As the teaching unfolded, Vasistha spoke with wisdom, drawing a subtle comparison: just as the darkness seen in the sky is known, through right understanding, not to be real darkness, so too, when ignorance casts its gloom, knowledge arises to dispel it. The wise have declared that restraining ignorance is nothing more than letting go of imagination—much like the sky-lotus, which is only a figment and not a reality. This restraint is, in truth, quite simple. Vasistha continued, explaining that the world-illusion, which appears just as the color of the sky does, is best countered by non-remembrance; forgetting, he said, is preferable to clinging. He illustrated how a person, lost in sorrow with the thought "I am lost," perishes in that grief, while the thought "I am awakened" brings happiness. In this way, deluded thoughts lead one deeper into delusion, but noble thoughts of awakening propel one further along the path of awakening. Even a moment’s recollection can revive perpetual ignorance, yet with effortful forgetting, the object of ignorance truly dissolves. Imagination, Vasistha declared, is the creator of all states and the deluder of all beings; it liberates when the self is destroyed, and destroys when the self grows. Whatever the mind contemplates, the senses immediately act upon, just as ministers carry out the commands of their king. Therefore, he advised, one who does not allow the mind to dwell on objects, but instead cultivates inner awareness with effort, attains peace. That which did not exist at the beginning does not exist even now; what appears before us is the one peaceful, unblemished Brahman. Vasistha urged: whose, how, and whence are these notions of the mind? Remain unperturbed, beginningless and endless, unconfined by any restraint. He instructed that, relying on supreme effort and discernment, one should completely uproot from the mind—even its roots—the very conception of desire for enjoyment. The supreme delusion, which causes old age and death, is the latent tendency that flourishes through countless bonds of hope. “My sons, my wealth, I am this, this is mine”—by this single latent tendency, the mind leaps about, like a magician’s illusion. In this empty body, the notion of ‘I’ is cast by ignorance and latent impressions, wavering like the wind in a hollow. In truth, Vasistha said, enough of ‘mine’, ‘I’, and ‘this’; apart from the essence of the Self, nothing ever truly exists. With the perception of creation, this same manifold ignorance revolves again and again, as mountain ranges, continents, and peaks appear and reappear. This arises merely from ignorance and ceases through knowledge; it is limited only by consciousness, like a snake imagined on a rope. For the knower, even the earth with its mountains and rivers is that knowledge, not ignorance, for Brahman abides in its own greatness. Both rope and snake are imagined by ignorance, but through knowledge, only one is determined: the vision of Brahman, uncontrived. Vasistha exhorted: do not be ignorant; become a knower. Abandon the tendencies of worldly existence. Why grieve as if you were another, identifying with what is not the Self? What is this inert, mute body to you, O Raghava, for whose sake you are helplessly subjected to pleasure and pain? Just as there is no unity between wood and resin, or between two berry vessels even when joined, so too, there is no oneness between body and embodied being. Just as the fire in a bellows does not affect the air within, so too, when the body perishes, the Self does not perish. “I am unhappy, I am full of happiness”—such delusion afflicts the mind, and this torment is hard to overcome. By this false, harmful, and mind-inflating notion—this giver of sorrow, blinded by the impurity of delusion—even the nectar-filled moon can be imagined as a hell, and one suffers as if burned. In lakes adorned with cool waves and lotuses, the greatness of a mirage is perceived. In dreams and similar states, the excitement of building cities in the sky, falling, and flying is experienced, bringing various pleasures and pains. If the mind’s inclination toward worldly existence is not fulfilled, then the agitations of waking and dreaming bring no harm. Hells such as Raurava and Avīci, with their domains of suffering, are seen to increase even in celestial groves when false knowledge prevails. When the mind is pierced by ignorance, even a fiber of lotus thread instantly perceives the bewildering whirlpool of worldly existence. When afflicted by ignorance, even those established in sovereignty attain states unfit even for outcastes. Therefore, Vasistha advised Rama: abandon the tendency that binds you to worldly existence. Remain composed of all states, unattached, like a crystal. While engaged in your duties, let there be no coloring of attachment—just as a crystal, though reflecting many images, remains unchanged. If you act in the world with a mind free from curiosity and attachment, playfully and with noble understanding, performing natural actions—then, what can compare to your greatness? Thus, as Vasistha spoke these words, Rama, whose eyes resembled lotus petals, appeared as if awakened. His inner being blossomed, attaining a great radiance; reassured, as darkness faded, like a lotus filled with sunlight. With a gentle smile born of wonder and awakening, his face shone bright, as if washed by the moon’s nectar-beams, and he spoke: “Ah, how marvelous! Mountains are bound by threads spun from lotus stalks; by this ignorance, which does not truly exist, all are brought under its sway.