In a sacred dialogue, the path to the highest realization was described with great clarity and reverence. The journey begins where, through sincere inquiry and the pure desire to know, a person gradually loses their passion for sense objects. When longing falls away, this is known as the “attenuation of mind,” a stage where the mind’s restlessness is quieted. Through steadfast practice of these stages, and by cultivating detachment from all mental objects, one comes to rest in the very essence of being itself—this is called “establishment in purity.” By following the fourteenfold discipline and attaining non-attachment, a wondrous steadfastness arises: the state of pure being, known as non-attachment. Continuing on, through the practice of the five stages, and by delighting firmly in one’s own Self—no longer conceiving of inner or outer things—this state is attained. With long and diligent effort, sometimes prompted by the guidance of another, and through deep understanding of the meaning of things, a sixth state appears: the “non-conception of objects,” where the mind no longer projects onto the world. As practice of the sixfold stage matures, and all sense of division dissolves, one becomes established in their own true nature. This is known as “the fourth” state. Among those liberated while living, this is the supreme fourth state; beyond it lies the “beyond the fourth,” which pertains to those liberated after leaving the body. Those truly blessed souls who reach the seventh stage, delighting in the Self and of great soul, attain the supreme state. The liberated while living are untouched by pleasure or pain; whether they act according to custom or remain still, it is of no consequence to them. When instructed by those near them, these wise ones perform all actions in due order, yet remain unshaken, like someone awake in deep sleep. They delight only in the Self, and find no pleasure in worldly activities—just as one in deep sleep does not enjoy the sights and forms of the world. This sevenfold path is accessible only to the wise; it is not for animals, immobile beings, or those whose minds are unrefined. Yet, even among animals or so-called barbarians, if someone attains this state of knowledge, whether in the body or beyond, they are liberated—there is no doubt. For true knowledge alone severs bondage; when knowledge is present, liberation dawns, and all illusions—like the mirage of water—vanish. But those who, though freed from dense delusion, have not yet reached the pure state, continue to abide in these stages, intent on realizing their own Self. Some dwell in all the stages, some only in the innermost; some in three, some in five. Others are established in six, some in one and a half, some in four, and some in two stages. There are those who partake of portions of stages—three and a half, four and a half, or even six and a half. Thus, discerning people move through life established in various states—householder, hermit, or ascetic. The wise, noble rulers among men, prevail in these states; to them, defeat by mighty armies is as insignificant as a blade of grass. Those great ones who conquer in these states are truly worthy of reverence, for 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. To illustrate the subtlety of the Self, a golden ornament was compared to our sense of individuality. Just as a golden ornament, forgetting its nature as gold, does not proclaim “I am gold” out of pride, so too with the sense of self. The question arose: how does the awareness of being an ornament arise from gold? How does the 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 ultimately real. If, when told, “O gold, become an ornament,” gold is shaped into one, then surely it exists as an ornament—there is no doubt about this. But what is the nature of becoming an ornament? By discerning this, one comes to know the true form of Brahman. If form is ascribed to the formless and unreal, then one might as well describe the qualities and actions of the son of a barren woman—an impossibility. The notion of a wave is a mistaken illusion; the unreal seems to take form, but this is the very nature of illusion—what is seen is not truly perceived. In the water of a mirage, in seeing two moons, in the glow of ego and similar things, the form is only as much as what, when observed, cannot be grasped. One who sees the appearance of silver in a shell never obtains even a speck of silver from it. By failing to discern properly, the unreal appears as real—just as silver seems to glimmer in a shell, or water in a desert mirage. The nonexistence of what does not exist becomes clear when observed; when not observed, it seems to flash forth, like water in a mirage. The unreal may appear to be a cause and seem stable, but like the delusion of a ghoul, it leads only to the ruin of the ignorant. Except for the quality of goldness, nothing else exists in gold—just as in oil and the like, there is only the nature of a wave or a bubble in sand. Here, there is neither truth nor falsehood; whatever appears, acts accordingly, just as changes are seen in a child’s game of dice. Whether real or unreal, whatever is firmly held in the heart produces its effects, like poison or nectar. This supreme ignorance is indeed māyā; it is the cycle of existence, arising from contemplating “I-ness” in what is baseless and unreal. Gold does not possess the qualities of a worm, nor does the Self have attributes like “I-ness.” In the absence of “I-ness,” the supreme, clear, peaceful, and equal essence remains. There is no eternal nature, nor any creator-nature; no cosmic egg-nature, nor nature of gods or others. There is no nature of other worlds, nor any nature of creation anywhere; there is no nature of Meru, nor of sky, nor of mind, nor of body. Thus, the wise discern the real from the unreal, and rest in the supreme, undivided Self, beyond all illusion and limitation.