Translation:Avadhuta Gita/Chapter 1

by Dattatreya

[1]	अथ प्रथमोऽध्यायः	atha prathamo'dhyāyaḥ
	Thus[1] opens Chapter One

[1:1]	ईश्वरानुग्रहादेव पुंसामद्वैतवासना ।	īśvarānugrahādeva puṁsāmadvaitavāsanā /
	महद्भयपरित्राणाद्विप्राणामुपजायते ।।१।।	mahadbhayaparitrāṇādviprāṇāmupajāyate //1//
	By the gracious boon of the Ishvara does non-dual wealth; well: in the abode of the wise furnishing refuge from grave fear.
	For the extended semantic field for each of the terms in this verse please refer: 1:1 semantic field. Ishvara is often glossed 'the Controller' and may be viewed as a title and epithet for many deities in the Hindu pantheon. Rather than denoting a particular deity, 'Ishvara' in this context may be read less as an absolute and fixed designation in a particular divine personality and more of a role, a position description and divine quality. The import is that the inspiration to engage in spirituality itself is given by Ishvara, that which controls. यो ह वा आयतनं वेदायतनँ ह स्वानां भवति मनो ह वा आयतनम् yo ha vā āyatanaṁ vedāyatana ha svānāṁ bhavati mano ha vā āyatanam[2] Chandogya 5.1.5. I may change the gloss of 'sāma-advaita' in the rendering from 'non-dual wealth' to 'unitive', importantly it may also be parsed 'sāma dvaita' the wealth of duality. The blessings is what crushes the ego leaving the servant who becomes a 'shining one', resplendent. 'grave' is an adjectival play and is an amplification with value from the 'maha' inherent in 'mahadbhaya' for there nothing to fear as we never die. According to Barret (2008: p.33) Dattatreya was an not only an aghori but also an adi-deva of the Aghori Sampradaya who engaged in pastimes of the charnel ground.[3]

[1:2]	येनेदं पूरितं सर्वमात्मनैवाअत्मनात्मनि ।	yenedaṁ pūritaṁ sarvamātmanaivāatmanātmani /
	निराकारं कथं वन्दे ह्यभिन्नं शिवमव्ययम् ।।२।।	nirākāraṁ kathaṁ vande hyabhinnaṁ śivamavyayam //2//
	How shall the unfettered propitiate Self? All that appears in this realm of forms Is alone the Atman, indivisible Self: selfless Immutable, auspicious, One.
	yenedaṁ (yena+idam): yena (ind.) = "on which account, in consequence of which, wherefore" & idam = "present, known, now"; pūritaṁ: "filled, completed, intensified"; sarvam: "whole, entire, all, every"; ātmanaivāatman: "ātman alone is ātman"; ātmani: ātman+i which is the feminine, so the energy or essence of ātman?; nirākāraṁ: (nir+ākāra): nir = "un-, without" & ākāra = "form, figure, shape, stature, appearance, external gesture or aspect of the body, expression of the face (as furnishing a clue to the disposition of mind)"; katham (ind): "how? in what manner? whence?"; vanda: "praising, extolling"; hyabhinnaṁ (hi+abhinna): hi = "indeed, assuredly, surely, of course, certainly" & abhinna = "uncut, unbroken, uninterrupted, undivided, whole, unchanged"; śivam: "auspicious, propitious, gracious, favourable, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly, dear"; avyayam (a+vyayam): "not liable to change, imperishable, undecaying, immutable". From an open reading of the text Dattatreya appears to be singing to and of a personal godhead whom he addresses by different terms and epithets. By memory it was Saint Thomas Equinas who defined Godhead as omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Given these three omni's or Aums, God may be all things to all people. Hence, Dattatreya's personal spiritual lexicon should not be an obstruction for any true aspirant who perceives with the awareness of their heart.

[1:3]	पञ्चभूतात्मकं विश्वं मरीचिजलसन्निभम् ।	pañcabhūtātmakaṁ viśvaṁ marīcijalasannibham /
	कस्याप्यहो नमस्कुर्यामहमेको निरञ्जनः ।। ३।।	kasyāpyaho namaskuryāmahameko nirañjanaḥ //3//
	This apparent realm of Five Pure Lights Is shimmering water in a mirage Oh, to whom may I render obeisance? I who(m) art Thou, immaculate: One.
	pañcabhūtātmakaṁ: pañca "five"; bhūta "elements"; ātmaka = n. "consisting or composed of" (for n. stem+ṁ = nom. sg.); viśva "all-pervading or all-containing, whole, entire, universal" (for n. stem+ṁ = nom. sg.); marīcijalasannibham: marīci = m. "a particle of light, shining mote or speck in the air, a ray of light, a mirage"; jala n. = "water, a fluid"; sannibha (sat+nibha) = sat+ "possessed of" nibha "resembling, like, similar"; kasyāpyaho: (kasya+api+aho) kasya api = "of someone") api <a particle implying: joyful or painful surprise; enjoyment or satisfaction: of fatigue, discontent, compassion, sorrow, regret)> "Ah!, Oh!, Alas!"; namas-kuryām: namas = "bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, adoration, homage"; kuryām: (‘I can do.’ ‘I might do.’ ‘I will do.’ ‘I shall do.’ ‘I must do.’ ‘Let me do.’ etc.) is a verb in the Optative (Opt) mode, the Optative incorporates the following meanings: possibility, wish, [polite] request, doubt, hypothesis and prescriptive.[4] aham (nom. sg. 1p. pronoun, " I "); eka (final phoneme change to "O" due to case [instead of Sandhi]?). nirañjana: "unpainted, spotless, pure, simple, void of passion or emotion" (for m. stem+ḥ = nom. sg.). Five Pure Lights is an English rending of the Panchbhuta influenced from the Bonpo Dzogchen tradition which I favour.

[1:4]	आत्मैव केवलं सर्वं भेदाभेदो न विद्यते ।	ātmaiva kevalaṁ sarvaṁ bhedābhedo na vidyate /
	अस्ति नास्ति कथं ब्रूयां विस्मयः प्रतिभाति मे ।। ४।।	asti nāsti kathaṁ brūyāṁ vismayaḥ pratibhāti me //4//
	All is verily the absolute Self. Distinction and non-distinction do not exist. How can I say, "It exists; it does not exist"? I am filled with wonder!
	ātmaiva (ātma(n)+eva) ātma(n) = ibid & eva = <in its most frequent use of strengthening the idea expressed by any word> "just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone"; kevalaṁ: "simple, pure, uncompounded, sole, one"; sarvaṁ bhedābhedo na vidyate asti nāsti kathaṁ brūyāṁ vismayaḥ pratibhāti me So much talk of existence or non-existence and such terms are defined differently in different Dharmic Traditions. The key is to be ever-filled with wonder.

