O Rama, listen closely to the mystery of consciousness and the mind. Just as water reveals itself in myriad ways—as streams, drops, foam, and shimmering beauty—so too does consciousness manifest itself in countless wondrous forms. All that you see, all that is diverse and astonishing in this world, arises from the one source of consciousness. It is the mind’s own activity that appears as the waking world and as dreams. According to the impressions it absorbs, it takes on many roles, much like an actor who dons different costumes and personas upon the stage. Remember the story of Lavaṇa: just as he assumed the state of a caṇḍāla by the sheer power of appearance, so too does this world seem to be experienced. Yet, in truth, it is only a product of the mind’s conception. Whatever is perceived, in whatever manner, springs forth immediately in that very way—a creation shaped by the mind’s own imagination, fashioned as it wills. Within embodied beings, the mind projects forms of cities, rivers, and mountains, weaving the illusion of both waking and dreaming states. By the force of appearances, the mind attains the state of a celestial or a demon, or even that of a serpent or a mountain, just as Lavaṇa did. From being a man, it may become a woman; from being a father, it may become a son once more. Just as an actor swiftly changes roles by his own intention, so does the mind shift its identities. By intention, the mind perishes; from intention, it arises again. Long practiced, it attains the state of living beings, yet it has no fixed form of its own. Confused by its own conceptions and driven by deep-seated tendencies, it enters into various wombs through intention, experiencing pleasure, pain, fear, and safety. These sensations of pleasure and pain dwell within the mind, like oil hidden in a sesame seed. Depending on place and time, they become dense or subtle, manifest or concealed. Just as oil emerges from sesame seeds when they are pressed and then attains clarity, so too do pleasure and pain, condensed by the mind’s constant reflection, become manifest and tangible. But know, O Rama, that what is called ‘place’ and ‘time’ is truly only imagination. It is by the power of imagination alone that place and time appear to exist. In projecting the body, the mind rises, subsides, moves, delights, and leaps about. When its projection is fulfilled, there is in truth no actual body at all. The mind leaps within this body, surging and excited by its own imaginings, like a horse galloping within its own enclosure. Therefore, when there is no inner indulgence in restlessness, the mind becomes self-controlled, just as an elephant is restrained by a tether. He whose mind does not stir, like a pillar fixed by a weapon, is the true person; the rest are like worms in the mud. One whose once-restless mind has become established in one place, through meditation, follows the supreme state, O sinless one. When the mind is restrained, the confusion of worldly existence comes to rest, just as the ocean of milk becomes still when Mount Mandara ceases to churn it. Whatever sprouts arise in the mind through the confusion of desires for enjoyment—these alone are the seeds of the poisonous tree of worldly existence. The mind, like a restless blue lotus, is surrounded by those who are deluded—dull, swift in folly, intoxicated and slow with delusion—whose minds, torn and scattered in the whirling cycle, fall like bees lost in the spinning of a wheel. Now, O Rama, hear the supreme remedy for the great disease of the mind—a medicine self-dependent and easily applied, established within oneself, to be used with discernment. By one’s own effort, swiftly and with the power of direct self-awareness, the ghost of the mind is subdued through diligence and by abandoning the objects of desire. He who stands free from affliction, having abandoned the desired object, has truly conquered the mind—just as one who has subdued an elephant is called a tamer. With the effort of self-awareness, the childlike mind is to be guarded, joined to the real from the unreal, and thus instructed. With the sword of your own mind, O sage, cut off the mind scorched by worry and attached to scriptures, just as iron is cut by iron. Just as a child’s mind is easily directed here and there, so too can the mind be turned inward towards the noble—what difficulty is there in this? When engaged in righteous action, which brings forth future results, one should direct the mind with one’s own effort and awareness. If someone finds it difficult to renounce what is within their own power and for their own highest benefit, shame on such a person—they are like a worm among men. By contemplating what is unpleasant as pleasant with one’s own understanding, the mind, like a child to a wrestler, is easily subdued. Through personal effort and diligence, the mind is conquered just as a horse; and when the mind is no longer an adversary, the state of Brahman is attained. Those who cannot accomplish what is within their own power and easily done—merely mastery over their own mind—shame on them; they are jackals among men. Without the mantra of calming the mind—achieved solely by one’s own effort and the renunciation of desires—there is no auspicious attainment. By the mere conquest of the mind, accomplished through one’s own awareness, there arises an unobstructed, beginningless, endless, and flawless state. In the glory of calming the mind, which is the true limb of realization, teachings from the guru, scriptures, mantras, and other methods are as straw. When the disease of the mind is cut off by the sword of non-conceptualization, all becomes the all-pervading, peaceful Brahman. In this state, attainable by self-awareness and the destruction of false notions, what can disturb one whose nature is tranquil and clear as a spotless cloud? Certainly, disregarding fate—which is only imagined by the deluded mind—lead your mind to no-mind through effort and awareness. Pursuing that unique, supreme path for a long time, having made the mind consumed by pure consciousness, become even beyond mind itself. Freed from the notion of becoming, established in supreme understanding, hold yourself unwavering, with the mind absorbed in the highest consciousness. Relying on supreme effort, having led the mind to no-mind, attain that supreme path where you are neither this nor anything else.