Dashak 5 · Samāsa 7

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सृष्टी जे कां चराचर । जीव दाटले अपार । परी ते अवघे चत्वार । बोलिजेती

sṛṣṭī je kām carācara | jīva dāṭale apāra | parī te avaghe catvāra | bolijetī

The sṛṣṭi, moving-and-unmoving; jīvas are crammed countlessly; yet all are spoken as four.

Ramdas opens by scaling down an overwhelming fact: creation teems with uncountable jivas, yet every one of them can be sorted into just four categories relative to liberation. This sets up the fourfold typology that structures the rest of dashak 5.

When facing an overwhelming field of people or problems, look for the few categories that actually matter rather than getting lost in the multitude.

ऐक तयांचें लक्षण । चत्वार ते कोण कोण । बद्ध मुमुक्ष साधक जाण । चौथा सिद्ध

aika tayāmcem lakṣaṇa | catvāra te koṇa koṇa | baddha mumukṣa sādhaka jāṇa | cauthā siddha

Hear their sign — the four, who-who — baddha (bound), mumukṣu (liberation-seeking), sādhaka — know — and fourth, siddha.

The four are named outright: baddha (bound - caught in worldliness), mumukshu (one who desires liberation), sadhaka (the practitioner actively working toward it), and siddha (the accomplished one). This samasa will take up the first in detail.

Name honestly which of these four stages you are actually in today, rather than assuming you are further along than your habits show.

यां चौघांविरहित कांहीं । सचराचरीं पांचवा नाहीं । आतां असो हें सर्वही । विशद करूं

yām caughāmvirahita kāmhīm | sacarācarīm pāmcavā nāhīm | ātām aso hem sarvahī | viśada karūm

Apart from these four, nothing — in moving-and-unmoving there is no fifth; now all this will be clarified.

Ramdas insists the typology is exhaustive - every being fits one of the four, no exceptions, no fifth category to hide in. He promises to clarify each in turn.

Resist the urge to see yourself as a special case outside any framework for growth; place yourself honestly within the categories that apply to everyone.

बद्ध म्हणिजे तो कोण । कैसें मुमुक्षाचें लक्षण । साधकसिद्धवोळखण । कैसी जाणावी

baddha mhaṇije to koṇa | kaisem mumukṣācem lakṣaṇa | sādhakasiddhavoḷakhaṇa | kaisī jāṇāvī

Who is baddha? What is the sign of mumukṣu? How is the sādhaka-siddha recognition known?

A rhetorical question frames the coming exposition: how do you actually recognize each type by its visible marks, not by self-description?

Judge your own spiritual state by observable signs - your habits and attention - not by what you'd like to believe about yourself.

श्रोतीं व्हावें सावध । प्रस्तुत ऐका बद्ध । मुमुक्ष साधक आणि सिद्ध । पुढें निरोपिले

śrotīm vhāvem sāvadha | prastuta aikā baddha | mumukṣa sādhaka āṇi siddha | puḍhem niropile

Listeners, be attentive; first hear the baddha.

Ramdas calls his audience to full attention before beginning the baddha's portrait, signaling that what follows deserves careful, personal reading rather than passive listening.

Read the coming description of the bound state slowly, checking each line against your own life rather than skimming.

आतां बद्ध तो जाणिजे ऐसा । अंधारींचा अंध जैसा । चक्षुविण दाही दिशा । सुन्याकार

ātām baddha to jāṇije aisā | amdhārīmcā amdha jaisā | cakṣuviṇa dāhī diśā | sunyākāra

Samsāra-intoxication by its quality; many low, inauspicious-marks; by whose very face-sight sin clings.

The baddha's defining quality is intoxication with worldly life (samsara-mada) - an inebriation so thorough that base traits accumulate and even meeting his gaze is said to transmit ill fortune. This is hyperbole meant to convey how fully worldliness has consumed him.

Notice when routine busyness has become a kind of intoxication that dulls your judgment, and treat that dullness as a warning sign, not a normal state.

