Listen, O Raghava, to the wisdom that dispels confusion and reveals the true nature of the Self. When one comes to know, after long inquiry, that the Self is imperishable and free from all longing, then for whom could delusion arise? Where could it find any foothold? Just as one is bewildered by the worth of a gem whose essence is unknown, so too is one confused about the Self. But when the gem’s true nature is discovered and its value is certain, confusion vanishes completely. In the same way, O people, ignorance of the Self leads only to suffering, while knowledge of the Self opens the gates to infinity, happiness, and tranquility. Therefore, separate your true Self from the body, which mingles and obscures it, and become established in your own nature without delay. There is not even the slightest connection between the pure Self and the body, just as mud and lotus stalks do not touch the gold hidden within them, though people may think otherwise. The Self and the body are as separate as water and a lotus leaf. I raise my arms and cry out, yet few listen to me. As long as the mind, governed by inertia, withdraws like a tortoise into its shell, the dull body indulges in pleasures, forgetting to inquire into the Self. Until this inquiry arises, the darkness of worldly existence cannot be dispelled, not even by the moon, fire, or twelve suns. But when the mind awakens and examines its own state, the inner darkness flees, just as night vanishes at sunrise. Always awaken the mind, which lies in the bed of enjoyment, to supreme understanding, for awakening destroys worldly existence and its extreme suffering. Just as the sky is not stained by dust, nor the lotus by water, even when in contact, so the Self is not tainted by the body, though united with it. Mud and other substances may cling to gold, yet they do not alter its interior; similarly, the inert body does not affect the Self. Pleasure and pain are experienced as belonging to the Self, but in truth, they are as unreal as the waxing and waning of the moon in the sky. Pleasure and pain belong to the body, not to the Self, which is beyond all. These exist only for the ignorant; when ignorance is destroyed, they belong to no one. No one truly possesses happiness or sorrow, O Raghava; see that all is pervaded by the peaceful, infinite Self. The various visions of creation you perceive are like waves in water or feathers in the sky, arising within the Self. Just as a jewel casts its own reflection without any cause, so too does the Self, composed of light, project creation. The Self and the world are not one, not two, nor are they unreal; all this appears merely as a manifestation, thus it unfolds before you. Indeed, all this is Brahman; all is pervaded by the Self. Abandon the delusion, “I am this, and this is other.” In that mass of eternal Brahman, imaginations do not arise, just as various forms of water do not exist in the ocean, O Rama. Within the all-pervading Supreme Self, there is no second, just as a particle of ice cannot exist in fire. Contemplate the Self by the Self, as pure consciousness. This web of the world is truly the Self, manifesting itself within itself. There is no sorrow, no delusion, no birth, nor anyone born; whatever exists here, exists only as it is. Be free from fever, O Raghava. Be equal-minded, healthy, steadfast in thought, peaceful, tranquil in mind, a sage, silent, pure as a precious gem, and free from fever, O Raghava. Be free from duality, established in eternal truth, without concern for gain or loss, self-possessed, non-dual, with a sorrowless nature, and free from fever, O Raghava. Be secluded, with peaceful intentions, resolute and courageous, possessing noble aspirations, following what comes as it comes, and free from fever, O Raghava. Be free from passion, without effort, with a clear mind, purified from faults, neither a receiver nor a renouncer, and free from fever, O Raghava. Having attained the state beyond the universe, filled with what is attained and what is yet to be attained, be undisturbed like a full ocean, and free from fever, O Raghava. Free from the net of conceptualization, untouched by the ointment of illusion, be one whose self is satisfied in the Self, without fever, O Raghava. With a form endless, boundless, and limitless, O best among knowers of the Self, be unwavering like a mountain peak, without fever, O Raghava. In the Self itself, embrace magnanimity like the ocean when full; in the Self itself, delight in the Self, like the full orb of the moon. This creation of the world is of an unreal form; the unreal does not pursue the unreal, so the knower of that is named thus. You are that knower, calm in mind, free from disease, ever awakened—be beautiful, peaceful, and free from sorrow. Having been properly instructed by the teacher, protect this kingdom under one umbrella for a long time, with the perspective of the present moment—a kingdom adorned with all virtues and royal people. Here, neither renunciation nor attachment to actions is appropriate. He who acts in the world with the firm conviction, “I perform this movement thus,” is liberated—this is my view. Some, engaged in action and taking up the body of effort, go from heaven to hell and from hell again to heaven. Some, devoted to evil deeds, withdraw due to their own discernment and go from hell to hell, from suffering to suffering, from fear to fear. Some, bound by the threads of their own tendencies and tossed about by the residue of actions, pass from animal existence to the form of immobile beings, and then again to animal bodies. But some, blessed and knowing the Self, whose minds have been examined and whose chains of craving are broken, attain the state free from all limitation. After experiencing only a few births, O Raghava, one who is liberated in this very birth is of a rajasic or sattvic nature. He is born and grows like the waxing moon on its fortnight, and, like the kutaja tree in the rainy season, good fortune follows him. Thus, O Raghava, embrace this wisdom, become established in the Self, and let your life shine with peace, clarity, and freedom from sorrow.