Listen, O descendant of Yadu, to the wisdom revealed by the great sages. If a person is pure within, devoted to Shiva, and sings his praise with unwavering confidence, yet finds that the fruits of his devotion are hindered by powerful past actions, he should persist in his practice again and again. For such a soul, nothing in this world is truly difficult to attain. This entire universe, both moving and unmoving, is the very form of the God of gods, Shiva. Yet, those who are weighed down by the fetters of ignorance and attachment fail to perceive this truth. The sages, not fully knowing the supreme, undivided reality, speak of that one alone as manifold, describing him in countless ways. Some declare that the supreme Lord is both the lower and higher form of Brahman. He is without beginning or end, the great god, the highest. The lower Brahman is said to be made up of elements, senses, mind, primordial nature, and worldly objects, while the higher Brahman is pure consciousness. Because of its greatness or because it causes everything to grow, it is called Brahman. Both these—lower and higher—are forms of Brahman, the Lord of Brahman, the master. Some call him the form of both knowledge and ignorance. Knowledge is consciousness; ignorance is non-consciousness. This entire universe, created by the supreme teacher, consists of both knowledge and ignorance. There is no doubt that the universe is Shiva’s very form, for it is under his control. Illusion is called knowledge, and the supreme form of Shiva is known as the highest. Mistaken understanding of objects in many ways is called illusion, while awareness that accords with the true nature of things is knowledge. The reality that is free from distinctions is called the supreme; what is not real is termed ‘non-being’ by those who expound the Veda. Because Shiva is the lord of both, he is called the master of being and non-being. The wise say he is both perishable and imperishable, and also beyond both. All beings are perishable; the imperishable is called the unchanging. Both these are forms of the Supreme Lord, for they are under his control. Of these two, Shiva is said to be supreme, peaceful, and beyond both perishable and imperishable. He is both the collective and the individual, and the cause of both. Some sages say that Shiva is the supreme cause; they call the collective unmanifest and the individual manifest. These two forms of the Supreme Lord arise from his will. Because they are causes, Shiva is the supreme cause. Those who understand the meaning of cause say he is the cause of both the collective and the individual. Some call the Lord the essence of class and individual. That which persists in groups is called ‘class’; ‘individual’ is the distinct form, the support of group and class. Classes and individuals are governed by his command; therefore, the great god is remembered as the embodiment of class and individual. Shiva is described as the essence of primordial matter, the person, the manifest, and time. Primordial matter is called nature, and the person is known as the knower of the field. The wise declare that the manifest consists of twenty-three principles; time is the sole cause of the transformation of the world of effects. Shiva is the lord, the ruler, the creator, the initiator and withdrawer—the one cause of appearance and disappearance, self-sovereign and unborn. Therefore, the one who possesses the nature of primordial matter, person, manifest, and time is declared to be their cause, ruler, and creator—Maheshvara. Some call the Lord the cosmic person and the soul of Hiranyagarbha. Hiranyagarbha is the cause of the worlds, and Virat is the soul of the universe. Poets speak of Shiva as the inner controller and the transcendent. Others call him the soul of intelligence, luminosity, and the universe. Some declare him to be the fourth state; others know him as gentle; still others call him mother, measure, the measured, and intellect. Some say he is the agent, the action, the object, the instrument, and the cause; others declare him to be the self of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Some call him the fourth state, others say he is beyond the fourth. Some say he is without qualities, while others know him as possessing qualities. Some say he is bound to transmigration, others say he is not; some declare him independent, while others know him as not independent. Some declare him to be terrible, others know him as gentle; some say he is attached, while others say he is free from attachment. Some say he is inactive, while others declare him active; some say he is without senses, and others say he possesses senses. Some declare him to be constant, others say he is inconstant; some say he is formless, while others know him as possessing form. Some say he is invisible, others know him as visible; some declare him expressible, while others say he is inexpressible; some say he is of the nature of sound, and others that he is beyond sound. Some say he is made of thought, others that he is free from thought; some declare him to be knowledge, and others consciousness. Some say he is knowable, others that he is unknowable; some call him the supreme alone, while others say he is the other. Thus, while being distinguished in so many ways, the true nature of the Supreme Lord is not determined by the sages, due to the diversity of their convictions. But those who have surrendered to the Supreme Lord with all their being, they indeed know Shiva, the ultimate cause, effortlessly. Bound by fetters, one remains in suffering within this cycle of existence, moving as the rim of a wheel turns. When the ignorant person shakes off virtue and vice, he becomes stainless and attains the highest equality. The bondage of the atomic self is not of Shiva; it is produced only by Māyā, by nature, or by knowledge, and takes the form of ego. There is no mental bondage for him, nor bondage of consciousness, nor of the senses; nor is there bondage by subtle elements, nor by gross elements—not at all.