एवम् अच्छं पराकाशे स्वप्नपत्तनवज् जगत् । भाति प्रथमम् एवेदं ब्रह्मैवेत्थम् अतस् स्थितम्
In this way, in the pure expanse, the world shines forth at first like a dream city; it is only Brahman, thus it remains.
तद् इदं तादृशं विद्धि सर्वं सर्वात्मकं च यत् । देशाद् देशान्तरप्राप्तौ विदो मध्यम् अनङ्कितम्
Know this, whatever appears, as all-pervading; when moving from one place to another, the knower is unmarked in the middle.
चिद्व्योम्नश् शान्तशान्तस्य मध्यम् एवैवम् आस्थितम् । जगत्तयेव सलिलम् एवोर्म्यादितया यथा
In the pure space of consciousness, which is ever peaceful, the middle is thus established; the world is like water appearing as waves and so on.
यद् उदेत्य् उदितं यच् च यच् च नोदेति नोदितम् । देशाद् देशान्तरप्राप्तौ विदो मध्यान् न भेदि तत्
Whatever arises or is arisen, and whatever does not arise or is not arisen—when moving from one place to another, the knower is not divided in the middle.
अतẖ किलास्य सर्गस्य कारणं शशशृङ्गवत् । प्रयत्नेनापि चान्विष्टं न किञ्चिद् उपलभ्यते
Therefore, the cause of this creation is like the horn of a rabbit; even with effort, nothing at all can be found.
यद् अकारणकं भाति तद् अभातं भ्रमात्मकम् । भ्रमस्यासत्यरूपस्य सत्यता कथम् उच्यते
Whatever appears without cause is unreal, of the nature of delusion; how can truth be ascribed to delusion, which is of an unreal form?
कारणेन विना कार्यं किल किं नाम विद्यते । यद् अपुत्रस्य सत्पुत्रदर्शनं स भ्रमो न सत्
Is there ever an effect without a cause? The vision of a good son by one who has no son—such is delusion, not reality.
यस् त्व् अकारणको भाति स स्वभावो विजृम्भते । सर्वरूपेण सङ्कल्पगन्धर्वनगरादिवत्
That which appears without a cause is simply the unfolding of its own nature; it manifests in every form, like a city of Gandharvas conjured by imagination.
देशाद् देशान्तरप्राप्तौ क्षणान् मध्यं विदो वपुः । स्वरूपम् अजहत् त्व् एव राजते ऽर्थविवर्तवत्
When a body moves from one place to another, those who know the truth see that it never abandons its own nature, but shines forth like an object undergoing transformation.
बोध एव कचत्य् अर्थरूपेण स च खाद् अणुः । दृष्टान्तो ऽत्रानुभूतो ऽन्तस् स्वप्नसङ्कल्पपर्वतः
Consciousness alone shines forth as the form of objects, and it is as subtle as space or an atom; the illustration here is the mountain of imagination seen within during a dream.
विद्यते वटबीजे ऽन्तर् यथा भावी महाद्रुमः । परमाणौ तथा सर्गो ब्रह्मन् कस्मान् न विद्यते
Just as the future great tree exists within the seed of the banyan, so too, O Brahman, why should not the creation exist within the atom?
यत्रास्ति बीजं तत्र स्याच् छाखा विततरूपिणी । जन्यते कारणैस् सा च वितता सहकारिभिः
Wherever there is a seed, there may arise a branch spreading out in form; it is produced through causes, and that spread is aided by cooperating factors.
समस्तभूतप्रलये बीजम् आकारि किं भवेत् । सहकार्य् अथ किं तस्य जायते यद्वशाज् जगत्
When all elements are dissolved, what becomes of the seed? And what of its auxiliaries, by whose power the world is generated?
यत् तु ब्रह्म परं शान्तं का तत्राकारकल्पना । परमाणुत्वयोगो ऽपि नात्र केवात्र बीजता
But as for the supreme, peaceful Brahman—what imagining of form can there be in that? Even the association with atomicity does not apply here, nor can there be any notion of seed.
कारणस्येति बीजस्य सत्यासत्यैककारिणः । असम्भवाज् जगत्सत्ता कथं केन कुतẖ क्व वा
If the cause, that is, the seed, is both real and unreal, how, by whom, from where, and in what manner could the existence of the world arise, since such a thing is impossible?
जगद् आस्ते परस्याणोर् अन्तर् इत्य् अपि नोचितम् । सार्षपे कणके मेरुर् आस्त इत्य् अज्ञकल्पना
It is not proper to say that the world exists within the Supreme Atom; it is like imagining that Mount Meru exists within a mustard seed or a grain—such is the conception of the ignorant.
