Imagine, dear listener, an imperishable mountain of dream—vast, unshakable, yet woven from the subtle threads of imagination. It stands like a stable city conjured in slumber, its form shaped by the mind’s creativity, assembled through the unceasing activity of consciousness itself. This reality is like a mass of pillars and their offspring, yet none are anchored in the ground. In the boundless space of Brahman, the Self stands unsupported, like a statue resting upon its own pillar—self-sustained, undug, unrooted. At the dawn of creation, there was the first creator, the Self-born, renowned and without a prior cause, for before him, there were no previous effects or actions. When the great dissolutions come to pass and the primal ancestors are released, what former karma could bind them? There was none, for they were the very beginning. The self, like a wall both seen and unseen, must be relinquished. In truth, there is no seer, no seen, no creator—everything is indeed that one reality. He is the reflection of all objects, the source from which the stream of living beings flows, just as a series of lamps is kindled from a single flame. All this is but imagination arising from imagination, devoid of earth and the other elements, yet appearing as if real—just as one dream gives rise to another. From this very reflection, living beings seem to emerge, but when the auxiliary causes are absent, they dissolve back into that alone. When those causes are not present, cause and effect become one, leaving no other source for the illusion of creation. Brahman alone is the original, whose form is the cosmic person; from this cosmic person arises all creation. Thus, the space of living beings is nothing but that, for earth and the rest are ultimately unreal. Is the multitude of living beings limited, or is it infinite? Or is there a single, infinite Self—an aggregate of beings, unmoving like a mountain? Like streams from a raincloud, droplets from the ocean, or sparks from heated iron, why do living beings seem to emerge? O venerable one, reveal to me the true nature of this web of living beings. I have grasped much, but let your words bring clarity. In reality, there is only one living being. How could there be many? To speak of a multitude is like saying the horn of a rabbit has arisen and vanished—a fanciful impossibility. There is no individual soul, nor are there multitudes of souls, O Raghava, nor even a single mountain-like mass of souls. All ideas associated with the term ‘jīva’ are mere constructions. Let your conviction be unwavering: none of these truly exist. What alone exists everywhere is pure consciousness, immaculate Brahman, which, by its all-powerfulness, manifests whatever aspect it desires. Just as a vine unfolds in sequence, so too does consciousness, whether manifest or unmanifest, swiftly perceive itself in that form. The terms ‘jīva’, ‘intellect’, ‘activity’, ‘movement’, ‘mind’, ‘duality’, and ‘unity’—all these find their existence in experience alone. Through awareness, consciousness becomes Brahman itself; through ignorance, it falls into destruction by observation, yet it does not become aware. Just as darkness vanishes when illuminated by a lamp, though its essence remains unknown, so is the nature of ignorance. Thus, the individual soul is Brahman alone—undivided, uninterrupted, all-powerful, without beginning or end, bearing the very essence of supreme consciousness. Because it is all-pervading, no notion of division exists in it; whatever conception arises is experienced as such, but it is only that. Therefore, O Brahman, by the wish of the one living being, all beings in the world do not truly exist separately, for there is unity in the great Self. That great Self, which is Brahman, is the source of all powers; it abides wherever it wills, undivided and uninterrupted. Whatever this great Self desires swiftly comes to be; but if the desire ceases beforehand, then duality arises from that. From this division of powers, activities are projected, and thus, action takes place. By that primordial divine power, the established regulation prevails; without it, nothing else arises—only the primary will endures. Of that power called the individual soul, whatever desire bears fruit, it is only by the observance of the regulation of the primary power, and not otherwise. If the regulation of the primary power is not firmly established, then, depending on the presence or absence of power, the intended result does not occur anywhere. Thus, Brahman—the great living essence—exists without beginning or end. When it appears as the multitude of living beings, it seems to be countless hosts, yet in truth, it is nothing but itself. Through awareness of objects, the individual soul arises and enters the cycle of worldly existence; when that awareness ceases, its form attains peace and departs from worldly existence. In this way, the lesser souls, through the sequence of actions of the greater souls, rise up to the state of the original soul, just as copper is transformed into gold. Here, in this infinite supreme space, even this group of beings—though non-existent—appears as if it exists, being of the wondrous nature of consciousness, like the very essence of space. That very wonder arising in consciousness by itself is known as the sense of ‘I’, which later becomes the notion of name, body, and so forth. That which is the light of consciousness, endless and of the same nature as consciousness, is the very enjoyment of worlds—reflected from that source alone. That imperishable consciousness, indivisible in its true form, is yet described by words such as transformation and modification, and is known by its own power. Whatever taste consciousness experiences in itself, being the uninterrupted play of its own nature, that alone is established as the world of unmanifest light. This power of consciousness, subtler even than space and all-pervading, naturally perceives itself as the sense of ‘I’. Whatever shines forth in the Self, by the Self and for the Self—from the smallest sense of ‘I’ to the end of the world—that alone does it perceive.