भक्त ज्ञाते तापसी । योगी वीतरागी संन्यासी । पुढें देखतां दृष्टीसी । येणार नाहीं

bhakta jñāte tāpasī | yogī vītarāgī samnyāsī | puḍhem dekhatām dṛṣṭīsī | yeṇāra nāhīm

Devotees, jñānis, ascetics, yogis, dispassionate, sannyāsīs — will not appear even to his sight.

The baddha is so absorbed in worldly concerns that he is functionally blind to the very existence of devotees, knowers, yogis, and renunciants around him - they simply don't register as relevant to his life.

Ask whether people who model discipline or depth are actually visible to you day to day, or whether your attention filters them out entirely.

न दिसे नेणे कर्माकर्म । न दिसे नेणे धर्माधर्म । न दिसे नेणे सुगम । परमार्थपंथ

na dise neṇe karmākarma | na dise neṇe dharmādharma | na dise neṇe sugama | paramārthapamtha

Does not see, does not know karma-and-non-karma; does not see, does not know dharma-and-non-dharma; does not see, does not know the easy path of paramārtha.

Three parallel failures of discernment: he cannot distinguish right action from wrong, righteous from unrighteous, or recognize that the path to ultimate truth (paramartha) is in fact accessible - he thinks it's out of reach or doesn't consider it at all.

Pick one area - action, ethics, or practice - and ask plainly whether you actually know the difference between the right and wrong choice there, or have stopped checking.

तयास न दिसे सच्छास्त्र । सत्संगति सत्पात्र । सन्मार्ग जो कां पवित्र । तो ही न दिसे

tayāsa na dise sacchāstra | satsamgati satpātra | sanmārga jo kām pavitra | to hī na dise

To him the true-śāstra is not seen; sat-sanga, sat-pātra; the pure good-path — even that is not seen.

Continuing the blindness theme: sound scripture, good company (sat-sanga), worthy people, and the pure path itself all pass unnoticed. The problem isn't that these things are hidden - it's that he has lost the capacity to perceive them.

Deliberately seek out one source of sound guidance or good company this week, testing whether you've stopped noticing what's available to you.

न कळे सारासार विचार । न कळे स्वधर्म आचार । न कळे कैसा परोपकार । दानपुण्य

na kaḷe sārāsāra vicāra | na kaḷe svadharma ācāra | na kaḷe kaisā paropakāra | dānapuṇya

Does not know sārāsāra-vicāra; does not know svadharma-conduct; does not know how paropakāra, dāna, puṇya [work].

He lacks sarasara-vichara (the discernment between essential and non-essential, real and unreal), doesn't know how to live his own proper duty (svadharma), and doesn't understand the mechanics of benefiting others, giving, or merit.

Practice discernment on one decision today by explicitly asking what is essential in it and what is merely noise.

नाहीं पोटीं भूतदया । नाहीं सुचिष्मंत काया । नाहीं जनासि निववावया । वचन मृद

nāhīm poṭīm bhūtadayā | nāhīm suciṣmamta kāyā | nāhīm janāsi nivavāvayā | vacana mṛda

No compassion in the belly; no pure body; no soft word to comfort people.

Three concrete absences: no felt compassion, no bodily purity/discipline, no gentle speech that could comfort another. These are practical, checkable failures, not abstract ones.

Today, deliberately offer one soft, comforting word to someone in distress instead of your default tone.

न कळे भक्ति न कळे ज्ञान । न कळे वैराग्य न कळे ध्यान । न कळे मोक्ष न कळे साधन । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe bhakti na kaḷe jñāna | na kaḷe vairāgya na kaḷe dhyāna | na kaḷe mokṣa na kaḷe sādhana | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know bhakti, jñāna; does not know vairāgya, dhyāna; does not know mokṣa, sādhana — this is called baddha.

The first formal definition line: baddha is the one who knows neither devotion nor knowledge, neither dispassion nor meditation, neither liberation nor the discipline that leads there. The whole spiritual vocabulary is simply absent from his life.

Pick one spiritual term from this list - devotion, meditation, dispassion - and give it fifteen minutes of real practice today instead of leaving it as an abstract idea.

