अहम्भावो हि दिक्कालव्यवच्छेदाङ्किताकृतिः । खस्थस् सङ्कल्पवशतो वातस्पन्द इव स्फुरन्
The sense of 'I' is marked by distinctions of space and time; abiding in space, it vibrates under the influence of thought, like the movement of wind.
सङ्कल्पोन्मुखतां यातस् त्व् अहङ्काराभिधस् स्थितः । चित्तं जीवो मनो माया प्रकृतिश् चेति नामभिः
Having become inclined toward conceptualization, it remains known as ego, mind, individual soul, thought, illusion, or nature—by these various names.
तत्सङ्कल्पात्मकं चेतो भूतमात्रात्मकल्पनम् । कुर्वंस् तत्तां व्रजत्य् एव सङ्कल्पाद् याति पञ्चताम्
That mind, whose nature is conceptualization, imagines the elements as its own form; by doing so, it attains that state, and from that conceptualization, it dissolves.
तन्मात्रपञ्चकाकारं चित्तं तेजःकणो भवेत् । अजातजगति व्योम्नि तारका पेलवा यथा
The mind, taking the form of the five subtle elements, becomes like a particle of light, just as a faint star appears in the unborn sky.
तेजःकणत्वम् आदत्ते चित्तं तन्मात्रकल्पनात् । शनैस् स्वस्मात् परिस्पन्दाद् बीजम् अङ्कुरताम् इव
The mind assumes the state of a particle of light through its imagination of the subtle elements; gradually, from its own vibration, it becomes like a seed sprouting.
असौ तेजःकणो ऽण्डाख्यात् कल्पनात् कश्चिद् अण्डताम् । प्रयात्य् अन्तस्स्फुरद्ब्रह्मा जलम् आपीडताम् इव
That particle of radiance, called the 'cosmic egg,' by mere imagination, attains the state of an egg; within it, Brahma appears, just as water takes the form of a bubble.
कश्चिद् द्रागिति देहादिकल्पनाद् याति देहताम् । भ्रान्त्युत्थां तदतद्रूपां गन्धर्वेच्छेव पूश्श्रियम्
By the force of imagination, some swiftly assume the form of a body and so forth; arising from delusion, these forms are not their true nature, like the wealth of a celestial being conjured by desire.
कश्चित् स्थावरताम् एति कश्चिज् जङ्गमताम् अपि । कश्चिद् याति खवार्यादिरूपं सङ्कल्पतस् स्वजात्
Some attain the state of the immobile, some the state of the mobile; some, by their own will, take on forms such as sky, air, and water, according to their own kind.
सर्गादाव् आदिजो देहो जीवसङ्कल्पसम्भवः । क्रमेण पदम् आसाद्य वैरिञ्चं कुरुते जगत्
At the beginning of creation, the primordial body, arising from the resolve of the living being, gradually attains the station of Brahma and creates the world.
आत्मभूः कलनात्माभो यत् सङ्कल्पयति क्षणात् । तत् स्वभाववशाद् एव जातम् एव प्रपश्यति
The self-born, whose essence is imagination, instantly perceives as already arisen whatever he imagines, due to the force of his own nature.
चित्स्वभावात् स्वम् आयातं ब्रह्मत्वं सर्वकारणम् । संसृतौ कारणं पश्चात् कर्म निर्माय संस्थितम्
From the nature of consciousness arises his own Brahmahood, the cause of all; in the cycle of transmigration, karma is subsequently fashioned and established as the cause.
चित्त्वं स्वभावात् स्फुरति चितः फेन इवाम्भसः । कर्मभिर् बध्यते पश्चाद् दिण्डीरम् इव रज्जुभिः
Mind arises from the nature of consciousness, like foam from water; afterwards, it is bound by actions, like a drum by cords.
सङ्कल्पः कर्मणो बीजं तदात्मैव हि जीवकः । कर्म पश्चात् तनोत्य् उच्चैर् उत्थायाकर्मकक्रमम्
Imagination is the seed of action, and the living being is of its very nature; action then produces, in due course, the sequence of non-action after rising up.
क्रोडीकृताङ्कुरां पूर्वं बीजं धत्ते स्वबीजताम् । पश्चान् नानात्वम् आयाति पत्त्राङ्कुरफलभ्रमैः
The seed, first enveloped by its own sprout, retains its own seed-nature; later, it assumes diversity through the illusion of leaves, shoots, and fruits.
अन्ये ख एव ये जीवा एवम् एवाकृतिं गताः । पूर्वोत्पन्ने जगति ते यान्ति भूताश्रितास् स्थितिम्
Others, who are living beings in the sky, likewise take on such a form; when the world arises earlier, they attain a state based on the elements.
स्वकर्मभिस् ततो जन्ममृतिकारणतां गतैः । प्रयान्त्य् ऊर्ध्वम् अधस्ताद् वा कर्म चित्स्पन्द उच्यते
Then, through their own actions, which become causes for birth and death, they proceed upward or downward; action is called the vibration of consciousness.
