and no one ever goes beyond it.

This, verily, is the truth!

Failure to comprehend the oneness of God's rule

10 Whatever is here, that is His;

whatever is there, that too is His.

He suffers loss after loss

who sees any partner to Him.

11 By the mind, indeed, is this to be attained:

there is no partner to Him at all!

He goes from loss to loss

who sees any partner to Him.

The eternal Lord, ever near

12 Closer than one's own self

He stands,

Lord of what has been and of what is to be.

One does not shrink away from Him.

This, verily, is the truth!

13 Like a light without smoke,

Lord of what has been and what is to be,

He alone is today, and tomorrow too.

The result of seeing division or the one truth

14 As water rained upon rough ground

runs to waste among the hills,

so he who sees many lords

runs to waste after them.

15 As pure water poured forth into pure water

becomes clear and clean,

so becomes the soul, O Gautama,

of the thinker who has understanding.

Fifth Valli

The soul of the individual and the Lord of the world

1 He who rules over the eleven-gated citadel of the body

in the service of the Unborn, the Upright,

sorrows not.

When he is released from the body, he is released indeed.

This, verily, is the truth!

2 The sun in the clear sky, the wind in the atmosphere,

the guest in the house,

in man, in broad space, in the right, in the sky,

born in water, born in cattle, born in the right, born in rock:

all are signs of the Great and Righteous Lord!

3 He sends the out-breath upward;

the in-breath He casts inward.

The angels all revere Him

who has seated the soul in the middle of the body.

4 When this soul that stands in the body

is taken from it,

and is released from the body,

what is there left over here?

This, verily, is the truth!

5 Not by the out-breath and the in-breath

does any mortal whatsoever live.

But by another do men live,

even by Him on whom both these depend.

The appropriate resurrection of the soul

6 Come! I will declare this to you:

the hidden, everlasting truth about God,

and how, after the soul reaches death,

it fares, O Gautama!

7 Every soul that dies is held until the Day of Resurrection;

then each is raised up and recompensed

according to its deeds and according to its knowledge.

One's Lord, the Ground of the world

8 He who is awake while those sleep,

He who fashions desire after desire,

that indeed is the Pure. That is God.

That indeed is called the Everlasting.

On Him all the worlds do rest,

and no one soever goes beyond Him.

This, verily, is the truth!

The One Lord, near yet distinct from His creation

9 As fire has entered the world

and takes the form of every form it burns,

so the knowledge of the One Lord of all things

is present in every form, and He is yet distinct from all.

10 As the wind has entered the world

and takes the form of every form it moves,

so the knowledge of the One Lord of all things

is present in every form, and He is yet distinct from all.

11 As the sun, the eye of the whole world,

is not sullied by the external faults of the eye,

so the One Lord of all things

is not sullied by the evil in the world, being distinct from it.

The bliss of recognizing the Lord

12 The One Controller of all things,

who makes His signs manifold:

the wise who perceive Him as near,

they, and no others, have eternal happiness!

13 He who is constant among the inconstant, the Knower

who knows all that is known,

the One who grants desires:

the wise who perceive Him as near,

they, and no others, have eternal peace!

14 "This is it!" thus they recognize

the highest, indescribable happiness.

How, now, shall I understand it?

Does it shine of itself or in reflection?

The self-luminous Light of the world

15 The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars,

these lightnings shine not, much less this earthly fire!

By His light, as He shines, doth everything shine;

this whole world is illumined with His light.

Sixth Valli

God, the root of creation

1 Its root is above, its branches below:

this everlasting tree!

That root indeed is the Pure. That is God.

That indeed is called the Everlasting.

On Him all the worlds do rest,

and no one soever goes beyond Him.

This, verily, is the truth!

The great fear

2 This whole world, whatever there is,

was created and moves by His command.

He is a great fear, like an upraised thunderbolt.

They who know Him find life everlasting.

3 From fear of Him the fire doth burn.

From fear the sun gives forth heat.

From fear the clouds and the wind,

and death as fifth, do speed along.

Degrees of perception

4 If one has been able to perceive Him here on earth