कुललक्षणं कुलाचारनिरूपणञ्चThe mark of kula, and kulācāra described
Verse 98
ब्रह्मबुद्ध्या निर्विकल्पमेतेष्वाचरणञ्च यत् । कुलाचारः स एवाद्ये धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदः ॥ ९८ ॥
brahmabuddhyā nirvikalpamētēṣvācaraṇañca yat | kulācāraḥ sa ēvādyē dharmakāmārthamōkṣadaḥ || 98 ||
Translation
Conduct towards these with the understanding that they are Brahman, free of distinctions: that alone, Ādyā, is kulācāra, which gives dharma, desire, wealth and liberation.
Word by word
- brahma
- that they are Brahman
- buddhyā
- with the understanding
- nirvikalpam
- free of distinctions
- ētēṣv
- (eteṣu) towards these
- ācaraṇañ
- (ācaraṇam) conduct
- ca
- and
- yat
- which
- kula
- of the kula
- ācāraḥ
- conduct
- sa
- that
- ēva
- alone
- ādyē
- Ādyā
- dharma
- dharma
- kāma
- desire
- artha
- wealth
- mōkṣa
- and liberation
- daḥ
- which gives
Meaning
The definition of kulācāra, and the heart of the chapter. The commentary: the conduct towards these, the soul, Prakṛti and the rest, that is free of the many imaginings (nirvikalpa), held with the understanding that they are Brahman (brahma-buddhyā), that alone is called kulācāra. Kaula conduct, so often imagined as a set of secret rites, is defined here as a way of seeing: to treat oneself, nature, space, time and the elements as Brahman, without division. The rites of the five tattvas are a training of that vision, not its substitute.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
Next, in one verse, he defines kulācāra, beginning "brahma-buddhyā…": O Ādyā, the conduct (ācaraṇa) towards these, the soul, Prakṛti and the rest, that is free of distinctions (nirvikalpa), devoid of the manifold imaginings, held with the understanding that they are Brahman (brahma-buddhyā), that alone, the giver of dharma, desire, wealth and liberation, is called kulācāra.