In the discourse between the wise and the earnest seeker, the nature of effort and fate was explored with great clarity. It was said that the sequence of effort and its results are always established by direct perception and other valid means of knowledge. In the world, we see plainly that results—such as journeying to distant lands—arise only from effort. Consider daily life: it is the one who eats who becomes satisfied, not the one who refrains from eating; the one who sets out on a journey is the one who arrives, not the one who stays behind; the one who speaks is the one whose words are heard, not the silent. Thus, for people, it is effort that bears fruit. Those of sharp understanding, when faced with great difficulties, cross over them by their own effort, not by remaining silent or inactive. In whatever way a person applies themselves, in that very way they receive the corresponding result. But for one who remains inactive, no result is attained. By virtuous human effort, a virtuous result is obtained; by non-virtuous effort, a non-virtuous result arises. O Rama, you are free—do as you wish. The attainment of the fruits of human effort depends upon place and time; sometimes the result comes quickly, sometimes after a long period. This timing is what people call fate. Yet, fate is not something seen by perception, nor is it situated in another world. What is called 'fate' is, in truth, simply the result of one's own actions. When a person is born, grows, and eventually declines, fate is not seen in any stage—be it childhood, youth, or old age. Traveling from one place to another, holding objects in the hand, and the movement of the limbs—all these happen through personal effort, not by fate. The wise describe as 'personal effort' the focused pursuit of actions that bring about desired results; by such effort, all things are attained. But the single-minded pursuit of actions that bring about misfortune is called the activity of the deluded; by this, nothing is truly gained. The capacity for action, characterized by movement and striving toward one's purpose, is elevated by sharp intellect, good company, and true scriptures. Those who know their own supreme reality as infinite, equal, and blissful—such knowledge is attained by effort, and teachers of true scripture who embody this should be served. The qualities of true scripture and the intellect mutually enhance each other through practice, just as a lake and rainwater nourish one another over time. From childhood onward, through diligent practice of the scriptures, association with the virtuous, and similar qualities, a person, by their own effort, attains their highest good. By human effort, demons have been overcome, the workings of the worlds established, and the realms created by Vishnu himself—not by fate. In this world, where human effort is the true cause, O Raghunatha, strive long and diligently. In doing so, O fortunate one, you need not fear falling into the condition of trees or reptiles, nor need you dread such a fate. Neither form, nor actions, nor place, nor valor—none of these are the so-called fate. What, then, is this fate, so often spoken of as if it were real, but truly rooted in misunderstanding? When one receives the results of their own actions and says, 'It happened this way,' such statements have simply gained widespread acceptance under the name of fate. Those of dull intellect, who struggle to understand, firmly believe in fate, just as a rope is mistaken for a snake. Yet just as yesterday's misdeeds are adorned and transformed by today's good actions, so too, past actions are changed; therefore, strive always to perform good deeds. If a misguided person believes in fate due to faulty reasoning, then when a fire arises, he ought to tell the flames, 'Let it burn or not burn by fate,' and do nothing. If destiny alone is the cause of action, what purpose does personal effort serve? Would destiny itself bathe, give, eat, and perform all actions? What use is scriptural instruction if a person is like one mute? If he is moved only by destiny, what is there to teach, and to whom? In this world, stillness is seen only among the dead; movement brings about results—therefore, destiny is meaningless. Nor does the formless destiny act as a helper for the embodied. Actions of the hands and so on arise from effort, and are never performed by destiny. Even as mind and intellect are directly experienced, this destiny is never perceived. The wise say that destiny is like a cowherd—always unreal. If there is some other entity apart from the intellect, and if it is that which acts, what difference is there between the two? If imagination is accepted as authority, why not imagine human effort as well? There is no connection between the formless and the embodied, just as the sky has none with the corporeal; and the embodied is clearly seen to be attached—therefore, destiny does not exist. If there is indeed another who assigns functions to all beings in the three worlds, then let destiny make all beings sleep, let destiny do everything. When someone says, "I am compelled in this way by fate; what can I do, such is the situation," this is merely a speech of consolation—not truly fate in the highest sense. Fate is imagined by the foolish; those devoted to it have perished. But the wise, through their own effort, have attained the highest state. Those who are brave, valiant, wise, and learned—by whom, in this world, is fate ever declared? If someone whose lifespan has been determined by those who know time still lives after his head is severed, that would be the highest fate. If someone becomes learned without study, though his learning has been predicted by the wise, that too would be the highest fate. By the sage Vishvamitra, fate was cast far away; through effort alone, Brahminhood was attained, O Rama, and not otherwise. By these other men as well, who attained the status of sages, the path to the heavens was reached only through effort. Having destroyed the hosts of gods, the lords of the demons made themselves sovereign in the three worlds solely through effort and striving. The lords of the gods, in turn, seized the world back from the demons by their own vigor—through human effort and striving. Rama, water is held in a vessel only by means of effort and method, not by fate. It remains for a long time in a pitcher due to technique, not because of destiny. Thus, throughout the world and in the lives of the wise, it is effort, not fate, that brings about all results.