46. Faith (Shraddha), devotion and the Yoga of meditation – these are mentioned by the Shruti as the immediate factors of
Liberation in the case of a seeker; whoever abides in these gets Liberation from the bondage of the body, which is the conjuring of
Ignorance.
47. It is verily through the touch of Ignorance that thou who art the Supreme Self findest thyself under the bondage of the non-Self,
whence alone proceeds the round of births and deaths. The fire of knowledge, kindled by the discrimination between these two,
burns up the effects of Ignorance together with their root.
48. Condescend to listen, O Master, to the question I am putting (to thee). I shall be gratified to hear a reply to the same from thy
lips.
49. What is bondage, forsooth ? How has it come (upon the Self) ? How does it continue to exist ? How is one freed from it ? What
is this non-Self ? And who is the Supreme Self ? And how can one discriminate between them ? — Do tell me about all these.
50. The Guru replied: Blessed art thou ! Thou hast achieved thy life’s end and hast sanctified thy family, that thou wishest to attain
Brahmanhood by getting free from the bondage of Ignorance !
51. A father has got his sons and others to free him from his debts, but he has got none but himself to remove his bondage.
52. Trouble such as that caused by a load on the head can be removed by others, but none but one’s own self can put a stop to the
pain which is caused by hunger and the like.
53. The patient who takes (the proper) diet and medicine is alone seen to recover completely – not through work done by others.
54. The true nature of things is to be known personally, through the eye of clear illumination, and not through a sage: what the moon
exactly is, is to be known with one’s own eyes; can others make him know it ?
55. Who but one’s own self can get rid of the bondage caused by the fetters of Ignorance, desire, action and the like, aye even in a
hundred crore of cycles ?
56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya, nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman is Liberation
possible, and by no other means.
57. The beauty of a guitar’s form and the skill of playing on its chords serve merely to please a few persons; they do not suffice to
confer sovereignty.
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition – these merely bring
on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for Liberation.
59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth
has already been known.
60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence men of wisdom
should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.
61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the
Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one ?
62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realisation
one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.
63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by
the mere utterance of the word Brahman ? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.
64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendour of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be
an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.
65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other
such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth
of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by
reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.