न कळे देव निश्चयात्मक । न कळे संतांचा विवेक । न कळे मायेचें कौतुक । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe deva niścayātmaka | na kaḷe samtāmcā viveka | na kaḷe māyecem kautuka | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know God with certainty; does not know the discernment of saints; does not know the wonder of māyā — this is called baddha.

He has no settled conviction about God, cannot access the discernment (viveka) that saints embody, and doesn't grasp how thoroughly maya (the world's illusory play) has him fooled.

Notice one place today where you're treating an illusion - a status symbol, a worry - as solid reality, and name it as such.

न कळे परमार्थाची खूण । न कळे अध्यात्मनिरूपण । न कळे आपणासि आपण । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe paramārthācī khūṇa | na kaḷe adhyātmanirūpaṇa | na kaḷe āpaṇāsi āpaṇa | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know the mark of paramārtha; does not know adhyātma-exposition; does not know oneself by oneself — this is called baddha.

He can't identify what the ultimate goal even looks like, cannot follow spiritual exposition, and - most tellingly - does not know himself through direct self-inquiry.

Spend a few quiet minutes today simply observing your own mind without an agenda, as a first step toward self-knowledge.

न कळे जीवाचें जन्ममूळ । न कळे साधनाचें फळ । न कळे तत्वतां केवळ । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe jīvācem janmamūḷa | na kaḷe sādhanācem phaḷa | na kaḷe tatvatām kevaḷa | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know the root of jīva's birth; does not know the fruit of sādhana; does not know the truth at all — this is called baddha.

He has no grasp of why the individual soul takes birth, what practice actually yields, or truth in any final sense - his understanding of his own existence is groundless.

Ask yourself honestly what you expect your daily practice, work, or effort to actually produce - and whether you've ever checked.

न कळे कैसें तें बंधन । न कळे मुक्तीचें लक्षण । न कळे वस्तु विलक्षण । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe kaisem tem bamdhana | na kaḷe muktīcem lakṣaṇa | na kaḷe vastu vilakṣaṇa | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know how bondage is; does not know the sign of mukti; does not know the distinct substance — this is called baddha.

He cannot describe what binds him, cannot recognize what freedom would look like, and cannot distinguish the one changeless reality from the changing world around it.

Name one specific habit or attachment that currently constrains your choices - precision here is the first step out of it.

न कळे शास्त्रार्थ बोलिला । न कळे निजस्वार्थ आपुला । न कळे संकल्पें बांधला । या नांव बद्ध

na kaḷe śāstrārtha bolilā | na kaḷe nijasvārtha āpulā | na kaḷe samkalpem bāmdhalā | yā nāmva baddha

Does not know the śāstra-meaning spoken; does not know his own essential interest; bound by resolution — this is called baddha.

Even when scripture is explained to him, he misses the meaning; he doesn't know his own true benefit (nija-svartha); and he is bound by his own fixed intentions (sankalpa) rather than free discernment.

Before committing to your next big decision, pause and ask whether it serves your real long-term good or just a stubborn resolve you've stopped questioning.

जयासि नाहीं आत्मज्ञान । हें मुख्य बद्धाचें लक्षण । तीर्थ व्रत दान पुण्य । कांहींच नाहीं

jayāsi nāhīm ātmajñāna | hem mukhya baddhācem lakṣaṇa | tīrtha vrata dāna puṇya | kāmhīmca nāhīm

He who has no ātma-jñāna — this is the chief sign of baddha; tīrtha, vrata, dāna, puṇya — none is [in him].

Ramdas names the root cause explicitly: absence of atma-jnana (self-knowledge) is the defining mark of baddha - all the other failures follow from this one. Pilgrimage, vows, charity, and merit are all absent too, because without self-knowledge even good acts don't take root.

Treat self-knowledge as the root practice beneath all your other good habits, not an optional extra you'll get to eventually.

दया नाहीं करुणा नाहीं । आर्जव नाहीं मित्रि नाहीं । शांति नाहीं क्ष्मा नाहीं । या नांव बद्ध

dayā nāhīm karuṇā nāhīm | ārjava nāhīm mitri nāhīm | śāmti nāhīm kṣmā nāhīm | yā nāmva baddha

No compassion, no pity; no integrity, no friendship; no peace, no forgiveness — this is called baddha.

