सञ्जाते सङ्करे लोके कर्मस्व् अफलदायिषु । मात्स्ये न्याये विलसति नाश एवावशिष्यते
When confusion arises in the world and actions yield no results, the law of the fish prevails, and only destruction remains.
किं तत् कृतं भवत्य् एवं भगवन् ब्रूहि तत्त्वतः । एतं मे संशयं स्फारं छिन्द्धि वेदविदां वर
What is it that happens in this way? O Lord, speak the truth. Please resolve this great doubt of mine, O best among knowers of the Vedas.
साधु राघव पृष्टो ऽस्मि त्वया प्रश्नम् इमं शुभम् । शृणु वक्ष्यामि ते येन भृशं ज्ञानोदयो भवेत्
Well done, Raghava, you have asked me this auspicious question. Listen, I will tell you so that a great awakening of knowledge may arise in you.
मनसो यस् समुन्मेषः कलाकलनरूपतः । एतत् तत् कर्मणां बीजं फलम् अस्यैव विद्यते
The arising of the mind, in the form of calculation and measurement, is the seed of actions; its fruit is found in this alone.
यद् एव हि मनस्तत्त्वम् उत्थितं ब्रह्मणः पदात् । तद् एव कर्म जन्तूनां जीवो देहतया स्थितः
Whatever essence of mind emerges from the state of Brahman, that itself is action for living beings; the soul abides as the body.
कुसुमामोदयोर् भेदो न यथा भिन्नयोर् इह । तथैव कर्ममनसोर् भेदो नास्त्य् अपि भिन्नयोः
Just as there is no difference between the fragrance and the flower, though they appear separate, so too there is no difference between action and mind, even if they seem distinct.
क्रियास्पन्दो जगत्य् अस्मिन् कर्मेति कथितो बुधैः । पूर्वं तस्य मनोदेहः कर्मातश् चित्तम् एव हि
The movement of activity in this world is called action by the wise; its origin is the mind-body, and from action, indeed, arises consciousness.
न स शैलो न तद् व्योम न सा दिङ् न त्रिविष्टपम् । अस्ति यत्र फलं नास्ति कृतानाम् आत्मकर्मणाम्
There is no mountain, nor that sky, nor that direction, nor heaven itself, where the results of one's own actions do not exist.
ऐहिकं प्राक्तनं वापि कर्म यद् रचितं स्फुटम् । पौरुषो ऽसौ परो यत्नो न कदाचन निष्फलः
Whether an action is performed in this life or a previous one, if it is clearly done with effort, that human endeavor never becomes fruitless.
ब्रह्मणः प्रोत्थितं चित्तं कर्म विद्धीह नेतरत् । तद् एव जनताबीजं विद्धि राघव नेतरत्
Know that it is the mind arisen from Brahman that acts; not anything else. Understand, O Raghava, that this alone is the seed of beings, not anything else.
देशाद् देशान्तरप्राप्तेर् अनुसन्धानहेतुतः । पूर्वं हि कारणं चेतः कर्म चित्तम् अतो विदुः
For attaining one place from another, the cause is inquiry; thus, the mind is the prior cause, and action is known to arise from the mind.
अक्षुब्धसागरप्रख्याद् ब्रह्मणस् स्पन्दधर्मिणी । या चिद् आहुर् अतश् चित्तं जनताजीवतां गतम्
The consciousness, which is said to be the vibrating power of Brahman, resembling an undisturbed ocean, becomes the mind and enters into the life of beings.
मनः कर्म मनो जीवः कायस् तेनैव तन्यते । अतः कर्म च कर्ता च न भिन्नौ तिलतैलवत्
Mind is action, mind is the individual soul, and by that alone the body is extended; therefore, action and the doer are not separate, like oil and sesame seed.
कर्तृकर्मात्मकाव् अर्थाव् अभिन्नौ नित्यम् एव हि । अबोधाद् भेदम् आयातौ कल्प्यमानौ मुधैव हि
The agent and the action are always essentially one and the same; only out of ignorance are they imagined as different, but this is a false conception.
द्वे कर्ममनसी राम मूर्खाणां न तु धीमताम् । समुद्राम्बु तरङ्गाम्बु बालानाम् इव भेदधीः
O Rama, the mind and action appear as two only to the ignorant, not to the wise; just as children see difference between the ocean and its waves, but not the discerning.
