O sage, for the yogin who longs for liberation, the path lies in practices such as breath-control and related disciplines. The ultimate goal is the supreme Brahman—a state from which there is no return. The knowledge that supports these means to liberation is the first distinction of what has become Brahman. This is the foundation for the yogin’s journey. The second aspect is the knowledge that upholds the very object the yogin seeks: Brahman itself, the release from all suffering. But there is a third, higher state—a non-dual knowledge in which the means and the goal are no longer separate, where all distinctions vanish. This is the purest form of realization. The special nature of these three kinds of knowledge is revealed by their very negation, just as the true Self is revealed when all false attributes are set aside. The essence of the Self is actionless, indescribable, and all-pervading. It is incomparable, apprehended only through self-realization, and is characterized solely by pure existence. This Brahman is tranquil, fearless, and supremely pure. It is difficult to comprehend and depends on nothing. This knowledge, which is the very nature of Viṣṇu, is called Brahman. When even knowledge itself ceases, yogins dissolve into this state, abandoning the pull of worldly existence and attaining seedless absorption. Thus, the supreme state called Viṣṇu is pure, eternal, all-pervading, imperishable, and utterly free from all that is to be cast aside. The yogin reaches this supreme Brahman—never to return—when all demerit has ended, all afflictions are exhausted, and purity is complete. This Brahman, O sage, has two forms: one with form and one formless—these are the perishable and the imperishable, abiding in all beings. The imperishable is the supreme Brahman; the perishable is this entire world. Just as the rays of fire, though the fire itself is in one place, spread out in all directions, so too is this whole world the power of the Supreme Brahman. Within this power, there are differences—much and little—arising from nearness and distance, just as with the rays of fire. Among these powers, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva are the chief manifestations of Brahman. From them, the other gods arise, and from them, the lesser beings like Dakṣa. From these, humans, cattle, wild animals, birds, reptiles, plants, shrubs, and all other lesser beings came into existence. This imperishable, eternal reality, guarded by the great sages, appears and disappears, undergoing birth and destruction in many ways. Viṣṇu, filled with all powers, is the supreme form of Brahman. At the beginning of their practice, yogis contemplate his embodied form. This is the great yoga with support, established in seed, where realization arises when the mind is undisturbed and properly concentrated. He is supreme, immediately following the supreme powers of Brahman—embodied Brahman, Hari, the very essence of all Brahman. In him, the entire universe is woven and interwoven, O sage. Therefore, he is the world within this world; he is the entire universe. Viṣṇu, the Lord, composed of both the perishable and the imperishable, sustains everything, manifesting as the unmanifested person, as ornaments and weapons. Hearing this, Maitreya inquires: “Please explain how the Blessed Viṣṇu, abiding as the essence of ornaments and weapons, sustains the entire universe.” Parāśara replies: “Bowing to the immeasurable, all-powerful Viṣṇu, I will relate as it was told to me by Vasiṣṭha, O fortunate one. The Blessed Hari, in the form of the Kaustubha gem, bears the self of this world—untouched, without qualities, and pure. The principal intellect abides in Mādhava as the form of the mace, together with the mark of Śrīvatsa, supported by the infinite. The Lord bears the elements, the senses, and the twofold ego in the forms of the conch and the bow Śārṅga. He holds the mind—restless and swift as the wind—in the form of the discus, established in his hand. The garland Vaijayantī, with its five forms, is the collection of the causes of beings, and is called the garland of beings. All the senses, both of knowledge and action, are his arrows; Janārdana bears them all. The spotless sword which Acyuta bears is knowledge itself, established in the sheath of ignorance. Thus, O Maitreya, the Lord Hṛṣīkeśa contains within himself all this: primordial matter, intellect, ego, the elements, the mind, all the senses, knowledge, and ignorance. Though formless, Hari assumes the forms of weapons and ornaments, taking on the form of māyā for the welfare of living beings. The lotus-eyed Lord sustains both the transformed primordial matter and the entire universe of beings; in this way, the Supreme Lord upholds all. Whatever is knowledge, whatever is ignorance, whatever is real, unreal, or imperishable—all this, O Maitreya, is in Madhusudana, the Lord of all beings. Through the divisions of time—kalās, kāṣṭhās, nimeṣas, days, seasons, years—the Blessed, sinless, and imperishable Hari is the very form of time. The seven worlds—earth, atmosphere, heaven, Mahar, Janas, Tapas, and Satya—are all pervaded by the Supreme. Hari himself, the support of all knowledge, abides as the soul and form of all worlds, and is the ancient origin even of the ancients. Abiding in many forms—of gods, humans, animals, and others—the infinite Lord of all, the source of beings, possesses both form and formlessness. The Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas, as well as the Atharva Veda, the Itihāsas, the Upavedas, and the teachings found in the Vedāntas—all the Vedāṅgas, the sayings of Manu and others, all the śāstras, narratives, and whatever recitations exist anywhere—are all contained within him, the Supreme Lord.