मथुराधिपते राज्ञो यथा श्वपचसम्भ्रमः । आसीद् एवं हि चित्तस्य स्फुरतीयं जगत्स्थितिः
Just as the king of Mathura was disturbed by the presence of a dog-eater, so too does the mind become agitated, and thus this world appears to manifest.
सर्वम् एव मनोमात्रभ्रान्त्युल्लासविजृम्भणम् । इदं जीवतया नाम प्रस्फुरत्य् अम्बुभङ्गवत्
All of this is merely the exuberant expansion of mental delusion; what is called 'living' flashes forth like the movement of water.
शिवात् प्राक् कारणात् पूर्वं चिच् चेत्यकलनोन्मुखी । उदेति सौम्याज् जलधेः पयस्स्पन्दो मनाग् इव
Before Shiva, from the primordial cause, consciousness inclined toward cognition arises, gently like the ripple of water from the ocean.
स्फुरणाज् जीवचक्रत्वम् एत्य चित्तोर्मितां गतम् । चिद्वारि ब्रह्मजलधौ कुरुते सर्गबुद्बुदम्
From this pulsation, the cycle of living beings emerges, reaching the wave of mind; in the ocean of Brahman, the water of consciousness produces the bubble of creation.
स्वच्छसौम्यसमस्येषद् यत् सिंहस्येव जृम्भणम् । ब्रह्मणस् स चिदाभासस् तत् सचेत्यम् इव स्वयम्
Just as the gentle yawn of a lion in a clear, calm, and balanced state, so is the reflection of consciousness in Brahman, appearing as cognition itself.
चित् सचेत्योच्यते जीवस् स सङ्कल्पान् मनो भवेत् । बुद्धिश् चेत्यम् अहङ्कारो मायेत्याद्यभिधं ततः
Consciousness is called 'cit', cognition is called 'cetyam', the living being is the mind formed by volitions, intellect is cognition, ego is 'ahaṅkāra', and illusion is named 'māyā' and so on.
तन्मात्रकल्पना पूर्वं तनोतीदं जगन् मनः । असत्यं सत्यसङ्काशं गन्धर्वनगरं यथा
First, the mind creates the subtle elements, and thus produces this world, which is unreal yet appears real, like a city of the Gandharvas.
यथा शून्यदृशस् तारामुक्तावल्यादिदर्शनम् । यथा स्वप्ने भ्रमश् चैव तथा चित्तस्य संसृतिः
Just as a person with impaired vision sees pearls or stars in empty space, and just as there is confusion in a dream, so too is the cycle of the mind's wandering.
शुद्ध आत्मा नित्यतृप्त इव शान्तस् समस्थितिः । अपश्यन् पश्यतीवेमं चित्ताख्यं स्वप्नविभ्रमम्
The pure Self, ever content and tranquil, abides in equanimity; not perceiving, yet seeming to perceive this illusion of mind, like the confusion of a dream.
संसृतिर् जाग्रद् इत्य् उक्तं स्वप्नं विदुर् अहङ्कृतिम् । चित्तं सुषुप्तभावस् स्याच् चिन्मात्रं तुर्यम् उच्यते
The waking state is called worldly existence; the sense of 'I' is known as dream; the mind is like deep sleep; pure consciousness alone is said to be the fourth state.
अत्यन्तशुद्धचिन्मात्रे परिणामश् चिराय यः । तुर्यातीतं पदं यत् स्यात् तत्स्थो भूयो न शोचति
When one abides for a long time in the state of utterly pure consciousness, which is beyond the fourth, that person, established there, grieves no more.
तस्मिन् सर्वम् उदेतीदं तस्मिन्न् एव प्रलीयते । तत्रैव तनुते चेदं दृष्टौ मुक्तावली यथा
In that (pure consciousness), all this arises and into that alone it dissolves; it is there that this world unfolds, just as a string of pearls appears in a vision.
अरोधकत्वात् खं हेतुर् यथा वृक्षसमुन्नतेः । अकर्त्र्य् अपि तथा कर्त्री चेतनाच् चिज् जगत्स्थितेः
Just as space, by not obstructing, is the cause for a tree's growth, so too, though not acting, consciousness is the doer and the cause for the world's existence.
सन्निधानाद् यथा लोहः प्रतिबिम्बस्य हेतुताम् । यात्य् आदर्शस् तथैवायं चिन्मयो ऽप्य् अर्थवेदने
Just as iron, by its proximity, becomes the cause for a reflection in a mirror, so too, this consciousness becomes the means for perceiving objects.
बीजम् अङ्कुरपत्त्रादियुक्त्या यद्वत् फलं भवेत् । चिन्मात्रं चेत्यजीवादियुक्त्या तद्वन् मनो भवेत्
Just as a seed, through the process of sprout and leaves, yields fruit, so too, pure consciousness, through the process of objects, mind, and living beings, gives rise to the mind.