[1:5]	वेदान्तसारसर्वस्वं ज्ञानं विज्ञानमेव च ।	vedāntasārasarvasvaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānameva ca /
	अहमात्मा निराकारः सर्वव्यापी स्वभावतः ।। ५।।	ahamātmā nirākāraḥ sarvavyāpī svabhāvataḥ //5//
	The pith and the whole of Vedanta is this knowledge, this Knowledge: That I am essentially the formless, all-pervasive Self.
	"sāra" denotes the "substance or essence or marrow or cream or heart or essential part of anything , best part , quintessence", i use pith. nirākāra is the "formless , shapeless , incorporeal, heaven, universal spirit, god". sarvavyāpī is "all-pervasive, omnipresent". Svabhava

[1:6]	यो वै सर्वात्मको देवो निष्कलो गगनोपमः ।	yo vai sarvātmako devo niṣkalo gaganopamaḥ /
	स्वभावनिर्मलः शुद्धः स एवायं न संशयः ।। ६।।	svabhāvanirmalaḥ śuddhaḥ sa evāyaṁ na saṁśayaḥ //6//
	There is no doubt that I am that God who is the Self of all; Pure, indivisible, like the sky.
	Even though we have a sense of an individual self, defining this self in any meaningful way is nebulous and problematic. When investigating further it is clear that what our self is, is a flow of ever-changing tributaries. In a worldly sense, our self is only defined by that which it is not. All the other selves. Our personality is a construction, socialized and learned. Our personality is not our own is it? Consider the events that have shaped your experience.

[1:7]	अहमेवाव्ययोऽनन्तः शुद्धविज्ञानविग्रहः ।	ahamevāvyayo'nantaḥ śuddhavijñānavigrahaḥ /
	सुखं दुःखं न जानामि कथं कस्यापि वर्तते ।। ७।।	sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ na jānāmi kathaṁ kasyāpi vartate //7//
	I indeed am immutable and infinite - of the form of pure Intelligence. I do not know how or in relation to whom joy and sorrow exist.

[1:8]	न मानसं कर्म शुभाशुभं मे	na mānasaṁ karma śubhāśubhaṁ me
	न कायिकं कर्म शुभाशुभं मे ।	na kāyikaṁ karma śubhāśubhaṁ me /
	न वाचिकं कर्म शुभाशुभं म	na vācikaṁ karma śubhāśubhaṁ me
	ज्ञानामृतं शुद्धमतीन्द्रियोऽहम् ।।८।।	jñānāmṛtaṁ śuddhamatīndriyo'ham //8//
	I have no mental activity, good or bad; I have no bodily function, good or bad; I have no verbal action, good or bad. I am the nectar of Knowledge - beyond the senses, pure.
	"śubhāśubhaṁ" has a venerable narrative, eg. Mahabharata XII.238.10[5]

[1:9]	मनो वै गगनाकारं मनो वै सर्वतोमुखम् ।	mano vai gaganākāraṁ mano vai sarvatomukham /
	मनोऽतीतं मनः सर्वं न मनः परमार्थतः ।।९।।	mano'tītaṁ manaḥ sarvaṁ na manaḥ paramārthataḥ //9//
	The mind indeed is of the form of space. The mind indeed is omnifaced. The mind is the past. The mind is all. But in reality there is no mind.
	Dharmic Traditions and the love-affair of the metaphor of Space which is unobstructed and yet enfolds, envelops and contains all and is itself uncontained - as far as popular science knows anyway. Importantly, the mind is open like space.

[1:10]	अहमेकमिदं सर्वं व्योमातीतं निरन्तरम् ।	ahamekamidaṁ sarvaṁ vyomātītaṁ nirantaram /
	पश्यामि कथमात्मानं प्रत्यक्षं वा तिरोहितम् ।। १०।।	paśyāmi kathamātmānaṁ pratyakśaṁ vā tirohitam //10//
	I, the One only, am all this, beyond space and continuous. How can I see the Self as visible or hidden?

[1:11]	त्वमेवमेकं हि कथं न बुध्यसे	tvamevamekaṁ hi kathaṁ na budhyase
	समं हि सर्वेषु विमृष्टमव्ययम् ।	samaṁ hi sarveṣu vimṛṣṭamavyayam /
	सदोदितोऽसि त्वमखण्डितः प्रभो	sadodito'si tvamakhaṇḍitaḥ prabho
	दिवा च नक्तं च कथं हि मन्यसे ।। ११।।	divā ca naktaṁ ca kathaṁ hi manyase //11//
	Thus you are One. Why then do you not understand That you are the unchangeable One, equally perceived in all? O mighty One, how can you, who are ever-shining, Unrestricted, think of day and night?
	"You": Dattatreya now addresses the disciple to whom he is imparting he highest truth. "Night": There can be no perception of any time or condition in perfect Self-realization.

[1:12]	आत्मानं सततं विद्धि सर्वत्रैकं निरन्तरम् ।	ātmānaṁ satataṁ viddhi sarvatraikaṁ nirantaram /
	अहं ध्याता परं ध्येयमखण्डं खण्ड्यते कथम् ।। १२।।	ahaṁ dhyātā paraṁ dhyeyamakhaṇḍaṁ khaṇḍyate katham //12//
	Know the Self always to be everywhere, one and unintercepted. I am the meditator and the highest object of meditation. Why do you divide the Indivisible?
	Unintercepted - See note on "Continuous," verse 10. Divide, etc. - Even the act of meditation is an expression of ignorance because it implies duality.

[1:13]	न जातो न मृतोऽसि त्वं न ते देहः कदाचन ।	na jāto na mṛto'si tvaṁ na te dehaḥ kadācana /
	सर्वं ब्रह्मेति विख्यातं ब्रवीति बहुधा श्रुतिः ।। १३।।	sarvaṁ brahmeti vikhyātaṁ bravīti bahudhā śrutiḥ //13//
	You are not born nor do you die. At no time do you have a body. The scripture declares in many different ways - the well-known dictum: "All is Brahman."

[1:14]	स बाह्याभ्यन्तरोऽसि त्वं शिवः सर्वत्र सर्वदा ।	sa bāhyābhyantaro'si tvaṁ śivaḥ sarvatra sarvadā /
	इतस्ततः कथं भ्रान्तः प्रधावसि पिशाचवत् ।। १४।।	itastataḥ kathaṁ bhrāntaḥ pradhāvasi piśācavat //14//
	You are He who is exterior and interior. You are the auspicious One, omnipresent, omniscient. Why are you running hither and thither deluded, like an unclean spirit?
	piśāca: "A class of flesh-eating and shape-shifting demons, first mentioned in the Veda, and ubiquitous in later Epic and Purāṇic texts. They are liable to possess human beings, and may need propitiation. The related adjective, paiśācī, is applied to various categories of things thought to be ghoulish or uncouth"[6]

[1:15]	संयोगश्च वियोगश्च वर्तते न च ते न मे ।	saṁyogaśca viyogaśca vartate na ca te na me /
	न त्वं नाहं जगन्नेदं सर्वमात्मैव केवलम् ।। १५।।	na tvaṁ nāhaṁ jagannedaṁ sarvamātmaiva kevalam //15//
	Union and separation exist in regard neither to you nor to me. There is no you, no me, nor is there this Universe. All is verily the Self alone.
	saṁyogaś ca viyogaś ca vartate na ca te na me na tvaṁ nāhaṁ jagan nedaṁ sarvam ātmaiva kevalam

[1:16]	शब्दादिपञ्चकस्यास्य लैवासि त्वं न ते पुनः।	śabdādipañcakasyāsya laivāsi tvaṁ na te punaḥ /
	त्वमेव परमं तत्त्वमतः किं परितप्यसे ।। १६ ।।	tvameva paramaṁ tattvamataḥ kiṁ paritapyase //16//
	You do not belong to that which is composed of the five objects of sense, such as sound; nor does that belong to you. You indeed are the supreme Reality. Why then do you suffer?

