The steadfast sage is content wherever he finds himself, moving with the flow of circumstances, wandering freely across the lands, and resting wherever night may fall. Such a one is unmoved by the fate of the body—whether it stands strong or collapses—remaining unconcerned, for he abides in his own true nature, having forgotten all cycles of becoming and passing away. Having nothing, going where he pleases, he is free from all dualities and has cut away every doubt. Unattached to anything, the wise one delights solely in his own being. He shines with a light that is free from possessiveness, regarding clods of earth, stones, and gold as the same. The knots of his heart are completely untied, all passion and darkness dispelled. For one who is unattentive everywhere, no impressions linger in the heart. Who, indeed, could be compared to the liberated and contented Self? Though he knows, it is as if he does not know; though he sees, it is as if he does not see; though he speaks, it is as if he does not speak. Who else is like this, except the one who is entirely free from impressions? Whether he is a beggar or a king, the desireless one shines forth, for his mind has let go of all judgments of good and bad. For the yogi who is fulfilled, pure in nature, straightforward and without pretense, what need is there for freedom or restraint, or for certainty of truth? The one satisfied in the Self, without hope and free from suffering, dwells in a state that cannot be described, for there is no one to whom it could be described. Even when asleep, he is not truly in deep sleep; in dreams, he does not lie there; when awake, he does not awaken—the steadfast one is fulfilled at every step. The wise one, though appearing thoughtful, is free from thought; though possessing senses, is as if without senses; though endowed with understanding, is as if without intellect; though having ego, is without egotism. He is neither happy nor unhappy, neither detached nor attached; neither seeking liberation nor liberated; he is nothing, and not even nothing. Even amidst distraction, he is not distracted; in absorption, he is not absorbed; in dullness, he is not dull; in learning, he is not learned. Liberated and established in his own nature, content with what is done or left undone, he is equal everywhere, for he is free from craving and does not recall what has or has not been done. He is not pleased by praise, nor angered by blame; he is not disturbed by death, nor does he rejoice in life. His mind at peace, he does not run toward crowds or toward the solitude of the forest; wherever he is, however things are, he remains the same. Then King Janaka declares: With the pincers of true knowledge, drawn from the cave of my own heart, I have removed the thorn of mistaken notions. Now, where is duty, where is desire, where is wealth, where is discrimination? Where is duality and where is nonduality for me, who abides in my own glory? Where is the past, the future, or even the present? Where is place, where is eternity, for me who rest in my own radiance? Where is self or non-self, where is auspiciousness or inauspiciousness? Where is thought or absence of thought, for me who abide in my own glory? Where is dream, where is deep sleep, where is waking, and where is the fourth state or fear itself, for me who rest in my own glory? Where is far or near, outside or inside? Where is the gross or the subtle, for me who abide in my own glory? Where is death, where is life, where are worlds, where is worldly existence? Where is dissolution, where is absorption, for me who abide in my own glory? Enough of talk about the three aims of life, enough of talk about yoga, enough of talk about knowledge—for I rest in my Self. Janaka continues: Where are the elements, where is the body, where are the senses, where is the mind? Where is emptiness, where is despair, within my stainless, true nature? Where is scripture, where is self-knowledge, where is the desireless mind? Where is satisfaction, where is freedom from craving, for me who am always beyond duality? Where is knowledge, where is ignorance, where am I, where is this ‘mine’? Where is bondage, where is liberation, for the true nature that is beyond all forms? Where are actions already begun, where is even liberation while living? Where is that final, disembodied freedom, for the one who is ever without distinction? Where is the doer, and where the enjoyer? Where is actionless radiance, and where anything else? Where is direct experience or its fruit, for me who am always without inherent nature? Where is the world, where one seeking liberation, where the yogi, or the knower? Where is the bound, and where the liberated, in my own nondual nature? Where is creation, where dissolution, where is the attainable, and where the means? Where is the practitioner, and where attainment, in my own nondual nature? Where is the knower, where the means of knowledge, where the knowable, and where knowledge itself? Where is something, or where is nothing, for me who am always pure? Where is distraction, where concentration, where ignorance, and where dullness? Where is joy, or where is sorrow, for me who am always inactive? Where is this worldly conduct, and where is that which is ultimate reality? Where is happiness, and where is suffering, for me who am always without deliberation? Where is illusion, where the cycle of existence, where is attachment or detachment? Where is the individual soul, and where that Brahman, for me who am always pure? Where is activity or cessation, where is liberation, and where bondage, for me who am ever unchanging, indivisible, and established in myself? Where is instruction, where scripture, where is the disciple, and where the teacher? Where is any human aim, for me who am Shiva, without attributes? Where is existence, and where non-existence? Where is the one, and where the dual? Why say more? For me, nothing arises at all.