yogarato vaa bhogarato vaa
sangarato vaa sangaviheenah

Whether one is immersed in yoga or in revelling in outward enjoyment,
Whether he in enjoying himself in social company or has retired into solitude,
True happiness certainly cannot be his;

yasya bhrahmani ramate chitham
nandati nadati nandatyeva

But who alone is revelling inwardly in brahman (wherever he be),
He alone will be truly happy and will verily enjoy;

yayavatpavano nivasati dehe
taavatprichchati kulasham gehe

As long as there is life in your body,
Your people may have concern for you;

gatavati vaayo dehaapaaye
bhaarya bibhati tasminkaaye

But once the life-breath ebbs out of your body,
Even your wife will run away from you;

jatilo mundi lunchita keshah
kaashaa yaambara bahukrita veshah

The ascetic with matted looks, the man with the shaven head or one with hair pulled out, Or the man parading in the ochre robes – they all have eyes but yet do not see;

pasyannapi cha na pasyati moodho
hirudara nimitam bahukrita veshah

All these are but deceptions for cheating the world, For filling their bellies;
(Renunciation does not lie in external appearance, but inward thought, attitude and feeling)

kaa ta kaantha dhanagata chintaa
vaatula kim tava naasti niyantaa

Crazy man! why do you worry so much about your wife and property?
Why don’t you seek the truth?

trijagati sajjana sangati rekaa
bhavati bhavaarnava tarane nouka

Know that in these three worlds, it is only the association with the good and holy,
That can help you in crossing safely the ocean of life;

maa kuru dhanajana youvana garvam
harati nimishita kaala sarwam

The pleasures and riches of worldly life are deceptive appearances;

maaya mayamidha makhilam hitwa
brahma padam twam pravisha viditwa

Understanding that they are all but a passing show, be detached and dispassionate,
Cultivate renunciation and seek Brahman;

naree sthana bhara nabhee desham
dhrishtwaa maa gaa mohavesham

yetan maamsava sadi vikaaram
manasi vichinthaya vaaram vaaram

Enticed by the physical glamour of a woman, do not lose your senses; The body is nothing but a conglomeration of flesh, Do not forget this anytime;

kurute gangaa saagara gamanam
vatapari paalana mathavaa daanam

jnana viheenah sarva matena
bhajati na muktim janmasatena

One may have bathed in the holy Ganges or even in the Ganga Sagar; He may have performed many charities and observed many vows; Yet unless one has glimpsed the truth, He will not release even after a hundred lives;

praanayaamam pratyaahaaram nityaanitya vivekavichaaram
jaapyasameta samaadhividhaanam kurvavadhaanam mahadavadhaanam

Regulated breathing and sense control, discrimination between the enduring and the fleeting; the eternal and the transient, Japa and meditation, And submerging of the bodily and mental consciousness in the consciousness of the spirit, merging oneself into the total inner silence – One must practice these with unrelenting fervour;

satsangatwe nissangatwam nissangatwe nirmohatwam
nirmohatwe nischalatatwam nichalatatwe jeevan mukhtih

The company of the good weans, one away from false attachments; When attachment is lost, delusion ends; When delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady.
An unwavering and steady mind is merited for jeevan mukti – liberation even in this life;

baala staavat kreedaa sakthah
Tharuna staavat tharunee sakthah

vriddha staavat chinthaa sakthah
parame bhrahmani kopi na saktha

Childhood skips off on sport and play, youth flies off in pusuits of love making, As one grows older, he is drowned in worry about the security and future of his wife and children; One’s whole life gets spent in some kind of worry or other, And at no stage does man find time to lift his thoughts to God.

punarapi jananam punarapi maranam
punarapi jananee jatare sayanam

ita samsaare bahudustaare
kripayaa paare paahi muraare

Undergoing the pangs of birth again and again, passing through the throes of death again and again, Lying in the mother’s womb over and over again, this process of samsaara is hard to cross over. Save me from this, Oh merciful Lord!

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
govindam bhaja mudhamate

Seek Govinda! Seek Govinda! Seek Govinda! Oh ignoramus! At the time of death the rules of grammar which you’re trying to cram and master, will not be able to rescue at all!