The Lord spoke with firm authority, declaring, “There is no other command but mine; this is my unshakable decree. All those who belong to the social orders and seek refuge in me must follow the path I have prescribed. By my grace, they are freed from the bonds of impurity and illusion. Attaining my supreme state—a place from which few return—they become like me and experience true bliss. Therefore, whether or not one has fulfilled the social duties I have ordained, if he is my devotee and relies upon me, let him strive to uplift his own self by his own effort. Even the sincere attempt to follow this path is worth millions of times more than ordinary pursuits. Thus, having received the duties of life from my own lips, one should earnestly practice them. My incarnations, O most auspicious one, appear in the world as teachers of yoga, and in every age, noble lineages arise by the thousands. For those who are unfit, who lack understanding and devotion, O Lady of the gods, knowledge of these lineages is difficult to obtain; therefore, one must seek it diligently. To stray from this path is a great loss—a deep defect, a delusion, a blindness, and a muteness—when one’s efforts are spent elsewhere, away from the road to liberation. O Lady of the gods, know that knowledge, action, conduct, and yoga—these four are declared to be my eternal dharma. Knowledge means understanding the soul, bondage, and the Lord. Action is the ritual purification of the six paths, performed according to rule and under the guidance of a teacher. Conduct is the observance of the duties I have prescribed for those engaged in the various varṇas and āśramas, as well as for my worship and related dharmas. Yoga is the restraint of the mind’s fluctuations, following the very path I have taught, with the mind established in me. O goddess, the calming of the mind is superior to a thousand horse sacrifices; it alone grants liberation, though it is difficult for those still attached to sense objects. Yoga is for those who have subdued their senses through discipline and restraint and for the truly dispassionate; it destroys the sins of the past. From dispassion arises knowledge, and from knowledge, yoga unfolds. One who knows yoga, or even one who has fallen from it, is liberated—of this there is no doubt. Compassion must always be practiced, along with nonviolence and the constant gathering of knowledge. Truthfulness, non-stealing, faith, self-control, teaching and study, performing and officiating at sacrifices—these are all to be observed. Meditation, a sense of divinity, and unwavering devotion to knowledge—whoever acts thus, as a brāhmaṇa, attains success in the yoga of knowledge. Very soon, having attained realization and yoga, the knower burns away this body in an instant with the fire of knowledge, O beloved. By my grace, the knower of yoga abandons the bondage of karma, for both good and evil actions are obstacles to liberation. Therefore, by my command, the yogi should renounce both merit and demerit. It is desire for the fruit of actions that binds one, not the mere performance of action; thus, one should renounce the fruits of action. First, through the sacrifice of action, one should worship me outwardly, O beloved. Then, being devoted to knowledge and yoga, one should practice yoga. When my true nature is known, embodied beings do not worship me with the sacrifice of action—they become equanimous toward clod, stone, and gold. The ever-engaged, supreme sage—my devoted and concentrated yogi—absorbed in knowledge and yoga, attains union with me. But those among the twice-born who, though not fully dispassionate, have taken refuge in me, should engage only in knowledge, conduct, and action, as is appropriate for them. Know that my worship is of two kinds: external and internal. Likewise, my devotion is threefold—through speech, mind, and body. Austerity, ritual action, recitation, meditation, and knowledge—these five are described by the wise as forms of devotion to me. External worship, such as offerings and rituals, is known through others; but what is experienced within is called internal. A mind inclined toward me is not merely called mind; speech devoted to my name is truly speech, and the body marked with emblems prescribed by my teachings, such as the tripuṇḍra and others, and engaged in my service, is truly a body. External worship consists of rituals such as offerings. However, mortifying the body for my sake, through severe penances, is not my teaching. Recitation is the repeated practice of the five-syllable mantra and the praṇava, and the study of Rudra hymns and the like—but not the mere recitation of the Vedas and similar texts. Meditation is contemplation on my form—not mere absorption in the self or other objects; and knowledge is understanding the meaning of my scriptures, not knowledge of other things. Whether externally or internally, wherever the mind finds delight, O Devi, one should steadfastly practice the truth, according to previous tendencies. Internal worship is superior to external, being endowed with greater merit, for it is free from the faults of external acts and is not subject to their mixture. Know that purity is internal; external purity is not truly purity. One whose inner self is free from impurity is pure, even if outwardly impure. Both external and internal devotion must be accompanied by feeling, O Devi; without feeling, it is only a cause of disappointment. What can people do for me, who am accomplished and pure, whether externally or internally? For I accept only the inner feeling. O Devi, action whose essence is feeling is my eternal law—performed by mind, deed, or speech, without any expectation of result. O Lady of the gods, when performed for the sake of reward, my shelter is weak; for one who seeks results may abandon me if the result is not attained. Yet, O blameless one, even for those who desire results, if their mind is fixed on me, I grant them results according to their devotion.