In the sacred village of Kalāpa, a place renowned for its gathering of wise sages, the great sage Nārada approached the assembly with deep reverence. Bowing before them, he addressed a question to the illustrious Lord, surrounded by those ascetics who had made Kalāpa their home. O best among the Kurus, it was there that Nārada, ever eager for knowledge, sought to hear the truth. The Lord, gracious and all-knowing, turned to Nārada and, as the assembled sages listened intently, began to reveal the ancient doctrine of Brahman—the same wisdom cherished by the exalted residents of Janaloka since time immemorial. He spoke: “Once, in Janaloka, the descendants of Svāyambhuva Manu gathered for a great sacrifice dedicated to Brahman. Among them were the mind-born sages, steadfast in their celibacy and wisdom. It was during this sacred assembly, when you, Nārada, had journeyed to Śvetadvīpa to behold its presiding Lord, that the doctrine of Brahman was thoroughly discussed. There, where the Vedas themselves find their rest, the very question you now ask Me arose and was debated. Those sages were equals in knowledge, austerity, and conduct; their lives were marked by similar possessions, and they shared the same attitude toward friends and foes alike. Some among them expounded on the doctrine, while others listened with rapt attention. Then, the revered sage Sanandana spoke: ‘When the Creator, having withdrawn this creation into Himself, lay in repose with all His energies, the Vedas, bearing their distinctive marks, awakened Him at the end of the cosmic night, as if rousing Him from sleep. Just as bards approach a sleeping king at dawn, awakening him with songs of his valor and glory, so too did the Vedic hymns, as His attendants, awaken the Lord with noble praises. The Vedas exclaimed: “Victory, victory to You, O Unborn, O Unconquered! Cast aside the faults acquired from contact with the qualities of nature. By Your very essence, You contain all powers perfectly. You are the awakening force in both the manifest and unmanifest worlds. Sometimes, the Vedas follow in Your footsteps, yet they cannot reach You when You move by Your own inscrutable will. This vast universe, though perceived as real, is ultimately understood by the wise to be insubstantial—just as the forms made from clay are nothing but clay itself. Sages, therefore, fix their minds, words, and actions on You. How then could the footprints of men on earth be anything but unreal? O Lord of the three worlds, the wise, having plunged into the ocean of nectar that is Your divine stories—stories that destroy all impurities—abandon even their austerities. What then of those who, purified of all desires and motives, dwell in Your own realm, worshiping Your supreme abode and experiencing unbroken bliss? Just as the vital airs, though sustaining the body, act according to Your will, so too did the great elements, beginning with cosmic fire, create the cosmic egg by Your grace. All beings, from food onward, are Your manifestations here, yet You transcend both the real and the unreal. Whatever remains is Your immortal nature. Those whose vision is limited, who follow the lower path among the sages, meditate on the heart as the way, the subtle space within as the path. From there, O Infinite One, Your supreme abode arises above the head, and those who reach it do not fall again into the jaws of death. Entering the many wondrous wombs as their cause, You shine forth in varying degrees, like fire taking different forms according to the actions performed. Yet, in those who are free from false identification, Your supreme abode is realized equally. The pure-minded follow You, the one taste, abandoning all diversity. Within these bodies—Your own creation, both inner and outer—You are 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 Your feet on earth, placing their trust in You alone. Desiring to know the truth of the self, which is difficult to grasp, some, laboring in the ocean of Your immortal deeds, do not even seek liberation. Having left their homes for the company of swan-like devotees at Your lotus feet, they desire nothing else. Following Your path, this flock of embodied beings moves about with their kin, friends, and beloveds; yet, when they turn toward You—their true well-wisher and self—they find fulfillment. Alas, those who delight in false worship, harming themselves, wander in suffering, weighed down by heavy bodies due to attachment. Those sages who, with controlled breath, mind, and senses, practice firm yoga and worship You in their hearts—even their enemies attain You by remembrance. Women who are attached to the embrace of the serpent king, and we ourselves, are equal, having tasted the nectar of Your lotus feet. Who here truly knows the beginning, end, or course of the one from whom the sage arose, and after whom the gods, 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, seeing