Passage 1

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In plain words

No merit, no sin, no pleasure, no sorrow; no mantra, no holy place, no Vedas, no yajñas; I am neither the eating, nor what is eaten, nor the eater: my form is consciousness and Ānanda; I am Śiva, I am Śiva.

Embodiments of Prema! In this world there is no merit and no sin, no pleasure and no sorrow; none of these exists. Mantra, yajña, yāga and all such things are nothing but delusions. What fills everything, everywhere, is God alone. All of you are none other than embodiments of God. Humanness is the blended form of Satya and Dharma. Satya alone is morality, Dharma alone is the way to live, sacrifice alone is renown. The human race is what is made of these three. But, unfortunately, these three are not to be seen in the world today.

Siddhārtha, who won the name Gautama Buddha, practised many sādhanas in order to recognise his true nature; he studied the Vedas and Śāstras; he practised japa, dhyāna and the like; he went to see many elders. At the very last he recognised the truth that none of these was the right sādhana. He recognised that japa, dhyāna, yoga and yajña are all merely physical acts, and that to set the five senses God has given on the sacred path is itself nirvāṇa. Only one who identifies with the body needs sādhanas. One who identifies with the Ātma needs no sādhana at all. 1. samyak dṛṣṭi, 2. samyak bhāvam, 3. samyak vāk, 4. samyak śravaṇam, 5. samyak kriyā: to cultivate these five is itself nirvāṇa: so the Buddha taught. There was no sādhana he did not do; in the end he renounced every attachment. He recognised that sacrifice alone is the right path. The Veda too taught this very thing: “Na karmaṇā na prajayā dhanena tyāgenaike amṛtattvam ānaśuḥ”; immortality comes through sacrifice alone. That is nirvāṇa.