तानि ह वा एतानि संकल्पैकायनानि संकल्पात्मकानि संकल्पे प्रतिष्ठितानि समकॢपतां द्यावापृथिवी समकल्पेतां वायुश्चाकाशं च समकल्पन्तापश्च तेजश्च तेषां सं कॢप्त्यै वर्षं संकल्पते वर्षस्य संकॢप्त्या अन्नं संकल्पतेऽन्नस्य सं कॢप्त्यै प्राणाः संकल्पन्ते प्राणानां सं कॢप्त्यै मन्त्राः संकल्पन्ते मन्त्राणां सं कॢप्त्यै कर्माणि संकल्पन्ते कर्मणां संकॢप्त्यै लोकः संकल्पते लोकस्य सं कॢप्त्यै सर्वं संकल्पते स एष संकल्पः संकल्पमुपास्स्वेति ॥ ७.४.२ ॥
tāni ha vā etāni saṃkalpaikāyanāni saṃkalpātmakāni saṃkalpe pratiṣṭhitāni samakḷpatāṃ dyāvāpṛthivī samakalpetāṃ vāyuścākāśaṃ ca samakalpantāpaśca tejaśca teṣāṃ saṃ kḷptyai varṣaṃ saṃkalpate varṣasya saṃkḷptyā annaṃ saṃkalpate’nnasya saṃ kḷptyai prāṇāḥ saṃkalpante prāṇānāṃ saṃ kḷptyai mantrāḥ saṃkalpante mantrāṇāṃ saṃ kḷptyai karmāṇi saṃkalpante karmaṇāṃ saṃkḷptyai lokaḥ saṃkalpate lokasya saṃ kḷptyai sarvaṃ saṃkalpate sa eṣa saṃkalpaḥ saṃkalpamupāssveti || 7.4.2 ||
2. All these things [mind, speech, name, etc.] merge in saṅkalpa, arise from saṅkalpa, and are supported by saṅkalpa. [That is the will decides the direction of everything you do. It is the soul of everything.] Heaven and earth will, and so do air, space, water, and fire. [That is, it is their will that determines their work.] Through their will the rain wills, and through the will of the rain, food wills. The will of food is the will of life. The will of life is the will of the mantras, and the will of the mantras is the will of all activities. The will of the activities is the will of the worlds, and the will of the worlds determines the will of everything. Such is the will. Worship this will.
Word-for-word explanation:
Tāni ha vai etāni, all these [i.e., mind, speech, name, mantra, and karma]; saṅkalpa-ekāyanāni, merge in saṅkalpa; saṅkalpātmakāni, rise from saṅkalpa; saṅkalpe pratiṣṭhitāni, supported by saṅkalpa; dyāvāpṛthivī, heaven and the earth; samaklṛpatām, will; vāyuḥ cā ākāśam ca, the air and the sky; samakalpetām, will; āpaḥ ca tejaḥ ca, water and fire; samakalpanta, will; teṣām saṃklṛptyai, through their will; varṣam saṅkalpate, rain wills; varṣasya saṃklṛptyai, because the rain wills; annam saṅkalpate, food wills; annasya saṃklṛptyai, because of the will of food; prāṇāḥ saṅkalpante, the prāṇas will; prāṇānām saṃklṛptyai, because of the will of the prāṇas; mantrāḥ saṅkalpante, the mantras will; mantrāṇām saṃklṛptyai, because the mantras will; karmāṇi saṅkalpante, the karmas will; karmaṇām saṃklṛptyai, because the karmas will; lokaḥ saṅkalpate, the heaven and other worlds will; lokasya saṃklṛptyai, because the worlds will; sarvam saṅkalpate, everything wills; saḥ eṣaḥ, this is the way; saṅkalpaḥ, will [works]; saṅkalpam upāssva iti, worship will.
Commentary:
Sanatkumāra says here that because of saṅkalpa, each of the forces of nature plays its role—as if each knows the duty it’s supposed to perform and has taken a vow to do it. For instance, the earth remains steady—as if it decided long ago that it would remain firm and unmoving. The world goes on, nature goes on, society goes on—all due to this saṅkalpa, to the principle of each doing his or her own duty.