As the sun descended, the western mountain became a vision of splendor, bathed in the golden radiance of the setting sun and streaked with drifting clouds. It seemed as if the mountain wore yellow robes, joined with the vastness of the sky, and was adorned with a necklace of stars, appearing like an ocean of darkness at day’s end. When the evening worship concluded and twilight faded away as quietly as it had come, darkness rose everywhere, swirling like circles of restless spirits. A gentle, cool breeze began to stir, carrying with it a subtle, necessary fragrance. It danced among the tender leaves, hinting at the coming of the night-blooming water-lily. The directions, once bright with the shimmer of stars, now fell into a deep gloom, resembling widowed women with their long, unbound hair. But soon, a soft radiance spread across the world—a flood of milky light arose, and the sky was transformed into an ocean filled with the nectar of the moon, appearing as if it were pure ambrosia itself. With the moon’s rise, the masses of darkness fled and vanished, just as the ignorance of kings disappears when they hear the words of wisdom. In this tranquil night, sages, kings, ascetics, and brahmins all retired to their own dwellings, like various thoughts settling peacefully within the mind. Night advanced, thick and dark as the very form of Yama, the god of death, heavy with its own shadow. Yet, in time, the first hints of dawn appeared, veiled in gentle mist. The brilliant stars faded from the sky, swept away by the morning breeze like showers of saffron dust. Dawn arrived, her eyes opening with the light of the sun, radiant and clear, like discernment newly awakened in the minds of the wise. Once more, celestial beings and mortals, those who move through the sky and those who walk the earth, completed their morning rites and entered the assembly in the same order as the day before. The great assembly was arranged as before, unmoving and serene, like a lotus blossom at the mouth of the wind. Then, in that tranquil gathering, Rama approached Vasistha, the foremost among sages and eloquent in speech, and addressed him with gentle words. “Revered one,” Rama asked, “please tell me clearly—what is the nature of the mind, from which arises this entire cluster of faults?” Vasistha replied, “Rama, the form of the mind is not seen at all. Apart from its name, it is like the empty, inert expanse of the sky. The mind has no real form, neither outside nor within the heart. Know, Rama, that it is present everywhere, just like space itself. “This so-called form of the mind, which arises from unreality, is like the water seen in a mirage. Listen as I briefly explain its nature, which is like the illusion of a second moon in the sky. Whatever appears—whether real or unreal—as a manifestation or meaning, know that alone as the mind and nothing else. “That which appears as an object is what is called the mind; at no time is there anything else known as mind. Imagination itself is the mind; there is no difference between them, just as liquidity is not different from water, nor motion from wind. Wherever there is imagination, there the mind exists, dear one; imagination and mind are never separate. “Whether real or unreal, whatever appears as an object—know that alone as mind; this is the truth, O Brahma. The subtle body is called mind, but the intellect, when connected with the physical body, is enduring and stable. Ignorance, transmigration, mind, bondage, impurity, darkness—these are all synonyms, used by the wise to describe what is perceived. “Indeed, apart from the perceived, there is no form of the mind; and this perceived itself is produced—this I will explain again. Just as a lotus blossom is contained within a lotus seed, so within the great atom of consciousness is this entire perceived world contained. “Just as light is the radiance of illumination, as movement is to wind, as liquidity is to water, and visibility is to the seer—so is this quality found in the seer. Just as the form of a bracelet exists in gold, as water is found in a mirage river, as a wall is in a dream city—so is the perception of the seen in the seer. “Thus, the appearance of the seen in the seer, as if it were something separate, I quickly remove—like wiping away a stain—by showing you the mirror of your own mind. When, due to the absence of the seen, the seer ceases to be a seer, know that as the state of pure being—encompassing both existence and nonexistence. “When that state is attained, the tendencies of attraction and aversion subside, just as, when the wind is still, all movement ceases. When nothing at all exists—when all is of the nature of space, direction, and earth—what form could the pure radiance of illumination possibly have? “When the seen—the three worlds, you, and I—has attained nonexistence, then the seer attains the state of pure being; such is the nature of the immaculate Self. Just as, in the infinite reflections of mountains and all things, the mirror remains only a mirror—so is the true nature of the pure Self. “When the confusion of the seen—such as ‘I’, ‘you’, and ‘the world’—is pacified, then pure oneness arises, established in the seer who no longer observes. If this confusion does not subside, then nonexistence does not pertain to what exists; nor do we know nonbeing in this visible world, which gives rise to fault. “Therefore, O Brahman, how can this fever of perception be pacified, this fever which does not cease, which brings delusion and a succession of suffering? Listen, O Rama, to this mantra for the pacification of the demon of perception, by which it will utterly perish and be destroyed. “Whatever exists, O Raghava, its destruction is certain; yet, even when it is destroyed, its seed may remain within the heart. The seed of memory, arising again in the space of consciousness, gives rise to the notion of the seen, which, though insubstantial, spreads the fault in the form of world, mountain, and sky.” Thus, in the gentle unfolding of night and day, in the assembly of sages and seekers, the profound nature of the mind and the path to its pacification was revealed, like the dawn dispelling the darkness and the serene Self shining forth in clarity.