देहाववरकेष्व् अन्तर् महाहङ्कारयक्षकैः । स हि सङ्क्रीडते ऽत्यर्थम् असद् एवासदुत्थितैः
Inside these bodily coverings, with those great goblins of ego, he plays excessively with what is unreal, arising from the unreal.
यथा कुसूले मार्जारो भस्त्रायां भुजगो यथा । मुक्ताफलं यथा वेणाव् अहङ्कारस् तनौ तथा
Just as a cat in a granary, a snake in a bellows, or a pearl in a bamboo—so is the sense of 'I' in the body.
क्षणम् अभ्युदयं याति क्षणं शाम्यति दीपवत् । देहगेहेषु सङ्कल्पस् तरङ्गस् सागरेष्व् इव
Like a lamp that flares up for a moment and then subsides, so do thoughts arise and fade within the house of the body, like waves in the ocean.
भविष्यन्नवनिर्माणम् अप्य् आप्नोति तदा पुरम् । यदा सङ्कल्पितं वस्तु पुर एव प्रपश्यति
Even the city that is yet to be built appears at that time, when one perceives the imagined object as if it were already present in the city.
असङ्कल्पनमात्रेण स्वेनैवाशु विनश्यति । श्रेयसे परमायास्य नाशस् स्वो न तु सम्भवः
By merely ceasing to imagine, it quickly disappears by itself; for one's highest good, its destruction is proper, not its continuation.
स्वयं सङ्कल्पनामात्राज् जायते बालयक्षवत् । अनन्तायात्मदुःखाय नानन्दाय कदाचन
It arises solely from one's own imagination, like a child's demon, and brings endless suffering to oneself, never happiness.
इदं स्फारं जगद्दुःखं प्रतनोत्य् आत्मसत्तया । असत्तया नाशयति क्षणम् आन्ध्यं यथा तमः
This vast world of sorrow is projected by the reality of the self; by unreality, it is destroyed in an instant, like darkness by blindness.
स्वयैव दुःखदायिन्या चेष्टया परिरोदिति । काष्ठावष्टब्धवृषणः कीलोत्पाटी कपिर् यथा
By its own painful activity, it laments, like a monkey whose testicles are caught on a peg, struggling to break free.
सङ्कल्पितानन्दलवस् तिष्ठत्य् उद्धुरकन्धरम् । अकस्मात् खच्युतमधुबिन्दुभुक् करभो यथा
A drop of imagined happiness remains, its neck held high, like an elephant savoring a sudden drop of honey fallen from the sky.
स्वयं विरतिम् आयाति क्षणम् एति रतिं क्षणम् । क्षणं विकारम् आयाति सङ्कल्पो ऽभव्यबालवत्
The mind itself turns to dispassion for a moment, then to attachment for a moment; for a moment it undergoes change—like a foolish child, imagination arises and subsides.
एनं सकलभावेभ्यः कृत्वा निर्मलम् आदरात् । मतिमन्तः पदं याता यथा पुत्र तथा कुरु
Wise ones, having made this mind pure and free from all objects with care, have attained the supreme state; my son, do likewise.
त्रयस् त्व् अस्या मतेर् देहा उत्तमाधममध्यमाः । तमस्सत्त्वरजस्सञ्ज्ञाः कारणं जगतस् स्थितेः
This mind has three bodies: superior, inferior, and middling—known as darkness, purity, and activity; these are the cause of the world's existence.
तमोरूपो हि सङ्कल्पो नित्यं प्राकृतचेष्टया । परां कृपणताम् एत्य प्रयाति क्रिमिकीटताम्
Imagination of the nature of darkness always acts in a natural, instinctive way; falling into extreme misery, it descends to the state of worms and insects.
सत्त्वरूपो हि सङ्कल्पो धर्मज्ञानपरायणः । अदूरकेवलीभावस् साम्राज्यम् अधितिष्ठति
Imagination of the nature of purity is devoted to righteousness and knowledge; it attains near-liberation and holds sovereignty.
रजोरूपो हि सङ्कल्पो लोकसंव्यवहारवान् । परितिष्ठति संसारे पुत्रदारानुरञ्जितः
Imagination of the nature of activity is engaged in worldly dealings; it remains in the cycle of birth and death, attached to children and spouse.
