बहुत जनासी उपाये । वक्तयास पुसतां त्रासों नये । बोलतां बोलतां अन्वयें । सांडूं नये ॥ १ ॥

For the sake of the many, when a teacher is questioned he should not grow weary of it. And in the course of speaking, he must never lose the thread of the argument.

श्रोत्यानें आशंका घेतली । तै तत्काळ पाहिजे फेडिली । स्वगोष्टीनें सगोष्टी पेंचली । ऐसें न व्हावें ॥ २ ॥

When a listener raises a doubt, it must be resolved at once. It should never happen that one's own statement gets tangled up by one's own earlier statement.

पुढें धरितां मागें पेंचला । मागें धरितां पुढें उडाला । ऐसा सांपडतचि गेला । ठाइं ठाइं ॥ ३ ॥

Grab hold of what comes next, and what came before gets tangled; grab hold of what came before, and what comes next slips away — such a speaker keeps getting caught out at every turn.

पोहणारचि गुचक्या खातो । जनास कैसा काढूं पाहातो । आशय लोकांच राहातो । ठाइं ठाइं ॥ ४ ॥

If the swimmer himself keeps gulping water, how will he ever bring others safely across? The listeners' real questions are simply left standing, unanswered, at every point.

आपणचि बोलिला संव्हार । आपणचि बोलिजे सर्वसार । दुस्तर मायेचा पार । टाकिला पाहिजे ॥ ५ ॥

It is the true speaker alone who should explain the dissolution of all things, the true speaker alone who should convey the essence of everything. One must cross beyond this hard-to-fathom Maya and leave it behind.

जें जें सूक्ष्म नाम घ्यावें । त्याचें रूप बिंबऊन द्यावें । तरीच वक्ता म्हणवावें । विचारवंत ॥ ६ ॥

Whatever subtle term is used, its true form must be impressed clearly upon the listener's understanding. Only then can such a speaker rightly be called a person of true insight.

ब्रह्म कैसें मूळमाया कैसी । अष्टधाप्रकृती शिवशक्ती कैसी । शड्गुणेश्वराची स्थिति कैसी । गुणसाम्याची ॥ ७ ॥

What is Brahman like, what is the primal Maya like, what is the eightfold Prakriti and Shiva-Shakti like, and what is the state of the six-qualitied Lord in the balance of the gunas —

अर्धनारीनटेश्वर । प्रकृतिपुरुषाचा विचार । गुणक्षोभिणी तदनंतर । त्रिगुण कैसे ॥ ८ ॥

What is Ardhanarinateshwar like, what is the truth of Prakriti and Purusha, what is Gunakshobhini and the three qualities that follow after it —

पूर्वकक्ष कोठून कोठवरी । वाच्यांशलक्ष्यांशाची परी । सूक्ष्म नाना विचार करी । धन्य तो साधु ॥ ९ ॥

Where does the starting point begin and where does it extend, and what is the nature of the literal and the intended meaning — blessed is the sadhu who ponders such subtle questions.

नान पाल्हाळीं पडेना । बोलिलेंचि बोलावेना । मौन्यगर्भ अनुमाना । आणून सोडी ॥ १० ॥

He does not fall into needless rambling, nor repeat what has already been said. Out of a pregnant silence he brings forth and releases the exact inference intended.

घडी येक विमळ ब्रह्म । घडी येक सर्व ब्रह्म । द्रष्टा साक्षी सत्ता ब्रह्म । क्षण येक ॥ ११ ॥

In one moment he speaks of pure, stainless Brahman; in the next, of Brahman as everything. In yet another moment he shows the seer, the witness, and the underlying power all as Brahman too.

निश्चळ तेंचि जालें चंचळ । चंचळ तेंचि ब्रह्म केवळ । नाना प्रसंगीं खळखळ । निवाडा नाहीं ॥ १२ ॥

That which is motionless has itself become the changing; and that which changes is itself pure Brahman — such assertions are merely tossed about on various occasions, without ever reaching any real conclusion.

चळतें आणी निश्चळ । अवघें चैतन्यचि केवळ । रूपें वेगळालीं प्रांजळ । कदापी बोलवेना ॥ १३ ॥

It is true that the moving and the unmoving are both, at root, nothing but pure consciousness; yet how their forms remain clearly distinct is something that can never quite be put into words.

उगीच करी गथागोवी । तो लोकांस कैसें उगवी । नाना निश्चयें नाना गोवी । पडत जाते ॥ १४ ॥

One who merely creates confusion — how will he ever free others from it? Each fresh assertion only piles on fresh confusion of its own.

भ्रमास म्हणे परब्रह्म । परब्रह्मास ह्मणे भ्रम । ज्ञातेपणाचा संभ्रम । बोलोन दावी ॥ १५ ॥

He calls delusion itself Parabrahma, and calls Parabrahma itself a delusion. By such talk he merely puts on a show of being a man of knowledge.