[1:17]	जन्म मृत्युर्न ते चित्तं बन्धमोक्षौ शुभाशुभौ ।	janma mṛtyurna te cittaṁ bandhamokśau śubhāśubhau /
	कथं रोदिषि रे वत्स नामरूपं न ते न मे ।। १७।।	kathaṁ rodiṣi re vatsa nāmarūpaṁ na te na me //17//
	For you there is neither birth nor death, for you there is no mind, for you there is neither bondage nor liberation, neither good nor evil. My child: why shed tears? Neither you nor I have name and form.
	Namarupa denotes more than 'name' (nama) and 'form' (rupa) it denotes the continuum of bodymind where 'nama' is the intangible mind and 'rupa' is the tangible body. In truth they are a continuum, mutually informing and interpenetrate. The body has subtle dimensions as the mind has physicality. Where attention goes, energy flows and manifestation forms.

[1:18]	अहो चित्त कथं भ्रान्तः प्रधावसि पिशाचवत् ।	aho citta kathaṁ bhrāntaḥ pradhāvasi piśācavat /
	अभिन्नं पश्य चात्मानं रागत्यागात्सुखी भव ।। १८।।	abhinnaṁ paśya cātmānaṁ rāgatyāgātsukhī bhava //18//
	Oh mind, why do you wander about deluded, like an unclean spirit? Behold the Self indivisible. Be happy through renunciation of attachment.

[1:19]	त्वमेव तत्त्वं हि विकारवर्जितं	tvameva tattvaṁ hi vikāravarjitaṁ
	निष्कम्पमेकं हि विमोक्षविग्रहम् ।	niṣkampamekaṁ hi vimokśavigraham /
	न ते च रागो ह्यथवा विरागः	na te ca rāgo hyathavā virāgaḥ
	कथं हि सन्तप्यसि कामकामतः ।। १९।।	kathaṁ hi santapyasi kāmakāmataḥ //19//
	You verily are Truth, devoid of change, motionless, one, of the nature of freedom. You have neither attachment nor aversion . Why do you suffer, seeking the objects of desires?

[1:20]	वदन्ति श्रुतयः सर्वाः निर्गुणं शुद्धमव्ययम् ।	vadanti śrutayaḥ sarvāḥ nirguṇaṁ śuddhamavyayam /
	अशरीरं समं तत्त्वं तन्मां विद्धि न संशयः ।। २०।।	aśarīraṁ samaṁ tattvaṁ tanmāṁ viddhi na saṁśayaḥ //20//
	All the scriptures say that the Truth is without attributes, pure, immutable, bodiless, and existing equally everywhere. Know me to be That.

[1:21]	साकारमनृतं विद्धि निराकारं निरन्तरम् ।	sākāramanṛtaṁ viddhi nirākāraṁ nirantaram /
	एतत्तत्त्वोपदेशेन न पुनर्भवसम्भवः ।। २१।।	etattattvopadeśena na punarbhavasambhavaḥ //21//
	Know that which has form to be false, that which is formless to be eternal. Through the instruction of this truth there is no longer rebirth into this world.

[1:22]	एकमेव समं तत्त्वं वदन्ति हि विपश्चितः ।	ekameva samaṁ tattvaṁ vadanti hi vipaścitaḥ /
	रागत्यागात्पुनश्चित्तमेकानेकं न विद्यते ।। २२।।	rāgatyāgātpunaścittamekānekaṁ na vidyate //22//
	Sages say that Reality is one only and the same. And through renunciation of attachment, the mind, which is one and many, ceases to exist.

[1:23]	अनात्मरूपं च कथं समाधि-	anātmarūpaṁ ca kathaṁ samādhi-
	रात्मस्वरूपं च कथं समाधिः ।	rātmasvarūpaṁ ca kathaṁ samādhiḥ /
	अस्तीति नास्तीति कथं समाधि-	astīti nāstīti kathaṁ samādhi-
	र्मोक्षस्वरूपं यदि सर्वमेकम् ।। २३।।	rmokśasvarūpaṁ yadi sarvamekam //23//
	If it is of the nature of the not-Self, how can there be Samadhi? If it is of the nature of the Self, how can there be Samadhi? If it is both "is" and "is not", how can there be Samadhi?

[1:24]	विशुद्धोऽसि समं तत्त्वं विदेहस्त्वमजोऽव्ययः ।	viśuddho'si samaṁ tattvaṁ videhastvamajo'vyayaḥ /
	जानामीह न जानामीत्यात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ।। २४।।	jānāmīha na jānāmītyātmānaṁ manyase katham //24//
	You are pure homogeneous Reality, disembodied, unborn, and immutable. Why do you think of yourself as "I know it here" or as "I do not know"?

[1:25]	तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्येन स्वात्मा हि प्रतिपादितः ।	tattvamasyādivākyena svātmā hi pratipāditaḥ /
	नेति नेति श्रुतिर्ब्रूयादनृतं पाञ्चभौतिकम् ।। २५।।	neti neti śrutirbrūyādanṛtaṁ pāñcabhautikam //25//
	By such sentences as "That thou art," our own Self is affirmed. Of that which is untrue and composed of the five elements - the Sruti (scripture) says, "Not this, not this."
	Tat Tvam Asi and Neti neti

[1:26]	आत्मन्येवात्मना सर्वं त्वया पूर्णं निरन्तरम् ।	ātmanyevātmanā sarvaṁ tvayā pūrṇaṁ nirantaram /
	ध्याता ध्यानं न ते चित्तं निर्लज्जं ध्यायते कथम् ।। २६।।	dhyātā dhyānaṁ na te cittaṁ nirlajjaṁ dhyāyate katham //26//
	As the self is filled by the Self, so is all filled continuously by you. There is no meditator or meditation. Why does your mind meditate shamelessly?
	"Shamelessly" - One should be ashamed to meditate, because meditation pre-supposes a shameful forgetfulness of one's true nature. If one does not know The Self meditation is the way to realization. After realization one will cease to meditate.

[1:27]	शिवं न जानामि कथं वदामि	śivaṁ na jānāmi kathaṁ vadāmi
	शिवं न जानामि कथं भजामि ।	śivaṁ na jānāmi kathaṁ bhajāmi /
	अहं शिवश्चेत्परमार्थथतत्त्वं	ahaṁ śivaścetparamārthathatattvaṁ
	समस्वरूपं गगनोपमं च ।। २७।।	samasvarūpaṁ gaganopamaṁ ca //27//
	I do not know the Supreme; how shall I speak of Him?I do not know the Supreme how shall I worship Him? If I am the supreme One, who is the highest Truth, who is homogeneous Being and like unto space, how then shall I speak of Him and worship Him?

