Listen, O Rama, to the profound wisdom concerning the mind, as revealed in these sacred teachings. There are those among men who, though capable, fail to master what lies most easily within their power—their own mind. Alas, such people are to be pitied, for they are like jackals among men, lacking the courage to conquer themselves. Without the mantra of calming the mind—a mantra realized only through one's own effort and the renunciation of personal desires—no auspicious attainment is possible. But by conquering the mind through the light of one’s own awareness, an unobstructed, beginningless, endless, and flawless state is established here and now. In the glory of this inner peace—which alone is the true limb of all desired realization—the teachings of gurus, the scriptures, mantras, and all other methods become as insignificant as dry straw. When the disease of the mind is severed by the sword of non-conceptualization, all distinctions dissolve, and what remains is the all-pervading, peaceful Brahman. In this state, attained by self-awareness and the destruction of false notions, what could possibly disturb one whose nature is as tranquil and clear as a spotless cloud? Indeed, disregarding the so-called fate imagined by the deluded mind, you must lead your mind to no-mind through effort and awareness. By pursuing this unique, supreme path for a long time, and by allowing the mind to be consumed in pure consciousness, you will transcend the mind itself. Freed from the notion of becoming, established in the highest understanding, hold yourself unwavering, your mind absorbed in supreme consciousness. By relying on supreme effort and leading the mind to no-mind, you will attain that supreme path where you are neither this nor anything else. O Rama, know this: the mind is like a weak enemy, taking the form of mistaken perception, but it can be quickly conquered by effort alone. Calmness is the root of all prosperity; from calmness arises right action; and for one who has conquered the mind, even the conquest of the three worlds is as nothing. In that state where even the slightest disturbance from weapons, fire, calamities, or falling cannot occur—where there is merely the cessation of one’s own restless nature—what interference can there be, and by whom? Those base men who are powerless even in matters concerning their own experience—how will they conduct themselves in the diverse situations of worldly dealings? The notions “I am a man,” “I am seen,” “I am born,” “I am alive”—all these are false perceptions, mere movements of the restless mind arising from unreality, and they pass away. Truly, no one here is truly born, and no one here truly dies; it is only the mind that, upon leaving the body, knows its own death and imagines itself to have gone to another world. When the mind departs from here to another world, it manifests itself differently there; it does not perish until liberation is attained—so why fear death? The mind, taking the form of a body, moves about in this world and the next; until liberation, it persists—there is no other form for it. The suffering that arises in people regarding a son, brother, servant, or others does not truly occur in their own mind, because their own consciousness is not interrupted—this is my view. Having considered in every way—across, above, and below—again and again, I see that there is truly no means except the pacification of the mind. Apart from wholesome conduct, when pure knowledge arises in the heart, by the mere dissolution of the mind, true rest is attained. Consciousness meditates in the space of the heart with the wheel of pure awareness; destroy the mind without fear, and sorrows will not trouble you. If you have realized delight in what is undelightful, then those very limbs of the mind are cut off—this is my conviction. The mind is only the sense of “I” and “mine”; by simply not thinking thus, it dissolves, like a donor giving away possessions. Just as a broken cloud vanishes in the clear autumn sky, so too, in the supreme, undifferentiated reality, the mind becomes free of impressions. Where weapons, fire, and wind may bring fear, in that which is self-dependent, soft, and clear, what fear can there be in the absence of thought-constructions? The notions “this is good, this is not” are present from childhood, unbroken; like a noble parent with a child, the mind should be joined to the good. Those who slay the five-headed lion of the senses—the lion that expands the forest of transmigration—these are the true conquerors who attain liberation. Terrifying calamities, which bring confusion, arise from the formation of thoughts, just as mirages appear in the desert. Let the winds of the end of the age blow, let the oceans merge into one, let twelve suns burn fiercely—there is no harm for one whose mind is free from thoughts. From the seed of the mind arise fruits of good and evil, which are the thickets of worldly existence, the shoots of the seven worlds. All attainments are accomplished solely by the absence of thought; remain steadfast in the sovereignty of thoughtlessness, devoted to its support. As the mind gradually diminishes, it grants supreme bliss, just as a dying ember gives warmth to one seeking the end of embers. Even if the mind aims at the highest abode of Brahman, it is distinctly perceived within the smallest particle, divided and manifest. Through the power of thought alone, great misfortune is created; through the quiescence of thought, the desired goal is easily attained. Conquer the mind by the power of contentment alone, and achieve victory by the ever-arising, unpursued satisfaction. May that unborn state remain, which is left when the mind is purified by supreme equanimity, by the wisdom of the knower of the Self, and by the pacification and limitation of inner egoity. Whatever object, in whatever manner, and by whatever means the mind intensely desires, it perceives as it wishes. This intense momentum of the mind arises and ceases; it is causeless by nature, like a chain of bubbles in gentle water. Just as coldness is the nature of snow, and blackness the nature of soot, so is restlessness the very form of the mind, which is of a single, exceedingly intense character. How, then, O Brahman, can the forceful motion of this exceedingly restless mind, whose only cause is its own momentum, be restrained by strength? Thus, let the teachings on the mind be heard, pondered, and realized, for in the pacification of the mind alone lies the supreme good.