A rapid list of relational virtues entirely missing - compassion, pity, straightforwardness, friendship, peace, forgiveness. These aren't abstract failings; they show up in how he treats people daily.

Choose forgiveness in one specific grudge you're carrying today, as a direct counter to this list.

जें ज्ञानविशिं उणें । तेथें कैचीं ज्ञानाचीं लक्षणें । बहुसाल कुलक्षणें । या नांव बद्ध

jem jñānaviśim uṇem | tethem kaicīm jñānācīm lakṣaṇem | bahusāla kulakṣaṇem | yā nāmva baddha

Where jñāna is deficient, where are the signs of jñāna? Many inauspicious-marks — this is called baddha.

A logical point: you cannot expect the fruits of knowledge where the root - actual understanding - is missing. What fills that vacuum instead is a proliferation of bad traits.

Where you find yourself lacking real understanding of something important, admit the gap honestly rather than papering over it with confident behavior.

नाना प्रकारीचे दोष- । करितां, वाटे परम संतोष । बाष्कळपणाचा हव्यास । या नांव बद्ध

nānā prakārīce doṣa- | karitām, vāṭe parama samtoṣa | bāṣkaḷapaṇācā havyāsa | yā nāmva baddha

Committing many kinds of sins feels supremely joyful; craving for foolishness — this is called baddha.

The baddha's inversion of values is now stated directly: wrongdoing brings him actual pleasure, and he actively craves foolish behavior rather than merely falling into it by accident.

Notice if any harmful habit has started to feel genuinely pleasurable rather than merely convenient - that shift is a warning sign worth naming.

बहु काम बहु क्रोध । बहु गर्व बहु मद । बहु द्वंद बहु खेद । या नांव बद्ध

bahu kāma bahu krodha | bahu garva bahu mada | bahu dvamda bahu kheda | yā nāmva baddha

Much lust, much anger; much pride, much intoxication; much conflict, much grief — this is called baddha.

The first of a long catalog of vices given in pairs - lust, anger, pride/intoxication, conflict and grief. Ramdas piles these up rhythmically to convey saturation, not just presence.

Pick the vice from this pair - lust or anger - that shows up most in your week, and track its triggers for a day.

बहु दर्प बहु दंभ । बहु विषये बहु लोभ । बहु कर्कश बहु अशुभ । या नांव बद्ध

bahu darpa bahu dambha | bahu viṣaye bahu lobha | bahu karkaśa bahu aśubha | yā nāmva baddha

Much arrogance, much hypocrisy; much sensuality, much greed; much harshness, much inauspicious — this is called baddha.

More vices piled on: arrogance, hypocrisy, sensuality, greed, harsh speech, and generally inauspicious conduct. The cumulative effect of the list matters more than any single item.

If you catch yourself being harsh in speech today, soften the very next sentence deliberately.

बहु ग्रामणी बहु मत्सर । बहु असूया तिरस्कार । बहु पापी बहु विकार । या नांव बद्ध

bahu grāmaṇī bahu matsara | bahu asūyā tiraskāra | bahu pāpī bahu vikāra | yā nāmva baddha

Much leadership-craving, much envy; much jealousy, contempt; much sinful, full-of-distortions — this is called baddha.

Social vices now: craving to be first or in charge, envy, jealousy, contempt for others, and a generally distorted character.

Notice one moment today when you want to be seen as superior to someone, and let the urge pass without acting on it.

बहु अभिमान बहु ताठा । बहु अहंकार बहु फांटा । बहु कुकर्माचा सांठा । या नांव बद्ध

bahu abhimāna bahu tāṭhā | bahu ahamkāra bahu phāmṭā | bahu kukarmācā sāmṭhā | yā nāmva baddha

Much conceit, much stiffness; much ego, much diversion; much store of bad-deeds — this is called baddha.

Conceit and rigidity, swollen ego, being easily diverted from the right path, and an accumulating stockpile of bad deeds - the baddha keeps adding to his own burden.