स्वतो बीजं फलाद्य् उज्झद् यथा बीजं पुनर् भवेत् । तथा चिच् चेत्यचित्तादि त्यक्त्वा स्वास्थ्येन तिष्ठति
Just as from itself a seed, after giving rise to fruit and so on, becomes a seed again, in the same way, when consciousness, objects of consciousness, and mind are abandoned, one abides in one's own natural state.
यद्य् अप्य् अबोधे बोधे च बीजान्तस् तरुबीजयोः । इव भेदो ऽस्ति न जगद्ब्रह्मणोर् अपि चित्तयोः
Although in ignorance and in knowledge there is a difference, like that between the seed within a tree and the seed itself, yet between the mind of the world and the mind of Brahman, there is no such distinction.
तथापि व्यज्यते बोधे सत्य् आत्मत्वम् अखण्डितम् । रूपश्रीर् इव दीपेन चिन्मात्रालोकम् एति यत्
Still, when knowledge arises, the undivided nature of the Self is revealed, just as the beauty of a form is manifest by a lamp, so does the light of pure consciousness appear.
यद् यन् निखन्यते भूमेर् यथा तत् तन् नभो भवेत् । या या विचार्यते ऽविद्या तथा सा सा परं भवेत्
Whatever is buried in the earth, that becomes space; in the same way, whichever ignorance is examined, that itself becomes the supreme.
स्फटिकान्तस् सन्निवेशस् स्वाणूनां वेदनाद् यथा । शुद्धो ऽपि भाति नानेव तथा ब्रह्मोदरं जगत्
Just as the arrangement of crystals appears as many due to the perception of their own particles, though pure, so too does the world appear manifold within the expanse of Brahman.
ब्रह्म सर्वं जगद् वस्तु पिण्ड एकम् अखण्डितम् । फलपत्त्रलतागुल्मपीठं बीजम् इव स्थितम्
Brahman is all; the world is one undivided mass, existing like a seed that contains fruit, leaves, creepers, bushes, and seats within itself.
अहो चित्रं जगद् इदम् असत् सद् इव भासते । अहो बृहद् अहो स्वच्छम् अहो स्फुटम् अहो तनु
Ah, how wondrous is this world, which appears unreal yet seems real; how vast, how clear, how distinct, how subtle!
ब्रह्मणि प्रतिभासात्मा तन्मात्रगणगोलकः । अवश्यायकणाभो ऽसौ यथा स्फुरति तच् छ्रुतम्
In Brahman, the essence of appearance is a sphere of the groups of subtle elements, and it shines forth, resembling a cluster of inevitable particles, as it is heard.
यथासौ याति वैमुख्यं यथा भवति चात्मभूः । यथा स्वभावसिद्धिर् वा तथा कथय मे प्रभो
O Lord, tell me how that one turns away, how the self is established, and how natural attainment arises.
अत्यन्तासम्भवद् रूपम् अनन्यत् स्वस्वभावतः । अत्यन्ताननुभूतं सत् स्वनुभूतम् इवाग्रतः
Its form is utterly impossible, not other than its own nature; though never at all experienced, it appears before one as if directly perceived.
हुल्लस् सभुल्लो घुल्लाङ्घ इति बालहृदि स्फुटम् । यथोदेति तथोदेति परे ब्रह्मणि जीवता
Just as in a child's heart, words like 'hullas', 'sabhullo', 'ghullāṅgha' arise clearly, so too does the living being arise in the supreme Brahman.
मानमेयात्मिकाशुद्धासत्यैव सत्यवत् स्थिता । भिन्नेव च न भिन्नास्माद् ब्रह्मणो बृंहणात्मिका
It abides as the unreal, pure, and measurable, yet appears as if real; though seemingly separate, it is not apart from Brahman, whose nature is expansion.
यथा ब्रह्म भवत्य् आशु जीवः कलनजीवितः । तथा जीवो भवत्य् आशु मनो मननवेदनम्
Just as the living being, whose life is imagination, quickly becomes Brahman, so too does the living being swiftly become mind, whose nature is thinking and knowing.
चित्तं तन्मात्रमननं पश्यत्य् आशु स्वरूपवत् । एष सङ्घो ऽनिललवप्रख्यस् स्फुरति खान्तरे
The mind, which is merely the act of thinking about subtle elements, quickly perceives itself as its own nature; this aggregate, resembling a puff of wind, flashes forth within space.
औच्छून्यम् एषो ऽनुभवत्य् अवश्यायकणोपमम् । संवेदनात्मकं कालकलितैकान्तम् आत्मनि
This experiences emptiness, like a particle of necessity; its essence is awareness, and, marked by time, it is established in the self.