Prose-section 34
In plain words
A person meets many obstacles on the way, but the first of them to sprout, the ego, is the root cause of all the rest. You are undivided, of one taste, unchanging, truth, knowledge and bliss, and your glory has no end. Birth, death, old age and sorrow have come to you only because you took yourself to be this ego; none of it belongs to your nature. As there is no health while even a trace of poison stays in the body, there is no talk of freedom for anyone while even a trace of connection with the ego remains. The ego first rose from a dull mind clouded by tamas. When it and all its many divisions are destroyed completely, the oneness of Brahman and Self shines without hindrance. Discerning the Self within as ‘That am I’, you reach the complete reality, eternal bliss, shining by itself. Free of the ego, you shine as That always, like the full moon shining clear once Rāhu lets it go. In the ground of the Heart lies the great treasure of Brahman’s bliss. The ego, a terrible and very powerful serpent, is coiled around it, and its three heads, the three guṇas, keep everyone away. Only one who with great courage cuts off all three heads with the great sword of knowledge that is lived experience in accord with scripture, and so finishes that three-headed snake entirely, can reach the treasure and enjoy it. So stop taking as the Self this ego, the doer that changes and seems real only because the Self is reflected in it. Turn inward the attention that went out to the ego and its train. The ego has been your enemy, hurting you like a thorn caught in the throat of someone eating; kill it with the sword of knowledge. Having come to your own nature, let other desires go, enjoy freely the sovereignty of your own being, and as the complete Self rest always in silence in that undivided state of Brahman.
Word for word
Although there are many obstacles causing a person’s saṃsāra, the ego, sprouting as the first modification, is the original cause of them all. You are indivisible, of one essence, changeless reality-knowledge-bliss, with infinite glory. Saṃsāra—birth, death, ageing, suffering and the rest—has come solely through superimposed identification with this ego; it is not in the least your nature. Just as there is no health while even a little poison remains in the body, there can be no talk of liberation while even the least connection with ego remains. When the ego, formerly arising through an ignorant intellect covered by tamas, and its effects, diverse distinctions, are entirely destroyed without remainder, the identity of Brahman and Self shines unobstructed. Through discrimination of the inward Self’s reality as ‘That am I’, one attains the self-luminous, complete reality of eternal bliss. Freed from ego, one always shines as that itself, like the full moon shining pure after release from Rāhu. In the ground of the Heart lies the great treasure of Brahman-bliss, which gives complete happiness. It is surrounded by the immensely powerful, terrifying serpent of ego and guarded from everyone by its three heads, the three guṇas. Only one who, with great courage and the sword of experiential knowledge consonant with revelation, cuts off those three terrible heads and entirely destroys that serpent can reach and enjoy the treasure. Therefore abandon identification of the Self with the changing doer-ego, which receives the Self’s reflection and thereby appears real. Turn inward the mental movement that went towards ego and the rest. Slay with knowledge your enemy, the ego, which has harmed you like a thorn lodged in the throat of one who is eating. Having attained your true nature, relinquish other desires, fully enjoy at will the happiness of sovereignty in your own nature, and, as the complete Self, always remain in silence in that undifferentiated state of Brahman.