Dashak 8 · Samāsa 10

On asking people's experience, dispute arises unexpectedly. / This wave of narratives, listeners, enjoy hearing.

Some say: 'Doing this samsāra, the far shore is reached. / It is not ours — the jīva belongs to the Deva.'

Some say: 'That cannot happen; lobha becomes embedded in the body. / Belly-filling must be done — the service of the family.'

Some say: 'By svabhāva, do samsāra in happiness as the boat. / Do some dāna and puṇya — for the sake of sadgati.'

Some say: 'Samsāra is false; by vairāgya one should take exile; / by this, the paths to svarga-loka open.'

Some say: 'Where to go? Why wander in vain? / Stay in one's own āśrama — fulfilling the āśrama-dharma.'

Some say: 'Whence dharma? All becomes adharma; / in this samsāra, various karmas must be done.'

Some say: 'By various means, vāsanā should be held above [purified]. / By this alone samsāra is crossed — effortlessly.'

Some say: 'Bhāva (feeling) is the cause; by bhāva alone Deva is attained. / All else is empty tangle.'

Some say: 'Elders in one's life — all should be considered as Deva. / Mother and father should be worshipped with single bhāva.'

Some say: 'Deva and Brāhmaṇa — they are to be worshipped. / Mother and father are Nārāyaṇa of all the people.'

Some say: 'Śāstra must be examined — there the Deva has spoken. / By that authority alone one should proceed to the other world.'

Some say: 'O people, even on examining śāstra, it is not sufficient. / For this reason, one should take refuge in the sādhu-folk.'

Some say: 'Leave all argument; why engage in idle chatter? / For all, the essential thing is bhūta-dayā (compassion for beings) in the belly.'

Some say: 'One thing alone is good — remain in one's own ācāra. / At the time of death, take the name of the Supreme.'

Some say: 'If puṇya exists, only then will the Name come. / Otherwise one will fall into confusion at the end.'

Some say: 'While alive, one should accomplish the goal.' / Some say: 'Go on tīrthāṭana (pilgrimage-tour).'

Some say: 'This is arduous — meeting of water and stone. / Taking dips, growing weak — one becomes exhausted.'

Some say: 'Abandon garrulity; the greatness on earth is profound. / By mere darśana, mahā-pātaka is burned up.'

Some say: 'Tīrtha is for its own sake; the important thing is to control the mind.' / Some say: 'Do kīrtana leisurely.'

Some say: 'Yoga is good; that chief should be accomplished first. / Make the body immortal, suddenly.'

Some say: 'What is this? Do not waste time. / Some say: adopt the stance — that of bhakti-mārga.'

Some say: 'jñāna is good.' Some say: 'sādhana should be done.' / Some say: 'Be mukta — continuously.'

Some say: 'Unrestrained — hold contempt for pāpa.' / Some say: 'Be free — our path.'

Some say: 'This is special — do not do ninda (reproach), dveṣa (hatred).' / Some say: 'Slowly, duṣṭa-sanga (bad company) should be renounced.'

Some say: 'Whose salt you eat, in front of him you must die; / by that, instantly, mokṣa-pada is attained.'

Some say: 'Leave argument; first is needed the rotī (bread); / then, leisurely, do the chatter.'

Some say: 'Rain should come; then all yoga is good. / The essential is that there be no drought — that is what is good.'

Some say: 'Treasure of tapas — then all siddhis incline; / some say: first, indra-pada should be accomplished.'

Some say: 'Āgama should be studied, and Vetāla made to be gracious. / By this, one attains the Deva in svarga-loka.'

Some say: 'Aghora-mantra — by this one becomes svatantra; / Śrī Hari whose consort he is — she becomes favourable.'

All dharmas pertaining to Her — there, what kriyā-karma? / Some say: that is kukarma — by Her intoxication.

Some say: 'Another effort — do the japa of Mṛtyuñjaya; / by that quality, all samkalpas are attained to siddhi.'

Some say: 'Baṭu-Bhairava — by him, vaibhava (grandeur) is attained.' / Some say: 'Jhoṭinga — he fulfills all.'

Some say: 'Kālī-Kankālī'; some say: 'Bhadra-kāḷī'; / some say: 'Ucchiṣṭa-Cāṇḍālī should be venerated.'

Some say: 'Vighna-hara (Gaṇeśa)'; some say: 'bhoḷā (innocent) Śankara'; / some say: 'swiftly — Bhagavatī inclines.'

Some say: 'Mallārī quickly makes one fortunate.' / Some say: 'Excellent is the bhakti of Venkaṭeśa.'

Some say: 'pūrva-ṭhevā' (prior deposit); some say: 'effort should be made'; / some say: 'lay the burden upon the Deva.'

Some say: 'Where is Deva? He only watches the end of the good.' / Some say: 'This is the yuga-dharma of the yuga.'

Some marvel; some are astonished. / Some, exasperated, say: 'Let us see what will happen.'

