“eight verses concerning the ultimacy”
— MAHĀMAHEŚVARĀĊĀRYA ABHINAVAGUPTAḤ
संक्रामो ऽत्र न भावना न च कथा युक्तिर्न चर्चा न च
ध्यानं वा न च धारणा न च जपाभ्यासप्रयासो न च।
तत्किं नाम सुनिश्चितं वद परं सत्यं च तच्छ्रूयतां
न त्यागी न परिग्रही भज सुखं सर्वं यथावस्थितः॥१॥
saṃkrāmo 'tra na bhāvanā na ca kathā yuktirna carcā na ca
dhyānaṃ vā na ca dhāraṇā na ca japābhyāsaprayāso na ca|
tatkiṃ nāma suniścitaṃ vada paraṃ satyaṃ ca tacchrūyatāṃ
na tyāgī na parigrahī bhaja sukhaṃ sarvaṃ yathāvasthitaḥ|1|
This is the doctrine of Abhinavagupta, in which he gives insights about the unanswerable level which he calls “anupāya” or “no means”. There is no advancement, no one-pointedness, no interpretation, no logical thought or cognition, no secret discussion or teachings, there is no contemplation. But there is no attentiveness, and there is no difficulty in the practice of humming or repetition.
So, tell what that phenomenal or superior truth is, which has been adroitly firm about by all these means? Or listen carefully from me:—
You (perceiver) do not abandon or discard anything, nor do you embrace or accept anything. You experience everything with joy as you are by nature, for this is your original nature—and it is not accessible by the above means.
संसारो ऽस्ति न तत्त्वतस्तनुभृतां बन्धस्य वार्तैव का
बन्धो यस्य न जातु तस्य वितथा मुक्तस्य मुक्तिक्रिया।
मिथ्यामोहकृदेषरज्जुभुजगश्छायापिशाचभ्रमो
मा किञ्चित्त्यज मा गृहाण विहर स्वस्थो यथावस्थितः॥२॥
saṃsāro 'sti na tattvatastanubhṛtāṃ bandhasya vārtaiva kā
bandho yasya na jātu tasya vitathā muktasya muktikriyā|
mithyāmohakṛdeṣarajjubhujagaśchāyāpiśācabhramo
mā kiñcittyaja mā gṛhāṇa vihara svastho yathāvasthitaḥ|2|
In certainty, the universe does not exist, then, in reality what is the crisis of the bondage of beings bearing bodies? The one who has attained salvation, bondage has never existed, because for him (who knows that) the attempt to attain liberation is vain arising from the limited perception. It is just like thinking of a moving rope as a snake or thinking of a shadow as a ghost. Do not give up anything and do not accept anything. Just remain in yourself as you are and remain in blissfulness while enjoying yourself.
पूजापूजकपूज्यभेदसरणिः केयं कथानुत्तरे
संक्रामः किल कस्य केन विदधे को वा प्रवेशक्रमः।
मायेयं न चिदद्वयात्परतया भिन्नाप्यहो वर्तते
सर्वं स्वानुभवस्वभावविमलं चिन्तां वृथा मा कृथाः॥३॥
pūjāpūjakapūjyabhedasaraṇiḥ keyaṃ kathānuttare
saṃkrāmaḥ kila kasya kena vidadhe ko vā praveśakramaḥ|
māyeyaṃ na cidadvayātparatayā bhinnāpyaho vartate
sarvaṃ svānubhavasvabhāvavimalaṃ cintāṃ vṛthā mā kṛthāḥ|3|
In this unanswerable supreme state—in the ultimate (anuttare)—what is the significance of this kathā or speech in which the difference between ‘worship’, ‘worshipper’ and ‘worshipped’ is discussed? —In other words, it is useless to talk about these three. This progress for whom and by whom must have been accomplished? or, what is the ‘process of integrating oneself’ (or means of entry)? Although also this perceived to be differentiated, but in the ultimate truth this differentiatedness is not separated from the brutal non-duality of consciousness.
आनन्दोऽत्र न वित्तमद्यमदवन्नैवाङ्गनासङ्गवत्
दीपार्केन्दुकृतप्रभाप्रकरवन्नैव प्रकाशोदयः।
हर्षः संभृतभेदमुक्तिसुखभूर्भारावतारोपमः
सर्वाद्वैतपदस्य विस्मृतनिधेः प्राप्तिः प्रकाशोदयः॥४॥
ānando'tra na vittamadyamadavannaivāṅganāsaṅgavat
dīpārkendukṛtaprabhāprakaravannaiva prakāśodayaḥ|
harṣaḥ saṃbhṛtabhedamuktisukhabhūrbhārāvatāropamaḥ
sarvādvaitapadasya vismṛtanidheḥ prāptiḥ prakāśodayaḥ|4|
The bliss of this state cannot be compared to the intoxication of wealth or wine, nor to the company of a beloved woman. And this radiant flow of light is not like the group of rays of a lamp, sun or moon. This immense joy of the Self is only equal to the weight of that blissful state which descends when one is liberated from all differentiated perceptions. The motion of this supreme consciousness is the state of universal oneness, which is not anything but your own glory which you have momentarily forgotten.