[1:28]	नाहं तत्त्वं समं तत्त्वं कल्पनाहेतुवर्जितम् ।	nāhaṁ tattvaṁ samaṁ tattvaṁ kalpanāhetuvarjitam /
	ग्राह्यग्राहकनिर्मुक्तं स्वसंवेद्यं कथं भवेत् ।। २८।।	grāhyagrāhakanirmuktaṁ svasaṁvedyaṁ kathaṁ bhavet //28//
	The principle of ego is not the Truth, which is homogeneous, which is free from the cause of superimposition and distinctions of perceived and perceiver. How can the ego be That which is aware of Itself?

[1:29]	अनन्तरूपं न हि वस्तु किंचि-	anantarūpaṁ na hi vastu kiṁci-
	त्तत्त्वस्वरूपं न हि वस्तु किंचित् ।	ttattvasvarūpaṁ na hi vastu kiṁcit /
	आत्मैकरूपं परमार्थतत्त्वं	ātmaikarūpaṁ paramārthatattvaṁ
	न हिंसको वापि न चाप्यहिंसा ।। २९।।	na hiṁsako vāpi na cāpyahiṁsā //29//
	There is no substance whatever which is by nature unlimited. There is no substance whatever which is of the nature of Reality. The very Self is the supreme Truth. There is neither injury nor non injury in It.

[1:30]	विशुद्धोऽसि समं तत्त्वं विदेहमजमव्ययम् ।	viśuddho'si samaṁ tattvaṁ videhamajamavyayam /
	विभ्रमं कथमात्मार्थे विभ्रान्तोऽहं कथं पुनः ।। ३०।।	vibhramaṁ kathamātmārthe vibhrānto'haṁ kathaṁ punaḥ //30//
	You are the homogeneous Reality; you are pure, bodiless, birthless, and imperishable. Why then do you have any delusion about the Self? Again, why am I myself deluded?

[1:31]	घटे भिन्ने घटाकाशं सुलीनं भेदवर्जितम् ।	ghaṭe bhinne ghaṭākāśaṁ sulīnaṁ bhedavarjitam /
	शिवेन मनसा शुद्धो न भेदः प्रतिभाति मे ।। ३१।।	śivena manasā śuddho na bhedaḥ pratibhāti me //31//
	When the pot is broken, the space within it is absorbed in the infinite space and becomes undifferentiated. When the mind becomes pure, I do not perceive any difference between the mind and the supreme Being.

[1:32]	न घटो न घटाकाशो न जीवो न जीवविग्रहः ।	na ghaṭo na ghaṭākāśo na jīvo na jīvavigrahaḥ /
	केवलं ब्रह्म संविद्धि वेद्यवेदकवर्जितम् ।। ३२।।	kevalaṁ brahma saṁviddhi vedyavedakavarjitam //32//
	There is no pot; there is no pot's interior space. Neither is there an individual soul nor the form of an individual soul. Know the absolute Brahman, devoid of knowable and knower.
	discuss correlate in Nirvana shatakam

[1:33]	सर्वत्र सर्वदा सर्वमात्मानं सततं ध्रुवम् ।	sarvatra sarvadā sarvamātmānaṁ satataṁ dhruvam /
	सर्वं शून्यमशून्यं च तन्मां विद्धि न संशयः ।। ३३।।	sarvaṁ śūnyamaśūnyaṁ ca tanmāṁ viddhi na saṁśayaḥ //33//
	Know me to be that Self who is everything and everywhere at all times, the one who is eternal, steady, the All, the nonexistent, and the Existent. Have no doubt.
	Nonexistent - the phenomenal aspect of being, which has now disappeared.

[1:34]	वेदा न लोका न सुरा न यज्ञा	vedā na lokā na surā na yajñā
	वर्णाश्रमो नैव कुलं न जातिः ।	varṇāśramo naiva kulaṁ na jātiḥ /
	न धूममार्गो न च दीप्तिमार्गो	na dhūmamārgo na ca dīptimārgo
	ब्रह्मैकरूपं परमार्थतत्त्वम् ।। ३४।।	brahmaikarūpaṁ paramārthatattvam //34//
	There are no Vedas, no worlds, no gods, no sacrifices. There is certainly no caste, no stage in life, no family, no birth. There is neither the path of smoke nor the path of light. There is only the highest Truth, the homogeneous Brahman.
	Stage in life - any of the four 'stages' (ashrama) into which life is divided by the Hindus, namely, those of the 'student' (Brahmacharya), the 'householder' (Grihasthya), the 'contemplative' (Vanaprastha), and the 'mendicant' (Sannyasa). The path of smoke, etc. - the two paths along which - according to Hinduism, souls travel to the invisible worlds after death.

[1:35]	व्याप्यव्यापकनिर्मुक्तः त्वमेकः सफलं यदि ।	vyāpyavyāpakanirmuktaḥ tvamekaḥ saphalaṁ yadi /
	प्रत्यक्षं चापरोक्षं च ह्यात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ।। ३५।।	pratyakśaṁ cāparokśaṁ ca hyātmānaṁ manyase katham //35//
	If you are free of the pervaded and pervader, if you are one and fulfilled, how can you think of yourself as directly perceptible by the senses or beyond the range of the senses?
	"Free", etc. denotes one who has transcended the sense of distinction between forms ("pervaded") and the Divine Substance ("pervader"). Such a one, therefore, has constant, unobstructed consciousness of Divinity. Such a one has the dual realization of form and formless. Directly - that is to say, in the manner in which the unenlightened perceives by the sense. In the highest state of realization, sense perception is no longer distinguishable from spiritual intuition.

[1:36]	अद्वैतं केचिदिच्छन्ति द्वैतमिच्छन्ति चापरे ।	advaitaṁ kecidicchanti dvaitamicchanti cāpare /
	समं तत्त्वं न विन्दन्ति द्वैताद्वैतविवर्जितम् ।। ३६।।	samaṁ tattvaṁ na vindanti dvaitādvaitavivarjitam //36//
	Some seek nonduality, others duality. They do not know the Truth, which is the same at all times and everywhere, which is devoid of both duality and nonduality.

[1:37]	श्वेतादिवर्णरहितं शब्दादिगुणवर्जितम् ।	śvetādivarṇarahitaṁ śabdādiguṇavarjitam /
	कथयन्ति कथं तत्त्वं मनोवाचामगोचरम् ।। ३७।।	kathayanti kathaṁ tattvaṁ manovācāmagocaram //37//
	How can they describe the Truth, which is beyond mind and words, which is devoid of white and other colours, of sound and other qualities?

[1:38]	यदाऽनृतमिदं सर्वं देहादिगगनोपमम् ।	yadā'nṛtamidaṁ sarvaṁ dehādigaganopamam /
	तदा हि ब्रह्म संवेत्ति न ते द्वैतपरम्परा ।। ३८।।	tadā hi brahma saṁvetti na te dvaitaparamparā //38//
	When all these appear to you as false, when the body and so on appear to you like space, then you know Brahman truly, then for you there is no dual series.
	Dual series - such as "I and Thou" (self and God), "I and it" (self and the world), and so on. Also it means "Self and not-Self" and the series of their evolutes.

