Song of the Soul-

Sung by Sankaracharya in his Atma Satkam.

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I am neither ego nor reason, I am neither mind nor thought,

I cannot be heard nor cast into words, nor by smell nor sight ever caught:

In light and wind I am not found, nor yet in earth and sky-

Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

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I have no name, I have no life, I breathe no vital air,

No elements have molded me, no bodily sheath is my lair:

I have no speech, no hands and feet, nor means of evolution-

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss in dissolution.

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I cast aside hatred and passion, I conquered delusion and greed;

No touch of pride caressed me, so envy never did breed:

Beyond all faiths, past reach of wealth, past freedom, past desire,

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is my attire.

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Virtue and vice, or pleasure and pain are not my heritage,

Nor sacred text, nor offerings, nor prayer, nor pilgrimage:

I am neither food, nor eating, nor yet the eater am I-

Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of the Blissful am I.

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I have no misgivings of death, no chasms of race divide me,

No parent ever called me child, no bond of birth ever tied me:

I am neither disciple nor master, I have no kin, no friend-

Consciousness and joy am I, and merging in Bliss is my end.

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Neither knowable, knowledge, nor knower am I, formless is my form,

I dwell within the senses but they are not my home:

Ever serenely balanced, I am neither free nor bound-

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is where I am found.

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I found this sacred writing in Light on Yoga – B.K.S. Iyengar