Yājñavalkya, the wise sage, was teaching King Janaka of Videha about the nature of the Self. He explained, “This Self is not this, not this—it is beyond all descriptions. It cannot be grasped, for it is ungraspable. It does not decay, for it is undecaying. It is unattached, for it does not cling to anything. It does not suffer.” Hearing this, Yājñavalkya declared, “You have attained fearlessness, Janaka.” The king, deeply moved, bowed and said, “Salutations to you, Yājñavalkya. May this fearlessness abide with us always. You have truly made us understand fearlessness. May it also come to you, for you have granted us this knowledge. These are the Videhas, but I am this Self.” Eager to delve further, Janaka approached Yājñavalkya, resolved to challenge him in debate. Together, they performed the sacred Agnihotra sacrifice. Pleased, Yājñavalkya offered Janaka a boon, and the king asked to question him about desire. The sage agreed, and so, as before, Janaka began his inquiries. “O Yājñavalkya, what is the light of this person?” he asked. Yājñavalkya replied, “The sun is his light, O King. By the sun’s light, a person sits, moves about, does his work, and then returns.” Janaka agreed, “So it is, Yājñavalkya.” Janaka continued, “When the sun has set, what then is the light of this person?” Yājñavalkya answered, “The moon is his light, O King. By the moon’s light, he sits, moves about, works, and returns.” Again, Janaka affirmed this. But Janaka pressed on, “When the sun has set, and the moon has set, what then is the light by which this person lives?” Yājñavalkya said, “Fire is his light, O King. With fire as his light, he sits, moves about, performs actions, and returns.” Janaka acknowledged this too. Still, Janaka asked, “When the sun has set, the moon has set, and the fire is extinguished, what then is the light by which this person lives?” Yājñavalkya replied, “Speech is his light, O King. With speech as his light, he sits, moves about, performs actions, and returns. Even when one cannot see his own hand in the darkness, if a voice calls out, he moves toward it.” Janaka agreed, “So it is, Yājñavalkya.” Janaka’s questions grew deeper. “When the sun and moon have set, the fire is extinguished, and speech is silent, what then is the light by which this person lives?” Yājñavalkya answered, “The Self is his light, O King. With the Self as his light, he sits, moves about, performs actions, and returns.” Janaka then asked, “Which is the Self?” Yājñavalkya explained, “It is that person made of knowledge among the vital breaths, the inner light within the heart. Ever the same, this Self moves through both worlds. It appears to think, to move, to be intelligent—becoming a dreamer, it passes beyond this world.” He continued, “When this person is born, he enters a body and is joined with the evils of the world. At death, he departs upward, casting off evil—the forms of death.” “This person has two abodes: this world and the other world. There is a third, intermediate state—the dream. Standing in this place between, he sees both this world and the next. When he enters the other world, he experiences both the fruits of evil and of joy. When he sleeps, carrying the impressions of this world, he destroys and creates them himself, shining by his own light. In sleep, this person becomes his own light.” “In that state, there are no chariots, no charioteers, no roads, yet he creates them all. There are no joys or pleasures, yet he creates joys and pleasures. There are no ponds, rivers, or lotus pools, yet he creates them. For he is the creator in the dream.” Yājñavalkya recited verses about this mystery: “In sleep, the person, having laid aside the body, shines in his own light. Taking the pure essence, he returns to his place—the golden person, the solitary swan. Protecting the nest with the breath, the immortal one moves outside, and having wandered, returns as he wishes, the golden person, the solitary swan.” “At the end of the dream, the deity within creates many forms, moving among higher and lower shapes—sometimes enjoying, sometimes eating, sometimes seeing fearful things. Others see his pleasure garden, but none see him. They say, ‘Let no one wake him there.’ If he does not return when called, he becomes difficult to cure.” “Some say, ‘This is just his waking world,’ for whatever is seen while awake is also seen in dreams. Here, this person becomes his own light.” Janaka responded, “So it is, Yājñavalkya. Revered sir, I give you a thousand coins. Now, tell me more for the sake of liberation.” Yājñavalkya continued, “Indeed, having enjoyed, moved about, and seen both merit and sin in the dream, he returns again, each to its own place, for the sake of awakening. Whatever he sees there, not followed by anything else, by that he becomes, for this person is unattached.” Janaka again offered a thousand coins, asking for further teaching. Yājñavalkya repeated, “Having enjoyed, moved about, and seen both merit and sin in the dream, he returns again, each to its own place, for the sake of awakening. Whatever he sees there, not followed by anything else, by that he becomes, for this person is unattached.” Janaka, ever eager, again