dhanyāṣṭakam

That is true knowledge which brings tranquility to the senses, and that is the true object of knowledge which is definitively established in the Upanishads. Blessed are those on earth whose efforts are directed toward the Highest Truth; all others merely wander aimlessly in a house of delusion.

Blessed are those who, having first conquered the senses and the army of enemies such as pride, delusion, attachment, and aversion, have attained the sovereignty of Yoga. Having realized the wisdom of the Supreme Self and tasting the bliss of that divine union, they wander freely in the forest, their hearts absorbed in peace.

Blessed are those who, having renounced attachment to home—which is the cause of spiritual descent—and drinking the essence of the Upanishadic wisdom by their own free will, wander in solitude. Free from desire and detached from sense objects, they live devoid of worldly company.

Blessed are those who have abandoned the binding notions of "mine" and "I," who remain equipoised in honor and dishonor, and who, seeing the Supreme as the true Doer, offer the fruits of all their actions unto Him.

Blessed are those who have renounced the three worldly cravings and, having perceived the path to liberation, sustain their bodies merely with the nectar of alms. In the solitude of their hearts, they perceive that Light which is beyond the highest, known as the Supreme Self.

Blessed are those who, with one-pointed minds, meditate upon that Brahman which is neither non-existent nor existent, neither both nor neither, neither subtle nor gross, neither female, male, nor neuter—the singular seed of all. While they shine in wisdom, others remain bound by the shackles of worldly existence.

Blessed are those who, realizing that this worldly existence is a pit of ignorance, devoid of essence, an abode of sorrow, and subject to the cycles of birth, death, and old age, sever these bonds with the sword of knowledge and attain firm conviction in the Truth.

Blessed are those who, being peaceful, focused, sweet-natured, and free from delusion, with minds firmly established in non-duality, constantly contemplate that Reality which is the nature of the Self, residing together in the forest.

The Paramahamsa, who always avoids worldly company as if it were a serpent, who is a dispassionate soul longing to renounce the body as if it were a corpse, and who considers sense objects to be as deadly as poison, truly conquers and attains the state of liberation.

When one has realized the Supreme Brahman, the entire world becomes a celestial garden, every tree becomes a wish-fulfilling tree, all water is as pure as the Ganges, and every action is a holy rite. All speech, whether common or classical, becomes the Vedas; the earth becomes the sacred city of Varanasi, and every state of being is revealed as the essence of that Supreme Reality.