[1:39]	परेण सहजात्मापि ह्यभिन्नः प्रतिभाति मे ।	pareṇa sahajātmāpi hyabhinnaḥ pratibhāti me /
	व्योमाकारं तथैवैकं ध्याता ध्यानं कथं भवेत् ।। ३९।।	vyomākāraṁ tathaivaikaṁ dhyātā dhyānaṁ kathaṁ bhavet //39//
	Even my natural self appears to me as non-distinct from the supreme Self; it appears to be one and like space. How can there be meditator and meditation?

[1:40]	यत्करोमि यदश्नामि यज्जुहोमि ददामि यत् ।	yatkaromi yadaśnāmi yajjuhomi dadāmi yat /
	एतत्सर्वं न मे किंचिद्विशुद्धोऽहमजोऽव्ययः ।। ४०।।	etatsarvaṁ na me kiṁcidviśuddho'hamajo'vyayaḥ //40//
	What I do, what I eat, what I sacrifice, what I give - all this is not mine in the least. I am pure, unborn, undecaying.

[1:41]	सर्वं जगद्विद्धि निराकृतीदं	sarvaṁ jagadviddhi nirākṛtīdaṁ
	सर्वं जगद्विद्धि विकारहीनम् ।	sarvaṁ jagadviddhi vikārahīnam /
	सर्वं जगद्विद्धि विशुद्धदेह	sarvaṁ jagadviddhi viśuddhadehaṁ
	सर्वं जगद्विद्धि शिवैकरूपम् ।। ४१।।	sarvaṁ jagadviddhi śivaikarūpam //41//
	Know all this universe to be formless. Know all this universe to be without change. Know all this universe to be of purified body. Know all this universe to be of the nature of the Absolute.
	Of purified body - That is to say, the material substance of which the universe appears to be constituted is really nothing but pure Spirit/Consciousness.

[1:42]	तत्त्वं त्वं न हि सन्देहः किं जानाम्यथवा पुनः ।	tattvaṁ tvaṁ na hi sandehaḥ kiṁ jānāmyathavā punaḥ /
	असंवेद्यं स्वसंवेद्यमात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ।। ४२।।	asaṁvedyaṁ svasaṁvedyamātmānaṁ manyase katham //42//
	Why do you consider the Self, which is perceptible to Itself, as imperceptible? Otherwise - If one does not perceive every being as The Self, one is still ignorant.

[1:43]	मायाऽमाया कथं तात छायाऽछाया न विद्यते ।	māyā'māyā kathaṁ tāta chāyā'chāyā na vidyate /
	तत्त्वमेकमिदं सर्वं व्योमाकारं निरञ्जनम् ।। ४३।।	tattvamekamidaṁ sarvaṁ vyomākāraṁ nirañjanam //43//
	My child, how can there be illusion and non illusion, shadow and lack of shadow? All this is one Truth, all this is of the nature of space and without taint.

[1:44]	आदिमध्यान्तमुक्तोऽहं न बद्धोऽहं कदाचन ।	ādimadhyāntamukto'haṁ na baddho'haṁ kadācana /
	स्वभावनिर्मलः शुद्ध इति मे निश्चिता मतिः ।। ४४।।	svabhāvanirmalaḥ śuddha iti me niścitā matiḥ //44//
	I am free in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. I am never bound. This is my sure knowledge - that I am naturally spotless and pure.

[1:45]	महदादि जगत्सर्वं न किंचित्प्रतिभाति मे ।	mahadādi jagatsarvaṁ na kiṁcitpratibhāti me /
	ब्रह्मैव केवलं सर्वं कथं वर्णाश्रमस्थितिः ।। ४५।।	brahmaiva kevalaṁ sarvaṁ kathaṁ varṇāśramasthitiḥ //45//
	The whole universe, beginning with the principle of cosmic intelligence, is not in the least manifest to me. All is indeed Brahman alone. How can there be any existence in cast or stage of life for me?

[1:46]	जानामि सर्वथा सर्वमहमेको निरन्तरम् ।	jānāmi sarvathā sarvamahameko nirantaram /
	निरालम्बमशून्यं च शून्यं व्योमादिपञ्चकम् ।। ४६।।	nirālambamaśūnyaṁ ca śūnyaṁ vyomādipañcakam //46//
	I know that all, in every way, is the one indivisible "I" which is self-sustained and full, while the five elements, beginning with ether, are empty.

[1:47]	न षण्ढो न पुमान्न स्त्री न बोधो नैव कल्पना ।	na ṣaṇḍho na pumānna strī na bodho naiva kalpanā /
	सानन्दो वा निरानन्दमात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ।। ४७।।	sānando vā nirānandamātmānaṁ manyase katham //47//
	The Self is neither eunuch, man, nor woman: it is neither idea nor imagination. How can you think the Self to be full of joy or joyless?
	Full of joy - Here "joy" is used in the sense of relative joy as perceived by the senses and the mind. Joyless - Here the reference is to transcendental Joy.

[1:48]	षडङ्गयोगान्न तु नैव शुद्धं	ṣaḍaṅgayogānna tu naiva śuddhaṁ
	मनोविनाशान्न तु नैव शुद्धम् ।	manovināśānna tu naiva śuddham /
	गुरूपदेशान्न तु नैव शुद्धं	gurūpadeśānna tu naiva śuddhaṁ
	स्वयं च तत्त्वं स्वयमेव बुद्धम् ।। ४८।।	svayaṁ ca tattvaṁ svayameva buddham //48//
	The Self certainly does not become pure through the practice of six-limbed yoga. It certainly is not purified by the destruction of the mind. It certainly is not made pure by the instructions of the teacher. It is Itself the Truth. It is Itself the illumined One.
	Six-limbed - consisting of six parts or steps, namely, posture, control of the vital force, self- withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and Samadhi.

[1:49]	न हि पञ्चात्मको देहो विदेहो वर्तते न हि ।	na hi pañcātmako deho videho vartate na hi /
	आत्मैव केवलं सर्वं तुरीयं च त्रयं कथम् ।। ४९।।	ātmaiva kevalaṁ sarvaṁ turīyaṁ ca trayaṁ katham //49//
	There is no body made up of five elements; nor is there anyone who is disembodied. All is verily the Self alone. How can there be the three states and the fourth?
	Five elements - See verses 1:3 and 1:25. Anyone, etc. - When the pure Self is spoken of as disembodied, the idea of body is associated with It, though negatively. All such qualifications of the Self (or Soul) are denied in this as well as in other verses. Three states, etc. - the waking state, the dream state, and the deep sleep state: the ordinary conditions of individuals when they are ignorant of their true nature, which is usually called the fourth or transcendental state. To name the transcendental state as the fourth is itself an error, as such a designation, which makes it a correlative of the other three states, is inapplicable to the absolute Self.

