Listen, O noble one, as the sage reveals the profound journey from ignorance to liberation, describing the path as a sevenfold ground, each stage marked by subtle inner transformations. This ground of ignorance, divided by the various distinctions of the mind, can be crossed only by the beautiful inquiry that leads to pure awakening. When you reach this awakening, you recognize your true nature as the Self. Now, hear about this sevenfold ground of knowledge. By understanding it, you will never again sink into the mire of delusion. Many disputants speak of the stages of yoga in countless ways, but these seven alone are truly auspicious and worthy. The wise call knowledge itself ‘awakening’, and this is the sevenfold ground. Liberation, however, lies beyond the seventh stage. True understanding and liberation are one and the same. Through true understanding, the living being is freed from the cycle of rebirth and does not sprout again in this world. The first stage is called ‘pure desire’—the yearning for truth that is untainted and sincere. The second is ‘inquiry’, the earnest investigation into the nature of reality. The third is ‘attenuation of mind’, where the passions and agitations of the mind are subdued. The fourth is ‘establishment in purity’, a firm abiding in the pure essence of being. Next comes ‘non-attachment’, the wondrous state where one is untouched by the objects of the world. The sixth is ‘absence of conceptualization’, where all notions of inner and outer dissolve. The seventh is known as ‘transcending the fourth’, the supreme state beyond even the highest experiences. Liberation stands at the end of these stages, and in that state, there is no more grief. Now, let each stage be explained. ‘Pure desire’ arises in one who wonders, “Am I dull, or am I truly observing the scriptures and the wise? I desire, but my desire is preceded by dispassion.” This is the pure longing for truth, unclouded by worldly motives. ‘Inquiry’ is the conduct that emerges from association with scriptures and the wise, always guided by dispassion and diligent practice. When, through inquiry and pure desire, there is no passion for sense objects, and longing has faded, this is the ‘attenuation of mind’. By practicing these three stages and cultivating detachment from all objects, one abides in the pure essence of being—this is ‘establishment in purity’. Through the discipline of fourteenfold practice, non-attachment arises—a steadfastness in pure being, untouched by the world. By practicing the five stages with firm delight in one’s own Self, and by not conceiving of inner or outer objects, this state is attained. With long and diligent effort, sometimes prompted by another’s guidance, one comes to understand the true meaning of things. Thus, the sixth state, ‘non-conception of objects’, arises. By long practice of the sixfold stage, and by seeing no division anywhere, one is established in one’s own true nature—this is the state called ‘the fourth’. This is the fourth state among those liberated while living; beyond this is the ‘beyond the fourth’, which pertains to those liberated after the body falls away. Those who have reached the seventh stage, delighting in the Self and possessing great souls, are truly blessed and have attained the supreme state. The liberated while living do not sink into pleasure or pain; whether acting or not acting, by natural or noble impulse, they remain untouched. These wise ones, when instructed, perform all conduct in due order, yet remain unshaken, like one awake in sleep. Those who delight in the Self find no pleasure in worldly activities, just as one in deep sleep does not enjoy the splendors of forms and sights. This sevenfold stage is accessible only to the wise; it is not for animals, immobile beings, or those whose minds are as crude as barbarians. Yet, even among animals or those considered barbarians, if one attains this state of knowledge—whether in the body or beyond—it is certain that liberation is attained. For knowledge alone severs the bonds of ignorance. When knowledge is present, liberation follows, and all illusions—like the mirage of water—cease. However, those who, though freed from dense delusion, have not reached the pure state, remain established in these stages, ever intent on realizing their own Self. Some dwell in all the stages, some only in the innermost; some abide in three stages, others in the fifth; some are established in six stages, some in one and a half, some in four, others in two. Some partake of portions of stages, some in three and a half, some in four and a half, others in six and a half stages. Thus, discerning people in this world move about established in various states—whether as householders, hermits, or ascetics. These wise ones, noble rulers among men, prevail in these states; for them, even defeat by armies of war-elephants is as insignificant as grass. Those great ones who conquer in these states alone are worthy of reverence; they have subdued the enemy of the senses. Even the status of emperor or universal monarch appears trivial to them, and they swiftly attain the supreme state. Consider this: just as a golden ornament does not cry out, “I am gold!” out of vain self-assertion, so it is with the sense of self. One may ask, “How does the awareness of being an ornament arise from gold? How does this sense of ‘I’ come to be?” Only what truly exists can have coming and going; the unreal never truly exists. The sense of ‘I’ and the state of being an ornament are never truly real. If, when told, “O gold, become an ornament,” gold is shaped into one, then it certainly exists as an ornament—there is no doubt. If this is so, then what is the nature of becoming an ornament? By discerning this very matter, one comes to know the true form of Brahman. But, O Raghava, if form is ascribed to the formless unreal, then it is like describing the qualities and actions of the son of a barren woman—pure impossibility. The notion of a wave is a mistaken illusion; just as the unreal appears as if it has a form, so does illusion make us see what is not truly there. In the water of a mirage, in two moons, in the glow of ego and similar things, the form is only as much as what, when observed, cannot be grasped. He who sees the appearance of silver in a shell never obtains even the smallest particle of silver from it, anywhere, ever. Thus, the wise discern the real from the unreal, and by following the sevenfold path of knowledge, they cross beyond all illusion and awaken to the Self, attaining the supreme state of liberation.