घाली शास्त्रांची दडपण । प्रचितिविण निरूपण । पुसों जातां उगाच सीण । अत्यंत मानी ॥ १६ ॥

He merely overwhelms with the weight of scriptural quotations, his teaching lacking any direct experience. And if one goes to question him, he acts as though thoroughly, needlessly put out.

ज्ञात्यास आणि पदार्थभिडा । तो काय बोलेल बापुडा । सारासाराचा निवाडा । जाला पाहिजे ॥ १७ ॥

A true knower has no hesitation before things as they are — so what indeed can this poor pretender have to say? A real distinction between the essential and the non-essential must be made.

वैद्य मात्रेची स्तुती करी । मात्रा गुण कांहींच न करी । प्रचितिविण तैसी परी । ज्ञानाची जाली ॥ १८ ॥

A physician praises his remedy, yet the remedy itself produces no effect at all. Knowledge without direct experience comes to exactly this same sorry state.

तेथें नाहीं सारासार । तेथें अवघा अंधकार । नाना परीक्षेचा विचार । राहिला तेथें ॥ १९ ॥

There, no distinction of essential from non-essential is made; there, only utter darkness prevails. All manner of careful testing and examination is simply left behind, unattended.

पाप पुण्य स्वर्ग नर्क । विवेक आणि अविवेक । सर्वब्रह्मीं काये येक । सांपडलें नाहीं ॥ २० ॥

Sin, merit, heaven, hell, discrimination and its lack — in this doctrine of 'everything is Brahman,' not a single one of these has actually been properly understood.

पावन आणि तें पतन । दोनीं मानिलीं तत्समान । निश्चये आणि अनुमान । ब्रह्मरूप ॥ २१ ॥

Purification and downfall are both regarded as one and the same; certainty and mere speculation are both taken to be equally the form of Brahman.

ब्रह्मरूप जालें आघवें । तेथें काये निवडावें । आवघी साकरचि टाकावें । काये कोठें ॥ २२ ॥

If everything has become the form of Brahman, then what is left to distinguish? If it is all said to be sugar, then what is there to discard, and what to keep?

तैसें सार आणि असार । अवघा जाला येकंकार । तेथें बळावळा अविचार । विचार कैंचा ॥ २३ ॥

In the same way, the essential and the worthless are treated as one and the same. There, folly alone gains strength — how could real discernment possibly remain?

वंद्य निंद्य येक जालें । तेथें काये हाता आलें । उन्मत्त द्रव्यें जें भुललें । तें भलतेंच बोले ॥ २४ ॥

If the worthy of praise and the worthy of blame are made one and the same, what has really been gained by it? One intoxicated by some heady drug simply babbles whatever comes to him.

तैसा अज्ञान भ्रमें भुलला । सर्व ब्रह्म म्हणोन बैसला । माहांपापी आणि भला । येकचि मानी ॥ २५ ॥

Just so, the ignorant man, deluded by confusion, sits declaring that all is Brahman, and regards the greatest sinner and the truly good man as exactly the same.

सर्वसंगपरित्याग । अव्हासवा विषयेभोग । दोघे येकचि मानितां मग । काये उरलें ॥ २६ ॥

Renouncing all attachment, and indulging recklessly in sense pleasures — if these two are considered one and the same, then what is left of any teaching at all?

भेद ईश्वर करून गेला । त्याच्या वाचेन न वचे मोडिला । मुखामधें घांस घातला । तो अपानीं घालावा ॥ २७ ॥

It is God himself who has established these distinctions, and no one's mere words can undo them. Food put into the mouth must, in the end, still pass out through its proper channel — each thing keeps to its own appointed function.

ज्या इंद्रियास जो भोग । तो तो करी येथासांग । ईश्वराचें केलें जग । मोडितां उरेना ॥ २८ ॥

Whatever enjoyment is assigned to a given sense organ, that organ carries out precisely, in its proper order. This world, as God has fashioned it, cannot be undone by anyone.

अवघी भ्रांतीची भुटाटकी । प्रचितिविण गोष्टी लटकी । वेड लागलें जे बटकी । ते भलतेंचि बोले ॥ २९ ॥

This is all just a conjuring trick of delusion — talk without direct experience is simply false. It is like a maidservant gone mad, babbling whatever comes to her.

प्रत्ययज्ञाता सावधान । त्याचें ऐकावें निरूपण । आत्मसाक्षात्काराची खूण । तत्काळ बाणें ॥ ३० ॥

One should listen only to the teaching of a knower who is truly awake through direct experience. It is from such a teacher alone that the mark of Self-realization takes root at once.

वेडें वांकडे जाणावें । आंधळें पाउलीं वोळखावें । बाश्कळ बोलणें सांडावें । वमक जैसें ॥ ३१ ॥

Recognize such crooked, twisted talk for what it is; know it as one knows the footsteps of a blind man. Cast aside such empty babble just as one would spit out vomit.