The sages gathered in the royal court, and the wise son of Gadhi addressed the assembly, urging that the profound method of knowledge be imparted to Rāma, who was present. He called upon the Brahman to swiftly instruct Rāma, so that he might attain true repose. There was no need for persuasion, he said, for Rāma was already pure, his mind clear and undisturbed, like a flawless face reflected in a spotless mirror. It was agreed that the knowledge, the essence of scripture, and the unbroken skill in its application should be given to the noble disciple who was detached from worldly desires. For if such teachings were offered to one lacking true discipleship and detachment, they would be tainted, as cow’s milk would be spoiled by the saliva of a dog. Only those free from passion, fear, anger, and possessiveness—those who had shed all impurity—could truly find rest in the teachings declared by sages such as these. When the son of Gadhi had spoken thus, the assembled sages, led by Vyasa and Narada, praised his words, exclaiming, “Well said, well said.” Then, the illustrious sage Vasistha, radiant with great energy, stood beside the king like Brahma’s own son and spoke. He assured the assembly that whatever he was instructed to do, he would carry out without obstacle, for none would dare transgress the words of the virtuous. Vasistha declared that he would dispel the darkness clouding the minds of the royal princes, beginning with Rāma, through the power of knowledge, just as a lamp banishes the night’s darkness. He recalled, without interruption, all the wisdom once spoken by the lotus-born creator for the pacification of worldly delusion upon Mount Nishadha. Thus, the great soul, honored by the assembly, began to narrate the supreme teaching, designed to remove ignorance and bring the highest realization and peace. Vasistha announced that he would now relate the knowledge once spoken by the blessed lotus-born at the dawn of creation, meant for the peace of the world. The venerable king requested that Vasistha narrate the extensive scripture of liberation, and asked him to dispel a doubt troubling his mind. The king’s question concerned the sage Vyāsa, father of Śuka. Vyāsa was known as an all-knowing ascetic, liberated beyond bodily existence. How then, the king wondered, was it possible that his son, Śuka, was also liberated? Vasistha responded by illustrating the vastness of creation: within the supreme radiance of the sun, countless particles from the three worlds arise and dissolve, never reaching a countable number. Even now, innumerable multitudes exist within the three worlds—no one could enumerate even a fraction of them. In the future, waves of creation will continue to arise in the endless ocean of the supreme, and there is no means to count them all. He explained that it was reasonable to consider the succession of world creations—those that have existed and those yet to come—but what could be said of those presently existing? Whenever animals, humans, or gods perish, Rāma, in that very place they perceive the true reality. Within the heart, under the name of the subtle vehicle, the three worlds exist; and in the sky, with the body of mind, the unborn one experiences the essence of space. In this way, countless worlds of beings have died, are dying, and will die, each arising distinctly and independently. Vasistha likened this to grass shaken by a fierce wind, children frightened by ghosts, a string of pearls in the clear sky, or boats drifting among trembling trees. Just as in the awareness of a dream, or like a tree of memories in the sky, the departed one experiences the movement of worlds within himself. Through intense transformation, this experience becomes dense and unfolds in the space of the living being as “this is indeed the world.” Again, in that very place, the one who has died, endowed with the experience of birth, death, and so on, imagines another world there in the same way, once more. Within that imagined world, there are other persons, and within them, yet others; these cycles of existence appear like the layers of a plantain stem. There are no actual groups of great elements like earth, nor are there sequences of worlds for the dead; yet, still, these illusions of worlds arise for them. This ignorance, endless and prolific in producing diversity, is like a long river for the dull-witted, its waves forming the creation of worlds. Rāma, on the vast ocean of ultimate reality, the waves of creation rise and fall again and again—these same ones, and countless others as well. Some are similar in every way, in family line and qualities of mind; some are similar in part, and some are utterly distinct. Vasistha then recalled, through the eye of knowledge, the sage Vyasa, the thirty-second in the lineage, perceiving him as clearly as direct vision allowed. Among them, twelve had minds like his, sharing the traits of the family line; ten had all the same features, and the rest were distinct from the lineage. He assured the assembly that even today, others like Vyasa and Valmiki would arise, as well as Bhrigu, Angiras, Pulastya, and others likewise. Groups of various asuras, rishis, and gods are repeatedly born and dissolved, sometimes together, sometimes separately. The seventy-two cycles of Brahma—past, present, and future—this same world, others, you, and I: all this Vasistha claimed to know. Thus, in due course, the descent of this sage Vyasa, the wondrous doer, is recognized as the tenth incarnation of the far-seeing one. Vasistha revealed that he and others had been, many times, called Vyasa and Valmiki; indeed, they themselves were these, appearing in various forms and intentions. Even today, he said, by this very sage, the story of Vārāṣṭaka will again be composed, and once more, a narrative called the Bhārata will be made as a new history. After arranging the divisions of the Veda and establishing his lineage’s fame, Vyasa will attain the state of Brahman, and afterwards, liberation as Vaideha. Free from sorrow and fear, tranquil, liberated, devoid of conceptualization, liberated while living, with mind subdued—such is the one described as Vyasa.