In this world, there are those who strive diligently to control their restless minds—minds as difficult to master as wild horses. They attempt to harness their senses and breath, hoping to subdue their thoughts. Yet, if they neglect to seek shelter at the feet of the Guru, their struggle brings only endless misery, just as merchants adrift on the vast ocean, having abandoned their helmsman, are left to the mercy of the waves and are lost at sea. When You, O Supreme Lord, exist, what true value is there in relying on the fleeting support of relatives, children, one’s own self, spouse, wealth, home, or chariots? Those who do not recognize this truth wander endlessly, seeking pleasure through worldly unions, but who among them truly finds happiness? For when their own share is denied and their portion lost, joy eludes them. On this earth, however, there are sages who are purified by visiting holy places and sacred abodes. Their hearts have been cleansed by the waters that have washed Your lotus feet. Even if they fix their minds upon You only once, O eternal bliss within, they never again seek the company of those who rob men of their true essence. Some claim that all things arise from the existent, but such reasoning is flawed, for it is inconsistent and sometimes false, never truly combining both the existent and the non-existent. In practical dealings, people make distinctions, but these are merely traditions passed down without understanding. Speech, with all its elaborate forms, only confuses those who are dull-witted from mere ritual recitation. Whatever did not exist before, and will not exist after dissolution, and is limited in between, appears within You as a mere illusion—of one taste. Therefore, such distinctions, like those of wealth or caste, are illusory. The wise understand that the play of the mind is false and its apparent sweetness is but a mirage. When the soul, by association with the unborn, takes on qualities through contact with the uncreated, it becomes similar to that. Freed from death, it is released from its portion. Even You, O Lord, abandon that form, as a snake sheds its skin, and in Your supreme, immeasurable glory, You are ever greater, beyond all measure. If ascetics do not uproot the tangled desires from their hearts, then You, who are difficult to attain for the unworthy, remain hidden within, like a precious jewel forgotten at one’s throat. For those not satisfied in soul, suffering arises on both sides, O Lord, for they have not reached Your deathless, firmly established state. 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, O Lord of qualities, in every age You are sung in unbroken succession, and those who hear of You are led toward liberation by their fellow humans. Even the rulers of heaven could not reach Your end, O Infinite One, nor could the countless cosmic eggs, called 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 within You, they find their fulfillment, and by rejecting the unreal, they come to rest in You. The Blessed Lord then spoke: After hearing this profound instruction from Brahmā, his sons—the Siddhas—honored Sanandana, who knew the path of the Self. Thus, the very essence of all the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads was drawn out by the great souls of earlier times, traveling through the heavens. And you, O heir of Brahmā, bearing this teaching of the Self with faith, live upon this earth as you wish, burning away the desires of men. Śrī Śuka continued: Having received this instruction from the sage, with faith and self-control, the wise muni Vīravrata, full and learned, then spoke. Śrī Nārada said: Salutations to that Blessed Lord, Kṛṣṇa, of spotless fame, who holds within Himself all the powers of creation and destruction. Thus, after bowing to the ancient sage and his noble disciples, I, Nārada, went to the ashram of my father, Dvaipāyana. Honored by the Blessed Lord and having accepted a seat, Dvaipāyana then narrated to him what he had heard from the very lips of Nārāyaṇa. Thus, O King, I have described what you asked: how the mind may dwell upon Brahman, who is beyond all definition and without qualities. He who observes the beginning, middle, and end of this universe, who is Lord of the unmanifest, of living beings, and of the rulers; who, having created the world, enters into it and, through the seers, governs it; whom, upon attaining, the embodied soul abandons, just as a sleeping bird leaves its nest—upon that Hari, whose unique existence is untouched by origin and who is fearless, one should meditate constantly. Thus ends the eighty-seventh chapter, entitled “The Prayers of the Vedas,” in the second half of the Tenth Book of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the paramahaṃsas. The king then inquired: Among gods, demons, and humans, it is mostly the wealthy rulers who worship the inauspicious as if it were auspicious, but not the devotees of Hari, the Lord of Lakṣmī. We wish to understand this, for we have great doubt: why do those who worship two lords of opposing natures attain opposite results? Śuka replied: Śiva, always united with his power, is threefold, enveloped by the guṇas—he is of the nature of sattva, rajas, and tamas; thus, I am threefold. From him arose various transformations, sixteen in number, and, assuming the forms of all manifestations, he attains the state of all. Hari, however, stands directly beyond the guṇas, the Supreme Person, transcendent to nature; he is the witness of all, the overseer. By worshipping him, one becomes free from the guṇas. When the great aśvamedha sacrifices had ceased, your grandfather, the king, having heard of the Lord’s dharmas, asked this very question of Acyuta. The Blessed Lord, pleased with his attentive service, spoke to him for the highest good of men—he who descended in the Yadu line. The Blessed Lord said: When I show special favor to someone, I gradually take away his wealth; then, his relatives abandon him, and he, afflicted by suffering, suffers further. When, frustrated in his efforts and disillusioned with the pursuit of wealth, he befriends my devotees, I bestow my grace upon him. That supreme, subtle Brahman, consisting only of consciousness, eternal and infinite—knowing it as the Self, the wise one is freed from saṃsāra. Therefore, people, finding me very difficult to worship, turn to others; then, intoxicated and arrogant from the quick boons they receive—kingdoms and prosperity—they become proud, reckless, and, seeking further boons, disregard me. Śuka continued: Of the lords of blessing and curse—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and others—Śiva quickly grants boons or curses, Brahmā does not, and Acyuta never does so immediately. Let me recount an ancient tale: Having granted a boon to Vṛkāsura, the Lord of the Mountain, Śiva, fell into distress. There was an asura named Vṛka, son of Śakuni. On his path, he encountered Nārada and, being of evil intent, asked him which of the three gods was quickest to be pleased. Nārada directed him: “Approach Girisha (Śiva), for you will succeed. He is easily pleased or angered, even by the smallest virtue or fault.” Just as he was pleased by the praises of Rāvaṇa and Bāṇa, granting them incomparable power, but then they fell into great distress. Thus instructed, the demon hurried to Śiva, offering his own flesh into the mouth of Hara, who is fire, as an oblation. On the seventh day, failing to obtain the presence of the god and driven by despair, he cut off his own head with a sharp blade, his hair soaked at that holy place. Then, the great compassionate one, Dhurjati (Śiva), just as we might, like fire springing from a flame, restrained him with his arms, preventing him from falling, and restored his form, now more splendid than before. Śiva said to him, “Enough, Angala! Choose a boon from me as you desire; I will grant it to you. I am pleased even by water offered by those who surrender, but you have tormented yourself excessively and in vain.” That sinful one then asked the god for a boon that would bring terror to all beings: “Whosoever’s head I touch with my hand, let him die.