The works of Ramaṇa Maharṣi

Upadeśa Sāram

Verse 2

कृतिमहोदधौ पतनकारणम् ।फलमशाश्वतं गतिनिरोधकम् ॥

कृति महा उदधौ पतनकारणम् फलम् अशाश्वतं गतिनिरोधकम्

In plain words

Everything you do drops you a little further into the sea of doing, and the sea has no far shore. The fruit ripens, is eaten, is gone — and the wanting starts again from the beginning. That is not a road home. That is a wall across it.

Word for word

In the great ocean of action, a cause of falling. The fruit is impermanent, obstructing the way.