In the course of their profound discourse, the sage described to Rāma how the world is experienced much like a dream. In dreams, one might see a city or a land as empty or hollow, and even a dream-woman, though she is not real, seems to perform meaningful actions for the dreamer. In the same way, when space is perceived as earth or the other elements, it appears as such for a fleeting moment; through the power of delusion, even other realms are directly experienced as if they are real. Perceptions are shaped by the mind’s tendencies: a child might look at the sky and see a goblin, while a dying man sees it as a forest. One person mistakes hair for a ball, another imagines something else in the sky, and yet another sees a pearl there. Those who are frightened, half-asleep, or traveling by boat often see trees and other things in the sky, just as they might see goblins—these forms are shaped by their own habitual imagination. What is produced by repeated impressions appears before the mind, but in truth, not a single thing truly exists as it seems. For the one who knows the truth, earth and the other elements do not exist as they appear; only space, which arises from consciousness, is spoken of as real. For the sage who knows the one expanse of consciousness as Brahman and the Self, how can there be sons, friends, or wives—what, when, or where can such distinctions exist? Even simple acts, such as Jyeṣṭhaśarman placing his hand on his head in play, arise from the mind’s awareness of beginnings and the continuity of experience. Awareness appears exactly as it conceives; it is subtler than space itself, and thus pure. Everywhere, O Rāghava, this very network of objects is experienced, just as imagined cities are experienced in dreams. On a mountain slope, in a certain village, within a pavilion, two women remained together and, in their presence, attained disappearance. It seemed as if the forest goddesses had bestowed their favor, for the household, its sorrows calmed, stood established in supreme merit. There, Sarasvati, merged in the open pavilion, playfully addressed the one of sky-like form, who, smiling gently, remained silent in her own sky-like form. Their conversation was about the futility of actions performed in imagination and dreams. Just as, in this world, actions are performed for real purposes, so too was their discussion. Even without earth, channels, or vital airs, their mutual discourse arose; that awareness of conversation was just like that found in dreams and imaginations. All that is to be known has been fully known; the seer’s awareness has seen what is to be seen. Such is the reality of Brahman—what else is there to inquire about? One woman wondered aloud: “The life-force of my deceased husband, who now rules a kingdom—why am I not seen there by them, and why am I seen here by my son?” Sarasvati replied, “Without practice, dear one, your conviction in duality at that time did not subside, just as a season does not end at the mere junction of seasons. One who has not attained nonduality—how can the actions of nonduality suit him? For one established in asceticism, how could there be experience of shadow or limbs? Without practice, O Lila, there was no dissolution there; when the state arose, then the power of true resolve was not yours.” She continued, “Even now, by the experience of truth, those intentions have reached me; your wish, ‘let there be direct perception,’ O beautiful one, has come to fruition. Now, if you go near your husband, your dealings with him will proceed as before. Here itself, in the space of the palace, my husband became a brahmin; here itself, after dying, he became a lord of the earth. Here itself, in his worldly existence, in that other region of the earth, in the city of the capital, I am established as the queen. Here itself, in the inner chambers, my lord, the king, died there; here itself, in the space of the inner chambers, he again became a king there. He attained the throne of the earth, became lord of various lands; all this, in an instant, is established here itself.” “In this very house-space, all the worlds of the cosmos are contained, just as, within a small box, many mustard seeds are held. I think that place is not far; it is my husband’s domain. Sometimes it appears beside me here, just as I see it—do the same.” She then addressed her companion, “O daughter of Arundhati of the earth, your husbands at present are three by name, or perhaps many, even hundreds. Of the three who are nearer, one, a twice-born, has gone to ashes; the king, adorned with garlands and garments, lies as a corpse in the inner chambers. In this theater of worldly existence, the third, a lord of the earth, has fallen into the great ocean of transmigration and wanders lost. His mind is agitated by the waves and whirlpools of enjoyment; his conduct is dulled and worn by inertia, and he is like a tortoise in the ocean of worldly existence. Though performing various royal duties, even those that are most demanding, he sleeps, fixed in his own radiance, and does not awaken from the delusion of worldly existence. Thinking, ‘I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am accomplished, strong, and happy,’ he is bound by the endless great rope and has come under its control.” “So tell me, O beautiful one, which husband brings you near, as the wind carries a streak of fragrance from the forest into the woods? This world, O child, is truly something else—the hall of the cosmic egg; and all these chains of worldly dealings are of a different order. These circles of worldly existence, though appearing close by here, are in fact separated by countless millions of leagues. Behold, before you, their forms are nothing but pure space; within them stand countless millions of Merus and Mandaras. Within each atom, groups of creations arise unhindered; at the edge of the great consciousness, they shimmer like motes of light. Yet, even these mighty cosmic eggs, though vast in their beginnings, do not amount to even the weight of a sesame seed on a scale.” “Just as the sky shines with the radiance of many jeweled mountains and forests, so too does consciousness shine, appearing as the world, though devoid of earth and other elements.” Thus, in this sacred dialogue, the illusory nature of the world was revealed, and the boundless expanse of consciousness was proclaimed as the one true reality underlying all appearances.