Thus, prapañcika (worldly) people — telling their marks is endless. / Yet I have spoken some slight sign, in brief.

Now let this disposition be; how is the experience of the jñānīs? / That too will all be told; attentively hear.

Some say: 'Do bhakti; Śrī Hari will give sadgati.' / Some say: 'Brahma-prāpti comes by karma alone.'

Some say: 'Enjoyment does not cease; birth-death does not snap.' / Some say: 'Various surges (ūrmīs) of ajñāna.'

Some say: 'All is Brahma; there what kriyā-karma?' / Some say: 'This is adharma — should not even be spoken.'

Some say: 'All perishes; what remains, that alone is Brahma.' / Some say: 'Such is not samādhāna.'

Sarva-brahma or kevala-brahma — both are fallacies of pūrva-pakṣa. / The real mark of anubhava is something else, say some.

Some say: 'This does not happen; the anirvācya (unutterable) vastu occurs — / on speaking it, Vedas and Śāstras fall silent.'

Then the listener responded: 'Who made the determination? / In the final-doctrine position of anubhava, what remainder?'

Anubhavas are various in different bodies — this has been said before. / Now what is the latest thing — [say] some.

Some conduct as sākṣin (witness); they say sākṣī is distinct — / 'I am the dṛṣṭā (seer)' — such is the state of svānubhava.

The dṛṣṭā is separate from the dṛśya — such is the kalā (art) of aliptatā (detachment). / One is sākṣin-wise, aloof — by svānubhava.

Knowing all pādārthas, he is beyond the pādārtha. / Though in body, aliptatā has come spontaneously.

One, by such svānubhava, says: 'Conduct as sākṣin. / Though dṛśya is, be apart as dṛṣṭā.'

Some say: 'No bheda; vastu is abheda at its root. / There whence the dull-buddhi dṛṣṭā, brought in?'

If all is sugar by svabhāva — there what bitter is selected? / How is the dṛṣṭā from svānubhava? — all is Brahma.

Prapañca and parabrahma are abheda; bheda-vādīs take them as different. / But this Ātman is svānanda — [apparently] taken form.

Melted ghee congealed — thus the nirguṇa came to guṇa. / There, what separateness by dṛṣṭā-hood?

Therefore dṛṣṭā and dṛśya — all one jagat-īśa (Lord of world). / The effort of dṛṣṭā-hood — for what?

'Brahma itself has taken all form' — such is the experience of some. / These two dispositions have been expounded.

All is the Ātman taking form; how is oneself left as distinct? / The second anubhava was spoken thus.

Hear the third anubhava — setting aside all prapañca, / 'What is 'nothing' — that itself is Deva' — so they say.

All dṛśya is made separate; only adṛśya remains. / 'That alone is Brahma-experienced' — say some.

But that should not be called Brahma — misfortune resembling remedy; / Śūnyatva [emptiness] — how can it be called Brahma?

All dṛśya is traversed; adṛśya falls into śūnyatva. / Calling it Brahma, one has turned back from the very [destination].

On this side dṛśya, on that side Deva; between is the place of śūnyatva. / That, by dull-buddhi, the creature calls Brahma.

Not recognizing the king, one imagined the servant as king; / but all that went in vain when the king was seen.

Likewise śūnyatva was imagined as Brahma; then on seeing parabrahma, / all the delusion of śūnyatva was snapped.

But this is a subtle obstruction; by vivek it is set apart, / just as rāja-hamsa takes the milk and leaves the water.

First dṛśya was released; then śūnyatva was traversed; / beyond mūla-māyā was seen — parabrahma.

Looking with separateness happens — by that vṛtti falls into śūnyatva; / doubt of śūnyatva spreads in the belly.

What is experienced with divided-ness is called 'śūnya'; / vastu is to be aimed at abheda (non-different) — first.

To become vastu oneself — that is the [true] seeing of vastu. / Unquestionably, in separateness, śūnyatva is obtained.

For this reason, śūnya will never become parabrahma. / Become vastu-rūpa, see — by svānubhava.

Oneself is vastu already-accomplished; 'mind is I' — should not be imagined. / The saints say the means: 'You yourself are Ātman.'

'Mind is I' is baseless; the saints have not declared it. / By whose word should one accept 'mind is I'?

Placing faith on saint-speech — that is pure svānubhava. / The svabhāva of mind — oneself is vastu.

He whose anubhava is to be taken — he himself is niravayava (partless). / The entire world takes its own anubhava.

A lobhī went to obtain wealth; but he himself became lobhī-wealth. / Then a bhāgya-puruṣa (fortunate person) enjoyed it leisurely.

Likewise on releasing deha-buddhi, the sādhaka has attained truly. / The chief matter of anubhava — it is thus.

'Oneself is vastu, one from the root' — such is jñāna-vivek. / From here this jñāna-daśaka is complete.

Ātma-jñāna has been expounded; according to my understanding I have spoken. / Please forgive the excesses and omissions — O listeners.