TAD NISKALA
‘that I am not’
by Adi Shankaracharya

Om. I am neither the mind,
Intelligence, ego, nor ‘chitta’,
Neither the ears, nor the tongue,
Nor the senses of smell and sight,
Neither ether, nor air,
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
I am neither the ‘prana’,
Nor the five vital breaths,
Neither the seven elements of the body,
Nor its five sheaths,
Nor hands, nor feet,
Nor other organs of action.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Neither fear, greed, nor delusion,
Loathing, nor liking have I,
Nothing of pride, of ego,
Of ‘dharma’ or Liberation,
Neither desire of the mind,
Nor object for its desiring.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Nothing of pleasure and pain,
Of virtue and vice, do I know,
Of mantra, of sacred place,
Of Vedas or Sacrifice,
Neither I am the eater,
The food or the act of eating,
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Death or fear, I have none,
Nor any distinction of ‘caste’,
Neither Father, nor Mother,
Nor even a birth, have I,
Neither friend, nor comrade,
Neither disciple, nor Guru.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
I have no form or fancy,
the All-pervading am I,
Everywhere I exist,
And yet I am beyond the senses,
Neither salvation am I,
Nor anything to be known.
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness.
I am Shiva! I am Shiva!