[1:50]	न बद्धो नैव मुक्तोऽहं न चाहं ब्रह्मणः पृथक् ।	na baddho naiva mukto'haṁ na cāhaṁ brahmaṇaḥ pṛthak /
	न कर्ता न च भोक्ताहं व्याप्यव्यापकवर्जितः ।। ५०।।	na kartā na ca bhoktāhaṁ vyāpyavyāpakavarjitaḥ //50//
	I am not bound, I am not, indeed, liberated - I am not different from Brahman. Neither doer nor enjoyer - I am devoid of the distinctions of the pervaded and the pervader.
	Liberated - The Self cannot be "liberated", since it was never bound. Pervaded, etc. - The Sanskrit words for pervaded and pervader are vyapya and vyapaka, meaning the particular and the universal. The particular is pervaded by or constituted of the universal. The Self can be neither particular nor universal, as both these designations imply distinction, division, and limitation.

[1:51]	यथा जलं जले न्यस्तं सलिलं भेदवर्जितम् ।	yathā jalaṁ jale nyastaṁ salilaṁ bhedavarjitam /
	प्रकृतिं पुरुषं तद्वदभिन्नं प्रतिभाति मे ।। ५१।।	prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ tadvadabhinnaṁ pratibhāti me //51//
	As water, when water has been poured into water, has no distinctions, so purusa and prakrti appear nondifferent to me.
	Purusa, etc. - Purusa: Soul. Prakrti: Cosmos. Ordinarily considered to be opposite principles, conscious and unconscious, they are here recognized as identical in a sublime spiritual experience.

[1:52]	यदि नाम न मुक्तोऽसि न बद्धोऽसि कदाचन ।	yadi nāma na mukto'si na baddho'si kadācana /
	साकारं च निराकारमात्मानं मन्यसे कथम् ।। ५२।।	sākāraṁ ca nirākāramātmānaṁ manyase katham //52//
	If indeed you are never bound or liberated, how then can you think yourself with form or as formless?
	With form, etc. - The Self, of course, is without form, but saying so implies recognition of form; therefore even the idea of the formlessness of the Self is repudiated.

[1:53]	जानामि ते परं रूपं प्रत्यक्षं गगनोपमम् ।	jānāmi te paraṁ rūpaṁ pratyakśaṁ gaganopamam /
	यथा परं हि रूपं यन्मरीचिजलसन्निभम् ।। ५३।।	yathā paraṁ hi rūpaṁ yanmarīcijalasannibham //53//
	I know your supreme Form to be directly perceivable, like the sky. I know your lower form to be as water in a mirage. Like the sky - without division or distinction, without change.
	Lower, etc. - apparent form

[1:54]	न गुरुर्नोपदेशश्च न चोपाधिर्न मे क्रिया ।	na gururnopadeśaśca na copādhirna me kriyā /
	विदेहं गगनं विद्धि विशुद्धोऽहं स्वभावतः ।। ५४।।	videhaṁ gaganaṁ viddhi viśuddho'haṁ svabhāvataḥ //54//
	I have neither teacher nor instruction, limiting adjunct nor activity. Know that I am by nature pure, homogeneous, bodiless, like the sky.
	Limiting, etc. - any qualification.

[1:55]	विशुद्धोऽस्य शरीरोऽसि न ते चित्तं परात्परम् ।	viśuddho'sya śarīro'si na te cittaṁ parātparam /
	अहं चात्मा परं तत्त्वमिति वक्तुं न लज्जसे ।। ५५।।	ahaṁ cātmā paraṁ tattvamiti vaktuṁ na lajjase //55//
	You are pure, you are without a body, your mind is not higher than the highest. You need not be ashamed to say, " I am the Self, the supreme Truth."
	Mind, etc. - The mind is not the Self.

[1:56]	कथं रोदिषि रे चित्त ह्यात्मैवात्मात्मना भव ।	kathaṁ rodiṣi re citta hyātmaivātmātmanā bhava /
	पिब वत्स कलातीतमद्वैतं परमामृतम् ।। ५६।।	piba vatsa kalātītamadvaitaṁ paramāmṛtam //56//
	Why are you weeping, O mind? Do you the Self, be the Self by means of the Self. Drink, my child, the supreme nectar of Nonduality, transcending all divisions.

[1:57]	नैव बोधो न चाबोधो न बोधाबोध एव च ।	naiva bodho na cābodho na bodhābodha eva ca /
	यस्येदृशः सदा बोधः स बोधो नान्यथा भवेत् ।। ५७।।	yasyedṛśaḥ sadā bodhaḥ sa bodho nānyathā bhavet //57//
	There is neither knowledge nor ignorance nor knowledge combined with ignorance. Those who have always such knowledge are Knowledge. It is never otherwise.
	Sexism and gendered language was written out. Further investigation and meditation will investigate whether such gendered language is natural to the text, required for a pseudo-historical reading or simply alienates and contributes to a subtle but tangible obstruction of different genders and sexualities engaging the text. Knowledge - The Absolute is spoken of as 'Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss' (Satchidananda).

[1:58]	ज्ञानं न तर्को न समाधियोगो	jñānaṁ na tarko na samādhiyogo
	न देशकालौ न गुरूपदेशः ।	na deśakālau na gurūpadeśaḥ /
	स्वभावसंवित्तरहं च तत्त्व-	svabhāvasaṁvittarahaṁ ca tattva-
	माकाशकल्पं सहजं ध्रुवं च ।। ५८।।	mākāśakalpaṁ sahajaṁ dhruvaṁ ca //58//
	There is no need of knowledge, reasoning, time, space, instruction from a teacher or the attainment of samadhi. I am naturally the perfect Consciousness, the Real, like the sky, Spontaneous and steady.
	'Knowledge' (jñāna), 'reasoning' (), 'time' (kāla), 'space' (), 'instruction from a teacher' (gurūpadeśḥ).Samadhi is defined differently in different Dharmic Traditions and what is meant in a given context differs. In this text Samadhi points to an internal meditative practice of quiescence. Refer verse 1:23. Dattatreya maintains that the practice of samadhi as a quiescence is not necessary because, according to him, the Self has never been bound and hence is not required to practice anything to gain knowledge of Itself. The Self, which is Consciousness Itself, can never lose consciousness of Its true nature and therefore Samadhi is superfluous. This is not to say that to engender this state of perfection where all activity and non-activity is perfect samadhi that it is not wise to practice seated meditation. Seated meditation helps clarify the mindstream.

[1:59]	न जातोऽहं मृतो वापि न मे कर्म शुभाशुभम् ।	na jāto'haṁ mṛto vāpi na me karma śubhāśubham /
	विशुद्धं निर्गुणं ब्रह्म बन्धो मुक्तिः कथं मम ।। ५९।।	viśuddhaṁ nirguṇaṁ brahma bandho muktiḥ kathaṁ mama //59//
	I was not born nor have I death. I have no action, good or evil. I am Brahman, stainless, without qualities. How can there be bondage or liberation for me?
	The Nirguna Brahaman and the Sirguna Brahman: without qualities and with qualities; impersonal and personal; emptiness and form: these interpenetrate as they mutually qualify and inform. Importantly, a historicity of the relationship of the Nirguna Brahaman and the Dharmakaya and the Sirguna Brahman with the Rupakaya (which subsumes the Sambhogakaya and the Nirmanakaya) would be of value.

