O Rama, listen closely to this profound teaching. All that you perceive as objects—endowed with the sense of “I” and “mine”—though they appear real, are known by the discerning intellect to be truly unborn, never having arisen at all. This is the subtle truth seen by the wise. When those who are liberated, freed from bodily limitations, attain the three worlds, O foremost of the wise, it is as if they have merged with the very state of creation itself. If the three worlds exist, let them proceed according to their own reality; but where even the notion of “three worlds” fails to arise, what then remains? In that state, where the very concept of the three worlds dissolves, how can even the idea of Brahman as separate arise? There, no other conception of the world is possible. For one who truly knows reality, it is evident that the world is nothing but Brahman alone—undivided, serene, pure as the sky, and only appearing as manifold. Just as, when examining a golden bracelet, one never finds anything called “bracelet-ness” apart from the pure gold, in the same way, apart from water, there is nothing in a wave; what people call “wave-ness” is but a notion, not the truth. Similarly, “movement” is never found apart from air; air is movement itself, and thus, the world as a separate entity does not truly exist. Just as emptiness is the nature of space, heat is the nature of the desert, and light is the nature of fire, so too, Brahman is the very nature, the essence, of the three worlds. O sage, you ask: by what reasoning does the utter absence of the perceived world bring about liberation? Listen, for I shall instruct you in that supreme method. When both the seer and the seen dissolve into each other, when duality ceases entirely, what remains is the state of nirvana, perfect peace. Therefore, inquire how it is that the world, as the seen, never truly arises, and how Brahman abides in its own nature. By what means is this realized through reasoning, and how does this realization become firm and established? When this is known, nothing else remains to be accomplished. For a long time, the epidemic of false knowledge has taken root in the mind; surely, by the mantra of inquiry, it is completely uprooted and pacified. This cannot be cut off instantly in a single moment; just as one climbs or descends a mountain with steady effort, so too is the delusion gradually overcome. Thus, by discipline of practice, by reasoning, and by logical analysis, the delusion regarding the world is pacified. Listen as I explain how this is so. I will tell you a story, O Rama, for the sake of awakening knowledge; if you listen with attention, you will indeed be liberated and wise. Now, I shall explain to you the section on origination. Whatever arises, O Rama, is transcended by one who is liberated. This world-delusion appears as if it has arisen, though its true nature is unborn. This will now be explained in the section on origination. Whatever is seen here—this world, whether moving or unmoving, in every form, with gods, demons, and kinnaras—all, at the time of the great dissolution, are transformed through Rudra and others, becoming non-existent and invisible, vanishing into an unknown state. Then, what remains is still and profound; neither light nor darkness pervades it. Something exists—unnameable, unmanifest—that alone remains. It is not emptiness, nor space, nor the seen, nor the seeing; nor is it the multitude of elements and objects, which abides in infinity. It is something whose nature cannot be described, whose form is fuller than full; neither existence nor non-existence, neither both nor absence, nor is it a dwelling. It is pure consciousness, free from objects, infinite, ageless, auspicious; without beginning, middle, or end, without dependence, and free from affliction. In this, the world shines forth, like a pearl or a swan in vision; it is this, and yet not this—the divine, whose nature is both existence and non-existence. He has no ears, tongue, nose, skin, or eyes, yet everywhere and always, he hears, tastes, smells, touches, and sees. He alone, whose light reveals the forms of existence and non-existence, perceives the endless, beginningless creation, which is harsh and without coloring. He who, with half-opened eyes, perceives his own true nature as the ever-shining Self, like the star in the middle of the brow, sees the world as a mere appearance. For him, there is no other cause of the all-pervading Lord, just as the horn of a hare does not exist; and for him, this world is merely an effect, like a mass of waves on water. For him, as the lamp of pure consciousness burns ceaselessly in the vessel of the mind, the light of that alone illumines the three worlds. Without him, even the sun and others, though shining, are like darkness; in his presence alone, the mirage of the three worlds appears. In him, the glory of the world seems to arise when there is movement, and to be hidden within when there is stillness, just as the circle of fire appears by the whirling of a torch. His nature is the pure, imperishable, all-pervading great Self, whose play is the creation and dissolution of the world, and whose essence is both movement and stillness. His existence, like the wind, pervades all as both movement and stillness, and though spoken of as distinct only by name, is not truly different in reality. He is always awake, always asleep, and yet neither asleep nor awake at any time or place. That which is motionless is auspicious and peaceful; that which moves is the existence of the three worlds. The one whose nature is the play of motion and stillness alone fills all forms. Just as fragrance in flowers does not perish even when the flowers fade, and as whiteness in white cloth is present yet cannot be grasped, so too is this Self. He is like a mute, yet speaks; a thinker, yet like a stone; an enjoyer, yet always satisfied; a doer, yet possessing nothing. He is without limbs, yet possesses all limbs, with a thousand hands and eyes; though established in nothing, by him this entire world is pervaded. Thus, O Rama, is the nature of reality—beyond all conception, yet the very ground of all that appears. By understanding this, the wise become free, abiding in the peace and fullness of the Self.