Absorbed in ceaseless activity, people are caught in the endless cycles of action and reaction, their minds preoccupied with worldly matters. This continues until, by the grace of insight, they perceive the supreme state beyond these cycles. Those who come to see the world as it truly is, and recognize how the mind becomes engrossed in its shifting play, grow free from attachment. They abandon their bondage to the world and attain the highest state, just as elephants, once released from their chains, roam unbound. O Rama, understand that this difficult and endless pursuit of worldly existence does not end even with the death of the body, unless true knowledge is attained; it is a vast and intricate web. Only those of great intellect manage to cross the formidable ocean of worldly life, using the raft of knowledge and reasoning—there is no other way, descendant of Raghu. Therefore, listen with focused attention to this method of knowledge, which alone can carry one across the ocean of worldly existence. Always maintain this attentive approach. For the endless waves of suffering in this world, born of countless efforts, continue to burn within for a long time, unless dispelled by right understanding, O blameless one. O Raghava, how could the wise possibly endure the pain of dualities—cold, wind, and heat—without the support of knowledge? The deluded person is constantly assailed and burned by suffering and anxious thoughts at every step, just as blades of grass are consumed by the tongues of fire in their season. But the wise, who possess true knowledge and right vision, are not burned by afflictions, just as a rain-soaked forest cannot be set aflame, even for a whole year. Even when tossed by the storms of affliction and disease amid the desert-wind of worldly existence, the knower of truth remains unbroken, like the wish-fulfilling tree that stands firm. Therefore, the intelligent should diligently seek to know the truth, by respectfully questioning one who is awakened and authoritative. The words of a noble and authoritative teacher, when asked, must be carefully received—just as saffron is gathered with a cloth, preserving its value. There is no one more deluded than the person who asks questions of one ignorant of the truth, or whose words are not worth taking. And among people, none is more base than one who, having carefully questioned a knower, does not follow his words. The truly wise questioner is one who first discerns whether the speaker knows or does not know the subject, and then asks accordingly. But he who, without determining the speaker’s competence, asks questions like a child, is unworthy of great knowledge. A wise person should answer only when questioned by someone whose mind can grasp both the beginning and the end, who is blameless—not to one who is base and animal-like in nature. If someone speaks without considering whether the questioner is fit for the true meaning and authority of the subject, the wise in this world call him the most foolish of men. You, O delight of the Raghu lineage, are truly a repository of virtues and a worthy questioner; and I know how to answer—thus, this dialogue between us is fitting. Whatever I say, you, skilled in the meanings of words, should carefully discern as the real substance, and hold it undivided in your heart. You are great, you are dispassionate, you are knowledgeable, and you are established among people; in you, the truth settles within, just as saffron water is absorbed by a cloth. Your intellect, intent on attentive listening and discerning the highest truth, penetrates the meaning, just as sunlight enters water. Whatever I say to you should be carefully kept in your heart; otherwise, I should not be questioned by you, for I do not speak here in vain. For the mind is fickle, O Rama, like a monkey leaping in the forest of worldly existence; restrain it in your heart with effort, and listen to the supreme truth. One should keep far away for a long time from those who lack discernment, are ignorant, and delight in the company of the unvirtuous; for only the virtuous are worthy of honor. Constant association with the virtuous gives rise to discernment, and the two fruits of the tree of discernment are enjoyment and liberation. At the gateway to liberation, four gatekeepers are spoken of: tranquility, inquiry, contentment, and the company of the virtuous as the fourth. These four—whether two, three, or all—should be diligently cultivated; they forcibly open the gate to the palace of the king called liberation. One should, even at the cost of one’s life, wholeheartedly take refuge in at least one of them; for when one is mastered, all four come under control. Discernment is indeed the vessel, the adornment, and the very form of the scriptures, knowledge, austerity, and brilliance—just as the sun is the form of all lights. When the dullness of mind becomes dense in the unreflective, their awareness becomes immobile, like water freezing from cold, or like a stone. But you, Raghava, endowed with noble qualities and insight into the meaning of scriptures, stand with an awakened inner being, like a lotus at sunrise. You are worthy, O wise one, to listen to and comprehend this vision of knowledge, with attentive ears—like a creature intent on the sound of a lute. Through the practice of dispassion, discipline, and the wealth of even-minded nobility, that state is attained, O Rama, where there is no destruction. At first, for the sake of liberation from worldly existence, one should cultivate discernment by means of scriptures, association with the virtuous, and excellent austerity and self-restraint. With effort, one should eradicate folly, which is the root of the poisonous tree of worldly existence, the source of calamities, and the collyrium that darkens the night of delusion. Know this alone to be the supreme destruction of folly: when scripture is regarded, even with a mind that is but slightly refined. When the serpent-pit of vain hopes and folly writhes in the heart, the mind contracts, like leather placed in fire. For the wise, this perception of reality becomes clear, like vision beholding the flawless, full moon in a cloudless sky. He whose mind, endowed with delightful discernment, skillfully considers both the past and the future, is called a true person.