[1:60]	यदि सर्वगतो देवः स्थिरः पूर्णो निरन्तरः ।	yadi sarvagato devaḥ sthiraḥ pūrṇo nirantaraḥ /
	अन्तरं हि न पश्यामि स बाह्याभ्यन्तरः कथम् ।। ६०।।	antaraṁ hi na paśyāmi sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ katham //60//
	If God pervades all, if God is immovable, full, undivided, then I see no division. How can Thou have exterior or interior?
	Thou is used in the neuter old-world inclusive sense of neither gender polarisation of "He" or "She". Further investigation will be engaged to determine whether w:pronominals are even required. How, etc. - Exterior or interior cannot be spoken of He is indivisible and infinite.

[1:61]	स्फुरत्येव जगत्कृत्स्नमखण्डितनिरन्तरम् ।	sphuratyeva jagatkṛtsnamakhaṇḍitanirantaram /
	अहो मायामहामोहो द्वैताद्वैतविकल्पना ।। ६१।।	aho māyāmahāmoho dvaitādvaitavikalpanā //61//
	The whole universe shines undivided and unbroken. Oh, the maya, the great delusion - the imagination of duality and nonduality!
	'Maya' is sometimes glossed 'ignorance' and this is appropriate but also not. Dreams aren't necessarily ignorant in the sense of mere fancy. Dreams may be lucid. Similarly Maya is also personified as a Goddess that is represented throughout Dharmic Traditions in different forms and guises. Sometimes demonized, she fulfills her function and is to be honoured. For me Maya has always been somewhat denigrated and disfavored like Lucifer, the angel of light who fell. In Persian literature, Lucifer even when fallen is held to be the greatest angel and I will narrate the story when I secure it from my archives. It forms a valuable correlate and insight into the role of Maya.

[1:62]	साकारं च निराकारं नेति नेतीति सर्वदा ।	sākāraṁ ca nirākāraṁ neti netīti sarvadā /
	भेदाभेदविनिर्मुक्तो वर्तते केवलः शिवः ।। ६२।।	bhedābhedavinirmukto vartate kevalaḥ śivaḥ //62//
	Always "not this, not this" to both the formless and the formed. Only the Absolute exists, transcending difference and non-difference.
	"Not this", etc. - No formed or formless object can be considered to be the ultimate Reality.

[1:63]	न ते च माता च पिता च बन्धुः	na te ca mātā ca pitā ca bandhuḥ
	न ते च पत्नी न सुतश्च मित्रम् ।	na te ca patnī na sutaśca mitram /
	न पक्षपाती न विपक्षपातः	na pakśapātī na vipakśapātaḥ
	कथं हि संतप्तिरियं हि चित्ते ।। ६३।।	kathaṁ hi saṁtaptiriyaṁ hi citte //63//
	You have no mother, no father, no wife, no son, no relative, no friend. You have no likes or dislikes. Why is this anguish in your mind?
	This shares in the sunyassi stage of life. Many of the Nath are sunyassi but they are not sexually renunciate. This brings into question what we renounce when and why. Or simply live in detachment. But is that disassociation from living? A decentralization from engagement in the world? No there is outer, inner and secret renunciation. This song is being sung by a Sacred Fool who is positioned in the Absolute. This is available to all of us. Though few people aspire or would in truth would survive the spiritual rigor to yield and stabilize this stage in living. The strength to stabilize such an orientation in the absolute is the grace of the absolute.

[1:64]	दिवा नक्तं न ते चित्तं उदयास्तमयौ न हि ।	divā naktaṁ na te cittaṁ udayāstamayau na hi /
	विदेहस्य शरीरत्वं कल्पयन्ति कथं बुधाः ।। ६४।।	videhasya śarīratvaṁ kalpayanti kathaṁ budhāḥ //64//
	O mind, for you there is no day or night, rising or setting. How can the wise imagine an embodied state for the bodiless?

[1:65]	नाविभक्तं विभक्तं च न हि दुःखसुखादि च ।	nāvibhaktaṁ vibhaktaṁ ca na hi duḥkhasukhādi ca /
	न हि सर्वमसर्वं च विद्धि चात्मानमव्ययम् ।। ६५।।	na hi sarvamasarvaṁ ca viddhi cātmānamavyayam //65//
	The Self is neither divided nor undivided - nor has It sadness, happiness, and the like, nor is It all or less than all. Know the Self to be immutable.
	Historically, the early codifiers of the Buddhadharma responded to Shakyamuni Buddhas sutras on 'selflessness' (anatman) which in early Enlgish discourse was often unfortunately rendered no-soul or no-self which conveys nihilism which the Buddhadharma vehemently challenges as an extreme position. Similarly, the first and second turnings of the wheel of Buddhadharma challenge 'eternalism'. But the Buddhanature of the third turning is often described with such a semantic field as is the Dharmakaya. Interestingly, 'immutable' is a descriptive of the Vajra Space, the indestructible dimension of the Dharmakaya. The Dharmic Traditions are living traditions and the Self of Advaita Vedanta and this text particularly, is more profitably embraced in the Buddhadharma as an analogue of the indivisible Trikaya.

[1:66]	नाहं कर्ता न भोक्ता च न मे कर्म पुराऽधुना ।	nāhaṁ kartā na bhoktā ca na me karma purā'dhunā /
	न मे देहो विदेहो वा निर्ममेति ममेति किम् ।। ६६।।	na me deho videho vā nirmameti mameti kim //66//
	I am not the doer nor enjoyer. Work have I none, now nor formerly. I have neither body nor am I bodiless. How may I have or sense of "my-ness" or how may I not?

[1:67]	न मे रागादिको दोषो दुःखं देहादिकं न मे ।	na me rāgādiko doṣo duḥkhaṁ dehādikaṁ na me /
	आत्मानं विद्धि मामेकं विशालं गगनोपमम् ।। ६७।।	ātmānaṁ viddhi māmekaṁ viśālaṁ gaganopamam //67//
	I have no fault such as passion and the like - nor have I any sorrow arising from the body. Know me to be the one Self, vast and like the sky.
	'Sorrow' is a rendering of Duhkha a term which is of considerable importance in the first turning of the Buddhadharma.

[1:68]	सखे मनः किं बहुजल्पितेन	sakhe manaḥ kiṁ bahujalpitena
	सखे मनः सर्वमिदं वितर्क्यम् ।	sakhe manaḥ sarvamidaṁ vitarkyam /
	यत्सारभूतं कथितं मया ते	yatsārabhūtaṁ kathitaṁ mayā te
	त्वमेव तत्त्वं गगनोपमोऽसि ।। ६८।।	tvameva tattvaṁ gaganopamo'si //68//
	Friend mind, of what use is much vain talk? Friend mind, all this is mere conjecture. I have told you that which is the essence:You indeed are the Truth, like the sky.
	All, etc. - Words and ideas, being finite and related to finite objects, can never reveal Truth completely.