सति बीजे प्रवर्तन्ते कार्यकारणदृष्टयः । निराकारस्य किं बीजं क्व जन्यजनकक्रमः
When the seed exists, the notions of cause and effect arise; but for that which is formless, what seed can there be, and where is the sequence of offspring and parent?
अतो यत् परमं तत्त्वं तद् एवेदं जगत् स्थितम् । नेह प्रजायते किञ्चिन् न च किञ्चन नश्यति
Therefore, that which is the supreme reality is this very world as it stands; here, nothing is born, and nothing whatsoever is destroyed.
चिदाकाशश् चिदाकाशे हृदि चित्त्वाज् जगद्भ्रमम् । अशुद्धवद् इवाशुद्धे शुद्धश् शुद्धे प्रपश्यति
Consciousness-space, within consciousness-space, due to the mind, gives rise to the illusion of the world; as the impure sees impurity, so the pure perceives purity.
स्वम् एव भासते तस्य रूपं स्पन्द इवानिले । सर्गशब्दार्थकलना नेह काश्चन सन्ति नः
Its own form alone shines forth, like vibration in the wind; for us, there are no fabrications of word and meaning such as 'creation' here.
यथा शून्यत्वम् आकाशे द्रवत्वं च यथा जले । अनन्यात्ममये शुद्धा सर्गतेयं तथात्मनि
Just as emptiness is in space, and liquidity is in water, so too is this pure creation, which is not other than the Self, in the Self.
भारूपम् इदम् आशान्तं जगद् ब्रह्मैव नस् ततम् । अनादिनिधनं सत्यं नोदेति न च नश्यति
This world, with its forms and endlessness, is pervaded by Brahman alone; it is beginningless, endless, and true—it neither arises nor perishes.
देशाद् देशान्तरप्राप्तौ क्षणान् मध्ये विदो वपुः । यत् तज् जगद् इतीवेदं व्योमात्मात्मन्य् अवस्थितम्
When moving from one place to another, in the moments between, the body appears to vanish; know that this world is likewise, established as the sky-like Self within oneself.
यथा स्पन्दो ऽनिले तोये द्रवत्वं व्योम्नि शून्यता । तथा जगद् इदं भातम् अनन्यत् त्व् इदम् आत्मनि
Just as motion exists in air, liquidity in water, and emptiness in space, so too does this world shine forth, being nothing other than the Self.
संविन्नभो ननु जगन्नभ इत्य् अनङ्कम् आत्मन्य् अवस्थितम् अनस्तमयोदयाङ्कम् । तत्राङ्गभूतम् अखिलं तदनन्यद् एव शून्यं निरस्तकलनो ऽम्बरशान्तम् आस्स्व
Consciousness-space is indeed the sky of the world, resting without marks in the Self, bearing neither rising nor setting; all things are its limbs, not other than it, pure emptiness, free of divisions—abide in the peace of sky.
भावाभावग्रहोत्सर्गस्थूलसूक्ष्मचराचराः । आदाव् एव हि नोत्पन्नास् सर्गादौ कारणं विना
States of existence and nonexistence, grasping and letting go, gross and subtle, moving and unmoving—all these were not produced in the beginning, for creation does not arise without a cause.
न त्व् अमूर्तो हि चिद्धातुẖ कारणं भवितुं क्वचित् । खात्माशक्तस् समूर्तीनां बीजम् उर्वीरुहाम् इव
But the formless substratum of consciousness can never be a cause; the sky-like Self is powerless to be the seed of forms, just as earth cannot be the seed of plants.
स्वभावम् एव सततं भावयन् भावनात्मकम् । आत्मन्य् एव हि चिद्धातुस् सर्गानुभववत् स्थितः
Always contemplating its own nature, which is itself contemplation, the substratum of consciousness remains established in the Self, experiencing creation.
आस्वादयन् निजं भावं चिद्धातुर् गगनात्मकः । बद्धस् सर्गप्रलापेन क्षीवẖ क्षुब्धतया यथा
Tasting its own nature, the consciousness-substratum, whose essence is sky, is bound by the illusion of creation, weary and agitated thereby.
यदा सर्वम् अनुत्पन्नं नास्त्य् एवापि च दृश्यते । तदा ब्रह्मैव विद्धीदं समं शान्तम् असत्समम्
When all is unproduced and nothing at all is seen, then know this is Brahman alone—equal, peaceful, and akin to non-being.