रागद्वेषसुखासुखोदयलयाहङ्कारदैन्यादयो
ये भावाः प्रविभान्ति विश्ववपुषो भिन्नस्वभावा न ते।
व्यक्तिं पश्यसि यस्य यस्य सहसा तत्तत्तदेकात्मता
संविद्रूपमवेक्ष्य किं न रमसे तद्भावना निर्भरः॥५॥
rāgadveṣasukhāsukhodayalayāhaṅkāradainyādayo
ye bhāvāḥ pravibhānti viśvavapuṣo bhinnasvabhāvā na te|
vyaktiṃ paśyasi yasya yasya sahasā tattattadekātmatā
saṃvidrūpamavekṣya kiṃ na ramase tadbhāvanā nirbharaḥ|5|
Persuasion and disinclination, joy and sorrow, insurrection and fixture, self-possession and discouragement — all these states of which this universe is composed appear to be differentiated from one another, but in reality they are undifferentiated. Whenever you recognize the tendency of an object, at that very moment—spontaneously you should recognize the essence of your own self-reflective awareness or consciousness as undifferentiated with it. Then why not triumph in the ecstatic recognization of that fullness!
पूर्वाभावभवक्रिया हि सहसा भावाः सदास्मिन् भवे
मध्याकारविकारसङ्करवतां तेषां कुतः सत्यता।
निःसत्ये चपले प्रपञ्चनिचये स्वप्नभ्रमे पेशले
शङ्कातङ्ककलङ्कयुक्तिकलनातीतः प्रबुद्धो भव॥६॥
pūrvābhāvabhavakriyā hi sahasā bhāvāḥ sadāsmin bhave
madhyākāravikārasankaravatāṃ teṣāṃ kutaḥ satyatā|
niḥsatye capale prapañcanicaye svapnabhrame peśale
śaṅkātaṅkakalaṅkayuktikalanātītaḥ prabuddho bhava|6|
Everything in this world always appear in the present moment, that is to say, the action of universality has neither any prior existence nor any future existence. The various kinds of actions are only confusion of duality, based on the illegitimate pervasion of an intermediate state, which is separation, momentary and delusional trick of the light—just as the mass of phenomena seen in a dream is only fantasy. Rise above the blemishes, which have been unjustly wrought up by the blemishes of doubts, and so become awake!
भावानां न समुद्भवो ऽस्ति सहजस्त्वद्भाविता भान्त्यमी
निःसत्या अपि सत्यतामनुभवभ्रान्त्या भजन्ति क्षणम्।
त्वत्सङ्कल्पज एष विश्वमहिमा नास्त्यस्य जन्मान्यतः
तस्मात्त्वं विभवेन भासि भुवनेष्वेकाप्यनेकात्मकः॥७॥
bhāvānāṃ na samudbhavo 'sti sahajastvadbhāvitā bhāntyamī
niḥsatyā api satyatāmanubhavabhrāntyā bhajanti kṣaṇam|
tvatsaṅkalpaja eṣa viśvamahimā nāstyasya janmānyataḥ
tasmāttvaṃ vibhavena bhāsi bhuvaneṣvekāpyanekātmakaḥ|7|
There is no objective flow to material things, for they appear only when you perceive them. Though they are devoid of reality, they appear real at that one moment because of your delusional perception. Thus, the glory of this universe arises only from your imagination—it does not originate from any other source. Therefore, You are the Light in all these worlds (wakefulness, dreaming states), and though You are One, You appear in many forms by Your own glory!
यत्सत्यं यदसत्यमल्पबहुलं नित्यं न नित्यं च यत्
यन्मायामलिनं यदात्मविमलं चिद्दर्पणे राजते।
तत्सर्वं स्वविमर्शसंविदुदयाद्रूपप्रकाशात्मकं
ज्ञात्वा स्वानुभवाधिरूढमहिमा विश्वेश्वरत्वं भज॥८॥
yatsatyaṃ yadasatyamalpabahulaṃ nityaṃ na nityaṃ ca yat
yanmāyāmalinaṃ yadātmavimalaṃ ciddarpaṇe rājate|
tatsarvaṃ svavimarśasaṃvidudayādrūpaprakāśātmakaṃ
jñātvā svānubhavādhirūḍhamahimā viśveśvaratvaṃ bhaja|8|
Anything real or unreal, small or vast, eternal or momentary—that which is covered by the perception of discrimination and that which is pure in its own nature—in reality, this entire universe arises from your own undifferentiated consciousness, which is unified by your own essence and attains divinity in the self-reflective awareness of the mirror of consciousness.
Recognizing this greatness of the universe and understanding the importance of the prestige of your own experience, enjoy the universal opulence!
॥इति श्रीमदाचार्याभिनवगुप्तपादविरचितानुत्तराष्टिका समाप्ता॥
|iti śrīmadācāryābhinavaguptapādaviracitānuttarāṣṭikā samāptā|
This ‘Anuttarāṣṭikā’ or ‘Eight verses concerning the Ultimacy’, written by the most Venerable Mahāmaheśvarācārya Abhinavaguptaḥ, is complete.
Translated by Nagkumar; Inspired from My Guru Īśvarasvarupa Swāmī Lakṣamaṇajū.