पर्यायशब्दाव् एतौ हि विद्धि त्वं चित्तकर्मणी । पर्यायशब्दतां त्यक्त्वा स्थिते दुरवबोधतः
Know that these two—mind and action—are merely different terms for the same thing; when the difference in terms is set aside, their true nature is difficult to discern.
मनः कर्मात्मकं पूर्वं परस्मात् सम्प्रवर्तते । आमोदात्मेव कुसुमं विविधाकृति पादपात्
The mind, whose essence is activity, first arises from the Supreme, just as a flower, whose essence is fragrance, takes on various forms from the tree.
कर्तृकर्माभिधानीह चेतांस्य् अविरतं पदात् । परस्मात् सम्प्रवर्तन्ते तरङ्गा इव सागरात्
Here, the mind—denoted as agent and action—unceasingly arises from the Supreme, just as waves arise from the ocean.
उद्धृतान्य् एव तस्मिंस् तु जीवसञ्ज्ञानि तानि तु । स्फुरित्वा प्रविलीयन्ते तरङ्गा इव सागरे
Indeed, those that are called 'living beings' are only such waves; after arising, they dissolve back into that, just as waves subside into the ocean.
मनसा क्रियते कर्म यद् यत् तत् सफलं भवेत् । मनस्य् एव न कायोत्थं कर्ता कर्म मनस् ततः
Whatever action is performed by the mind, that alone bears fruit; action arises only in the mind, not from the body—thus, the doer and the action are both of the mind.
आलोकलाञ्छिताभोगे मकुरे राजते सुखम् । ब्रह्मतत्त्वपरामृष्टे कर्तृत्वं मनसि स्फुटम्
Just as a mirror, adorned with light, shines beautifully, so too does the sense of agency become clear in the mind touched by the knowledge of Brahman.
गुणो गुणिनि शौक्ल्यादिः पटादौ संस्थितो यथा । तथा मनसि कर्तृत्वं जीवनाम्नि व्यवस्थितम्
Just as qualities like whiteness reside in a cloth, so too does the sense of agency dwell in the mind, under the name 'living being.'
यथा शैत्यादिरहितस् तुषारो नोपलभ्यते । तथा कर्म विना चित्तं न किञ्चिद् उपलभ्यते
Just as frost is not found without coldness and the like, so too, without action, the mind is not found at all.
कृष्णतासङ्क्षये यद्वत् क्षीयते कज्जलं स्वयम् । स्पन्दात्मकर्मविगमे तद्वत् प्रक्षीयते मनः
Just as soot is gradually diminished when its blackness fades away, so too the mind is dissolved when activity, which is its vibration, ceases.
कर्मनाशो मनोनाशो मनोनाशो ह्य् अकर्मता । मुक्तस्यैव भवत्य् एष नामुक्तस्य कदाचन
The destruction of action is the destruction of the mind; the destruction of the mind is indeed the absence of action. This occurs only for the liberated, never for the unliberated.
वह्न्यौष्ण्ययोर् इव सदा श्लिष्टयोश् चित्तकर्मणोः । द्वयोर् एकतराभावे द्वयम् एव विलीयते
Just as heat and fire are always joined, so too are mind and action. When either one is absent, both are dissolved together.
चित्तं सदा स्पन्दविलासम् एतत् स्पन्दैकरूपं ननु कर्म विद्धि । कर्माथ चित्तं किल धर्मधर्मि पदं गते राम परस्परेण
The mind is always the play of vibration; know that action is nothing but vibration in form. Thus, mind and action are like attribute and substance, O Rama, each depending on the other.
मनो हि भावनामात्रं भावना स्पन्दरूपिणी । क्रिया तद्भावितं रूपं फलं सर्वो ऽनुधावति
The mind is merely imagination; imagination is of the nature of vibration. Action is the form shaped by that imagination, and everyone pursues its result.
विस्तरेण मम ब्रह्मञ् जडस्याप्य् अजडाकृतेः । रूपम् आरूढसङ्कल्पं मनसो वक्तुम् अर्हसि
O Brahman, you should describe in detail for me the form of the mind, which arises from the resolve of even the inert, and which is shaped by the non-inert.
अनन्तस्यात्मतत्त्वस्य सर्वशक्तेर् महात्मनः । सङ्कल्पशक्तिसहितं यद् रूपं तन् मनो विदुः
The form of the mind is known to be that which, accompanied by the power of resolve, belongs to the infinite essence of the Self, the all-powerful, the great.