From the moment King Janaka’s understanding blossomed, he neither clung to nor rejected the appearances of the world. He simply remained established in the present, free from all doubt. Through constant discernment, his mind became so clear that no stain could touch it—just as the royal sky remains forever unblemished. By his own inquiry and wisdom, Janaka’s mind attained perfect, limitless knowledge, pure and boundless. His consciousness, cleansed of false notions and disease, arose in the space of his heart like the sun rising in the sky. He perceived all phenomena—spread within his mind like countless jewels—as expressions of his own infinite self, the knower of the essence of all beings. No longer elated or sorrowful, Janaka maintained an even mind, naturally engaged in worldly affairs yet undisturbed by their outcomes. From that moment, O bestower of honor, Janaka became liberated while living. He possessed mature wisdom and understood both the inner and outer nature of people. Ruling the Videhas and sustaining his people, Janaka was unaffected by joy or sorrow; nothing ever disturbed him. He neither set nor rose, being free from all merits and faults. Gains or losses arising in his kingdom could not deject or elate him. Though he acted, Janaka did nothing at all, remaining always established as a living-liberated being. Just as a king in deep sleep is untouched by notions of things, all such notions had completely settled in Janaka. He did not reflect on the future nor dwell on the past; he abided, laughing, only in the present moment. O lotus-eyed one, whatever was to be attained, Janaka attained solely through his own discernment—not by any other desire, O Rama. One reflects with one’s own mind only so far, until the ultimate boundary of inquiry is reached. That state is not attained from a teacher, nor from the meaning of scriptures, nor from merit, but arises from noble association and clear, thorough inquiry of the mind. Rama, that state is reached only by one’s own sincere, straightforward wisdom, which is affectionate and innate—not by any other name or action. For the one whose flame of wisdom burns brightly, examining both past and future, darkness never pursues him. Calamities, difficult to cross and filled with waves of sorrow, are overcome by wisdom, O wise one, just as a boat crosses waters. Even a small misfortune afflicts the foolish who lack wisdom, just as a weak gust of wind shakes a hollow reed. Yet the wise, even without help, scriptures, or companions, cross the ocean of worldly existence, Rama, like a boat. Even without help, the wise one completes his task; but the unwise, even after attaining the main objective, loses it. One should first cultivate wisdom through association with scriptures and noble people, as one waters and protects a vine for the sake of its fruit. The tree of noble action, whose great root is the strength of wisdom, bears its exceedingly sweet fruit in due time, like the full orb of the moon. The same effort people exert in acquiring external objects should first be applied to the cultivation of wisdom. One should abandon the dullness of understanding, which is the boundary of all suffering, the treasury of calamities, and the seed of the tree of worldly existence. O wise one, whatever is attained from heaven, from the netherworld, or from sovereignty—all of it is obtained from the treasury of wisdom. One crosses over this dreadful ocean of worldly existence by wisdom—not by rituals, pilgrimages, or austerities, O Raghava. Whatever divine prosperity people attain on earth arises as the sweet fruit of the flowering vine of wisdom. By wisdom, lions whose claws have been cut and whose blood is drunk by jackals are conquered by jackals, just as deer are conquered by lions. Even men of low birth have attained kingship through the power of wisdom; here, only the wise are seen as fit for heaven or liberation. All those who speak with discernment, delighting in their own contemplations, shine forth like the blessed ones, just as the sun outshines the roar of the ocean. This discernment, abiding in the heart of the wise, is like a wish-fulfilling gem; it grants whatever is contemplated, just as the wish-fulfilling vine bears its fruit. The noble one crosses over saṃsāra by discernment, while the inferior is cast away; the instructed reaches the far shore, but the uninstructed perishes, like a boat. Rightly directed understanding leads a person to the far shore; wrongly directed, to misfortune—just as a boat on the ocean carries one across or brings disaster. Faults arising in multitudes, like arrows, do not trouble the discerning, undeluded wise person, just as arrows do not harm one who is well-armored. O dear one, by discernment this entire world is truly seen; for one who sees rightly, neither misfortunes nor fortunes approach. The dark covering of the inert self, spread out as the cloud of ego, veils the supreme sun; it is torn apart by the wind of discernment. For one wishing to attain the incomparable state, the mind must first be carefully nurtured—just as a farmer first prepares the earth before seeking the harvest. In this way, O Rama, by reflecting upon the self with the self, as Janaka did, you will soon attain the state known to the wise. For those wise ones, born in royal lineages of the West, attain for themselves what is to be attained, just as Janaka did.