The Shatyayaniya text extensively references and includes hymn fragments from the Vedas and ancient Principal Upanishads of Hinduism. It opens, for example, with verses from section 6.34 of the Maitri Upanishad, stating the mind alone is the cause of people's bondage and suffering, and the mind alone is also the cause of their liberation. It is the mind of man that is the eternal mystery and one that shapes his future course, states its third verse, again referencing the Vedic literature. To know the highest eternal truth one must know the Brahman, which is Vasudeva - the striding Vishnu, states the text.