THE WORKS OF SANKARA

VIVEKA CHUDAMANI

SLOKAS 51 TO 60

§NmaEcnktaIr:    ¢pt¤:    s¢Ót    s¤tady:    ,
bÓDmaEcnktaI       ÞvÞmadÓyaE    n    kàn    ,   51   ,  
§NmaEcnktaIr:   to free him from his debts
¢pt¤:   to a father
s¢Ót   are there
s¤tady:   his sons and others
bÓDmaEcnktaI    to remove his bondage
ÞvÞmadÓy:    but himself
n   kàn   has got none.
 

51.A   father   may be freed of  his  debts by his children,  but  each man  can   free himself  from bondage by his own efforts only.    
mÞtkÓyÞtBaradEѤI:KmÓyW¢nIvayItE    ,
X¤Da¢dk]tѤ:K|       ¢vna    ÞvEn    n    kEn¢ct¯    ,   52   ,

 
mÞtkÓyÞtBaradEѤI:KmÓyW¢nIvayItE    the load on the head causestrouble which can be removedbyothers
X¤Da¢dk]tѤ:K|    the pain caused by hungerand the like
¢vna   without
ÞvEn   but one's own self
n   kEn¢ct¯   none can put a stop.

52.Relief from mental suffering can be provided by others but relief from hunger and the like can come only from oneself.  
pÐymaWxDsEva    c    ¢@ytE    yEn    raE¢gNa    ,                  
AaraEÂy¢s¢Ñ¯DèI¾a{Þy    naÓyan¤¢¿tkmINa    ,   53   ,  
pÐymaWxDsEva   c   proper diet and medicine
¢@ytE   takes
yEn   who
raE¢gNa   the patient
AaraEÂy¢s¢Ñ¯DèI¾a{Þy    is seen to recover completely
naÓyan¤¢¿tkmINa   not through work done by others.

53.By taking medicine and observing dietary  rules a man cures himself of illness and is restored to health; this cannot be done by the efforts of others. 

vÞt¤Þvãp|     ÞP[zbaEDcX¤xa             
ÞvEnWv    vEï|    n       p¢ÎftEn    ,
cÓd#Þvãp|    ¢njcX¤xWv
åOanÛymÓyWrvgØytE    ¢km¯    ,   54   ,  
vÞt¤Þvãp|   the true nature
 
ÞP[zbaEDcX¤xa   through the eye of clear illumination
ÞvEnWv   personally
vEï|   n    is to be known for sure
p¢ÎftEn   through a sage
cÓd#Þvãp|   the moon exactly is
¢njcX¤xWv   with one's own eyes
åOanÛymÓyWrvgØytE  ¢km¯   can others make him know it?

54.  One can see Reality clearly only with one's own eyes, opened up by spiritual  awakening, not through the eyes of another. Our own eyes, not the eyes of another, can tell us what the moon looks like.  
A¢vïakamkmaI¢dpaSbÓD|    ¢vmaE¢ct¤m¯    ,
k:    S;[ya¢¹naÏman|    kÚpkaE¢zStWr¢p    ,   55   ,  
A¢vïakamkmaI¢dpaSbÓD|   by the fetters of ignorance desire, action and the like
,
¢vmaE¢ct¤m¯   can get rid of
k:   S;[ya¢¹naÏman|   who but one's own self
kÚpkaE¢zStWr¢p   even in a hundred crore of cycles?
 
55. Who but ourselves, by studying for ages, can untie the bonds of ignorance, our lustful desires and the fruits of our actions?

n    yaEgEn    n    sa|ÁyEn    kmINa    naE    n    ¢vïya    ,
b#'aÏmWkÏvbaEDEn    maEX:    ¢sÒy¢t    naÓyTa    ,   56   ,
n   yaEgEn  neither by Yoga
n   sa|ÁyEn   nor by Sankhya
kmINa   naE   nor by work
n   ¢vïya   nor by learning
b#'aÏmWkÏvbaEDEn   but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman
maEX:   liberation
¢sÒy¢t   is possible
naÓyTa   and by no other means.
 
56.   No yogic practice, philosophical speculation, good works or learning, bbut realization that the Atman and  the Brahman are one , alone can lead to liberation.

v£Naya    ãpsaWÓdyIm¯    tÓæO£vadnsaW¿vm¯    ,
p#jar¸nmaæO|    tæO    sam#aÇyay    kÚptE    ,   57   ,
 
v£Naya   of a veena's form
ãpsaWÓdyIm¯   the beauty
tÓæO£vadnsaW¿vm¯    the skill of playing on its chords
p#jar¸nmaæO|   to please a few persons
tæO   there
sam#aÇyay   to confer sovereignty
kÚptE   do not suffice.

57.   The king's duty is to please the people, but not everyone who pleases the people can be a king. The form of the Vina and the skill with which it is played alone can please the people.
vaÂvWKr£    SÖdJr£    SaÞæOÛyaÁyankaWSlm¯    ,
vWѤÝy|    ¢vѤxa|    t¹ë[³yE    n       m¤³yE    ,   58   ,  
vaÂvWKr£   articulate speech
SÖdJr£   shower of words
SaÞæOÛyaÁyankaWSlm¯    the skill in expounding the scriptures
vWѤÝy|   learned
¢vѤxa|   for the scholars
t¹ë[³yE   these things merely bring a little personal enjoyment
n   m¤³yE    but are not good for liberation.
 
58.  Learning, clear articulation and exposition with a wealth of words bring pleasure to the listener, but not liberation.
A¢våOatE    prE    tÏvE    SaÞæOaD£¢tÞt¤    ¢nx¯Pla    ,
¢våOatE{¢p    prE    tÏvE    SaÞæOaD£¢tÞt¤    ¢nx¯Pla    ,   59   ,   
A¢våOatE   is unknown
prE   tÏvE   the highest Truth
SaÞæOaD£¢tÞt¤    the study of scriptures
¢nx¯Pla   is useless
¢våOatE{¢p   has already been known
prE   tÏvE   the highest Truth
SaÞæOaD£¢tÞt¤    the study of scriptures
¢nx¯Pla   is equally useless.
 
59.  Brahman must be experienced and is not attained through the study of the Scriptures which, for this purpose, is useless.
SÖdjal|    mharÎy|    ¢cäOB#mNkarNm¯    ,
At:    p#yÏnaÇåOatÛy|    tÏvåOWÞtÏvmaÏmn:    ,   60   ,   
SÖdjal|   the scriptures contain many words
mharÎy|   are a dense forest
¢cäOB#mNkarNm¯   which causes the mind to ramble
At:   hence
p#yÏnaÇjatÛy|   earnestly set to know
tÏvåOWÞtÏvmaÏmn:   the men of wisdom should, the

60. Words cause the mind  to get lost as in a dense forest, and one should be aware of this in the struggle to experience Brahman.      


PROCEED TO SLOKAS 61 TO 70
RETURN TO INDEX OF VIVEKA CHUDAMANI