In the sacred assembly, the Lord spoke with warmth and clarity about the unique position of the brāhmaṇa among all living beings. He explained that, by birth alone, the brāhmaṇa is superior, but when endowed with austerity, knowledge, and contentment—and especially when devoted to Him—their greatness is even more pronounced. The Lord confided that His own four-armed form was not as dear to Him as the brāhmaṇas, for the brāhmaṇa is the embodiment of all the Vedas, just as He Himself is the embodiment of all the gods. He lamented that those of poor understanding, who remain ignorant, envious, and disrespectful, fail to recognize this truth. Such people see the Lord, the guru, the brāhmaṇa, and even their own self as mere idols during worship. But the true brāhmaṇa, by the Lord’s vision, perceives everything in the universe—whether moving or unmoving, and all their causes—as manifestations of the Lord within his mind. Therefore, the Lord instructed: “O brāhmaṇa, worship these brāhmaṇa sages with faith in Me. When you worship in this manner, I am truly worshipped—not otherwise, even if you offer great opulence.” Śrī Śuka narrated that, thus instructed by the Lord, the king of Mithilā honored the foremost brāhmaṇas in the company of Kṛṣṇa, seeing them as one with himself. Through this reverent worship, the king attained the highest destination. Śuka continued, telling how the Lord, ever devoted to His devotees and to devotion itself, after staying there and showing the right path, returned again to Dvārakā. With this, the eighty-sixth chapter concluded—the blessing of Śrutadeva, in the second half of the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, scripture for the wise paramahaṃsas. Then, Parīkṣit, eager to understand the mysteries of the Vedas, asked Śuka, “O brāhmaṇa, how do the Vedas, which are based on qualities, function in relation to the indefinable, transcendental Brahman, which is beyond existence and non-existence?” Śuka replied, “The Lord created the intellect, senses, mind, and vital airs of all beings—for the sake of sense objects, for worldly purposes, for the self, and for the sake of non-identification. This is the Upaniṣad of Brahman, upheld by the ancients; whoever holds it with faith, even if possessing nothing, attains well-being.” He promised to recount the verse endowed with Nārāyaṇa and the dialogue between Nārada and the sage Nārāyaṇa. Once, Nārada, beloved of the Lord, wandered among the worlds and came to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa, the eternal sage, who had practiced austerity, dharma, knowledge, and tranquility in Bhārata for the welfare of people since the beginning of the age. There, surrounded by sages dwelling in the village of Kalāpa, Nārada bowed and asked his question. The Lord spoke, as the sages listened, revealing the doctrine of Brahman held by the ancient residents of Janaloka. He described how, once in Janaloka, a sacrifice to Brahman was held by the descendants of Svāyambhuva among the mind-born, celibate sages. When Nārada had gone to Śvetadvīpa to see its Lord, the doctrine of Brahman was thoroughly discussed there, where the Vedas rest, and the very question that Nārada now asked was raised. These sages were equal in learning, austerity, and conduct, and similar in their possessions, enemies, and friends. Some expounded the doctrine, while others listened attentively. Śrī Sanandana spoke: Absorbing his creation, the Lord lay down together with his energies. Then, at the end, the Vedas awakened him with their marks, as if rousing him from sleep—just as bards approach a sleeping king at dawn and awaken him with praises of his valor. The Vedas spoke noble hymns: “Victory, victory! O Unborn, O Unconquered, cast off the faults acquired by the qualities! By your own nature, all powers are perfectly contained in you. You are the awakening of all energies in the unmanifest and manifest worlds. Sometimes the Vedas follow you, yet they cannot reach you when you move by your own inscrutable self.” They declared that this vast universe, though perceived as existing, is ultimately insubstantial, just as the rise and fall of transformations are in clay, not in the transformations themselves. Therefore, sages fix their minds, words, and actions on the Lord. How then could the footprints of men on earth be otherwise than unreal? The Vedas praised: “O Lord of the three worlds, the wise, having plunged into the nectar-ocean of your stories, which destroy all impurities, abandon their austerities. What then of those who, purified of all motives of time and desire, dwell in your own realm and worship your supreme abode, experiencing unbroken bliss?” Just as the vital airs sustain the