1. Wind arises in space. This can be experienced. Now, listen with alertness to how fire is formed from the wind.
2. The friction of the wind moving quickly has a quality of hardness. From that friction, fire (light) gets created. And, it is from the quality of softness in the wind that is moving slowly that cool water is created.
3. Earth is formed from water. Know that the earth is in the form of many seeds, and that many things are naturally created from seeds.
4. The visible world originates from a concept, which is imagination. This imagination is the Primal Illusion from where the bodies of the three gods have been formed.
5. The moving, which is mere imagination, appears in That which is unmoving. The root of the eightfold manifestation (Prakriti) is in the form of imagination, a concept.
6. The eightfold manifestation is conceptual. It is all the form of imagination. Understand that the origin of the eightfold manifestation is like this from the beginning.
7. Understand that the five elements and three gunas together make eight, therefore it is called the "eight-fold" manifestation.
8. Originally it existed only in the form of imagination, and then later on it proliferated as gross manifest creation in the form of the universe.
9. Originally, the Primal Illusion appeared first, and then the formation of the three gunas appeared as Illusion with attributes. Afterwards, when Illusion became manifest in its gross inert form due to ignorance, it appeared as the form of the visible universe.
10. Later on, the four types of created beings came into existence proliferating with the four types of speech. Many varieties of species have come into being with many different forms.
11. Creation came to be like this. Now, listen to the explanation of the destruction, which was described in detail in the previous chapter.
12. However, now I will describe the destruction in a condensed form. The listeners are asked to focus their thinking and listen to what is being said here.
13. After a hundred years of drought, the world with all of its living beings will dry up. This is the description of the final destruction that is given in the scriptures.51
14. The heat of the sun will be twelve times hotter and the earth will turn into ashes. Afterwards, the ash will be dissolved into water.
15. Fire will dry up all of the water, and then the fire will be extinguished by the wind. The wind will then dissipate into the formlessness that is as it is.
16. Like this, the destruction of the visible world will take place as has been described previously in detail. With the passing away of Illusion only the True Form of Reality remains.
17. There, the fiction of the individual (Jiva) and God (Shiva), and the physical body and the universal body disappear entirely, and the commotion of ignorance that is Illusion gets dissolved.
18. This is the destruction of the universe through discrimination that has been told to you. Therefore it is called the dissolution by discrimination. Only the one who uses the power of discrimination can understand. The foolish person will not understand what has been said.
19. When examining the entirety of creation, two things are found. One is moving, and one is unmoving. The doer or the cause of the moving is the movement itself in the form of motion.
20. That doer who exists in all bodies, and who is the initiator of all activity, is called the non-doer even though doing everything.
21. Regardless of whether one is rich or poor, or one is Lord Brahma or one of the other gods, it is the Self alone that is the One which moves all bodies and functions through the organs of action.
22. It is called the Supreme Self, Paramatman. Know that it is the doer of all but that it will also perish. This must be seen in one's own actual experience by using the power of discrimination.
23. It is the one that barks in the dog, that squeals in the pigs, and that brays obstinately in the body of the donkey.
24. Many bodies are seen by people, but the one who utilizes the power of discrimination sees the end of all the bodies. Thus, the knowledgeable see all things with the vision of equality.
25. While seeing the many various bodies, their appearance is different, but the inner oneness of all living beings is the same, and all see with the one inner-mind.
26. Many living beings have been created, but it is one light that is the Life in all. That is the "Light of Knowledge." It is the "Light of Consciousness" that is called the "Universal Light."
27. With ears it knows many words, with the skin it knows cold and hot, and with the eyes it sees and knows many objects.
28. It knows taste through all tongues, knows various smells through all noses, and through the organs of action it knows all actions.
29. Its form being subtle, it protects the gross. It is the perceiver of many pleasures and sorrows so it is called the "inner-witness," and the Inner-Self.
30. It is called by many names such as the Self, the Inner-Self, the Universal Self, Life-Energy, the Self in All, the Subtle Self, the Individual Self, the Self as God, the Supreme Self, the Seer, the Witness, and the Form of Complete Power
31. Only those with inferior intellect call that which is prone to change, which is constantly changing, and which is the cause of many changes, as the Reality.
32. Everything looks similar to them so they put everything into one category. This is due to the illusory nature of the moving.
33. The ever-changing Illusion is illusory and restless. The unmoving Absolute Reality, Parabrahman, is different from this and is the one true thing. For this reason one must use the power of discrimination to know the difference between the Eternal and the ephemeral.
34. The property of Life that leaves the body is the vital energy (prana). The property of Life that does not know is ignorance. The property of Life that is born takes birth because of desires.
35. That property of Life which is the part of Brahman that is present in the living being and is united with the totality of Brahman, is where the concepts of bodies and the universe dissolves. Here, the distinguishing attributes of the four properties of Life have been described.
36. Let all of this be as it is. Know that all that is moving will vanish, and That which is unmoving will remain still and unchanging from the beginning through the end.
37. Reality is always the same at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. It is without modification, attributeless, untainted by anything, unattached to anything, and uninvolved in worldly affairs.
38. With the throwing off of all coverings, the individual self (Jiva) and God (Shiva) become one. When observing minutely it is seen that these coverings are not really there.
39. Whatever is known is Knowledge (Jnana), but that Knowledge gets transformed into Supreme Knowledge (Vijnana) with experience. How can that which is "no-mind" be recognized by the mind?
40. The attitudes or states of mind cannot understand that which is not a state of mind, and that which has attributes cannot become attributeless. The saints help aspirants go beyond attributes with the power of discrimination.
41. First, listen to explanations (shravana), and then reflect upon the Essence (manana). With reflection one can understand what is Essence and what is non-essence. Then, with verification in your own experience (nididhyasana) comes the realization (sakshatkara) of the unattached aloneness of the Reality.
42. Attributeless Oneness is itself the final liberation of complete union. Now, enough of this talk about that which is to be understood through the use of words.
43. Keep your attention on "That" which cannot be described. In the Final Conclusion (Siddhanta), where is there any place for the primary premise set forth in the Vedas? How can That which is beyond the senses become evident? It exists, but it is not visible.
44. Even though the coverings of Maya may be present, one can still remain in the effortless natural transcendence of Sahaja Samadhi. By listening, the intellect can be transformed so that it becomes doubtless.