चित्स्पन्दनं भवति कर्म तद् एव दैवं चित्तं तद् एव च तद् एव शुभाशुभादि । तस्माद् भवन्ति भुवनानि जगन्ति पूर्वं भूतानि चाशु कुसुमानि तरोर् इवाद्यात्
The vibration of consciousness becomes action; that itself is destiny, that itself is mind, and that itself is auspicious, inauspicious, and so forth; therefore, worlds and universes arise, and beings emerge swiftly, like flowers from a tree.
एतस्मात् कारणाद् एवं मनः प्रथमम् उत्थितम् । मननात्मकम् आभोगि तत्स्थम् एव स्थितिं गतम्
For this reason, the mind first arises in this way; it is of the nature of thinking and enjoyment, and it attains a state corresponding to that.
भावाभावर्द्धिमद्दोलस् तेनायम् अवलोक्यते । सर्गस् सदसदाभासः पूर् गन्धर्वेच्छया यथा
Because of its oscillation between increase and decrease of being and non-being, this creation is observed; it appears as both real and unreal, just as a city is seen according to the wishes of a celestial musician.
न कश्चिद् विद्यते भेदो द्वैतैक्यकलनात्मकः । ब्रह्मजीवमनोमायाकर्तृकर्मजगद्दृशाम्
No distinction exists; duality and unity are but imagined; the views of Brahman, the individual soul, mind, illusion, agent, action, and the world are all mere appearances.
अपारवानविस्तारसंवित्सलिलवल्गनैः । चिदेकार्णव एवायं स्वयम् आत्मा विजृम्भते
With the playful movement of the waters of consciousness, boundless and vast, the Self alone expands as the single ocean of awareness.
असत्यम् अस्थैर्यवशात् सत्यं स्वप्रतिभासतः । यथा स्वप्नस् तथा चित्ते जगत् सदसदात्मकम्
Unreality arises from instability, while reality appears from one's own perception; just as a dream, so in the mind the world is of the nature of both existence and non-existence.
न सन् नासन्न् अयं जातश् चेतसो जागतो भ्रमः । ओषधीसमवायानाम् इन्द्रजालम् इवोत्थितम्
This is neither existent nor non-existent; it is born from the waking mind's confusion, arising like an illusion from the conjunction of herbs.
दीर्घस् स्वप्नस् स्थितिं यातस् संसाराख्यो मनोवशात् । असम्यग्दर्शनात् स्थाणाव् इव पुम्प्रत्ययो मुधा
A long dream, having attained duration, is called 'worldly existence' by the power of the mind; through improper perception, belief in a fixed object is vain, like a man mistaking a stump.
अनात्मालोकनाच् चित्तं चित्तत्वेनानुशोचति । वेतालकल्पनाद् बाल इव सङ्कल्पिते भये
Because of not seeing the Self, the mind grieves as if it were itself the mind; like a child imagining fear from a phantom, it suffers from its own imagined terrors.
अनाख्यस्य स्वरूपस्य सर्वांशातिगतात्मनः । चेत्योन्मुखतया चित्त्वं चित्त्वाज् जीवत्वकल्पनम्
Because of its tendency toward objects, mind arises from the totality-transcending essence of the unnameable true nature; from mind comes the notion of living.
जीवत्वाद् अप्य् अहम्भावस् त्व् अहम्भावाच् च चित्तता । चित्तत्वाद् इन्द्रियादित्वं ततो देहादिविभ्रमः
From the notion of living arises the sense of 'I'; from the sense of 'I' comes mind; from mind arise the senses and so forth, and from that, the delusion of body and other things.
देहादिमोहतस् स्वर्गनरकौ मोक्षबन्धने । बीजाङ्कुरवद् आरम्भस् संरूढो देहकर्मणोः
From delusion about body and so forth, heaven and hell, liberation and bondage arise; like seed and sprout, the beginning and growth of actions related to the body become established.
द्वैतं यथा नास्ति चिदात्मतत्त्वयोस् तथैव भेदो ऽस्ति न जीवचित्तयोः । यथैव भेदो ऽस्ति न जीवचित्तयोस् तथैव भेदो ऽस्ति न देहकर्मणोः
Just as there is no duality between the essence of consciousness and the Self, so too there is no difference between the living being and the mind; and likewise, there is no difference between body and action.
कर्मैव देहो ननु देह एव चित्तं तद् एवाहम् इतीव जीवः । स जीव एवेश्वरचित् स आत्मा सर्वं शिवात् त्व् एकपदोत्थम् एतत्
Action itself is the body, and indeed the body is the mind; that alone is the sense of 'I', and thus the living being. This living being, shaped by the Lord, is the self; all of this arises from Shiva, from the one foundation.