The gathering of sages stood in reverent silence, their hearts yearning for truth, as they were urged to reveal themselves and seek knowledge directly from the Supreme. It was said, “Reveal yourself by your own self to these foremost sages.” Responding to this call, the Supreme Lord displayed His yogic perfection. Having beheld the Bull-bannered One—Shiva Himself—He had fulfilled His purpose and knew Himself in truth. It was in the presence of the divine that the Lord was to speak with proper authority. Sanatkumara and the other exalted sages approached Maheshvara with their questions, eager to learn the mysteries that lay beyond ordinary understanding. In that sacred moment, something inconceivable, truly worthy of the Lord, manifested in the sky—an effulgence that filled the entire universe with radiance. The god Maheshvara shone brilliantly, illuminating all directions. The sages beheld Him, resplendent and pure, seated upon a majestic throne. They saw Shiva, tranquil and unique in His splendor, the Lord of beings, seated in serene majesty. Alongside Him, they also beheld Vasudeva, the Supreme Lord, seated there as well. Beholding the Lotus-eyed One, radiant in His supreme self-yoga, the sages’ minds became peaceful, and they listened intently to the knowledge that the Lord was about to impart. The Lord began to speak of mysteries so profound that even the gods did not know them, nor did the twice-born, despite their efforts. Even the ancient teachers of Brahman, those versed in the highest wisdom, had not entered into the fullness of worldly existence with such knowledge. “Today,” declared the Lord, “I shall reveal this to you, devoted knowers of Brahman.” He spoke of the innermost Self, the direct witness, pure consciousness itself, which abides beyond all darkness. “He is time, He is fire, He is the unmanifest. He alone is all this,” the scriptures declare. This Supreme, the wielder of māyā, though bound by māyā, creates the manifold bodies of beings. Yet, He is not earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind, nor space. He is not form, taste, or smell. “I am not the doer, nor even speech,” He affirmed. He is not māyā, nor the fruits of action; in truth, He is pure consciousness alone. “There is no true unity or connection between the world and the Supreme Self,” the Lord continued. “In the same way, the world and the individual person are truly distinct. For one who does not realize this, there is no liberation, even after hundreds of births. The imperishable Self is changeless, free from suffering, space-like, and of the nature of bliss. Yet people, due to ego and the sense of doership, mistakenly attribute worldly experiences to the Self.” He described the imperishable, pure enjoyer who is present everywhere. But through ignorance, knowledge appears otherwise, and becomes entangled with nature. Because of non-discrimination, bound by ego, one thinks, ‘I am the doer.’ The knowers of Brahman declare that primal nature is the cause of all worldly manifestation. Yet, most do not truly realize the imperishable Self, Brahman. All faults—attachment, aversion, and more—are rooted in delusion. It is only by the power of this delusion that all bodies arise for all beings. “He is one, yet appears divided by power—by illusion, not by His own nature. Difference arises due to manifest nature, which itself depends upon the essence of illusion. Just as the Self is not tainted by thoughts that arise in the mind, so too here: the true Self remains untouched. When free from all limiting adjuncts and pure, the Self shines forth in its own glory.” Yet, the Lord observed, the ignorant, with distorted vision, see only the external form of objects. Those whose vision is deluded perceive the world only as it appears, mistaking the outer form for the reality within. Thus, in that assembly of sages, the Supreme Lord revealed the highest wisdom, illuminating the nature of the Self and the world, and the subtle play of illusion that binds beings to the cycle of experience.