body and follow the Lord’s will, so too did the great elements, beginning with cosmic fire, create the cosmic egg by His grace. The sequence of beings, from food onwards, is the Lord’s manifestation, yet He is beyond both the real and the unreal, and whatever remains is His immortal nature. Those whose vision is limited, worshipping the lower path among sages, meditate on the heart as the path, the subtle space within as the way. From there, O Infinite One, your supreme abode arises above the head, and those who reach it do not fall again into the mouth of death. The Lord enters various wondrous wombs as their cause, shining forth in different degrees like fire in various forms, according to the actions performed. Yet, in those free from false identification, His supreme abode is realized equally; the pure-minded ones follow Him, the one taste, abandoning all diversity. In these bodies, which are His own creation, both inner and outer, He is called the Person, the bearer of all powers, present in every part. Thus, having examined the path of men and the end of the Vedas, the wise worship His feet on earth, trusting in Him. Desiring to know the truth of the self, which is difficult to grasp, some, laboring in the ocean of His immortal deeds, do not even seek liberation. Having abandoned their homes for the company of swan-like devotees at His lotus feet, they desire nothing else. Following His path, the flock of embodied beings moves as if with their own kin, friends, and beloveds. Yet, when turned toward Him, their true well-wisher and self, they find fulfillment. Alas, those who delight in false worship, harming themselves, wander in suffering, bearing heavy bodies due to attachment. Those sages who, with controlled breath, mind, and senses, practice firm yoga and worship Him in their hearts—even their enemies attain Him by remembrance. Women, whose minds are attached to the serpent king’s embrace, and the Vedas themselves, are equal, having tasted the nectar of His lotus feet. Who here truly knows the beginning, end, or course of the One from whom the sage arose, and after whom the gods, both celestial and otherwise, follow? Therefore, He is neither existent nor non-existent, nor both; nor is He subject to time. When He lies thus, no scripture can reach Him. Those who teach that the soul is born, dies, or is different from the body, speak from ignorance, remembering only the apparent. The idea that the person is made of the three qualities arises from ignorance; in Him, and beyond Him, such distinctions have no place in the experience of true knowledge. Just as gold, though appearing in various forms, is not abandoned by those who know its essence, so too the knowers of the self perceive all this as the self, considering everything as their own being, and do not reject the transformations, for all is pervaded by Him. Those who move about as His companions, as the abode of all beings, tread fearlessly even upon the head of death. The Lord gathers even the gods, like a herdsman gathers cattle, and those who have made friendship with Him truly purify, but not those who turn away. He is actionless, self-ruling, bearer of all creative powers. The gods, ever wakeful, offer Him tribute and serve Him equally, just as the arms serve the universal sovereign. The creators of the worlds, assigned by Him, act with awe in His presence. The moving and unmoving species arise from the union of causes and the unborn; they act under His gaze, O Free One. Yet, when freed from that, there is no other, nor is there a second, for the Supreme; just as space, bearing all things, remains incomparable and empty. If embodied beings were truly unlimited and all-pervading, there could be no rule of authority over them—yet that is not the case. And if what is born is made of that which is unborn, then without releasing that, the controller would remain, even as one accepts the equality of all; but to reject this view is to be mistaken in understanding. There can be no real origin for both Prakriti and Purusha, since both are uncreated; what arises from their union is unstable, like bubbles on water. In the Supreme, all these diverse names and qualities dissolve, just as rivers, with all their flavors, merge into the ocean. Among humans, those who, recognizing the intense delusion caused by His Maya, fix their minds on Him, the source of all, develop ever-deepening devotion. How can fear of worldly existence persist for those who follow Him, when even a mere frown from Him repeatedly creates fear in those who seek shelter elsewhere, like blades of grass? Thus, the sacred narrative unfolds, revealing the profound wisdom and devotion that leads the soul to the highest truth.