Ask whether stubbornness in a recent disagreement was really principle or just ego holding its ground.

बहु कापट्य वादवेवाद । बहु कुतर्क भेदाभेद । बहु क्रूइर कृपामंद । या नांव बद्ध

bahu kāpaṭya vādavevāda | bahu kutarka bhedābheda | bahu krūira kṛpāmamda | yā nāmva baddha

Much deceit, argument-debate; much bad-reasoning, difference-non-difference; much cruel, compassion-dim — this is called baddha.

Deceitfulness, love of pointless argument, faulty logic used to win rather than find truth, cruelty, and a dimmed capacity for compassion round out this stretch of the list.

Before entering your next argument, ask whether you're seeking truth or just trying to win - and choose truth.

बहु निंदा बहु द्वेष । बहु अधर्म बहु अभिळाष । बहु प्रकारीचे दोष । या नांव बद्ध

bahu nimdā bahu dveṣa | bahu adharma bahu abhiḷāṣa | bahu prakārīce doṣa | yā nāmva baddha

Much slander, much hatred; much adharma, much craving; many kinds of sins — this is called baddha.

Slander, hatred, unrighteous action, craving, and sin in general are named as summary markers before the list continues.

Go a full day without speaking ill of anyone who isn't present, as a direct test against slander.

बहु भ्रष्ट अनाचार । बहु नष्ट येकंकार । बहु आनित्य अविचार । या नांव बद्ध

bahu bhraṣṭa anācāra | bahu naṣṭa yekamkāra | bahu ānitya avicāra | yā nāmva baddha

Much corrupt conduct; much wicked, one-sided; much impermanence, un-reasoning — this is called baddha.

Corrupt conduct, one-sided wickedness, and living carelessly as though impermanence didn't apply to him mark the baddha further.

Reflect briefly today on the fact that your time is limited, and let that reflection inform one choice you make.

बहु निष्ठुर बहु घातकी । बहु हत्यारा बहु पातकी । तपीळ कुविद्या अनेकी । या नांव बद्ध

bahu niṣṭhura bahu ghātakī | bahu hatyārā bahu pātakī | tapīḷa kuvidyā anekī | yā nāmva baddha

Much cruel, much ruinous; much murderous, much sinful; hot-tempered, many-false-sciences — this is called baddha.

The intensity escalates to cruelty, destructiveness, violence, hot temper, and indulgence in false or occult 'sciences' that mislead rather than illuminate.

When your temper flares, pause before speaking or acting until the heat has passed.

बहु दुराशा बहु स्वार्थी । बहु कळह बहु अनर्थी । बहु डाईक दुर्मती । या नांव बद्ध

bahu durāśā bahu svārthī | bahu kaḷaha bahu anarthī | bahu ḍāīka durmatī | yā nāmva baddha

Much false-hope, much selfish; much quarrel, much ruinous-goal; much envious, bad-intellect — this is called baddha.

False hopes, selfishness, quarrelsomeness, pursuit of ruinous goals, envy, and generally poor judgment continue the portrait of a mind working against its own good.

Examine one goal you're chasing and ask honestly whether it will actually benefit you, or whether it's a false hope dressed as ambition.

बहु कल्पना बहु कामना । बहु तृष्णा बहु वासना । बहु ममता बहु भावना । या नांव बद्ध

bahu kalpanā bahu kāmanā | bahu tṛṣṇā bahu vāsanā | bahu mamatā bahu bhāvanā | yā nāmva baddha

Much imagination, much desire; much thirst, much tendency; much possessiveness, much fixed-idea — this is called baddha.

Here the vices turn inward - restless imagination, desire, insatiable thirst (trishna), habitual tendencies (vasana), possessiveness, and fixed notions that won't budge.

Notice one possessive thought about a person or object today, and consciously loosen your grip on it.

बहु विकल्पी बहु विषादी । बहु मूर्ख बहु समंधी । बहु प्रपंची बहु उपाधी । या नांव बद्ध

bahu vikalpī bahu viṣādī | bahu mūrkha bahu samamdhī | bahu prapamcī bahu upādhī | yā nāmva baddha

Much doubter, much despondent; much fool, much possessed-by-spirits; much worldly-bound, much encumbered — this is called baddha.

