Thereupon Lord Śākāyanya was pleased and addressed the King thus: "O Mahārāja, Bṛhaḍratḥa, the flag of the Ikshwāku race, thou art an Āṭmajñānī. Thou art one that has done his duty. Thou art famous by the name of Maruṭ." At which the King asked: "O Lord! in what way, can you describe Āṭmā?" To which he replied thus: "Sound, touch, and others which seem to be Arṭha (wealth) are in fact Anarṭha (evil). The Bhūṭāṭmā (the lower Self) clinging to these, never remembers the Supreme Seat. Through Ṭapas, Saṭṭwa (quality) is acquired; through Saṭṭwa, a (pure) mind is acquired; and through mind, (Parama-) Āṭmā, (the higher Self) is reached. Through attaining Āṭmā, one gets liberation. Just as fire without fuel is absorbed into its own womb, so Chiṭṭa (thought) through the destruction of its modifications is absorbed into its own womb (source). To a mind that has attained quiescence and truth, and which is not affected by sense-objects, the events that occur to it through the bondage of Karma are merely unreal. It is Chiṭṭa alone that is Samsāra. It should be cleansed with effort. Whatever his Chiṭṭa (thinks), of that nature he becomes. This is an archaic mystery. With the purifying of Chiṭṭa, one makes both good and bad Karmas to perish. One whose mind is thus cleansed attains the indestructible Bliss (through his own Self). Just as Chiṭṭa becomes united with an object that comes across it, so why should not one (be released) from bondage, when one is united with Brahman. One should meditate in the middle of the lotus of the heart, Parameśwara (the highest Lord) who is the witness to the play of Buḍḍhi, who is the object of supreme love, who is beyond the reach of mind and speech, who has no beginning or end, who is Saṭ alone being of the nature of light only, who is beyond meditation, who can