The wise understand that the many differences seen in the world—diversity among qualities and beings—arise only from differences in understanding and perception. Actions performed and offered to me, the Supreme, can lead either to bondage or to liberation, depending on the intent and awareness behind them. The ties that bind the soul are known as afflictions—these are the fetters that keep the self entangled in the cycle of worldly existence. At the root of all this is prakriti, the unmanifest primordial nature, which is the power abiding in me. All the evolutes of creation, beginning with the great principle (mahat), arise from me, the eternal Lord of gods. Those who have realized the truth call me the supreme, primeval Person—the source from whom all creation flows. It is by my grace that a creature crosses the dreadful ocean of worldly existence. I alone am the blessed one, the sole and supreme Lord. The root cause of all creation is called māyā—my divine illusion—from which this entire world has arisen. From māyā were born the subtle elements, the great elements, and the senses themselves. Within that māyā, the great Brahmā was born, empowered and strengthened by my own force. Yet, deluded by my māyā, beings do not see me as their true father, though māyā is their supreme source. Those who know the truth recognize me alone as the father of all. The steadfast one, who perceives this reality in all worlds, does not fall into delusion. I am the Lord, embodied in the sacred syllable Om, as well as in Brahmā and Prajāpati. The one who perceives the imperishable reality amidst all that perishes—he alone truly sees. Such a person does not harm himself by his own actions, and so attains the highest state. He who knows the function of pradhāna, the primal substance, reaches the supreme Brahman. The six limbs of the Great Lord are declared, along with the nature of bondage and its application by him. The Great Lord is the Person, the embodiment of truth, the one seed from which the universe grows—the one god. Those versed in the Vedas call him Mahadeva, the Great God. He, being supremely wise, stands beyond even the wisest. When the sages asked, “Tell us, O Mahadeva of universal form, how you manifest in all,” the answer was given: Here, the cause of all is Māyā, and it depends upon the Self. Because of this cause, the manifest world arose from the unmanifest. I alone am the supreme Brahman; truly, nothing else exists apart from me. This is the true illustration of unity and diversity: all forms are one in essence, yet appear as many. O twice-born, it is said that the Self is without cause, and so there is no fault or blemish in it. In that highest heaven, the unmanifest, eternal, and solitary, shines forth. Only by union with me does one attain the eternal, beginningless, and endless state. This state abides without beginning or middle, and is joined to the manifest world only by ignorance. That imperishable, supreme light is the highest abode of Vishnu. That alone is the entire world; knowing this, one is liberated. The wise, knowing the bliss of Brahman, fear nothing at all. One who has become identified with Brahman is perpetually joyful and delights in the Self. Having reached that supreme state, one does not return to the cycle of birth and death. That radiant, pure, sky-like abode is the final, eternal resting place—the supreme goal of all beings.