न कदाचिद् इदं शान्तं जगद् राम न च क्षयि । अजस्रं दृश्यमानत्वाद् भावित्वाच् च पुनः पुनः
This world is never peaceful, O Rama, nor does it ever perish; it is endlessly perceived and imagined again and again.
न कदाचिद् इदं चास्ति जगद् राम न चाक्षयि । अजस्रं क्षीयमाणत्वान् नाशित्वाच् चानुमानतः
O Rama, this world never truly exists, nor is it imperishable; since it is always diminishing and subject to destruction, we infer it is not eternal.
सर्वेन्द्रियपदातीतो यदा कर्तेह विज्वरः । कुर्वाणस् स तदा खेदं न कदाचन गच्छति
When the doer here is free from fever and has transcended all the senses and their domains, he never experiences fatigue while acting.
तेनेयं नियतिः प्रौढा भावाभावदशामयी । ईदृश्य् एव स्थिरा दीर्घा चित्तोत्थापि न नश्यति
Therefore, this established order is mature, governed by the states of being and non-being; such a condition, arising from the mind, is stable and enduring, and does not perish.
अपर्यन्तस्य कालस्य कश्चिद् अंशश् शरच्छतम् । तावन्मात्रमहायुर् यः किम् आस्थां सो ऽनुधावति
A century of autumns is but a fragment of endless time; whoever pursues reliance on such a long lifespan, what does he truly gain?
स्थिराश् चेज् जागता भावास् तत् तदास्था न शोभते । कथम् अन्योऽन्यसंश्लेषो जडचेतनयोः किल
If the states of the world are stable, then attachment to them is not fitting; how can there truly be union between the inert and the conscious?
अस्थिराश् चेज् जगद्भावास् तद् अप्य् आस्था न शोभते । पयःफेनास्थिरास्यान्ते दुःखम् एषा ददाति ते
If the states of the world are unstable, then attachment to them is also not fitting; at the end, unstable things like foam bring you sorrow.
आस्थाबन्धो महाबाहो जगद्भावत्वदात्मनोः । न स्थिरास्थिरयोः फेनशैलयोर् इव राजते
O mighty-armed one, the bond of attachment between the self and the states of the world does not shine among the stable or unstable, just as it does not between foam and mountain.
सर्वकर्ताप्य् अकर्तेव करोत्य् आत्मा न किञ्चन । तिष्ठत्य् अलम् उदासीन आलोकं प्रति दीपवत्
Though the self is the doer of all, it acts as if it does nothing; it remains perfectly indifferent, like a lamp shining upon its surroundings.
कुर्वन् न किञ्चित् कुरुते दिनकार्यम् इवांशुमान् । गच्छन् न गच्छति स्वस्थस् स्वास्पदस्थो रविर् यथा
Acting, he does nothing, just as the sun carries out the day's work; moving, he does not move, remaining established in his own place, like the sun.
यतः कुतश्चिद् एवेदं सम्पन्नम् इव लक्ष्यते । अर्जुनानिलवद् वारिपूरावर्तवद् आततम्
This appears to have arisen from somewhere or other, like a whirlwind or a water-eddy, or like the wind in a dust-storm, all spread out.
इति चेद् भवता राम नैपुण्येनावधारितम् । प्रमाणपरिशुद्धेन चेतसा च विचारितम्
If, O Rama, you have determined this with skill and examined it with a mind purified by right means of knowledge,
तदाति भावना साधो पदार्थं प्रति नार्हति । अलातचक्रे स्वप्ने च भ्रमे वा केव भावना
Then, O noble one, mental construction is not appropriate regarding the object; what place is there for imagination in a firebrand circle, in a dream, or in a delusion?
अकस्माद् आगतो जन्तुस् सौहार्दस्य न भाजनम् । भ्रमभूतं जगज्जालम् आस्थायाश् च न भाजनम्
A being who has appeared suddenly is not a vessel for friendship; nor is one who has taken refuge in the web of the world, which is of the nature of illusion.
उष्णेन्दौ शीतले भानौ मृगतृष्णाजले तथा । यथा न भावयस्य् आस्थाम् एवं मा भावय स्थितौ
Just as you do not place reliance on heat in the moon, coolness in the sun, or water in a mirage, so do not place reliance on worldly existence.
