, who, though having a mind, is as if mindless—he is called a jīvanmukta.
यस् समस्तार्थजातेषु व्यवहार्य् अपि शीतलः । परार्थेष्व् इव पूर्णात्मा स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
He who, though engaged in all kinds of activities, remains cool, whose self is full as if for the sake of others—he is called a jīvanmukta.
जीवन्मुक्तपदं त्यक्त्वा देहे कालवशात् क्षते । चिद् यात्य् अदेहमुक्तत्वं पवनो ऽस्पन्दताम् इव
Having relinquished the state of liberation while living, when the body is destroyed by the force of time, consciousness attains bodiless liberation, just as the wind becomes still.
विदेहमुक्तो नोदेति नास्तम् एति न शाम्यति । न सन् नासन् न दूरस्थं न चाहं न च वेतरत्
The one liberated without a body neither arises nor sets nor ceases; neither existent nor nonexistent, neither distant nor near, neither 'I' nor other than 'I'.
सूर्यो भूत्वा प्रतपति विष्णुः पाति जगत्त्रयम् । रुद्रस् सर्वान् संहरति सर्वान् सृजति पद्मभूः
Becoming the sun, it shines; as Vishnu, it protects the three worlds; as Rudra, it dissolves all; as Padmabhū (Brahma), it creates all.
खं भूत्वा पवनस्कन्धान् धत्ते सर्क्षसुरासुरान् । कुलाचलगणो भूत्वा लोकपालपुरास्पदम्
Becoming space, it sustains the currents of wind along with the stars, gods, and demons; becoming the mass of mountain ranges, it serves as the abode of the guardians of the worlds.
भूमिर् भूत्वा बिभर्तीमां लोकस्थितिम् अखण्डिताम् । तृणगुल्मलता भूत्वा ददाति फलसन्ततिम्
Becoming earth, it upholds the unbroken existence of these worlds; becoming grass, shrubs, and creepers, it produces a succession of fruits.
बिभ्रज् जलानलाकारञ् ज्वलति द्रवति द्रुतः । चन्द्रो ऽमृतं प्रसवति मृतिं हालाहलं विषम्
It shines in the forms of water and fire, blazing, melting, and flowing; as the moon, it generates nectar, as death, it produces poison and calamity.
तेजः प्रकटयत्य् आशास् तनोत्य् आन्ध्यं तमो भवन् । शून्यं सन् व्योमताम् एति गिरिस् सन् रोधयत्य् अलम्
Light reveals hope, darkness spreads blindness; being void, it becomes the nature of space; being a mountain, it obstructs abundantly.
करोति जङ्गमं चित्त्वे स्थावरं स्थावराक्र्टिः । भूत्वार्णवो वलयति भूस्त्रियं वलयो यथा
It makes the moving as mind, the unmoving as the form of the unmoving; becoming the ocean, it encircles the earth as a bracelet encircles a woman's arm.
परमार्कवपुर् भूत्वा प्रकाशे ऽन्तर् विसारयन् । त्रिजगत्त्रसरेण्वोघं शान्तम् एवावतिष्ठति
Becoming the very form of the supreme sun, spreading radiance within, he remains tranquil, even as the flood of the world's fears surges.
यत् किञ्चिद् इदम् आभाति भातं वा भाम् उपैष्यति । कालत्रयगतं दृश्यं तद् असौ सर्वम् एव वा
Whatever appears here, or will appear, or has appeared—whatever is seen in the three times—all that is truly only that.
कथम् एवं वद ब्रह्मन् भूयते विषमा हि मे । दृष्टिर् एषा तु दुष्प्रापा दुराक्रम्येति निश्चयः
How, O Brahman, does it become so? For my understanding is troubled; this vision is difficult to attain and hard to grasp—this is certain.
मुक्तिर् एषोच्यते राम ब्रह्मैतत् समुदाहृतम् । निर्वाणम् एतत् कथितं शृणु सम्प्राप्यते कथम्
This is called liberation, O Rama; this is declared to be Brahman. This is described as nirvana; listen to how it is attained.
यद् इदं दृश्यते दृश्यम् अहन्त्वत्तादिसंयुतम् । सतो ऽप्य् अस्याप्य् अनुत्पत्त्या बुद्धयैतद् अवाप्यते
Whatever is seen as an object, endowed with the sense of 'I' and 'mine,' is realized by the intellect as non-arising, even though it appears to exist.
विदेहमुक्तास् त्रैलोक्यं सम्पद्यन्ते यदा तदा । मन्ये ते सर्गताम् एव गता वेद्यविदां वर
When the disembodied liberated ones attain the three worlds, O best of the wise, I consider that they have reached the state of creation itself.
विद्यते चेत् त्रिभुवनं तत् तत्तां सम्प्रयान्तु ते । यत्र त्रैलोक्यशब्दार्थो न सम्भवति कश्चन
If the three worlds exist, let them proceed to their own reality; but where the very meaning of 'three worlds' does not arise at all—
तत्र त्रिलोकतां यातं ब्रह्मेत्य् उक्त्यर्थधीः कुतः । तस्मान् नो सम्भवत्य् अन्या जगच्छब्दार्थकल्पना
There, where the state of 'three worlds' is reached, how can the notion of 'Brahman' even arise? Therefore, no other conception of the world is possible there.
अनन्यच् छान्तम् आभासमात्रम् आकाशनिर्मलम् । ब्रह्मैव जगद् इत्य् एव सत्यं सत्यावबोधिनः
For one who truly knows reality, it is a fact that the world is nothing but Brahman alone—undivided, peaceful, mere appearance, pure as the sky.
यथा हि हेमकटके विचार्यापि न दृश्यते । कटकत्वं क्वचिन् नाम ऋते निर्मलहाटकम्
Just as, when examining a golden bracelet, one never perceives anything called 'bracelet-ness' apart from the pure gold itself,
जलाद् ऋते पयोवीचौ नाहं पश्यामि किञ्चन । वीचित्वं त्वादृशैर् दृष्टं यत् तु नास्त्य् एव तत्र हि
So too, apart from water, I see nothing in a wave; what you call 'wave-ness' is seen by people like you, but in truth, it does not exist there.
स्पन्दत्वं पवनाद् अन्यन् न कदाचन कुत्रचित् । स्पन्द एव सदा वायुर् जगत् तस्मान् न विद्यते
Apart from air, there is never any such thing as 'movement' anywhere; air is always just movement, and therefore the world does not exist.
यथा शून्यत्वम् आकाशस् ताप एव मरौ जलम् । तेज एव यथालोको ब्रह्मैव त्रिजगत् तथा
Just as emptiness is the nature of space, heat is the nature of a desert, and light is the nature of fire—so too, Brahman is the very nature of the three worlds.
अत्यन्ताभावसम्पत्त्या जगद्दृश्यस्य मुक्तता । ययोदेति मुने युक्त्या तां ममोपदिशोत्तमाम्
O sage, by what reasoning does the utter absence of the perceived world bring about liberation? Please instruct me in that supreme method.