There is, in truth, no space or time outside oneself, nor any real diversity arising from external objects. What appears to be outside is, in reality, within—just as the objects we see in dreams seem external but are truly conjured within our own consciousness. Whatever is constructed in the mind, like a city imagined in a dream, that very thing comes to stand out before us, merely by the habit of repeated imagination, and we call it 'external.' When you asked of your husband’s fate, know that whatever state he was in at the time of his death in that city, that very state has now come to that same object, right there. The servants you see here are not the same as those you saw before, even if they appear similar; these are but forms of your own imagination, just as the armies that arise in dreams are conjured by the mind. And that which is experienced as unfailing and of the nature of all things—how can there be unreality in it? What kind of unreality could possibly exist there? Or, if you consider things from another angle, then in the next moment, due to their perishability, they are not true substances; thus, all of this is just so—what room is there for denial in this matter? A dream is unreal when one is awake, and the waking world is unreal in a dream; death is unreal in birth, and birth is unreal in death. Because of the subtlety of inquiry and the nature of experience, O beautiful one, this neither truly exists nor does not exist—it merely appears as a delusion. Even at the end of a great aeon, or today, or in another age, that which never perishes is Brahman alone; that is the true world. In the midst of that, these delusions called creation seem to move, like hairs or little balls floating in space, but in truth, they do not move at all. Just as waves arise and dissolve in the ocean, so too do these creations arise and dissolve in the Supreme, like dust in a great wind. Therefore, in this appearance made of delusion, the sense of individuality is false; what reliance can there be on the mirage-water or the ashes of creation? There are no other delusions there; those very things are the supreme state. In dense darkness, one might see forms like yakṣas, but truly, there is only darkness, not the yakṣas themselves. So, birth, death, delusion, space, ‘I’, ‘you’, and all this—whatever remains at the end of the great cycle—is all there truly is. Thus, what is seen is not absolutely real, nor is it ever truly unreal; it is both, or rather, it is Brahman alone that appears as such. Within the subtlest particle of space, or even in the tiniest atom, the individual soul perceives this universe as its own form. Just as fire knows its own heat, arising from its inherent nature, so too does pure consciousness perceive this world as its own self. Just as motes of dust move about in a house illuminated by sunlight, so too do these universes, like tiny specks, exist in the supreme space. Just as vibration abides in air, fragrance in wind, and coolness in the sky, so too does the universe exist in the Supreme, free from the grasp of forms. Existence and non-existence, grasping and releasing, gross and subtle, moving and unmoving—all these states, though appearing as attributes, truly belong to Brahman, which is without any parts. Just as the parts of a tree exist for the sake of its form, so too, for the sake of understanding, you should now regard all these as non-different from your own self. This universe, as it stands, arises from the sequence of one’s own nature; it is empty, and the meanings of the word ‘universe’ are nothing other than Brahman, in which it abides. It is neither true nor untrue, like the illusion of a snake in a rope; what is experienced as false is considered true or untrue only upon examination. Knowing the supreme cause, one knows existence as if it were life; thus, by experiencing only that, one distinctly attains the sense of living. Whether true or untrue, this world appearing in space colors the living atom with experiences arising from itself. These experiences—some are from previous experiences, some are unprecedented, and some are equal while others are unequal. Sometimes, somewhere, those same experiences are equal, sometimes they are not; in the space of the living being, experiences move as untrue or as true. Those families, those customs, those births, those intentions—those very ones become your counselors and citizens in the realm of intelligence. And they, being established in the Self, are fully content, unaffected by actions bound to place and time, remaining in the radiance of the all-pervading nature of consciousness. Just as an image appears in the royal mirror of the sky, composed of pure being, so too does the reflection of truth arise in the radiance of consciousness. With your habits, your conduct, your lineage, and your form—thus, in play, the reflection arising from consciousness appears as if it were you. In the mirror of all-pervading awareness, the reflection appears; whatever its nature, wherever it is, so it arises continuously. The reflection that moves within the space of the individual soul shines forth by itself; this, standing outside, is established as the image in the mirror of consciousness. This is you, I am the sky, this world is the earth and so on—thus, all appears as the unborn alone. Know, O dear one, that the space of consciousness is like the womb of a bael fruit—be at peace and remain as you are here. Now, your husband Viduratha, having left his body on the battlefield, will reach that very inner abode and become of such a nature. Hearing these words of the goddess, Lila, standing in her palace, again bowed with joined palms and spoke: “O Goddess, the blessed awareness has always been worshipped by me; in dreams, O Devi, she grants me her vision in the nights. O Queen of the gods, just as she appears, so do you, O Mother; out of your compassion for the afflicted, O beautiful-faced one, grant me a boon.” Thus addressed, that awareness, recalling Lila’s devotion, was pleased and spoke: “By your unwavering and lifelong devotion, O child, I am satisfied with you; receive the boon you desire.