॥ śrī guru stutī ॥^[1]

1. That is the Truth which the wise realize as the Self, the residuum left over on withdrawing from external objects, with or without form (ether, air, fire, water and earth), by a careful application of the scriptural injunction ‘not this, not this’ — Thou art That!

2. That is the Truth which, after generating the fundamentals (ether, air, fire, water and earth), and entering the world, lies hidden beneath the five sheaths, and which has been threshed out by the wise with the pestle of discernment, just as the grain is recovered by threshing and winnowing the chaff — Thou art That!

3. Just as wild horses are broken-in by whipping and stabling them, so also the unruly senses, straying among objects, are lashed by the whip of discrimination, showing that objects are unreal, and are tethered by the rope of pure intellect to the Self by the wise. Such is the Truth — Thou art That!

4. The Truth has been ascertained by the wise to be the substratum which is different from the waking, dream and deep sleep states, and from its own expanded modes, which indeed are held together by it like the flowers strung together on a garland — Thou art That!

5. That is the Truth which the scriptures show to be the primal cause of all, elucidating the point clearly by such texts as ‘Purusha is all this’ and ‘like gold in ornaments of gold’ — Thou art That!

6. The Truth has been forcefully proclaimed by the scriptures in such texts as ‘He who is in the sun, is in man.’ ‘He who shines in the sun, shines in the right eye’ — Thou art That!

7. What pure brahmins seek so eagerly by the recitation of the Vedas, by religious gifts, by earnest application of their hard- earned knowledge and by renunciation, is the Truth — Thou art That!

8. That is the Truth which the valiant have gained by seeking, with controlled mind, with abstinence, penance, etc, and by diving into the Self. Realizing it, they are considered to be heroes with their highest purpose accomplished. That is the transcendental Satchidananda1 after gaining which there is nothing more to worry about since perfect peace reigns — Thou art That!