एतद् राम पुरा प्रोक्तं पित्रा कमलजेन मे । भवते ऽद्य मया प्रोक्तं शिष्यायात्यन्तधीमते
O Rama, this was formerly spoken to me by my father, the lotus-born; today I have spoken it to you, my supremely intelligent disciple.
दामव्यालकटन्यायस् तस्मान् मा ते ऽस्तु राघव । भीमभासद्रुटन्यायो नित्यम् अस्तु तवानघ
Therefore, O Raghava, let not the logic of the rope and the snake bind you; let the reasoning of the dry stick that only appears terrible always be yours, O sinless one.
अविरलसुखदुःखसङ्कटेयं भवपदवी भवभावनोपयाता । व्यवहरणवतो ऽपि भूतजातौ सततम् असक्ततया विनश्यतीति
This path of worldly existence, filled with uninterrupted pleasure and pain, arises from the imagination of the world; even for one engaged in activity among beings, it perishes constantly through non-attachment.
जयन्ति ते सदा शूरास् साधवो यैर् विनिर्जितम् । अविद्यामदिरोल्लासि स्वमनो विषयोन्मुखम्
Victorious are always those heroes and the virtuous, by whom their own mind, intoxicated and agitated by ignorance and pride, inclined toward objects, has been conquered.
संसारस्यास्य दुःखस्य सर्वोपद्रवदायिनः । उपाय एक एवास्ति मनसस् स्वस्य निग्रहः
For this worldly existence, which brings all kinds of suffering and affliction, there is only one means: the restraint of one’s own mind.
श्रूयतां धर्मसर्वस्वं श्रुत्वा चैवावधार्यताम् । भोगेच्छामात्रको बन्धस् तत्त्यागो मोक्ष उच्यते
Hear now the essence of all dharma, and having heard, grasp it well: bondage is merely the desire for enjoyment; the abandonment of that is called liberation.
किम् अन्यैश् शास्त्रसन्दर्भैः श्रूयताम् इदम् एव तत् । यद् यत् स्वाद्व् अङ्ग तत् सर्वं दृश्यतां विषवह्निवत्
What need is there for other scriptural discussions? Hear this alone: whatever appears delightful to you, regard it all as you would poison or fire.
विषया विषमाभोगाः प्रविचार्याः पुनः पुनः । ते ह्य् अनिष्टाः परित्याज्यास् सेव्यमानास् सुखावहाः
Sense objects are enjoyments like poison; they must be examined again and again. They are undesirable and should be abandoned, for when indulged in, they bring suffering.
दोषान् प्रसूते सस्फारान् वासनावासिता मतिः । कीर्णकण्टकबीजा भूः कण्टकप्रसरं यथा
A mind colored by latent impressions produces abundant faults, just as soil sown with thorn seeds brings forth a growth of thorns.
अलग्नवासनागर्भा मतिः प्रसरवर्जिता । अदृष्टरागद्वेषा सा शमम् एति शनैः परम्
The mind, devoid of the seed of attachment and free from the flow of thoughts, without visible passion or aversion, gradually attains supreme tranquility.
शुभवासनागर्भा धीः प्रसूते सुगुणान् सदा । फलदान् अङ्कुरान् काले श्रेष्ठबीजवतीव भूः
The intellect, filled with the seed of virtuous tendencies, always produces excellent qualities that bear fruit in time, just as fertile soil yields the best crops.
शुभभावानुसन्धानात् प्रसन्ने मनसि स्थिते । शनैश् शनैः प्रशान्ते च मिथ्याज्ञानघनाम्बुदे
Through the contemplation of auspicious thoughts, when the mind is clear and steady, the dense cloud of false knowledge is gradually and gently dissolved.
वृद्धिं गते च सौजन्ये शुक्लपक्ष इवोडुपे । विवेके प्रसृते पुण्ये जगतीवार्कतेजसि
When goodness increases, like the waxing moon in the bright fortnight, and discernment and virtue expand, the world shines with the radiance of the sun.
धृताव् अन्तर् विवृद्धायां मुक्तायाम् इव कीचके । स्थिताव् अन्तः कृतास्थायां रुचाव् इव निशाकरे
When steadfastness grows within, liberation arises like the wind in bamboo; when inner stability is established, delight appears like moonlight in the night.
फलिते शीतलच्छाये सत्सङ्गसफलद्रुमे । स्रवत्य् आनन्दसुरसं समाधिसरलद्रुमे
When the tree of good company bears fruit and casts a cool shade, the nectar of bliss flows from the straight tree of samadhi.
