31. O embodied One, dote not upon your body thus, embellishing it, adorning it,
providing luxuries for it.
Even its ashes will not endure.
32. Should you, in this body, seek
The Supreme Self that dwells within,
Greed and illusion soon removed,
A halo of glory will surround
this very body of yours.
33. This counsel to the body give, O Soul:
Wear only such clothes as ward off cold;
Eat only to satisfy your hunger;
Devote yourself with all your heart
to the knowledge of the Supreme Self.
Consider this body to be food for the forest ravens.
34. Let not your body suffer
from hunger and thirst,
Feed it whenever it feels famished.
Fie on your fasts and religious rites;
Do good: therein your duty lies.
35. Do not let loose your donkey [
1] lest
he damage others’ saffron fields;
For none will bare his back to suffer
sword cuts and blows for you. [
2]
36. Who slays the highway robbers three,
Greed, Lust and Pride,
And yet, in utter humility, serves
his fellow-men—
He truly seeks out the Lord,
disregarding as worthless ashes
all other things.
37. Slay the murderous demons,
Lust, Anger and Greed;
Or, aiming their arrows at you, they will
surely shoot you dead.
Take care, feed them on self-restraint
and discrimination of the Self;
Thus starved these demons will become
powerless and weak.
38. They may abuse me or jeer at me,
They may say what pleases them,
They may with flowers worship me.
What profits them whatever they do ?
I am indifferent to praise and blame.
39. Let them mock at me and call me names.
If a true devotee of Shiva I be,
I shall not feel distressed nor hurt.
Can a few ashes a mirror befoul [
3] ?
40. Though you are wise, be as a fool;
Though you can see, be as one blind [
4];
Though you can hear, be as one deaf;
Patiently bear with all you meet,
and politely talk to eveyone.
This practice surely will lead you
to the realisation of the Truth.
41. Ocean and the mind of man are both alike:
Under the ocean’s bottom lies
the destructive fire, vadvaagni [
5];
And in the breast of man doth rage
the fire of wrath.
When the fire breaks out, its flames
of angry, abusive words,
sear and scorch and burn.
But if one ponders unruffled and calm,
and weighs the words, though angry they be,
They have no substance, no, nor weight.
42. Ill or well, whatever befalls,
let it come.
My ears will not hear,
My eyes will not see.
When the Voice calls from within
the inmost mind,
The lamp of faith burns steady and bright
even in the wind.
43. When can I break the bonds of shame ?
When I am indifferent to jibes and jeers.
When can I discard the robe of dignity ?
When desires cease to nag my mind.
44. I have worn out my palate and tongue
reading the holy books,
But I have not learnt the practices
that would please my Lord.
I have worn thin my finger and thumb
telling the rosary beads,
But I have not been able to dispel
duality from my mind.
45. It is easy to read and to recite;
It is hard to practice what one reads,
And, reading seek out the Self within.
By constant practice, not by books,
Conviction grew in my heart
Of God, Who is Consciousness-Bliss.
46. I practiced what I read,
And learnt what was not taught.
From its jungle abode
I brought the lion down
as I a jackal would;
(From pleasures of the world
I pulled my mind away).
I practiced what I preached,
and scored the goal.
47. You will not know peace of mind
if you a kingdom gain,
Nor will you gain content or rest
if you give it away.
Only the man, free from desire,
will never die.
Only he has true knowledge
Who, though alive, is as one dead,
dead to all desire.
48. I have to suffer the consequence
of whatever I do,
even if I work for others’ gain.
But if, with mind from attachment free,
I dedicate all works to God,
It will be well for me wherever I be,
here and hereafter.
49. Why do you grope thus like the blind ?
Pray, doubt not what I say to you:
If you are wise, enter within
And see the Lord Himself is there.
You need not search Him here and there.
50. He who can direct his praana aright,
is not troubled by hunger or thirst.
And he who can do this unto the end
is born fortunate [
6] in this world.
51. The steed of mind speedeth over the sky,
And, in the twinkling of the eye,
A hundred thousand leagues traverseth he.
Yet a man of discrimination can control
the curvetting steed,
And, on the wheels of praana and apraana, guide
his chariot aright.
52. Keep your mind intent upon
the path that leads to immortality.
Should it stray from the path,
it will fall into evil ways.
Be firm with it and have no fear;
For mind is like a suckling baby,
which tosses restless even in its mother’s lap.
53. Who dies? Who is slain ?
He who forsakes God’s Name,
And gets involved in worldly cares.
It’s he who dies. It’s he who is slain.
54. He who has faith in Guru’s word,
And with true knowledge for the rein
guides aright the seed of mind,
And holds his senses in control,
’Tis he enjoys the peace of mind.
He will not die, nor be slain.
55. Sure and steady the mill will turn
once you propel the wheel.
Mind is the pivot, it should know
how best to turn the mill.
And once it turns, it will grind fine,
And grain will find its way to the mill.
56. Shiva abides in all that is, everywhere;
Then do not discriminate between
a Hindu or a Mussalman.
If thou art wise, know thyself;
That is true knowledge of the Lord.
57. I renounced fraud, untruth, deceit;
I taught my mind to see the One
in all my fellow-men.
How could I then discriminate
between man and man,
And not accept the food offered to me
by brother man ?
58. O fool, right action does not lie
in observing fasts and ceremonial rites.
O fool, right action does not lie
in providing for bodily comfort and ease.
In contemplation of the Self alone
is right action and right counsel for you.
59. First feed the Five Bhuuta-s [
7] on the grain
and cates of self-awareness;
Thus fed, offer these fatted rams
as sacrifice unto the Lord.
Then you will know, O restless one,
the abode of the Supreme.
Ceremonial rites and pieties
will cease to be binding on you;
And even the ’left-handed’ [
8] practices
will bring no harm to you.
60. The pathway of Jnana is a kaiyard;
Fence it with self-restraint and pious deeds.
Then let the goats of former karma
browse in it and fattened be
as animals fit for sacrifice
at the altar of the Mother.
(Goats of past actions and their fruits
slain in sacrifice,
leaving no karma behind),
The kailyard of karma thus browsed away,
you gain release.
