The supreme worship of Śiva, the Lord of gods, begins with reverence and careful ritual. One should first bathe the Lord, the master of all gods and beings, so that all sins may be pacified and washed away. After this sacred bath, offerings are made: a pure cloth to adorn Him, the sacred thread of Śiva, and water for sipping, each act performed with devotion and care. Following this, the worshipper presents fragrance, fresh flowers, incense, a shining lamp, nourishing food, and once again, fragrant water and water for sipping. Each offering is made in proper order, honoring the divine presence. A beautiful, covered crown and ornaments are then placed before the Lord. With the resonance of the Praṇava—the sacred syllable Om—mouth-perfume and other delightful offerings are presented. At this point, the worshipper turns inward and contemplates the Lord: radiant like a flawless crystal, without parts or divisions, imperishable and eternal, the very cause of all the gods and the one who pervades all the worlds. He is the supreme, beyond the grasp of even the greatest: Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Rudra, and the seers and gods themselves. As the Vedas declare, He is beyond the reach of those who know the Vedas and Vedānta, beyond all knowledge and perception. He is without beginning, middle, or end—the remedy for the suffering of worldly existence. This principle of Śiva, the highest reality, is established in the Śivaliṅga. With the Praṇava mantra, one should worship the top of the Liṅga, recite hymns as prescribed, and perform obeisance and circumambulation around the sacred form. After these acts, the worshipper offers arghya—water of respect—and scatters flowers at the feet of the Lord, bowing deeply in humility. Then, one should meditate on Śiva, the Lord of gods, envisioning Him as established within one’s own heart. Thus, the external worship of the Liṅga is completed. Now, the internal worship is to be understood. One should meditate upon the fiery, solar, and immortal disc within, and above it, perceive the three guṇas—qualities—in the heart, and then, in succession, the three selves. Above all these, through the knowledge born of meditation, one worships the great God—formless and yet with all forms—whose very body is half-occupied by His beloved consort. Whatever is to be contemplated in this meditation has been described in many ways. Each person’s contemplation arises according to their own understanding and disposition; it cannot arise otherwise. Therefore, the worshipper must meditate and remember the purpose in this manner, for without such intention, true awakening does not occur. The great Lord dwells in the city of the body, and thus is called Puruṣa—the indweller. He is worshipped by sacrifice, and the worshipper is remembered as such. The supreme Lord is to be meditated upon, for meditation is true contemplation, and the fruit of such contemplation is liberation. Through this, one attains the true nature of the Lord of both Pradhāna (primordial matter) and Puruṣa (spirit). In this inner worship, the twenty-sixth principle is to be meditated upon as Śiva Himself; the meditator is the twenty-fifth, the unmanifest is the twenty-fourth, and then come the seven principles beginning with the great principle (mahat). These are: the great principle, ego, the five subtle elements, the five organs of action, the five organs of perception, the mind, and the five gross elements. Thus, Śiva as the twenty-sixth is the sustainer and creator, the supreme Lord even above Brahmā. Shankara, known also as Rudra, generated Hiranyagarbha—the cosmic golden germ. He transcends the universe, is its very soul, and is known as the form of all things. Just as children cannot be born without both a father and a mother, so too, without Soma, the three worlds cannot exist. If the great God, the supreme self, Maheshvara, is the doer, then He is also the cause of action for all beings with lesser selves. The supreme Lord is eternal, pure, awakened, and without parts. If He is partless and grants liberation, what does He do? Time creates all that is manifest and measures itself; even the mind contemplates the partless, and that too is partless. By His action, the whole world is established. The eightfold form of the world belonging to the God of gods is thus: without space, the world cannot exist; nor without earth, wind, fire, water, nor the sacrificer. Without the sun and moon, the world would not be. All these are forms of the Lord; thus, all that moves and does not move is the gross form of Rudra. The seers speak of the subtle, which cannot be expressed in words, O best of the twice-born; for both words and the mind turn back from it, unable to reach it. Knowing the bliss of Brahman, the wise have no fear from anywhere; so too, knowing the bliss of Pinākin (Śiva), there is nothing to fear. Recognizing the manifestations of Rudra everywhere, the seers of truth declare: “All is Rudra.” With constant reverence and salutation to the supreme Lord, one realizes that all is indeed Brahman, all is Rudra, the Lord. The Puruṣa is truly Mahādeva, the great Lord, the supreme Śiva, pervading all. Meditation is contemplation on Him alone. By the fourfold path, one examines and considers that the cause of worldly existence is saṃsāra, and the cause of liberation is release. The fourfold division has been described for the contemplative yogi; though there are many kinds of contemplation, all are united in the supreme Lord. Thus, it is taught without doubt: Rudra is in Raudrī, Indrī in Indra, Saumya in Soma, and Nārāyaṇī in Nārāyaṇa. Considering everything in the sun, in fire, and everywhere, one should establish in thought the unity: “She is I, I am He,” in this twofold manner. He who lacks this understanding is not a true devotee; there is no doubt that such a person’s contemplation is not Brahmanic. Therefore, O Brahmin, first meditate on all that moves and does not move as pervaded by Brahman. One should abandon the distinction between moving and unmoving, letting go of attachment and aversion, of what is attainable and unattainable, of what should be done and not done. For one who is not fully content, there is no Brahmanic state; it cannot be otherwise. Thus, the order of inner worship has been described. Those who perform this inner worship are to be honored with salutations and respect; even if they are deformed or misshapen, speakers of Brahman are never to be reviled. All those who practice inner worship should not be judged by the wise; those who scorn them, lacking understanding, will themselves encounter distress.