Chronic doubt, despondency, foolishness, superstition, deep worldly entanglement, and constant encumbrance mark a mind with no stable ground.

When despondency strikes, name it as a passing mood rather than truth about your situation, and act anyway.

बहु वाचाळ बहु पाषंडी । बहु दुर्जन बहु थोतांडी । बहु पैशून्य बहु खोडी । या नांव बद्ध

bahu vācāḷa bahu pāṣamḍī | bahu durjana bahu thotāmḍī | bahu paiśūnya bahu khoḍī | yā nāmva baddha

Much talkative, much heretical; much wicked, much deceiver; much slanderer, much mischief — this is called baddha.

Excessive talk, false teaching, wickedness, deception, slander, and mischief-making round out the social vices - the baddha's speech itself becomes a source of harm.

Before speaking today, ask whether what you're about to say is true, necessary, and kind.

बहु अभाव बहु भ्रम । बहु भ्रांति बहु तम । बहु विक्षेप बहु विराम । या नांव बद्ध

bahu abhāva bahu bhrama | bahu bhrāmti bahu tama | bahu vikṣepa bahu virāma | yā nāmva baddha

Much non-feeling, much delusion; much confusion, much darkness; much distraction, much dullness — this is called baddha.

Emotional numbness, delusion, confusion, spiritual darkness, distraction, and dullness describe an inner life gone slack.

If you notice numbness or dullness settling in, treat it as a signal to re-engage rather than a comfortable default.

बहु कृपण बहु खंदस्ती । बहु आदखणा बहु मस्ती । बहु असत्क्रिया व्यस्ती । या नांव बद्ध

bahu kṛpaṇa bahu khamdastī | bahu ādakhaṇā bahu mastī | bahu asatkriyā vyastī | yā nāmva baddha

Much miserly, much scheming; much jealous, much insolent; much corrupt-action, wasteful — this is called baddha.

Stinginess, scheming, jealousy, insolence, corrupt action, and wastefulness - contradictory-seeming vices (miserly yet wasteful) that both point to disordered priorities.

Check one financial or time decision today for whether it's driven by fear (miserliness) or carelessness (waste), and correct toward balance.

परमार्थविषईं अज्ञान । प्रपंचाचें उदंड ज्ञान । नेणे स्वयें समाधान । या नांव बद्ध

paramārthaviṣaīm ajñāna | prapamcācem udamḍa jñāna | neṇe svayem samādhāna | yā nāmva baddha

Ignorant in paramārtha-matters; abundant knowledge in prapañca; does not know composure — this is called baddha.

A sharper diagnosis: he is not simply ignorant across the board - he is extremely knowledgeable about worldly affairs (prapancha) while remaining utterly ignorant of the ultimate (paramartha), and he has no inner composure either way.

Audit where your expertise actually lies - if it's all practical and none reflective, deliberately invest time in the reflective side this week.

परमार्थाचा अनादर । प्रपंचाचा अत्यादर । संसारभार जोजार । या नांव बद्ध

paramārthācā anādara | prapamcācā atyādara | samsārabhāra jojāra | yā nāmva baddha

Disregard of paramārtha; extreme regard for prapañca; burden of worldly-affairs — this is called baddha.

He actively disregards the spiritual path while giving excessive regard to worldly affairs, piling up burden upon himself in the process - the imbalance is a choice, not an accident.

Rebalance today by giving five minutes of genuine regard to something spiritual that you've been dismissing as unimportant.

सत्संगाची नाहीं गोडी । संतनिंदेची आवडी । देहेबुद्धीची घातली बेडी । या नाव बद्ध

satsamgācī nāhīm goḍī | samtanimdecī āvaḍī | dehebuddhīcī ghātalī beḍī | yā nāva baddha

No sweetness for sat-sanga; liking for slandering saints; has put on the fetter of body-intellect — this is called baddha.