only the apparent. The idea that the person is made of the three qualities arises from ignorance; in You, and beyond You, 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 You. Those who move about as Your companions, as the abode of all beings, tread fearlessly even upon the head of death. You, O Lord, gather even the gods, as a herdsman gathers cattle. Those who have made friendship with You are truly purified, but not those who turn away. You are actionless, self-ruling, the bearer of all creative powers. The gods, ever wakeful, offer You tribute and serve You equally, just as the arms serve the universal sovereign. The creators of the worlds, assigned by You, act with awe in Your presence. The moving and unmoving species arise from the union of causes and the unborn; they act under Your 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 would 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 misunderstand. 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 You, O 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 Your Maya, fix their minds on You—the source of all—develop ever-deepening devotion. How can fear of worldly existence persist for those who follow You, when even a mere frown from You repeatedly creates fear in those who seek shelter elsewhere, like blades of grass? Those who, in this world, strive to control the restless mind—like an untamed horse—by force of the senses and breath, but neglect the feet of the Guru, are afflicted by countless miseries, like merchants on the ocean who abandon their helmsman and are lost at sea. When You exist, what value is there for people in relying on relatives, children, self, spouse, wealth, home, or chariots? For those who, ignorant of this, wander in pursuit of pleasure through union, who indeed finds happiness here, when their own share is denied and their own portion is lost? On earth, the sages, purified by visiting holy places and abodes, whose hearts are washed by the water from Your lotus feet, who fix their minds even once on You—the eternal bliss within—never again seek the abodes of those who rob men of their true essence. If one says, ‘This arises from the existent,’ then such reasoning is flawed, for it is inconsistent and sometimes false, not truly combining both. For practical dealings, distinctions are made, but these are passed down blindly, and speech, with its elaborate forms, confuses those who are dull-witted from ritual recitation. What did not exist before, and will not exist after dissolution, and is limited in between, appears in You as a mere illusion of one taste. Therefore, it is compared to distinctions of wealth or caste, but the wise understand that the play of the mind is false and its nectar is illusory. When the soul, by association with the unborn, takes on qualities through contact with the uncreated, it attains similarity to that, and then, freed from death, is released from its portion. You, too, abandon that form, as a snake sheds its skin, and in Your supreme, immeasurable glory, You are eightfold greater and beyond all measure. If the ascetics do not uproot the tangle of desire from the heart, then You, difficult to attain for the unworthy, remain hidden in the heart, like a jewel forgotten at the throat. For those who are not satisfied in soul, there is suffering on both sides, O Lord, since they have not reached Your state, free from death and firmly established. One who does not know You—the source of all auspicious and inauspicious things—cannot discern the qualities and faults arising from You, nor the words of embodied beings. Yet, in every age, O Lord with qualities, You are sung in unbroken succession, and those who hear of You are led toward liberation by human beings. Even the rulers of heaven could not reach Your end, O Infinite One, nor could the groups of cosmic eggs, known as Sāvarṇas, that exist between You. Just as dust motes float in the sky with the wind, so too do the Vedas, along with time, pass away; but in You, they bear fruit, and by rejecting the unreal, they find their end in You.” Having thus spoken, the Blessed Lord said, “In this way, after hearing this instruction from Brahma, his sons—the Siddhas—honored Sanandana, knowing him to be learned in the path of the Self. The essence of all the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads has thus been distilled by the great souls of earlier times, traveling through the sky. And you, O heir of Brahma, bearing this instruction of the Self with faith, live on this earth as you wish, burning away the desires of men.” Śrī Śuka continued: “Thus, having received the instruction from the sage with faith and self-control, the muni Vīravrata, full in wisdom, spoke.” And Nārada, with deep devotion, declared: “Salutations to that Blessed Lord, Kṛṣṇa, of spotless fame, who bears all the powers of creation and destruction of all beings.