[1:69]	येन केनापि भावेन यत्र कुत्र मृता अपि ।	yena kenāpi bhāvena yatra kutra mṛtā api /
	योगिनस्तत्र लीयन्ते घटाकाशमिवाम्बरे ।। ६९।।	yoginastatra līyante ghaṭākāśamivāmbare //69//
	In whatever place yogis die, in whatever state, there they dissolve, as the space of a jar dissolves into the sky.
	Dissolve, etc. - become identified with the Self.

[1:70]	तीर्थे चान्त्यजगेहे वा नष्टस्मृतिरपि त्यजन् ।	tīrthe cāntyajagehe vā naṣṭasmṛtirapi tyajan /
	समकाले तनुं मुक्तः कैवल्यव्यापको भवेत् ।। ७०।।	samakāle tanuṁ muktaḥ kaivalyavyāpako bhavet //70//
	Giving up the body in a holy place or in the house of a candala, the yogi, even if he has lost consciousness, becomes identified with the Absolute as soon as he is free of the body.
	"Holy places" is a rendering of tirtha. "Chandala" (which word is here an analogue because it isn't it the verse?): one belonging to the lowest social stratum, actually outside the social stratum and considered unclean and impure from the vantage of those codified within the Varnashrama Dharma of traditional Indian society. Lost, etc. - that is to say, apparently so. The inward awareness of the yogi can never be clouded.

[1:71]	धर्मार्थकाममोक्षांश्च द्विपदादिचराचरम् ।	dharmārthakāmamokśāṁśca dvipadādicarācaram /
	मन्यन्ते योगिनः सर्वं मरीचिजलसन्निभम् ।। ७१।।	manyante yoginaḥ sarvaṁ marīcijalasannibham //71//
	The yogis consider duty in life, pursuit of wealth, enjoyment of love, liberation, and everything movable or immovable such as man and so on to be a mirage.

[1:72]	अतीतानागतं कर्म वर्तमानं तथैव च ।	atītānāgataṁ karma vartamānaṁ tathaiva ca /
	न करोमि न भुञ्जामि इति मे निश्चला मतिः ।। ७२।।	na karomi na bhuñjāmi iti me niścalā matiḥ //72//
	This is my certain perception: I neither perform nor enjoy past action, future action, or present action.

[1:73]	शून्यागारे समरसपूत-	śūnyāgāre samarasapūta-
	स्तिष्ठन्नेकः सुखमवधूतः ।	stiṣṭhannekaḥ sukhamavadhūtaḥ /
	चरति हि नग्नस्त्यक्त्वा गर्वं	carati hi nagnastyaktvā garvaṁ
	विन्दति केवलमात्मनि सर्वम् ।। ७३।।	vindati kevalamātmani sarvam //73//
	The avadhuta alone, pure in evenness of feeling, abides happy in an empty dwelling place.
	Having renounced all, he moves about naked. He perceives the Absolute, the All, within himself. Avadhuta - a liberated soul, one who has "passed away from" or "shaken off" all worldly attachments and cares, and has realized his identity with God.

[1:74]	त्रितयतुरीयं नहि नहि यत्र	tritayaturīyaṁ nahi nahi yatra
	विन्दति केवलमात्मनि तत्र ।	vindati kevalamātmani tatra /
	धर्माधर्मौ नहि नहि यत्र	dharmādharmau nahi nahi yatra
	बद्धो मुक्तः कथमिह तत्र ।। ७४।।	baddho muktaḥ kathamiha tatra //74//
	Where there are neither the three states of consciousness nor the fourth, there one attains the Absolute in the Self. How is it possible to be bound or free - where there is neither virtue nor vice?
	Now this is not so easily understood. There is virtue and vice in respect to intentionality and heart-sealed purity but outer activities without being privy to this inner heart-sealed purity may neither be construed as virtue or vice with certainty.

[1:75]	विन्दति विन्दति नहि नहि मन्त्रं	vindati vindati nahi nahi mantraṁ
	छन्दोलक्षणं नहि नहि तन्त्रम् ।	chandolakśaṇaṁ nahi nahi tantram /
	समरसमग्नो भावितपूतः	samarasamagno bhāvitapūtaḥ
	प्रलपितमेतत्परमवधूतः ।। ७५।।	pralapitametatparamavadhūtaḥ //75//
	The avadhuta never knows any mantra in Vedic metre nor any tantra. This is the supreme utterance of the avadhuta, purified by meditation and merged in the sameness of infinite Being.
	'Mantra' is a hymn or sacred prayer. Tantra is a developmental spiritual system of rites and ceremonies. "This" denotes the truth as enunciated in the whole discourse. The intention of this needs to be made clear. The avadhuta is released from ritual observance. But there are examples of Avadhuta that sing mantra continuously in meter. The importance of this verse is the rhetoric of 'evenness' or 'sameness' and it is this same pervasive doctrine of sacredness permeating all that is that fuels the intestinal oblation of the aghori of which Dattatrya is reputed to have engaged in this sadhana as part of his pastime. Meditation on this is very important. I was first introduced to the theme of morality, ethics and cannibalism in Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors within school. This reminds me to remind you that everything that arises in your experience is purposeful. Humanity indeed all sentient beings in the 'Wheel of Becoming' (Bhavachakra) kill to live. To place a gradation of sentience upon certain types of animal species and plants, and to devalue and denigrate the aliveness of plants and other forms of supposed 'non-sentience' is to misunderstand the rite of the Ganachakra and any Mystery Rite per se. It is also non-scientific to categorically deny that which we may neither affirm nor deny, and similarly it is non-Buddhist. Aghori as carrion-eater, though there there is wrathful liberation of sentient beings within sripture that bears important reflection in relation to the mystery of the aghori and the play of 'compassion' (karuna) and 'nonviolence' (ahimsa).

[1:76]	सर्वशून्यमशून्यं च सत्यासत्यं न विद्यते ।	sarvaśūnyamaśūnyaṁ ca satyāsatyaṁ na vidyate /
	स्वभावभावतः प्रोक्तं शास्त्रसंवित्तिपूर्वकम् ।। ७६।।	svabhāvabhāvataḥ proktaṁ śāstrasaṁvittipūrvakam //76//
	There exists neither complete void nor voidlessness, neither truth nor untruths of the scriptures, has uttered this spontaneously from his own nature.
	Truth - Complete Truth does not exist in the plane of relative existence

	इति प्रथमोऽध्यायः ।।१।।	iti prathamo'dhyāyaḥ //1//
	Thus ends the First Chapter

Notes

1. atha and iti are often employed in union. atha 'thus' is an an auspicious word that marks the beginning of something; whilst 'iti which is a particle to indicate the end of direct speech or writing, and here specifically draws the chapter to closure.
2. Refer: (accessed: Friday February 26, 2010)
3. Barrett, Ron (2008). Aghor medicine: pollution, death, and healing in northern India. Edition: illustrated. University of California Press. ISBN 0520252187, ISBN 9780520252189. Source: [1] (accessed: Sunday February 21, 2010), p.33
4. Source: [2]
5. Source: [3]
6. Source: [4]

शव्दादीपंचकस्यस्य नैवासि तंव्म न तॆ पुन: । त्वमॆव परमं तत्वम किं परितप्सॆ ।। १६।। The text in sanskrit for Chapter 1 Verse 16 will be this. Please do the change. Thank you.