He finds no sweetness in good company, actually enjoys slandering saints, and has shackled himself to deha-buddhi - the identification of self with the body - the root fetter behind all the others.

The next time you're tempted to criticize someone who lives with more discipline than you, hold your tongue and examine your own resistance instead.

हातीं द्रव्याची जपमाळ । कांताध्यान सर्वकाळ । सत्संगाचा दुष्काळ । या नांव बद्ध

hātīm dravyācī japamāḷa | kāmtādhyāna sarvakāḷa | satsamgācā duṣkāḷa | yā nāmva baddha

In hand, the rosary of wealth; always meditation on wife; famine of sat-sanga — this is called baddha.

A vivid image: instead of a prayer-rosary, he counts wealth in his hand; instead of meditating on God, he meditates constantly on his wife; and good company is entirely absent from his life - a total substitution of worldly objects for spiritual ones.

Notice what actually occupies your idle mental 'counting' - money, status, a person - and consciously redirect a portion of that attention to reflection or prayer.

नेत्रीं द्रव्य दारा पाहावी । श्रवणीं द्रव्य दारा ऐकावी । चिंतनीं द्रव्य दारा चिंतावी । या नांव बद्ध

netrīm dravya dārā pāhāvī | śravaṇīm dravya dārā aikāvī | cimtanīm dravya dārā cimtāvī | yā nāmva baddha

In the eyes, wealth and wife should be seen; in the ears, wealth and wife should be heard; in contemplation, wealth and wife should be contemplated — this is called baddha.

Dravya-dara (wealth-and-wife, standing for possessions and household attachment) has colonized every sense-gate - sight, hearing, and thought - leaving no channel free for anything else.

For one sitting today, deliberately direct your eyes, ears, and thoughts to something beyond acquisition or domestic concern.

काया वाचा आणि मन । चित्त वित्त जीव प्राण । द्रव्यदारेचें करी भजन । या नांव बद्ध

kāyā vācā āṇi mana | citta vitta jīva prāṇa | dravyadārecem karī bhajana | yā nāmva baddha

Body, speech, and mind; heart, wealth, life, prāṇa; does bhajana of wealth-and-wife — this is called baddha.

Every human faculty - body, speech, mind, heart, resources, even the life-breath itself - is offered in worship not to God but to wealth-and-household. The baddha has simply redirected devotion's entire machinery toward the wrong object.

Ask what you actually worship with your full attention and energy each day, and whether it deserves that devotion.

इंद्रियें करून निश्चळ । चंचळ होऊं नेदी पळ । द्रव्यदारेसि लावी सकळ । या नांव बद्ध

imdriyem karūna niścaḷa | camcaḷa hoūm nedī paḷa | dravyadāresi lāvī sakaḷa | yā nāmva baddha

Having made the senses unwavering, not letting them stir for a moment; applies all to wealth-and-wife — this is called baddha.

Ironically, he has real one-pointed discipline - he doesn't let his senses waver - but he has aimed that discipline entirely at wealth-and-household rather than at the spiritual goal it could serve.

If you already have strong focus and discipline in your career or finances, deliberately apply that same discipline to a spiritual or ethical practice too.

द्रव्य दारा तेंचि तीर्थ । द्रव्य दारा तोचि परमार्थ । द्रव्य दारा सकळ स्वार्थ । म्हणे तो बद्ध

dravya dārā temci tīrtha | dravya dārā toci paramārtha | dravya dārā sakaḷa svārtha | mhaṇe to baddha

Wealth-and-wife itself is tīrtha; wealth-and-wife is paramārtha itself; wealth-and-wife is all self-interest — whoever says so is baddha.

The baddha's belief system is stated as an explicit creed: he actually holds that wealth and household are the pilgrimage, are the ultimate goal, are the whole of self-interest - collapsing the sacred entirely into the domestic-material.

Notice if you've quietly started treating career success or possessions as your ultimate purpose, and name that substitution honestly.

वेर्थं जाऊं नेदी काळ । संसारचिंता सर्वकाळ । कथा वार्ता तेचि सकळ । या नांव बद्ध

vertham jāūm nedī kāḷa | samsāracimtā sarvakāḷa | kathā vārtā teci sakaḷa | yā nāmva baddha

Does not let time pass in vain; samsāra-anxiety always; all talk and topics are of this — this is called baddha.

