Though the Supreme Self is beyond the power of the senses, all actions performed by the senses truly belong to Him alone. Even without a mind, the manifold workings of thought and imagination arise from Him. When this Self is not recognized, the frightening illusions of worldly existence—like the terror of a serpent—arise; but when He is seen, all such fears vanish utterly. In the vast, radiant witness, unmoving like a steady lamp, all actions take place. When He is present, the many activities of life arise, each beginning with movement. From Him emerge endless rows of objects—pots, cloths, and countless things—just as waves, droplets, surges, and ripples arise from the ocean. It is this very Self who appears as another, due to the confusion brought by innumerable objects—just as gold seems different when shaped into bracelets, armlets, or anklets. You, who are the essence of a single radiance; I, these people, and all others—whoever is not you, not I, nor these people, only due to ignorance of the true Self—all are, in reality, the same. That one is both distinct and not distinct, existent and nonexistent, perishable and imperishable—like the multitude of waves that rise in water, so does the visible world appear. From Him arises the very measure of time, the visibility of all that is seen, the workings of the mind, and by His light, all other lights shine. Whatever you know as action, form, taste, smell, touch, sound, or even consciousness—that is that very Deva; and by whom you know, that too is that very One. The awareness that stands in the midst of the seer, the seeing, and the seen—by attending to that, O noble one, you will realize your own Self. This Self is unborn, undecaying, unclouded, eternal—Brahman, everlasting, auspicious, stainless, without beginning, ungraspable by mere intellectual knowledge, blameless, devoid of all constructions, the cause of causes, the experience that is unknowable, yet the very knowing, the inner knower. At the time of the great dissolution, what remains is formless—of this there is no doubt. How, then, could this be mere emptiness? How could it not be luminous? How could it not be of the nature of darkness or of space? How could it not be consciousness, or not be a living being? How could it not be intellect, or not be mind? How could there be nothing at all? How could there be everything? Indeed, to ask such questions is to voice one’s own bewilderment. You have asked a most difficult question, yet I will dispel this confusion as effortlessly as the sun banishes the darkness of night. At the end of a great aeon, what remains as existence is not truly void; listen as I explain what that is called. Just as a carved figure remains hidden within a pillar, so too does the universe abide in that state; thus, it is not void. In this way, this vast experience, called the world, appears—whether real or unreal, where then is emptiness? Just as a pillar with an uncarved figure is not devoid of the figure, so too, dear one, the world is Brahman; therefore, that state is not void. Just as a ripple on gentle water neither truly exists nor does not exist, so too this world has entered the state of both emptiness and non-emptiness within Brahman. Because of the limits of place, time, and direction, the making of a doll from a tree is possible; but in the inert substratum, by whom and how could any inner confusion arise? Therefore, such examples as the doll or the tree only partially resemble the true nature of the world; no comparison is entirely adequate. This world never arises from anything else, nor does it ever truly cease; in this way, only pure Brahman, of such a nature, abides in its own Self. The concept of ‘emptiness’ is imagined only in relation to ‘non-emptiness’; but since true non-emptiness is impossible, how can there be either emptiness or non-emptiness? The radiance in Brahman does not arise from any material element—so how could sun, fire, moon, stars, or the like exist in that which is imperishable? The absence of the light of the great elements is called darkness; but since there is no absence of the great elements here, therefore, there is never any darkness. Its illumination is only the direct experience of one whose nature is like space; whatever is within is known by that alone, not by anything else. That state, free from both darkness and light, is the ageless abode; know it to be like the space within a vessel, the container of the world’s existence. Just as there is no real distinction in the fruit called bilva, so too, here, there is not the slightest separation between Brahman and the world. As a wave exists within water, or a pot within clay, so too, wherever the existence of the world is found, how can it be of the nature of space? The analogy of clay and water, though possessing form, is not truly equal; Brahman is pure like space, and the world exists within it in the same way. Therefore, just as consciousness-space is even purer than space, so too, whatever is contained within it—such as the world, words, and their meanings—has that very nature. Just as sharpness within a ray is not perceived except by the one who experiences it, so too, in the supreme space of consciousness, pure consciousness is not known apart from the objects of cognition. Therefore, even consciousness appears as inert, since in itself it is devoid of objects; the existence of the world is just like that, compelled by the very nature of that reality. Forms, light, and mental constructions are made only of that; nothing else. Thus, the entire universe, as it stands, is either in deep sleep or in the fourth state (turiya) alone. Thus, the yogi, whose mind is tranquil and who abides in deep sleep-like awareness even while engaged in worldly activity, remains established in Brahman, which is without appearance and is the source of all appearances. Just as fluidity remains in water, whether it takes form or not, so too does the universe exist in the Supreme, whether manifest or unmanifest, in the same way. From the Full arises the full; from the formless, the formless spreads forth; the universe appears from Brahman, yet that universe is devoid of any objective reality. From the Full arises the full, and what is established is ever full; therefore, the universe is unborn, and whatever appears to be born is that very fullness.