त्रिविधं तु परित्यज्य रूपम् एतन् महामते । सङ्कल्पः परम् आयाति पदम् आत्मपरिक्षये
But, O wise one, abandoning these three forms, imagination reaches the supreme state when the self is examined.
सर्वा दृष्टीः परित्यज्य नियम्य मनसा मनः । सबाह्याभ्यन्तरार्थस्य सङ्कल्पस्य क्षयं कुरु
Abandoning all perceptions and restraining the mind by the mind, bring about the cessation of imagination concerning both external and internal objects.
यदि वर्षसहस्रान्तं तपश् चरसि दारुणम् । यदि वा लीलयात्मानं शिलया चूर्णयस्य् अलम्
Even if you perform severe austerities for a thousand years, or if you crush your own body to powder with a stone in play,
यद्य् अम्बुधिं प्रविशसि वडवाग्निम् अथापि वा । यदि वा पतसि श्वभ्रे खड्गधाराजले ऽथ वा
Even if you enter the ocean, or the submarine fire, or if you fall into a deep chasm, or upon a bed of sword-edges,
हरो यद्य् उपदेष्टा ते हरिः कमलजो ऽपि वा । अत्यन्तकरुणाक्रान्तो लोकनाथो ऽथ वाक्पतिः
Even if Shiva is your teacher, or Vishnu, or Brahma, or the lord of speech, or the lord of the world overwhelmed with supreme compassion,
पातालस्थस्य भूस्थस्य स्वर्गस्थस्यापि तत् तव । नान्यः कश्चिद् उपायो ऽस्ति सङ्कल्पोपशमाद् ऋते
Whether you are in the netherworld, on earth, or in heaven, there is no other means for you except the cessation of imagination.
अनादाव् अविकारे च सुखे परमपावने । सङ्कल्पोपशमे यत्नं पौरुषेण परं कुरु
In the beginningless, changeless, supremely pure happiness, make the highest effort, with your own strength, for the cessation of imagination.
सङ्कल्पतन्ताव् अखिला भावाः प्रोताः किलानघ । भिन्ने तन्तौ न जाने ते क्व यान्ति विशरारवः
All phenomena, O sinless one, are strung on the thread of imagination; when that thread is broken, I do not know where those waves of phenomena go.
असत् सत् सदसत् सर्वं सङ्कल्पाद् एव नान्यतः । सङ्कल्पात् सद् असच् चैवम् इह सत्यं किम् उच्यताम्
All that is unreal, real, and both real and unreal arises only from imagination, not otherwise; since both the real and unreal come from imagination, what truth can be said to exist here?
सङ्कल्प्यते यथा यद् यत् तत् तथा भवति क्षणात् । मा किञ्चिद् अपि तत्त्वज्ञ सङ्कल्पय कदाचन
Whatever is imagined, just so does it become in an instant; therefore, knower of truth, never imagine anything at all.
निस्सङ्कल्पो यथाप्राप्तव्यवहारपरो भव । चिद् अचेत्योन्मुखत्वं हि याति सङ्कल्पसङ्क्षये
Be free of mental constructs, act as situations arise; for when mental constructs are dissolved, consciousness turns toward its own pure nature, beyond objects.
उत्थायासत्यरूपेण येनासत्यमयात्मकम् । ततं जगद्दुःखम् इदं व्यर्थं सदृशम् आत्मनः
By rising up in the form of unreality, that which is of the nature of unreality has spread out as this world, which is sorrowful, futile, and similar to oneself.
तेन दुःखाय महते किं श्रितेन किलानघ । यद् अदुःखाय तत् प्राज्ञास् संश्रयन्तीह नेतरत्
O sinless one, why would anyone resort to that which brings great sorrow? The wise here seek only that which is free from sorrow, not the opposite.
अधिगतपरमार्थताम् उपेत्य प्रसभम् अपास्य विकल्पजालम् उच्चैः । अधिगमय पदं तद् अद्वितीयं विततसुखाय सुषुप्तचित्तवृत्तिः
Having attained the highest reality, forcefully casting aside the net of conceptualization, realize that nondual state whose happiness is all-pervading, with the mind in the state of deep sleep.
कीदृशस् तात सङ्कल्पः कथम् उत्पद्यते प्रभो । कथं वा वृद्धिम् आयाति कथं चैव विनश्यति
Father, what is this mental construct like, how does it arise, O Lord? How does it grow, and how does it come to an end?