Do not remain lost in the slumber of ignorance; instead, like an old tortoise that slowly but surely rises from its rest, awaken gradually. Embrace this awakening, for it alone can bring about the end of old age and death. Remember, gathering possessions for your own enjoyment only invites the disease of worldly existence. True prosperity, even in the midst of adversity, is won by cultivating utter disregard for possessions and circumstances everywhere. For those still engaged in action, happiness is found by conducting oneself according to the ways of the world, guided by clear discernment, and by actions that do not contradict either scripture or custom. When a person’s conduct remains pure, their life secluded, and their heart free from greed—whether they encounter suffering or happiness in the world—then longevity, fame, virtue, and prosperity blossom together, just as the jasmine vine flowers and bears fruit in harmony. Understand that complete success is supreme and makes all things possible, everywhere and always. Therefore, never abandon your own auspicious efforts, for even the gods, though exalted, have been overcome by demons rich in power—just as mighty elephants can be subdued by lotus-filled lakes. Recall how, at King Marutta’s sacrifice, the great sage Samvarta manifested another world, complete with gods and demons, as if he were Brahma himself. With unyielding effort, the sage Vishvamitra performed arduous austerities again and again, attaining what is rarely achieved. In misfortune, Upamanyu, like one surviving on a meager mixture of flour and water, ultimately obtained the milk-ocean, which is so difficult to acquire. Kala, by the exceptional strength of his reasoning, subdued the champions of the three worlds—treating even Vishnu, Brahma, and others as mere blades of grass—yet he himself was overcome by Shveta. By the power of her affection, Savitri conquered Yama, compelled him to keep his word, and brought her husband Satyavan back from the other world. There is no excellence in this world whose clear result does not exist; whatever is destined must be considered by one who possesses all excellences. Therefore, self-knowledge—the root of all happiness and sorrow—should be cultivated by one who seeks to excel. For one whose perception is corrupted by attachment to various objects and by a faulty way of seeing, nothing free from trouble is ever gained; only suffering results. Restlessness is called the supreme Brahman, and tranquility the highest state; yet, know that supreme tranquility is most auspicious. Abandon pride and embrace eternal tranquility; with discernment, cultivate noble conduct through the service of the virtuous. Neither austerities, nor pilgrimages, nor even the scriptures themselves can deliver you from the ocean of worldly existence as surely as the service of the virtuous can. The truly virtuous are those whose greed, delusion, and anger diminish day by day, and who act according to scripture in their own duties. Through association with those who know the Self, one’s intellect is awakened, and the utter absence of the visible is perceived. When the visible is utterly absent, only the supreme remains—due to the absence of all else, the individual soul quickly merges there. The visible neither arises, nor existed, nor will exist; even in the present, it does not truly exist—only the supreme, unknowable reality remains. This has been shown by a thousand arguments and demonstrated; it has been experienced by all, and now I reveal it again: Just as this entire, tranquil expanse of consciousness is the three worlds, this alone is reality. How could there be anything unreal or otherwise, here? Consciousness, wondrous in itself, delights in both movement and stillness; by that very consciousness, the world is perceived as it is. The experience of the three worlds is like the orb of the sun of consciousness—tell me, O wise one, where is the distinction between the sun and its rays? The opening and closing of perception are, by their very nature, the rising and setting of the world’s experience. When the sense of ‘I’ is not understood, it is an impurity in the sky of ultimate reality; but when it is understood, it becomes the sky of ultimate reality itself. When the sense of ‘I’ is understood, it no longer remains as the sense of ‘I’; like water merging with water, it attains oneness with the sky of consciousness. The world, beginning with the sense of ‘I’, is merely an appearance and does not truly exist. Why, then, should it persist for one who inquires into the nature of ‘I’? Even the mind of a demon can torment those whose intellects are clouded by darkness, but for children whose inner faculties are pure, this does not occur—simply because they have not yet begun to inquire. As long as the radiance of consciousness within is veiled by the dense cloud of ego, it does not blossom, just as the night-lotus remains closed in darkness. When the notion ‘I am’ is truly wiped away, what room remains for the imagination of craving for hell, heaven, liberation, or anything else? As long as the cloud of ego expands in the heart, the cluster of desires—like the buds of the kuṭaja flower—continues to unfold. When the cloud of ego stands blocking the sun of awareness, only dullness remains—never any radiance at all. This ego, though so near, is falsely imagined by itself; it brings only suffering, not joy, much like a fever that confuses a child. The ego, conceived in vain, gives rise to delusion and produces endless cycles of worldly existence, just as restraints do for the misguided. The notion ‘This is me’ arises from intense delusion—another form of darkness—which, being the cause of misfortune in the world, neither truly exists nor will exist. Whatever pleasure or pain arises here is like the movement of a firebrand—merely the unfolding and play of the wheel of ego. The painful sprout of ego, once implanted in the heart, becomes a forest of worldly existence, with a thousand branches, difficult to cut down. The sense of ‘I’ is the sprout of the inexhaustible trees of birth, whose countless branches spread wide as the thoughts of ‘this is mine.