A brāhmaṇa, it is said, should live by the knowledge and practice of Brahman, while a kṣatriya’s livelihood comes from protecting the earth. The vaiśya is to engage in commerce, and the śūdra finds his sustenance through serving the twice-born. Among the vaiśyas, there are four main livelihoods: farming, trade, cow protection, and, as some say, lending at interest and music. Yet, in our community, we are always engaged in tending the cows. The world’s maintenance, creation, and destruction arise from the three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas. It is from rajas that the universe, with all its diversity, comes forth. Spurred by rajas, the clouds pour down rain, nourishing all beings. What, then, is Indra’s role, when it is this natural order that sustains life? We, the cowherds, have no cities, towns, or even houses. We dwell always in the forests, among the woods and mountains. Therefore, let us begin a sacrifice, not for Indra, but for the cows, the brāhmaṇas, and the mountain that shelters us. Let all the offerings prepared for Indra’s worship be used for this purpose. Let us prepare a great variety of cooked foods—soups, rice puddings, cakes, fried flour sweets, and other dishes made from milk. Let the brāhmaṇas, learned in the Vedas, offer the sacred fires properly, and let them be given abundant, excellent food and cows as gifts. To others—such as horse-keepers, outcastes, and those fallen from their duties—let appropriate gifts be distributed. After giving barley to the cows, let us make our offering to the mountain. When all is ready, let us, adorned and well-fed, anointed and dressed in our finest garments, circumambulate the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the sacred fires, and the mountain itself. This, dear one, is my opinion. If it pleases you, let it be done, for this sacrifice is dear to the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the mountain, and to me as well. Śuka narrates that, hearing these words of the Lord—who, as Time itself, wished to humble Indra’s pride—Nanda and the other cowherds accepted Krishna’s proposal as proper. They did everything as Madhusūdana had instructed, inviting the brāhmaṇas to recite blessings and using all the offerings for the mountain and the brāhmaṇas. After presenting the gifts and respectfully giving barley to the cows, they placed the herds at the forefront and circumambulated the mountain. The women, mounting their beautifully decorated carts drawn by oxen, sang of Krishna’s exploits and received blessings from the virtuous brāhmaṇas. To inspire confidence among the cowherds, Krishna assumed a different form, declaring, “I am the mountain,” and, appearing in a great and wondrous form, accepted the abundant offerings. Together with the people of Vraja, Krishna offered obeisance to this form, saying, “Behold, the mountain has appeared before us and bestowed its favor.” This mountain, who dwells in the forest and appears in many forms, destroys those mortals who disrespect him. Therefore, we bow to him for the protection of ourselves and our cows. Thus, prompted by Vāsudeva, the cowherds, along with Krishna, performed all the prescribed rites for the mountain, the cows, the brāhmaṇas, and the sacrifice, and then returned joyfully to Vraja. Thus ends the twenty-fourth chapter of the first half of the tenth book in the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the collection for the paramahaṃsas. Elsewhere, the Lord speaks: “By perceiving Me—the Self, the self-luminous one who dwells in the hearts of all beings—within yourself by your own self, you will become free from sorrow and fear. Mother, I shall impart to you spiritual knowledge, which brings peace to all actions; by this wisdom, you will cross over all fear.” Maitreya then relates: Thus addressed by Kapila, the lord of creatures, the hearer was pleased. Circumambulating Kapila to the right, he departed for the forest. He undertook a vow of silence, relying solely on the Self, wandering unattached over the earth, without fire and without a fixed dwelling. His mind absorbed in Brahman—beyond both the manifest and the unmanifest, appearing as the qualities yet itself without qualities—he realized the Truth through single-minded devotion. He became free from ego and possessiveness, beyond all dualities, seeing equally and recognizing his own Self everywhere, inwardly peaceful and steady in mind, like a calm ocean without waves. In Vāsudeva, the all-knowing Lord and inner Self, through supreme devotion, he realized his own Self and became free from bondage. He saw the Lord present in all beings as his own Self, and all beings in the Lord within himself. Freed from desire and aversion, with an even mind toward all, and endowed with devotion to the Lord, he attained the state of a true devotee. In his vision, the Lord appeared radiant—crowned, adorned with bracelets, necklace, anklets, and girdle; bearing conch, discus, mace, lotus, garland, and the finest jewels, full of supreme splendor. The Kaustubha gem shone on his auspicious neck, his shoulders broad as a lion’s, resplendent with unfailing glory, his form glowing like a flawless touchstone. His abdomen bore three lines, moving subtly with the breath, as if the universe itself was being drawn in and released by the deep whirl of his navel. He wore a brilliant yellow garment with a golden belt over his dark hips; his thighs, knees, and shins were perfectly formed and beautiful to behold. His feet shone like autumn lotuses, their nails radiating light and dispelling the darkness within. O Teacher, reveal your own feet—the path for those who seek to cross the darkness of ignorance. This divine form is to be meditated upon by those who seek purification of the self; devotion to it grants fearlessness to those who perform their own duty. You are attainable by the devoted, though difficult to reach for all embodied beings; even the sovereignty of the self is considered inferior to the ultimate state of self-realization gained through exclusive devotion to You. Having worshipped Him—who is difficult to approach, even for the virtuous, and hard to attain—through exclusive devotion, who would desire anything apart from His feet? Where death, the ender of life, does not approach those who are indifferent to it, even as death destroys the universe with his might and the fierce arching of his brows. Not even heaven or liberation can be compared to even half a moment of association with the Lord’s devotees for mortals—what then of other blessings? Therefore, O sinless one, may we have the association of those whose character is pure and compassionate toward all beings, whose sins are washed away by bathing within and without in the sacredness of Your fame—this alone is Your grace to us. He whose mind is not distracted by external objects, nor enters the dark cave of ignorance, whose mind is purified by the favor of devotion and yoga—such a sage surely perceives Your path.