O Rama, listen attentively as I reveal to you the subtle truth of existence. In this world, whatever arises—be it a thought, a being, or an object—that alone grows, that alone journeys onward, attaining liberation, heaven, or even falling into hell. This is the unchanging order of the universe: in the endless cycle of existence, origination always comes first. Now, for your understanding, I will briefly explain the beginning of all things. Later, I shall elaborate as you desire. All that you see in this world—whether moving or unmoving—perishes at the end of the cosmic cycle, just as a dream dissolves into the depths of dreamless sleep. When everything has vanished, what remains is tranquil and profound, untouched by either light or darkness—a reality that cannot be named or described, unmanifest and ineffable. The wise, for the sake of explanation, have called this the Truth, the Self, the Supreme Brahman, or Reality. These are but names, given to that Great One, to help us speak of the unspeakable. That very Self, existing in its own nature, appears as if it were another—shining forth, it seems to enter into living beings, each destined for their own experiences. In this process, the pure Self becomes entangled in the confusion of individuality, and is called the ‘jiva’. Through thought, it becomes the mind, and the silent Self, by its own pondering, becomes sluggish and limited. Thus, from the Supreme Self arises the mind; from the stable comes the unstable, just as a wave arises from the ocean. This mind, by its own freedom, swiftly imagines endlessly; through its power, this splendid illusion—like the marvels conjured by a magician—is spread out before us. Consider how the word ‘bracelet’ refers to a form made of gold, yet in gold itself there is no such thing as ‘bracelet’. In the same way, the meaning of the word ‘world’ does not exist in the Supreme; the world exists only in Brahman, with no other essence. There is no independent reality to the world, just as ‘braceletness’ does not exist in gold. This world, which appears as a moving wave in the river of suffering, is truly unreal; it is only a projection of the mind, like the fleeting splendor of a magician’s illusion. The wise have given many names—ignorance, transmigration, bondage, illusion, delusion, and great darkness—to what is, in truth, nothing but a product of imagination. Now, listen as I describe the nature of bondage, so that you may come to know the true nature of liberation. Bondage is said to be the presence of the seer, the seen, and their relationship. The seer is bound by dependence on the seen, and is freed only when the seen is absent. The seen is called the world—the sense of ‘I’, ‘you’, and so forth, which arises from creation. As long as this persists, liberation cannot exist. This disease of perceiving the seen does not subside through empty words like ‘not this, not this’; in fact, it grows stronger through the very thoughts that give rise to it. Neither by clever reasoning nor by observances such as pilgrimage can the reality of the visible world be grasped, for these are only means of inquiry. If the world were truly visible and real, it would never cease anywhere; for what is unreal has no existence, and what is real never ceases to be. Wherever this essence—sentient or insentient—abides, the glory of the visible world arises, even within the smallest atom. Therefore, the visible world exists; yet I have cleansed it away—renounced through austerity, meditation, and sacred recitation, just as one is satisfied after polishing a mirror. Even if the visible world persists, it is reflected—without doubt—even within the smallest atom, in the mirror of consciousness. Wherever it may be, O Rama, it is reflected as in a mirror: mountains, earth, rivers, and all things likewise appear within the mirror of consciousness. With this, again arise sorrow, old age, death, birth, the grasping and releasing of existence and non-existence, all forms—gross and subtle, moving and unmoving. I have cleansed this visible world from myself; I do not abide in it. Yet, this alone remains as the inexhaustible seed for the remembrance of transmigration, even in the deepest samadhi. When this vision of the world is present, there is no occurrence of the imperishable state of deep sleep, nor of the fourth state, nor of absorption without thought. Indeed, when the mind emerges from such absorption, the world reappears as uninterrupted suffering, just as it does upon waking from deep sleep. O Rama, when that supreme state is attained, what further use is there for absorptions? For when calamity returns, what happiness can there be, even if equality endures but for a moment? Or, if one should attain a state of thought-free absorption, I consider that to be the stainless state, resembling the imperishable deep sleep. Yet, when the vision of the world is present, that state is not attained by anyone; for, due to the mind’s delusion, the illusion of the world arises anywhere. If the seer, by force, cultivates a state like that of a stone, then even at the end of that, the perception of the world arises again. And absorptions without thought do not become like the state of a stone for some; this is the experience of all beings. Nor do absorptions that have become like a stone reach their full maturity; rather, they become the supreme, peaceful state—consciousness itself, unborn and undecaying. Therefore, if this visible reality were truly existent, it would never cease; the idea that it can be ended by austerity, recitation, or meditation is merely an ignorant assumption. Just as a lotus seed rests within the hollow of a closed lotus stalk, so too does the perception of the seen reside within the perceiver. As taste exists in substances, as oil is present in sesame and other seeds, and as fragrance is in flowers, so too does the perception of the seen exist in the perceiver. Wherever camphor or similar substances are kept, their fragrance arises accordingly; in the same way, the world appears within the core of consciousness. Just as your dreams, your imagination, and the notion of a mental kingdom are known only through your own experience, so too is the realm of the seen present in the heart. Therefore, just as a demon dwelling in the imagination can destroy a child, so too does this form of the seen within destroy the perceiver.