The sage pondered deeply: “When I depart, from what shall I truly depart? And when I remain, in what shall I truly remain?” With this contemplation, he perceived the origin of all things. He recognized that the vital force was first created; from this vital force arose faith, then space, air, fire, water, earth, the senses, and the mind. From the mind came food, and from food, virility, austerity, Vedic hymns, actions, worlds, and within these worlds, names. He saw that, just as all rivers flow toward the ocean and, upon merging with it, their individual names and forms vanish and only the ocean remains, so too do the sixteen parts of a being—each destined for union with the person—dissolve when they reach that person. Their names and forms disappear, and only the person remains, whole and immortal, without any divisions. To illustrate this, he recited a verse: “Just as the spokes of a wheel are fixed in its hub, so are all these parts established in the person. Know that person, so that death may never trouble you.” Turning to his disciples, the sage declared, “This is the extent of my knowledge of the Supreme Brahman; there is nothing higher than this.” Filled with reverence, his disciples worshipped him, saying, “You are truly our father, who has led us beyond ignorance to the supreme goal. Salutations to the great seers, salutations to the great seers.