मनो भवति निर्द्वन्द्वं निष्कामम् अनुपद्रवम् । प्रशान्तचापलानर्थलोभमोहभयामयम्
The mind becomes free from duality, desireless, undisturbed, and rid of the restlessness, greed, delusion, and fear that cause suffering.
क्षीणशास्त्रार्थसन्देहं विगताशेषकौतुकम् । निरस्तकल्पनाजालं जीवन्मुक्तम् अलेपकम्
All doubts about the meaning of scriptures are exhausted, all curiosity is gone, the web of imagination is dispelled, and one lives liberated, untouched.
निरीहं निरुपाक्रोशं निरपेक्षं निराधि च । संशान्तशोकनीहारम् असक्तं ग्रन्थिवर्जितम्
Free from desire, free from anger, free from expectation, and free from anxiety; with the mist of sorrow fully calmed, unattached, and unbound by doctrines—
स्वेन्द्रियोग्रसुतं सूतं सतृष्णादारपञ्जरम् । नाशयित्वा स्वम् आत्मानं साधयत्य् अर्थम् ऐश्वरम्
Having destroyed his own mind, which is the charioteer of the fierce horses of the senses and the cage of craving and attachments, one attains the supreme purpose of sovereignty over oneself.
आत्मपीवरताहेतून् विकल्पान् स्वयम् उज्झति । सद्भृत्यः प्रभुकृत्येषु जहाति तृणवत् तनुम्
He himself abandons the notions that cause the fattening of the self, just as a loyal servant, when his duties to his master are done, casts off his body as if it were a blade of grass.
मनसो ऽभ्युदयो नाशो मनोनाशो महोदयः । ज्ञमनो नाशम् अभ्येति मनो ऽज्ञस्य विवर्धते
The rise and fall of the mind is the rise and fall of all; the destruction of the mind is the great attainment. Knowledge leads to the dissolution of the mind, while ignorance causes the mind to grow.
मनोमात्रं जगच्चक्रं मनः पर्वतमण्डलम् । मनो व्योम मनो देहो मनो मित्रं मनो रिपुः
The world-wheel is nothing but mind; the mountain ranges are mind; the sky is mind; the body is mind; friend is mind; enemy is mind.
विकल्पकलुषा या स्याच् चित्तत्त्वस्यात्मविस्मृतिः । मन इत्य् उच्यते सेयं वासना भवभागिनी
That impurity of imagination, which is the forgetting of the true nature of consciousness, is called 'mind'; this very tendency, which brings about worldly existence, is known as vāsanā.
चेत्यानुपातकलितं चिन्मात्रेतिक्षताभिधम् । मनाग् विकल्पकलुषं चित्तत्त्वं जीव उच्यते
Consciousness, tinged with the sequence of perceptions and slightly tainted by imagination, is called the individual soul (jīva), which is but the essence of mind.
चेत्यप्रपतितं रूढसञ्ज्ञम् अज्ञत्वम् आगतं । तद् एवाधिकविस्तारं कल्प्यते तन्मनस्तया
That which, having fallen under the sway of perceptions, has acquired a fixed identity and entered into ignorance, expands further and is imagined as the state of mind.
नात्मा संसारपुरुषो न शरीरं न शोणितम् । जडं सर्वं शरीरादि देही खवद् अलेपकः
The self is not the person of worldly existence, nor the body, nor the blood; all things such as the body are inert, while the embodied one is like space, untouched.
शरीरे कणशः कृत्ते नास्त्य् अन्यद् रुधिरादिकात् । निर्भिन्ने कदलीस्तम्भे नास्त्य् अन्यत् पल्लवाद् ऋते
When the body is cut into particles, nothing remains except blood and so forth; just as when a plantain stem is split, nothing remains but the leaves.
मनो जीवं नरं विद्धि तद् एवाकारम् आगतम् । आत्मनात्मानम् आदत्ते स्वविकल्पांशकल्पितम्
Know the mind to be the living being, the person, having assumed that very form; the self takes itself, fashioned from its own imagined fragments.
स्वविकल्पान् नरस् तन्तून् प्रसार्य रचयत्य् अलम् । जालम् आत्मनिबन्धाय कोशकारः क्रिमिर् यथा
The person, spreading out threads of his own imagination, weaves them abundantly into a net for self-binding, just as a worm makes a cocoon.
इमं देहभ्रमं त्यक्त्वा देशकालान्तरे पुनः । शरीरम् अन्यद् आदत्ते पल्लवत्वम् इवाङ्कुरः
Having abandoned this bodily delusion, in another place and time, he takes up a different body, just as a sprout assumes the state of a leaf.