He is diligent - he doesn't waste time - but every moment and every conversation is consumed by worldly anxiety and worldly topics; even his industriousness serves nothing beyond samsara.

Track your conversations today - if every one circles back to money, work, or domestic worry, deliberately introduce one topic of larger meaning.

नाना चिंता नाना उद्वेग । नाना दुःखाचे संसर्ग । करी परमार्थाचा त्याग । या नांव बद्ध

nānā cimtā nānā udvega | nānā duḥkhāce samsarga | karī paramārthācā tyāga | yā nāmva baddha

Many anxieties, many distresses; many contacts with sorrow; he renounces paramārtha — this is called baddha.

Beset by anxieties, distress, and repeated encounters with sorrow, his actual response is to abandon the spiritual path rather than turn toward it - the opposite of what suffering could otherwise awaken in him.

The next time distress hits, let it be an occasion to turn toward reflection or prayer instead of further burying yourself in worldly distraction.

घटिका पळ निमिष्यभरी । दुश्चीत नव्हतां अंतरीं । सर्वकाळ ध्यान करी । द्रव्यदाराप्रपंचाचें

ghaṭikā paḷa nimiṣyabharī | duścīta navhatām amtarīm | sarvakāḷa dhyāna karī | dravyadārāprapamcācem

Muhūrta, moment, even a breath — without being distracted inwardly; always meditating on wealth-wife-prapañca.

Continuing the discipline-misapplied theme: not even a single breath's worth of inward distraction - his meditation on household and worldly affairs is unbroken and total.

Set one alarm today as a pattern-interrupt to check where your mind has been running on autopilot toward worldly concerns.

तीर्थ यात्रा दान पुण्य । भक्ति कथा निरूपण । मंत्र पूजा जप ध्यान । सर्वही द्रव्य दारा

tīrtha yātrā dāna puṇya | bhakti kathā nirūpaṇa | mamtra pūjā japa dhyāna | sarvahī dravya dārā

Tīrtha, pilgrimage, dāna, puṇya; bhakti, kathā, nirūpaṇa; mantra, pūjā, japa, dhyāna — all is wealth-and-wife [for him].

Even when he performs the outward forms of religion - pilgrimage, charity, devotion, discourse, mantra, worship, chanting, meditation - the underlying motive and content is still wealth-and-household; the religious vocabulary has been hollowed out and repurposed.

Examine your own religious or disciplined practices honestly - check whether their real motive is still material gain dressed in spiritual clothing.

जागृति स्वप्न रात्रि दिवस । ऐसा लागला विषयेध्यास । नाहीं क्षणाचा अवकाश । या नांव बद्ध

jāgṛti svapna rātri divasa | aisā lāgalā viṣayedhyāsa | nāhīm kṣaṇācā avakāśa | yā nāmva baddha

Waking, dream, night, day — such sense-obsession has attached; no moment's respite — this is called baddha.

The final and most totalizing description: the obsession follows him through waking and dream states, night and day, without a single moment of respite - bondage has become continuous, inescapable, all-consuming.

If a worry or craving follows you into your dreams, treat that as a clear signal it needs to be addressed directly, not just managed.

ऐसें बद्धाचें लक्षण । मुमुक्षपणीं पालटे जाण । ऐक तेही वोळखण । पुढिलीये समासीं

aisem baddhācem lakṣaṇa | mumukṣapaṇīm pālaṭe jāṇa | aika tehī voḷakhaṇa | puḍhilīye samāsīm

Such is the sign of baddha; in mumukṣu-hood it changes — know; hear that recognition in the next samāsa.

Ramdas closes samasa 7 by noting that this same bound state is not fixed forever - it can transform into mumukshu-hood (the desire for liberation), and that transformation's marks are the subject of the very next samasa.

Take heart that recognizing yourself in this list is itself the first step toward change - read the next samasa's description of mumukshu as your next horizon, not a distant ideal.