सङ्कल्पपुरुषं स्वप्नजनं द्वीन्दुत्वविभ्रमम् । यथा पश्यसि पश्य त्वं भावजातम् इदं तथा
As you see the person of thought, the people of dreams, or the confusion of two moons, so see this world, which is born of imagination.
अन्तर् आस्थां परित्यज्य भावश्रीभावनामयीम् । यो ऽसि सो ऽसि जगत्य् अस्मिंल् लीलया विहरानघ
Abandoning inner attachment, which is made of the splendor of imagination, be who you are in this world, O sinless one, and play freely.
अकर्तृत्वपदस्थस्य कर्तृत्वम् अपि कुर्वतः । सर्वभावान्तरस्थस्य सर्वातीतस्य चात्मनः
For the self established in non-doership, even when performing actions, and abiding within all states and transcending all, there is neither doership nor agency.
इयं सन्निधिमात्रेण नियतिः प्रविजृम्भते । दीपसन्निधिमात्रेण निरिच्छेव प्रकाशता
This order arises merely by proximity, just as illumination appears simply by the presence of a lamp.
अभ्रसन्निधिमात्रेण कुटजानि यथा स्वयम् । आत्मसन्निधिमात्रेण त्रिजगन्ति तथा स्वयम्
Just as, by the mere presence of clouds, the white jasmine flowers bloom on their own, so too, by the mere presence of the self, the three worlds exist by themselves.
सर्वेच्छारहिते भानौ यथा व्योमनि तिष्ठति । जायते व्यवहारश्रीस् सति देवे तथा क्रिया
Just as the sun, devoid of all desire, remains in the sky, yet the glory of activity arises when the god exists, so too does action occur.
निरिच्छे संस्थिते रत्ने यथालोकः प्रवर्तते । सत्तामात्रेण देवेन तथैवायं जगद्गणः
Just as radiance arises from a jewel simply by its presence, so too does this multitude of worlds exist merely by the being of the divine.
अत आत्मनि कर्तृत्वम् अकर्तृत्वं च संस्थितम् । निरिच्छत्वाद् अकर्तासौ कर्ता सन्निधिमात्रतः
Therefore, in the self, both doership and non-doership are established; being non-desirous, it is a non-doer, yet by mere presence, it is a doer.
सर्वेन्द्रियाभ्यतीतत्वात् कर्ता भोक्ता न भूतपः । इन्द्रियान्तर्गतत्वात् तु कर्ता भोक्ता स एव हि
Because it is beyond all the senses, it is neither doer nor enjoyer nor the cause of beings; but when associated with the senses, it alone becomes the doer and enjoyer.
द्वे एवात्मनि विद्येते कर्तृताकर्तृते ऽनघ । ययैव पश्यसि श्रेयस् ताम् आश्रित्य स्थिरो भव
O sinless one, only two states exist in the self: doership and non-doership. Whichever you perceive as leading to the highest good, take refuge in that and remain steadfast.
सर्वत्राहम् अकर्तेति दृढभावनयानया । प्रवाहापतितं कार्यं कुर्वन्न् अपि न लिप्यसे
With the firm conviction, 'I am non-doer everywhere,' even while performing actions that arise by the force of circumstance, you remain untouched.
सर्वत्राहम् अकर्तेति संविदा भोगकामना । याति नीरसतां जन्तोर् अप्रवृत्तेस् स्वचेतसः
When, with the awareness 'I am non-doer everywhere,' the desire for enjoyment arises, it becomes insipid for the person whose mind does not engage in it.
यत्राहं किञ्चिद् एवेह न करोमीति निश्चयः । भोगौघकामनां तत्र कः करोतु जहातु वा
Where there is the firm understanding, 'Here I do nothing at all,' who would pursue or abandon the multitude of enjoyments there?
तस्मान् नित्यम् अकर्ताहम् इति भावनयेद्धया । परमामृतनाम्नी सा समतैवावशिष्यते
Therefore, one should always contemplate, 'I am non-doer'; by this, only supreme equanimity, called the nectar of immortality, remains.
अथ सर्वं करोमीति महाकर्तृतयानया । यदीच्छसि स्थितिं राम तत् ताम् अप्य् उत्तमां विदुः
But if you wish, O Rama, to abide in the state of 'I do everything,' with the notion of being the great doer, know that as the highest as well.