In this scripture, the state of liberation while living—jīvanmukti—is not a distant theory, but a direct experience, as real and immediate as the relief of health upon drinking a supreme medicine. When one listens to these teachings, this truth reveals itself inwardly; it is not a mere pronouncement, not a blessing or a curse spoken at random, but a reality that dawns with understanding. The suffering of worldly existence, the endless cycle of birth and death, can be pacified only through the profound discourse of self-inquiry. Wealth, charity, austerity, even the study of the Vedas, or countless other efforts—if they lack self-inquiry—cannot bring about this peace. It is only through turning the mind within and examining the Self that liberation is found. Those whose minds are absorbed in this knowledge, whose life-breath is anchored in it, who awaken one another to the truth and speak of it always—such people rejoice and find true delight. For those established solely in knowledge, who investigate the Self, arises that very state of liberation while living, which is also called bodiless liberation—disembodied freedom even while in the body. At this point, a disciple asks, “O Brahman, please describe the characteristics of one liberated while living and one liberated after death, so that I too may strive, guided by the vision of scripture and reason.” The answer is given: One for whom this world, though engaged in all activities, remains as vanished and as abiding as space itself—he is called liberated while living. He whose knowledge is unwavering, who remains awake even in deep sleep, simply abiding and acting—he is a jīvanmukta. He whose radiance does not rise or set in happiness or sorrow, who remains unchanged whatever comes—he is liberated while living. He who, abiding in deep sleep, is yet awake; for whom waking does not exist; whose awareness is free of impressions—he is a jīvanmukta. He who, though acting amid attraction, aversion, and fear, remains inwardly clear and open like space—he is a jīvanmukta. He whose sense of ‘I’ is absent and whose intellect is untainted, whether acting or not—he is a jīvanmukta. He who sees, in the mere opening and closing of his eyes, the creation and dissolution of the universe, as if it were all space—he is a jīvanmukta. He who is as if an enjoyer and yet not an enjoyer, who abides in pure awareness, awake yet as if asleep—he is a jīvanmukta. He who is always a witness, yet not a witness; alive, yet as if dead; acting, yet unmoving like a mountain—he is a jīvanmukta. He from whom the world does not recoil, and who does not recoil from the world, free from delight and resentment—he is a jīvanmukta. He whose calculations of worldly affairs are pacified, who, though possessing parts, is partless; who, though having a mind, is as if mindless—he is a jīvanmukta. He who, though engaged in all activities, remains cool and full, as if for the sake of others—he is a jīvanmukta. When such a one relinquishes the state of liberation while living, and the body falls away by the force of time, then consciousness attains bodiless liberation—just as the wind, once moving, becomes still. The one liberated without a body neither arises nor sets, neither ceases nor abides; is neither existent nor nonexistent, neither distant nor near, neither ‘I’ nor other than ‘I’. Such liberated consciousness becomes the sun and shines; it becomes Vishnu and protects the three worlds; as Rudra, it dissolves all; as Padmabhū, Brahma, it creates all. Becoming space, it sustains the winds, the stars, the gods, and the demons; becoming the mountain ranges, it becomes the abodes of the guardians of the worlds. As earth, it upholds the unbroken existence of the worlds; as grass, shrubs, and creepers, it brings forth the succession of fruits. It shines as water and fire, blazing, melting, and flowing; as the moon, it generates nectar; as death, it brings poison and calamity. As light, it reveals hope; as darkness, it spreads blindness. As void, it is the very nature of space; as a mountain, it stands as an abundant obstacle. It becomes the mind for the moving, and the form of the unmoving for the unmoving. As the ocean, it encircles the earth, like a bracelet around a woman’s arm. Becoming the very form of the supreme sun, spreading radiance within, it remains tranquil even as the flood of the world’s fears surges all around. Whatever appears here, whatever has appeared, or will appear—whatever is seen in the three times—all that is truly only That. The disciple, still perplexed, asks, “How, O Brahman, does it become so? My understanding is troubled; this vision is difficult to attain and hard to grasp—this is certain.” The answer comes: “This is called liberation, O Rama; this is Brahman. This is described as nirvana; listen to how it is attained. Whatever is seen as an object, endowed with the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ is realized by the intellect as non-arising, even though it appears to exist. When the disembodied liberated ones attain the three worlds, O best of the wise, know that they have reached the very state of creation itself. If the three worlds exist, let them proceed in their own reality; but where the very meaning of ‘three worlds’ does not arise at all, there, how can even the notion of ‘Brahman’ arise? Therefore, no other conception of the world is possible there. For one who truly knows reality, it is a fact: the world is nothing but Brahman alone—undivided, peaceful, a mere appearance, pure as the sky. Just as, when examining a golden bracelet, one never perceives anything called ‘bracelet-ness’ apart from the pure gold itself, so too, apart from water, there is nothing in a wave; what is called ‘wave-ness’ is merely an appearance, not a real thing. Apart from air, there is never any such thing as ‘movement’ anywhere; air is always just movement, and thus, the world as such does not exist. Just as emptiness is the nature of space, heat is the nature of a desert, and light is the nature of fire—so too, Brahman is the very nature of the three worlds. O sage, by what reasoning does the utter absence of the perceived world bring about liberation? Please instruct me in that supreme method.