gave a thousand coins and requested more wisdom. “And,” Yājñavalkya added, “having enjoyed, moved about, and seen both merit and sin in the waking state, he returns again, each to its own place, for the sake of dreaming. Just as a great fish moves along both banks of a river, so this person moves between the boundaries of dream and waking. And just as a bird or swan, flying in the sky, wearies and folds its wings, so too does this person hasten to that state where, in sleep, he desires nothing and sees no dream.” He described the subtle channels of the body, as fine as a hair split a thousand times, filled with various colors. When one feels struck, subdued, grasped, or cast into darkness, or sees frightening things while awake, that is the fear born of ignorance. But when one thinks, ‘I am the king, I am the divine, I am all this,’ that is his highest world. In deep sleep, he desires nothing and sees no dream. “This,” Yājñavalkya said, “is the true desire of the Self, fulfilled, without further longing. Its form is like this: just as when embraced by a beloved, one is not aware of anything outside or inside, so too, embraced by the intelligent Self, one is not aware of anything else.” “This is the state of complete freedom, untouched by evil, without boundaries, pure inner joy without sorrow. Here, the father is no longer a father, the mother no longer a mother, the worlds are not worlds, the gods are not gods, the Vedas are not Vedas, the sacrifice is not a sacrifice. Here, the thief is not a thief, the killer of a fetus is not a killer of a fetus, the outcaste is not an outcaste, the mendicant is not a mendicant, the ascetic is not an ascetic. He is untouched by good or evil, having crossed all sorrows of the heart, he becomes free from them.” Yājñavalkya then spoke of perception in this highest state: “When he does not see, yet seeing must be understood here. He does not see, for there is no cessation of the seer’s seeing, as it is imperishable. Nor is there anything else to see. The same is true for smelling, tasting, speaking, hearing, thinking, touching, and knowing—there is no cessation of these, for the Self is imperishable, and there is no second thing apart from it.” “If there were something else, then one would see another, smell another, taste another, speak to another, hear another, think of another, touch another, or know another. But like water, he alone exists—the seer, without a second. This is the world of Brahman, O Emperor. This is the highest attainment, the supreme state, the highest world, the highest bliss. All other beings live on just a fraction of this bliss.” Yājñavalkya described the gradations of bliss: “Among men, the happiest is one who is prosperous, fulfilled, lord over others, and enjoys all human pleasures. A hundredfold of this is the bliss of the ancestors who have won their world. A hundredfold of that is the bliss of the gods who have attained divinity through their actions. A hundredfold of that is the bliss of the gods by birth, and of one who is learned, sinless, and free from desire. A hundredfold of that is the bliss of the world of Prajapati, and of one who is learned, sinless, and free from desire. A hundredfold of that is the bliss of the world of Brahman, and of one who is learned, sinless, and free from desire. This is the world of Brahman, O Emperor. This is immortality.” Janaka, grateful, said, “I give you a thousand, O Revered One. Teach me further for liberation.” Yājñavalkya repeated, “Among men, the happiest is one who is prosperous, fulfilled, lord over others, and endowed with all enjoyments. A hundredfold of this is the bliss of the ancestors, a hundredfold of that is the bliss of the gandharvas, a hundredfold of that is the bliss of the gods by action, a hundredfold of that is the bliss of the gods by birth and of the learned, sinless, and desireless. A hundredfold of that is the bliss of Prajapati’s world, and a hundredfold of that is the bliss of Brahman’s world. This is the highest bliss, the world of Brahman, O Emperor.” Janaka again gave a thousand coins and asked for more teaching. Seeing Janaka’s wisdom, Yājñavalkya grew cautious, thinking, “The wise king will surpass us all.” Yājñavalkya then spoke of the journey of the Self: “After enjoying and moving about in this state between waking and sleep, seeing both merit and demerit, the Self returns again, by the same path, to each new birth, for the completion of knowledge. Just as a heavily loaded cart moves along, so does this embodied Self, mounted on the intelligent Self, move on, leaving the body when the upward breath departs.” “When this Self reaches its subtle state—whether through old age or by being struck down—it departs from the body, just as a ripe mango, fig, or berry is released from its stalk. In the same way, this person, being released from these limbs, returns again, by the same path, to each new birth, sustained by the vital breath.” Thus did Yājñavalkya reveal the profound mysteries of the Self, the states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, the gradations of bliss, and the journey of the soul, leading Janaka ever closer to the knowledge of liberation.