O mind, why do you fall into sorrow and despair? For, in truth, there is not even the faintest trace of name or form in your essence. There is nothing that is truly divided or undivided for you. Why do you grieve, when your nature is the nectar of pure knowledge—one, undifferentiated, infinite as the sky? Friend, why do you weep? There is no old age for you, no death; there is no suffering of birth, nor is there any transformation or change to be feared. You are untouched by all these, for your true self is the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, vast and open like the sky. Why do you lament, dear friend? You have no real form that can be lost, no deformity or imperfection that can arise, no passage through the ages. You are the unchanging nectar of knowledge, one taste, like the boundless sky. Why do you grieve, friend? For you, there are no ages, no minds, and the senses do not belong to you. You are the unchanging nectar of knowledge, one taste, like the sky. Why do you mourn, friend? There is no desire in you, no greed, no delusion. You are the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. How could you crave wealth when you possess nothing? How could you long for power when you have no ties, no sense of possession or 'mine'? You are the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. For neither you nor I has there ever been the birth of the manifest world with its marks and divisions. It is only this shameless mind that appears to divide. Yet, for us, there is no division or non-division. We are the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. In you, there is not the slightest trace of dispassion, nor the faintest hint of passion or desire. You are the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. Within your heart, there is neither meditator nor absorption, no meditation nor external place, nothing to meditate upon, nor any object or time. You are the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. All that is essential has been spoken. In the ultimate truth, you are not, nor am I; there is no greatness, no teacher, no disciple. The supreme reality is the natural, spontaneous form of freedom, the nectar of knowledge, of one taste, like the sky. How can the supreme reality be called bliss, or not-bliss? How can it be described as knowledge or realization, when the supreme 'I' alone exists, spacious as the sky? Know that true knowledge is without fire or wind, without earth or water; it neither comes nor goes, but is vast like the limitless sky. I am neither of empty form nor non-empty form, neither pure nor impure, neither form nor formlessness in any way. My own true nature is the ultimate reality. Abandon the world, yes, but also abandon renunciation itself. The so-called poison of renunciation and non-renunciation is in fact pure, immortal, innate, and constant. Thus ends the third chapter. There is neither invocation nor dismissal; how then can there be flowers or leaves, or meditations, mantras, or any worship of Shiva, whether brief or elaborate? I am free from bondage and liberation, from purity and impurity, from union and separation in yoga. Truly, I am liberated, vast as the sky. All this arises—truly, all this arises falsely. Yet, for me, such duality has never arisen. I abide as the dissolution into my own true nature, free from all affliction. For me, there is neither color nor absence of color, neither inside nor outside; nothing divided within shines for me. I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. Ignorance and knowledge have never arisen for me; even my nature as knowledge has never arisen. How then can I speak of knowledge or non-knowledge? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. I am untouched by righteousness or sin, by bondage or liberation. What is joined or unjoined does not appear to me. I abide in the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. There is neither higher nor lower for me, nor any neutral state, no friend or foe. How could I speak of benefit or harm? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. I am neither a worshipper nor one to be worshipped; there is no instruction or action for me. How could I speak of the nature of consciousness? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. Here, there is nothing that is pervader or pervaded, no abode or non-abode. How could I speak of emptiness or non-emptiness? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. For me, there is no perceiver or perceived, no cause or effect. How could I speak of the thinkable or unthinkable? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. There is neither divider nor divided, neither knower nor known. How could I speak of coming or going, dear one? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. I have no body, nor am I bodiless; I have neither intellect nor mind nor senses. How could I speak of passion or dispassion? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. There is no mere appearance that is distinctly separate, nor is there appearance that is concealed. How could I speak of unity or division, friend? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. I am neither one who has mastered the senses nor one who has not; restraint or discipline has never arisen for me. How could I speak of victory or defeat, friend? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. I am never of form or formlessness; I have neither beginning, end, nor middle. How could I speak of strength or weakness, friend? I am the dissolution into my own true nature, free from affliction. Whether something is mortal or immortal, poison or nectar, O dear one, none of these ever arise for me. How could I speak of purity or impurity, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? There is no dream or awakening for me, no yogic posture, neither night nor day. How could I speak of the fourth or not-fourth state, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? Know me as consciousness, freed from everything, untouched by illusion or non-illusion. How could I speak of rituals like twilight worship, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? Know me as consciousness, united with all samadhis, freed from all marks and distinctions. How could I speak of union or separation, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? I am neither a fool nor a scholar; silence or non-silence never pertain to me. How could I speak of reasoning or disputation, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? I have neither father nor mother, no family or caste, no birth or death at any time. How could I speak of attachment or delusion, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? I have neither set nor always risen; radiance or its absence never pertain to me. How could I speak of rituals like twilight worship, when I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease? Know me without doubt, undisturbed, uninterrupted, stainless. I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease. The wise abandon all meditations, they abandon all actions, good or bad; they taste the nectar of renunciation, dear one, for I am the essence of liberation, free from all disease. He attains, truly he attains—where there is not even a sign of desire. Absorbed in perfect sameness, purified by contemplation, the supreme avadhūta speaks the truth.