1. Because of intoxication with worldly life one acquires many lowly and undesirable qualities. Even by looking at such a person one feels affected by his worldliness.
2. One who is bound and who behaves in an uncontrolled manner in worldly life becomes miserable over time.
3. When one has suffered from the miseries of worldly life and knows what it is to feel scorched by the three tortures (bodily tortures, worldly tortures, and cosmic tortures), he begins to turn inward and away from worldly life when he hears the explanations about God.
4. When one becomes disinterested in the family life, his mind begins to lose interest in worldly objects, and he says to himself, "Enough with this greed for mundane worldly life!"
5. He sees that the family life will eventually only go away, and that all efforts undertaken there will not really bear any fruit. He begins to think "Now I should make something of my life that will bear fruit."
6. Like this, there is a change in the intellect. There arises a feeling within that his time is almost gone and that he has been wasting his life.
7. He remembers all of the misdeeds that he has previously committed, and the memories of them stand strongly in his mind.
8. He is reminded of his fears about death. That fear of death is felt strongly in his mind because he has done so many wrongful deeds in his life.
9. His whole life he gave no thought to doing any good deeds while a mountain of wrongful deeds were committed. Now he worries about how he can cross beyond this ocean of worldly life.
10. Hiding his own faults, he was always commenting on the faults of good people. He thinks, "Oh God, I have unnecessarily criticized saints, sages, and virtuous men.
11. There is no other fault worse than that of criticism. I have done so many wrong things that it is as if the sky could be drowned in them.
12. I have not recognized saints, nor done any worship of God, and I have not even respected and honored guests and visitors.
13. The past misdeeds are now coming to fruition. Nothing good was ever done by me and my mind was always engaged in wrongful ways of thinking.
14. I never worked hard, nor did anything to help others, and I didn't observe any good conduct due too much lust and pride.
15. It is as if I have drowned devotion, which is like a mother, and foolishly I have disturbed the peace and spoiled good intellect and virtuous desire.
16. Now, how can I make life worthwhile? By unnecessarily committing so many wrongful acts, I have no capability to see with proper discernment.
17. What is to be done to remedy my situation? How can one go beyond the worldly life? What qualities will enable me to realize God?
18. I have never had any devotional feelings. I achieved a good name in the world, but all of my efforts and actions were hypocritical and even deceitful.
19. I gave narrations about God and sang his praises only to make a living. I made a show for earning money in the name of God and spoiled my own intellect in ways only I know.
20. I was harboring pride within while outwardly saying that I am without pride, I was sitting in a meditation posture while inwardly, in the mind, I was desiring money.
21. I fooled people by showing the scholarly knowledge of scriptures, and criticized saints in order to make a living. I am filled with so many kinds of vices.
22. I put down the Truth and encouraged and praised the false. All these things I did only for the sake of filling the belly."
23. If in this way, one recognizes and turns away from worldliness, and goes on to expose oneself to spiritual discourses, one can change and become a seeker (mumuksha) such as described in sacred texts.
24. When one holds to a virtuous inward path, has a desire for the companionship of good and virtuous people, and begins to become detached from worldly life, this is called being a seeker.
25. When one sees that even great kings and emperors have passed away, and how much less one's own prosperity is compared to theirs, and feels inclined to have the companionship of good and virtuous people rather than pursue material gain, this is called being a seeker.
26. When one recognizes one’s own vices and begins to develop detachment in the mind, and criticizes oneself with remorse, this is called being a seeker.
27. When one says to oneself, "What an unhelpful person I am. What a pretender I am. What a misbehaved person I am." This is called being a seeker.
28. When one says, "I have fallen, I am a hurtful person who is always engaging in harmful conduct. I am nothing but a wrongdoer." This is called being a seeker.
29. When one says "I have no devotion. I am lower than the lowest. My life has been useless like a stone." This is called being a seeker.
30. When one says, "I am stubborn. I am hot tempered with people, and I have many addictions." This is called being a seeker.
31. When one says "I am lazy and reluctant to work. I am crafty and a coward. I am foolish and thoughtless." This is called being a seeker.
32. When one says "I am an idle braggart. I am a heretic prone to constant quarrels. I am filled with bad intellect and always scheming." This is called being a seeker.
33. When one says, "I know nothing, I have more fault than anyone," and describes his negative qualities. This is called being a seeker.
34. When one says, "I am without any authority, I am from a poor family background, and I am a dangerous person who is mean in all respects." This is called being a seeker.
35. When one says, "What a selfish person I am. What a harmful criminal I am. I am not spiritual at all." This is called being a seeker.
36. When one says "I am a heap of bad qualities. I have wasted my life in vain. I am a burden to the earth." This is called being a seeker.
37. When one criticizes oneself at length, is inwardly tired of the troubles of worldly life, and is eager for the company of virtuous people. This is called being a seeker.
38. The seeker then begins going to many pilgrimage places, does many practices for controlling the mind and the sense organs, and reads many books trying to find their inner meaning.
39. Still, with all that, he does not find contentment. He feels that everything so far has only been guesswork. Finally he says, "I must go and surrender myself to the saints." This is called being a seeker.
40. The one who is proud of the body, has pride in one’s family name and pride in wealth, and who then goes and drops all of that pride at the feet of the saints is called a seeker.
41. When one begins leaving behind one's egotism, starts criticizing oneself in many ways, and holds to the expectation of liberation, this is called being a seeker.
42. One who begins to feel ashamed of personal greatness, who begins making efforts for a spiritual life, and who begins to develop faith in the saints, is called a seeker.
43. One who begins dropping the selfish interest in family life and begins having a strong liking for spiritual life and who begins serving virtuous people is a seeker of liberation.
44. Understand one such as this to be a seeker of liberation and recognize the signs of this stage. The listener should now pay attention as I explain the signs of an aspirant in the next sub-chapter.