Hear now of the greatness of Shiva, the supreme mystery revered by the wise. He is called the master of being and non-being, for he is the lord of both existence and non-existence. Those of understanding declare that he is both perishable and imperishable, and yet transcends even these distinctions. All beings in this world are perishable—subject to change and decay—while the imperishable is that which remains unchanging. Both these, however, are but forms of the Supreme Lord, for all are held within his power. Of these two, Shiva alone is recognized as the highest, the peaceful one, beyond both the perishable and the imperishable. He is at once the collective and the individual, the very cause of both. Some sages proclaim Shiva as the supreme cause of all; they describe the collective as the unmanifest, and the individual as the manifest. These two forms arise from his will alone, and because they are themselves causes, Shiva is the ultimate cause behind all. Those who truly understand causality declare that he is the cause of both the collective and the individual, the very essence underlying both class and individual. What persists within groups is called ‘class,’ while ‘individual’ is the distinct form that supports both the group and the class. These classes and individuals are governed by his command; thus, the great god is remembered as the embodiment of both class and individual. Shiva is further described as the essence of primordial matter, the person, the manifest, and time itself. Primordial matter is known as nature, while the person is the knower of the field. The wise declare that the manifest consists of twenty-three principles, and time alone is the cause for the transformation of the world and its effects. He is the lord, the ruler, the creator, the initiator and the withdrawer—the one cause behind all 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, their ruler, and their creator—Maheshvara, the Great Lord. Some call this Lord the cosmic person, the soul of Hiranyagarbha; for 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 itself. Some declare him to be the fourth state beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep; others know him as gentle; still others call him mother, measure, the measured, and intellect. There are those who say he is the agent, the action, the object, the instrument, and the cause; others declare him to be the self present in all three states—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Some call him the fourth state, others say he is beyond even that; some say he is without qualities, while others know him as possessing all 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 all attachment. Some say he is inactive, while others declare him active; some say he is without senses, and others say he possesses all 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, 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, others, consciousness itself. Some say he is knowable, others that he is unknowable; some call him the supreme alone, while others say he is the other. Thus, even while being described in countless ways, the true nature of the Supreme Lord remains undetermined by the sages, owing to the diversity of their convictions. But those who surrender themselves wholly to the Supreme Lord, with all their being, these alone come to know Shiva, the ultimate cause, with effortless ease. Bound by fetters, the soul remains in the suffering of this endless cycle of existence, turning like the rim of a wheel. When the ignorant one casts off both virtue and vice, he becomes stainless and attains the highest state of equality. Know this: the bondage of the atomic self is not of Shiva. It arises only from Māyā, or from nature, or from knowledge, and takes the form of ego. For Shiva, there is no mental bondage, nor bondage of consciousness or of the senses; neither the subtle nor the gross elements bind him, not in the least. Neither time nor its divisions, neither knowledge nor destiny, neither attachment nor aversion bind the infinitely radiant Shambhu. He is untouched by fixation, by good or bad actions, by their results, or by the pleasure and pain that arise from them. He is not connected by intentions, nor by impressions of actions or enjoyments, nor by anything related to past, present, or future. He has no cause, no agent, no beginning, no end, no intermediary; for him, neither action nor instrument, object nor result exists. He has neither friend nor foe, neither controller nor instigator; neither master nor teacher nor protector, neither superior nor equal. He knows neither birth nor death, neither desired nor undesired; for him, there is neither injunction nor prohibition, neither liberation nor bondage. Nothing inauspicious ever exists for him at any time; all auspiciousness is ever present, for Shiva is the supreme Self. That Shiva, established in everything by his own powers, remains unshaken in his own nature; therefore, he is called the Immovable. Since the entire world, both stationary and moving, is established by Shiva, he is remembered as Sarva, the one of all forms. Knowing this, one is never deluded. Thus, with reverence, salutations are offered to Sharva, to Rudra, to the Supreme, to the great Person, golden-armed, the blessed one, golden-lord, the ruler of all.