O Rama, listen to the unfolding mystery of mind and creation. The mind arises from the very nature of consciousness, much like foam bubbling forth from water. Once born, it becomes bound by the cords of its own actions, as a drum is tightened and shaped by the ropes that hold it together. Imagination is the seed from which action grows, and the living being is woven from this very fabric. Actions spring forth from imagination, and soon enough, they give rise to periods of inaction, following their own course. Just as a seed is at first wrapped in its own sprout, retaining its essential nature, it later diversifies—producing leaves, shoots, and fruits through the illusion of variety. Similarly, other beings, those who dwell in the vast sky, take on forms in accordance with the arising world, and they too settle into states shaped by the elements. Through their own actions, which become causes for birth and death, these beings move upward or downward in existence. Action itself is the vibration of consciousness, and this vibration becomes destiny, mind, and the source of all auspicious and inauspicious events. From these vibrations, worlds and universes swiftly arise, and beings blossom forth like flowers from a tree. Thus, the mind first appears in this manner—its nature is thinking and enjoyment, and it attains a state that matches these qualities. Because the mind oscillates between increase and decrease, between being and non-being, creation is observed; it appears both real and unreal, much like a magical city conjured by a celestial musician. There is no true distinction; duality and unity are but imagined concepts. The views of Brahman, the individual soul, mind, illusion, the agent, action, and the world—these are all mere appearances. With the playful movement of the waters of consciousness, boundless and vast, the Self alone expands as the single ocean of awareness. Unreality arises from instability, while reality emerges from one’s own perception. Just as in a dream, so too in the mind, the world possesses both existence and non-existence. It is neither truly existent nor non-existent; it is born from the confusion of the waking mind, arising like an illusion from the mixture of herbs. A long dream, when it gains duration, is called worldly existence, shaped by the power of the mind. Through mistaken perception, belief in a fixed object is vain, like a man who mistakes a stump for something else. Because the Self is not seen, the mind grieves, believing itself to be the mind; like a child frightened by a phantom, it suffers from its own imagined terrors. The mind arises from the transcendent essence of the unnameable true nature, due to its tendency toward objects; from mind comes the notion of living. This notion gives rise to the sense of ‘I’, and from ‘I’ comes mind; from mind arise the senses and so forth, and from these, the delusion of body and other things. From delusion about body and so forth, heaven and hell, liberation and bondage arise. Like seed and sprout, the beginning and growth of actions related to the body become established. Just as there is no duality between the essence of consciousness and the Self, so too there is no difference between the living being and the mind; and likewise, there is no difference between body and action. Action itself is the body, and the body is the mind; that alone is the sense of ‘I’, and thus the living being. This living being, shaped by the Lord, is the self; all arises from Shiva, from the one foundation. Thus, O Rama, the supreme reality is one, though it appears as many—just as a hundred lamps are lit from a single lamp. If one sees the self as it truly is, devoid of reality, and examines it with the mind, then, free from the sense of ‘I’, one does not grieve. For a person whose mind is tranquil, the world itself becomes tranquil; just as for one whose feet are wrapped, the earth seems covered with leather. Just as there is nothing in a banana plant except its leaves, so too, apart from illusion, nothing else exists in the worlds. The mind dances in delusion, giving rise to childhood, youth, old age, death, heaven, and hell. In the play of diverse bubbles within the undivided self, the mind’s capacity in the cycle of existence is like the potency of wine. Just as one sees double in the moon due to a defect in the eye, so too, when consciousness is touched by the power of awareness, it appears as duality in the supreme self. Like a drunken man, under the influence of wine, sees trees spinning, so too, when consciousness is disturbed, it perceives the world as manifold. As a child, in playful confusion, sees the world spinning like a potter’s wheel, so too, because of consciousness, the world appears as an object of perception. When consciousness perceives duality, the illusion of difference and unity arises; when it does not perceive duality, both difference and unity cease. Whatever is perceived is not something other than consciousness; when nothing is perceived as separate, the activity of consciousness comes to rest. When you abide unmoving, having attained oneness with pure consciousness, whether acting or at rest, you are then said to be at peace. Subtle consciousness perceives objects; dense consciousness does not perceive at all—like a lightly intoxicated person is agitated, but one deeply intoxicated is at rest. For one who has attained firm establishment in the supreme state of unity with pure consciousness, its description may be given by terms such as selflessness, emptiness, and the like. It is the confusion of consciousness, by which it sees itself as both perceiver and perceived, and thus arise the false notions: ‘I am born, I live, I perish, I wander in the world.’ Apart from its own nature, there is no consciousness or sentience; just as there is no movement in air without vibration, so what is perceived by what? If perception itself is impossible, then whatever is thought to be perceived by consciousness is like the illusion of a snake on a rope; the wise know this as the delusion of ignorance. In this disease called worldly existence, which is to be treated only by pure awareness, O sinless one, why exert yourself in the mere agitation of mind? If, abandoning everything, you remain free from all tendencies, then in that very instant you are liberated—of this there is no doubt. Just as the illusion of a snake in a rope vanishes instantly without any movement of the rope, so too does worldly existence disappear through the transformation of pure awareness. Wherever desire arises, if one stands firm having abandoned it, then liberation is surely attained, O dear one; what is so difficult in this?